Samsung’s Chromebook Plus gets support for Linux apps

Google is no longer interested in Android tablets and is instead focusing on Chrome OS devices that can run Android apps. The company has been adding new features to Chrome OS to make the devices more appealing to the customers. As part of the efforts, at I/O 2018, Google announced Linux app support for Chrome OS starting with the Pixelbook. The same functionality is now available on the Samsung Chromebook Plus as well.

Available in the Chrome OS Dev Channel

To begin with, Linux app support in Chrome OS is not yet ready for prime time and is currently available only in the OS Dev Channel. As such, it may be buggy and not work as expected. Interested Chromebook Plus users can enable this functionality by following these instructions. The process is same as for the Pixelbook.

The Samsung Chromebook Plus, however, may not be able to run all the Linux apps as it’s an ARM-powered device, unlike the Google Pixelbook. Despite the limitations, it is still encouraging to see Google bringing this major feature to older Chrome OS devices as well. Users who purchased the Chromebook Pro instead of the Plus model will also eventually get this functionality, but it may take more time.

LibreOffice and MuseScore running on the Chromebook Plus

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Galaxy Tab S4 spotted with Android 8.1, new Book Cover Keyboard certified

We have been reporting on the Galaxy Tab S4 for a few months now and much like its predecessor, Samsung’s new flagship tablet will be available in both Wi-Fi and LTE variants. The US variant of the Galaxy Tab S4 has now surfaced online bearing model number SM-T837P. It’s going be the LTE variant of the tablet meant for Sprint. The SM-T835 has previously been spotted and it’s the Wi-Fi only model of the tablet.

Earlier sightings of the Galaxy Tab S4, be it its Bluetooth certification or Geekbench appearance, have revealed Android 8.0 Oreo as the operating system. This latest sighting hints at the possibility of the tablet launching with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

Galaxy Tab S4 with Android 8.1

Samsung is yet to release Android 8.1 Oreo for its devices even though it has already released for many compatible devices. The Galaxy Note 9 will most definitely be its first smartphone to come with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

As far as the specifications are concerned, the Galaxy Tab S4 may be powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Samsung will be shifting to the 16:10 aspect ratio for its 10.5-inch display. The tablet may also feature a 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera.

Samsung appears to have a new accessory for the Galaxy Tab S4 in the pipeline as well. A “Book Cover Keyboard” has been certified in South Korea by the Radio Research Agency. The model number suggests that this accessory is for the Galaxy Tab S4.

It’s still unclear at this point in time when Samsung is going to launch the Galaxy Tab S4. One would expect the company to launch the new tablet at IFA 2018 but the possibility exists that it may launch the tablet before the Berlin-based trade show takes place in September this year.

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PSA: Night Clock has moved to Always On Display settings with Oreo on the Galaxy S7 edge

Have you been wondering where the Night Clock feature has disappeared to after updating to Android 8.0 Oreo on your Galaxy S7 edge? Don’t worry, it’s still there, but it’s now a clock style for Always On Display and not a separate option. Samsung just hasn’t been clear enough that that’s the case, and according to one of its community forum moderators, Night Clock was removed with Oreo because users were “unhappy about the brightness of the clock during the night.”

Night Clock has graduated to Edge Clock

What the moderator failed to mention is that Night Clock is now just a clock style called Edge Clock for Always On Display (AOD). It’s a change Samsung made when the Galaxy S8 was launched, and it has now trickled down to the Galaxy S7 edge with the Oreo update. It makes sense, too, as AOD uses the ambient light sensor to adjust its brightness. Being a part of AOD, the clock’s color can be changed as well, and you can also have the clock enabled for more than the 18-hour limitation of Night Clock.

So where exactly would you find and enable Edge Clock on your Galaxy S7 edge after updating to Oreo? Here are the steps:

Step 1: Open the Settings app on the phone, then tap Lock screen and security.

Step 2: Here, first ensure you have Always On Display enabled. If it’s not, simply tap the toggle next to the Always On Display option to enable it (check out this post for a guide on how to customize AOD to your liking).

Step 3: Now, tap the Clock and FaceWidgets option.

Step 4: Tap Clock style to see the list of clock styles available.

Step 5: Here, swipe left in the dock that shows you the various clock types until you get to the end. The Edge Clock is the second to last option here; tap it to set it as the Always On Display clock style. Once you have enabled Edge Clock, you can customize its position and color.

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For more on what changes Oreo brings to your Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, check out our What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo series of articles. Some of it is exclusive to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, but other stuff – such as the upgraded Samsung Keyboard – apply to the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge as well.

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Chinese authorities are investigating Samsung and other chipmakers

Samsung’s semiconductor business has performed exceedingly well in the past few quarters. Many analysts attributed this success to the increased demand for memory products and its impact on pricing. Along with success came allegations of price-fixing by major chipmakers. It appears the Chinese regulatory authorities are now probing this matter.

China is the largest importer of memory products

According to multiple reports online, investigators from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation have visited the offices of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in China on May 31. The three companies have confirmed the visit and assured cooperation with the authorities. While Samsung and Micron maintained silence on the subject of the investigation, SK Hynix has confirmed the inquiry is over alleged price fixing of memory products.

Higher semiconductor prices adversely impact the competitiveness of Chinese exports as it the largest importer of memory products and procures about 90% of its semiconductors from foreign companies. The Chinese government has been investing heavily to develop a domestic chip industry, but it still has a long way to go.

Apart from this probe in China, Samsung, Hynix, and Micron are also facing a lawsuit in the US over DRAM price-fixing allegations. Hagens Berman, a Washington-based law firm, filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of the consumers alleging that these three companies colluded to increase the prices of several memory products by limiting the supply.

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Exclusive: The Gear VR will be rebranded as Galaxy VR

Samsung’s trademark applications for devices called Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Fit were the first indications that the company would be bringing its wearable devices under the Galaxy umbrella.  Rumors about Samsung possibly readying a smartwatch running Wear OS supported that notion, and though we can’t say if such a smartwatch is in the works, we can confirm that Samsung will be switching to the Galaxy branding for at least some of its wearables.

Galaxy VR is incoming

Our sources tell us that the Gear VR will be rebranded as the Galaxy VR, and it would only make sense for Samsung to do the same for its fitness trackers and smartwatches. Not that we know for sure that will happen, but we can look towards the trademark applications for the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Fit for evidence that the company is looking at unifying its product lineup as far as the branding is concerned. It’s also unclear when Samsung will actually go through with the change. If the rumors of a higher-resolution display on the Galaxy S10 turn out to be true, we can see the company making the announcement about the Galaxy VR alongside the unveiling of its tenth-anniversary Galaxy S flagship.

What’s your take on Samsung switching from Gear to Galaxy for its wearables? Is that something you can get behind, or do you think Gear sounds much cooler and is what Samsung should be sticking to?

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SamMobile 5.0 is live! – We welcome your feedback about our new design

We invited our readers to try out SamMobile 5.0 two weeks ago. It’s the new site design that we have been working very hard on and are now proud to announce that SamMobile 5.0 is now live for all our readers. The idea behind this new design is to modernize our look so that everything looks cleaner and shaper while retaining absolute focus on quality content.

The design is now more consistent across the different sections of the site, this includes our firmware and device databases as well so that it’s easier for our users to navigate the site and find what they’re looking for. We have paid special attention to improving the experience for mobile devices.

We would love hearing your feedback about SamMobile 5.0 so do share your thoughts about the new design with us in the comments below. While we have worked diligently over the past couple of weeks to eliminate them all, if you spot any bugs, drop us a line as well.

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Samsung developing its own Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 PC

Samsung is no stranger to developing Windows PCs but its latest product is going to be a bit different in that it’s going to be powered by a Qualcomm processor. The company confirmed alongside Qualcomm at Computex 2018 today that it’s going to build its very own Snapdragon-powered Windows PC and will thus join Microsoft’s “Always Connected PC” ecosystem.

Microsoft and Qualcomm brought Windows 10 to the Snapdragon 835 last year to enable OEMs to build PCs that were always connected with Gigabit LTE connectivity. The idea was to create a new family of ARM-based PCs that were thin, lightweight, offered extended battery life and was LTE compatible. Qualcomm today announced a new chipset for ARM PCs to address the shortcomings of the Snapdragon 835 and Samsung will use it for its new device.

Samsung’s Snapdragon 850 PC

Qualcomm today announced the Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform for Windows 10 on ARM devices. The 10nm chip features Qualcomm’s Kryo 385 CPU, Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, Hexagon 685 Vector processor, Adreno 630 Visual processing system, Spectra 280 Image Signal Processor and an AI engine.

The company says that compared to its predecessor, the new platform provides an up to 30 percent system-wide increase in performance and up to 3X AI performance aside from up to 1.2 gigabits per second LTE connectivity speeds and a possible battery life of up to 25 hours of continuous usage.

It was also confirmed during the press event today that Samsung is going to be the first OEM that gets to use the Snapdragon 850 mobile platform. The company will use the chip for its upcoming always connected PC which is said to be due later this year.

No further details have been revealed about Samsung’s product at this point in time so it’s unclear what form factor it will adopt. There’s a possibility that this device may be a 2-in-1 hybrid.

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