A new test shows Samsung’s QLED TVs are devoid of any burn-in effects

Samsung has been facing fierce competition from rivals’ OLED TVs in the market. The Korean company’s decision to no longer make any OLED TVs has turned out to be a drawback in the premium TV segment crowded by competitors’ OLED offerings. To counter the growing threat, Samsung has been working to inform the customers about the issues associated with OLED TVs.

Prominent among Samsung’s attacks on OLED TVs is the burn-in issue. The company’s marketing has been quite vocal about the burn-in problem associated with the OLED panels and has even tweaked the warranty policy of its QLED TVs to boast about the absence of burn-in issues in its TV lineup. Samsung’s attacks were so aggressive that LG even decided to take legal action against these allegedly misleading claims.

Proves Samsung’s premium TVs are more durable

Samsung seems to be in no mood to change the strategy and is continuing to focus on the burn-in effects. In a new press release on its website, Samsung is boasting about the absence of any burn-in in its QLED TVs according to a new test conducted by Video, a German tech magazine, in collaboration with a global testing lab named Connect Testlab.

The certification test was based on the Information Display Measurements Standard (IDMS), an international standard for measuring panels, and showed that Samsung’s 2018 QLED TVs were devoid of burn-in and afterglow problems. According to Samsung, this 72-hour endurance test reaffirms that Samsung’s premium TVs are more durable than other offerings.

OLED TVs indeed suffer from burn-in effects, but how serious are these problems is a matter of contention. OLED TV manufacturers argue that these issues are blown out of proportion and are a minor inconvenience compared to the stupendous picture quality offered by the OLED panels. Samsung focusing more, directly or indirectly, on the drawbacks of OLED TVs doesn’t necessarily paint a very positive picture of its QLED TV lineup.

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Galaxy J6 gets July 2018 security patch in new update

The Galaxy J6 is the cheapest Samsung smartphone with an Infinity display. It’s also the company’s best effort in the budget space in quite some time and one that gets our recommendation for what it offers for the asking price. It’s a good thing, then, that Samsung is making sure the Galaxy J6 is also up-to-date on the software front. The company has released a Galaxy J6 update in some European countries, bringing the July 2018 security patch to the device.

Galaxy J6 update released

Of course, the Galaxy J6 isn’t the only recent phone Samsung is supporting well. The Galaxy A6 was also treated to the July security patch earlier this week, along with camera improvements and the Secure Wi-Fi feature. The July 2018 patch brings fixes for four critical vulnerabilities in the Android OS and nice that affect Samsung’s software. The Galaxy J6 update is available in Italy and Spain at the moment, with build number J600FNXXU1ARG2. Other markets may also get it in the coming days, though there’s no telling when that will happen. As usual, some users may directly receive the next security patch or the one thereafter, as Samsung can be quite random with such updates.

If you have a Galaxy J6, open the Settings app, go into the Software update, then tap Download updates manually. If the update is available for you, it should start downloading. If not, you can download the full firmware from our database for your country.

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Report: Galaxy Note 9 to go on sale on August 24

The Galaxy Note 9 may go up for sale on August 24, if a report by Korean publication ETNews (translated) is to be believed. That would make the time between the Note 9’s announcement and release date smaller than it was last year for the Galaxy Note 8. The Galaxy Note 8 was unveiled on August 23 and hit retail three weeks later on September 15th. According to the report, sluggish Galaxy S9 sales are the reason Samsung decided to go with August 24 instead of August 31 after some deliberation.

Galaxy Note 9 will come fairly early compared to the Note 8

As usual, the iPhone’s traditional September launch is also cited as a reason for Samsung moving up the schedule for the Galaxy Note 9. Indeed, the August 9 unveiling date is already a couple of weeks ahead of the Galaxy Note 8’s. However, that’s also because Samsung went back to its regular schedule this year after the delays it had to introduce in 2017 following the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Since Samsung tends to start selling its flagships two to three weeks after the announcement, the August 24 release date for the Note 9 doesn’t look implausible.

Samsung is reportedly ready to supply the Note 9 to retailers and wouldn’t change the date unless there is a problem. South Korean carriers could start taking pre-orders ten days before the device hits store shelves. Hopefully, Samsung will be releasing the Note 9 in as many markets as possible at once, similar to the Galaxy S9. The same goes for the various storage and color models, especially since the higher-end variants could come with 8GB of RAM.

Will you be placing a pre-order for the Galaxy Note 9 or picking it up on day one?

Read More: Expected Galaxy Note 9 specs, design, features and price

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Galaxy Note 9 TENAA listing offers no surprises or useful details

Samsung has made it official that the Galaxy Note 9 will be unveiled on August 9. It’s only natural, then, for the device to be going around picking up the necessary certifications that every new smartphone must receive before it can be put up for sale. Over in China, the Galaxy Note 9 has already been granted its 3C certification, and it turns out TENAA has also given its blessings to Samsung’s upcoming flagship.

Galaxy Note 9 TENAA listing isn’t very informative

As spotted by 91Mobiles, the TENAA certification was issued on July 4, around a week after the 3C certification was published. TENAA isn’t offering any details on the phone, however. We can see the list of supported networks, but that’s about it. The 3C certification was more revealing, in fact. It told us that Samsung may not be upgrading the quick charging speeds for the Note 9. That’s despite the 4,000 mAh battery that’s all but certain to be powering the device, though even Samsung’s current fast charging tech shouldn’t have a problem topping up the battery from 0 to 100 percent in a little over the time it takes to charge the 3,500 mAh battery on the Galaxy S9+.

Samsung is, however, giving us faster wireless charging with the Galaxy Note 9, as revealed by the FCC listing for a new Samsung wireless charger. Yes, we know not everyone uses wireless charging. But we’d be lying if we said we aren’t looking forward to lower wireless charging times. Samsung’s fast wireless charging tech is better than what others offer, but it can still be quite slow overall. It would also be great if Samsung can remove the annoying limitation that doesn’t let its phones fast charge when the screen is on.

For more on the expected Galaxy Note 9 features, check out our roundup post. Do tell us what you’re looking forward to the most on the next Note flagship.

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Top APKs on SamMobile this week

We have a dedicated APK section on our website where you can find the downloadable files for Samsung’s own apps and services. The company has quite a few of them since it has unbundled many features into standalone apps. This lets the company quickly release updates for these features without having to roll out a firmware update. Our APK archive contains the latest and previous versions of these apps so you can quickly find any APK ever released by Samsung.

Countless users take advantage of our APK archive to download the Samsung apps that they need. It allows them to even get apps that may not have been released for their region, Samsung’s Good Lock 2018 being the most recent example. The top APKs on SamMobile this week were:

• Samsung Music (version 16.1.93-9)
• Good Lock 2018 (1.0.00.30)
• Samsung ClockFace (1.0.04.9)
• Samsung Game Tuner (3.0.6)
• Samsung Music (16.2.13.21)

Click on the links above to get these apps. Don’t forget to check out our APK archive for any other Samsung app that you might require.

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Galaxy Note 9 features I’m looking forward to the most

Samsung fans have started counting down the days to August 9 as that’s when the company will officially unveil the Galaxy Note 9. I’m looking forward to the new flagship because from what we have heard so far, it’s going to be a promising option. There are some Galaxy Note 9 features that I am particularly excited about.

Galaxy Note 9 features

The Galaxy Note 8 was Samsung’s saving grace. It proved that the company could bounce back in spectacular fashion after the disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7. Many had actually written off the company’s phablet after the handset was discontinued. They felt that the Note series may not be able to recover from the negative impression that the Galaxy Note 7 left behind.

Samsung proved its detractors wrong with the Galaxy Note 8. It delivered a device that did all the right things for Note fans. The company made it clear that its Note series is here to stay and with good reason. It serves a purpose that no other device in Samsung’s smartphone lineup does.

We have already talked about the Galaxy Note 9 specs in detail. They will largely be similar to the Galaxy S9 but Samsung may add a variant with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. You can expect the Galaxy Note 9 to deliver top-notch performance comparable to most other flagships.

Camera

The camera will be one of the main Galaxy Note 9 features. No, there’s not going to be a triple camera system because Samsung is likely saving that for the Galaxy S10. The company did unveil its new ISOCELL Plus technology recently which may debut with the Galaxy Note 9. The new technology improves light sensitivity and color fidelity which allows for clearer and more accurate photos. Simply put, the Galaxy Note 9’s camera will be able to deliver photos that look at lot better.

Improvements for the front camera will also bring features like AR Emoji to the Galaxy Note 9. It will allow Samsung’s phablet customers to get in on the action as well which has been limited to the Galaxy S9 so far.

S Pen

Granted that the camera figures prominently in the decision-making process of smartphone buyers these days but there’s another reason why customers purchase the Galaxy Note 9. It’s the only smartphone in Samsung’s lineup that ships with a stylus. The Galaxy Note series is meant for people who want to get serious work done on the go and the S Pen helps them do just that.

The S Pen is shaping up to be one of the core new Galaxy Note 9 features. After all, Samsung did say last year that it would make improvements to the S Pen for its next Note flagship. It’s expected to get Bluetooth support. The S Pen will thus effectively double as a portable Bluetooth controller. It could be used for triggering a long-range remote self-timer, music playback control and more. There have also been whispers that the S Pen could offer some gameplay features as well.

The S Pen is an integral part of the Galaxy Note experience and any improvements that Samsung makes to the stylus will have an impact on the productivity quotient of the flagship. I’m looking forward to a new S Pen that does more than what one would normally expect from a stylus.

Bixby 2.0

Bixby is a polarizing feature on Samsung’s smartphones. Some can’t stand it and just want to learn how they can completely disable Bixby. Others swear by it. Samsung’s initial goal with Bixby was to quickly roll out its assistant as it was already quite late to the party. It has since been focusing on transforming Bixby into an intelligence tool.

Samsung confirmed earlier this year that Bixy 2.0 will be a “bold reinvention” of the platform and that it will launch with the Galaxy Note 9. We can expect quicker response times from Bixby on the Galaxy Note 9 which may help bring back users who left because it wasn’t fast enough. Bixby 2.0 is also expected to get enhanced natural language capabilities and noise resistance.

I’ve been a believer of Bixby and feel that with enough time and polish it can be a powerful digital assistant. I’m looking forward to seeing just how Bixby might make our lives easier on the Galaxy Note 9.

Battery

As one of my colleagues expressed recently, the 4,000mAh battery is one of the only Galaxy Note 9 features he needs to “throw money on the Galaxy Note 9.” The battery is said to last for up to two days and up to 25 hours of continuous video playback at maximum screen brightness.

Given Samsung’s habit of better optimizing Note devices for performance and battery life, the Galaxy Note 9 looks set to deliver truly long-lasting performance with its expected 4,000mAh battery. That will also increase its appeal to customers who value productivity and want a device that can keep up with them without requiring them to plug in their smartphone too often.

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These are few of the Galaxy Note 9 features that I am looking forward to the most. We’d love to know what features have you excited about the new flagship. Let us know in the comments section below.

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Don’t see the Oreo update on your Galaxy A8 (2018)? Try Smart Switch

More than six months after the Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) hit retail, Samsung has released the Android 8.0 Oreo update for its most premium Galaxy A series offerings. The rollout kicked off in Russia last week, along with some of the neighboring markets. While it can take a few weeks for the update’s availability to expand globally, it seems Samsung is doing things quicker this time around. Only the Galaxy A8 (2018) Oreo update may be accessible via Smart Switch first in some countries.

Galaxy A8 (2018) Oreo update may be available via Smart Switch

Major OS upgrades for Samsung devices tend to first show up over the air, although Smart Switch can sometimes get the lead. That seems to be the case for Android 8.0 Oreo for the Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+. One of our readers from India has tipped us about the Galaxy A8+ (2018) Oreo update being available from Smart Switch. Since it isn’t yet available over the air in India, it’s possible folks in other countries will also be able to upgrade to Oreo through Samsung’s desktop tool. This does involve downloading nearly 3GB of data, though, while the OTA will be somewhere between 1GB to 1.5GB in size.

But for those who have been getting impatient for Oreo on their Galaxy A8 (2018) or A8+, the bigger download over Smart Switch shouldn’t be an obstacle. So go ahead and fire up Smart Switch on your PC, connect your phone, then wait for a few minutes and you should get a notification that an update is available. That’s assuming the Oreo update has been released via Smart Switch in your country. If not, you will have to wait for the OTA update or for the Oreo firmware for your country to show up in our database.

Have you received Oreo on your Galaxy A8 (2018) or A8+ yet?

Thanks, c s!

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