Silver Galaxy Note 9 might launch in these markets outside the US

Earlier this week, a leaked render revealed Samsung’s possible plans to launch a silver version of the Galaxy Note 9 in the United States. After a bit of digging around, we have learned that the silver Note 9 might launch in a number of other markets as well.

Galaxy Note 9 silver launch markets

There’s no guarantee that Samsung will actually launch the new color option in all of these markets, but if you have been holding out on picking up a Galaxy Note 9 and live in one of these countries, you may want to wait a bit longer so you have another color to choose from. Whether both 128GB and 512GB storage variants will be offered is also unclear at this point.

Take a look at the list of countries below.

• ACR – Saudi Arabia
• AFR – Kenya
• ATO – Open Austria
• AUT – Switzerland
• BGL – Bulgaria
• DBT – Germany
• DKR – Kenya (Zain)
• ECT – Nigeria
• EUR – Greece
• ILO – Israel
• ITV – Italy
• KOO – Korea
• LUX – Luxembourg
• NEE – Nordic countries
• PEO – Peru
• PHN – Netherlands
• ROM – Romania
• SEB – Baltic
• SLK – Sri Lanka
• TCE – Mexico (Telcel)
• VDS – Sweden
• XAC – Canada
• XAR – Cellular south
• XEF – France
• XEH – Hungary
• XEZ – Czech Republic
• XFE – South Africa
• XSK – Slovakia
• ZTO – Brazil

Samsung is no stranger to releasing new color options exclusively in some markets after a flagship has gone on sale. But silver isn’t exactly a unique color, so it’s not surprising that it might not be as exclusive as, say, a Burgundy Red Galaxy S8 (although a Note 9 in that shade would be awesome to have). Still, since the Galaxy Note 8 (or the Galaxy S9) wasn’t released in silver, fans of the color from previous Samsung flagships will likely be interested in seeing it make a comeback.

Would you be interested in buying the Galaxy Note 9 in silver?

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Samsung’s new patent envisions a way for braille input on smartwatches

Samsung files hundreds of patent applications every year across the world. While most of them are very technical whose use cases may not be immediately apparent, some are relatively simple with a fairly obvious use case. Samsung’s ‘Electronic apparatus for inputting braille and operating method thereof’ patent filed in South Korea in March last year is of the latter kind with a revealing title.

The patent describes a method for blind people to input text through braille, using the rotating bezel on a smartwatch. It enables braille input by allowing the user to control the input position in the six-point braille character by rotating the bezel. When companies are increasingly relying on voice-based interaction models to make their products and services more accessible to people with disabilities, it appears Samsung is exploring and investing in other approaches as well.

Makes the rotating bezel on Samsung smartwatches even more useful

Barring Samsung, no other major brand is currently offering a dial-based navigation option on its smartwatches. Given the small size of the smartwatch screens, Samsung’s rotatable bezel is found be useful and convenient at times by many users. Using the same mechanism for innovative and meaningful features like the braille input will only make it more unique and desirable. Ideas like this may not be money makers for Samsung, but it is encouraging to see the company trying to make its latest gadgets accessible to more users.

We don’t know if Samsung is planning to incorporate this technology into its future smartwatches. It is worth remembering that not all patents turn into commercial products. Patents also tend to be more complex than what a simplified overview suggests. So, do read the complete application here (in Korean) if you wish to understand it in-depth.

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Our members can now claim their free SamMobile case

We have been working hard on a special perk for our Premium Gold and Platinum members. All of you are now eligible to claim a free branded SamMobile case for your Samsung device as part of the membership.

All existing and new Premium Gold and Platinum members can claim a case only once per account/username. We are offering cases for a wide variety of Samsung smartphones including but not limited to the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9 and S9+, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 2017 among others . All cases will be shipped through regular postal service and yes, we’re shipping them worldwide.

Visit our dedicated page to claim your free SamMobile case. If you’re not a Premium member yet, do take a look at all of the perks that you get with a membership.

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We’re live on YouTube with lots to discuss!

We have covered a lot of interesting news over the past couple of weeks related to upcoming Samsung products, particularly the Galaxy S10, and certainly have lots to discuss with our readers. We conduct live streams on YouTube for precisely this purpose and are now live so do join us over at our YouTube channel.

The topics that we will be discussing include the Galaxy S10 and all that’s it’s expected to feature, the new iPhones that were announced this week and what impact they could have for Samsung’s flagships, the new device that Samsung will launch next month with possibly four rear cameras, firmware updates, and more.

The live stream has been embedded below for your viewing convenience. Do join us and don’t forget to leave comments if there’s any particular topic you want us to discuss or if you just want to ask us a question.

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Samsung and KPN telecom bring masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum to the Galaxy smartphones

Given the number of brands and new launches, it is difficult for companies to keep the excitement around their devices for long in the Android ecosystem. Samsung tries to overcome with fatigue by launching new editions of its flagship smartphones throughout the year. As part of this strategy, we have seen Red Bull, Batman, and Olympics themed phones and accessories from Samsung in the past.

Samsung Netherlands, KPN telecom, and Rijksmuseum have come up with one such new collaboration for Samsung’s 2018 flagship smartphones. Under the new promotion, which runs until November 4 this year, customers who buy a Galaxy S9/S9+ or the Galaxy Note 9 on contract from KPN will receive a voucher that can be redeemed for a Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’ themed smart cover, another cover with a print of your choice, and two tickets for the Rijksmuseum.

Meet Galaxy Rijksmuseum Edition

The smart cover changes the theme, Always On Display, and the app icons on your Galaxy flagship to transform it into a Galaxy Rijksmuseum Edition device. The promotion also gives customers free access to more than 600,000 works of art from the Rijksmuseum collection through the Rijks app, which can be used as background wallpapers on the device.

“The Rijksmuseum has a wonderful collection when it comes to Dutch art and history. Everyone knows the Night Watch, but the Rijksmuseum has much more. With this collaboration, we make the largest collection more accessible via our smartphones and we want to let more people enjoy the masterpieces, ” says Gerben van Walt Meijer, Marketing Manager, Samsung Mobile, Netherlands.

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Samsung is shutting down the dedicated SmartThings online store

Samsung is aiming to be a dominant player in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, and the company is positioned well to reach that goal. It acquired the IoT start-up SmartThings in 2014 for a reported $200 million to strengthen its portfolio in the smart home category. Eventually, SmartThings turned into Samsung’s umbrella-brand for all its IoT products and services.

SmartThings used to operate an online store for all its products, and Samsung kept it running even after the acquisition. The company has now decided to shut it down and migrate to the Samsung website. Samsung’s online store sells the entire range of the company’s products, and so it makes sense to move the SmartThings portfolio to its one-stop shop.

SmartThings warranty and returns will not be impacted

Warranty and returns for the products purchased on the SmartThings shop will not be impacted by this change. The SmartThings team will also take care of any unused store credit associated with your account. The move changes nothing for the customers except where they buy their new SmartThings products going forward.

Customers can now buy the entire range of SmartThings products under the ‘Appliances & Smart Home’ section on the Samsung website. The products will also continue to be available with all major online and offline retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Newegg, etc.

Samsung is currently selling SmartThings Hub and Sensors, SmartThings Wi-Fi, and SmartThings Tracker on its website. The company doesn’t seem to be selling any third-party Works with SmartThings products from Philips, Ring, Honeywell, etc., and we don’t if know Samsung intends to do so in the future.

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Galaxy J4+ FCC certification reveals software navigation keys

It was around four months ago that Samsung launched the Galaxy J4 in India without any fanfare. The Galaxy J4 came with a traditional Samsung design at a time when the company released the Galaxy J6 as its cheapest phone with an Infinity display, but that’s something Samsung might be fixing with the upcoming Galaxy J4+.

Galaxy J4+ nears official launch as it gets FCC approval

The Galaxy J4+, which could launch in some markets as the Galaxy J4 Prime, has been approved by the FCC recently. The FCC documents reveal that the phone will have software navigation keys, although it’s unclear if it will also have an Infinity display. Samsung has been shifting to software navigation keys for all devices this year, so it’s no longer as simple as equating the lack of a hard home button with an Infinity design. But the Galaxy J4+ may still have one, especially if its price tag is notably higher than the regular Galaxy J4.

Will the Galaxy J4+ also have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor like the Galaxy J6+ (which could also launch with the Prime tag in some markets)? That remains to be seen as well, and with support pages for both the Galaxy J4+ and Galaxy J6+ having gone live on Samsung’s website, it shouldn’t be long before we get an official answer.

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Galaxy S7 updated with September 2018 security patch

Another flagship Galaxy phone is getting an update with the September 2018 security patch. Samsung has released an update for the Galaxy S7 in the United Kingdom with the latest patch included and with software version G930FXXS3ERHD. You can expect the same update to arrive for the Galaxy S7 edge in the next couple of days.

September security patch released for the Galaxy S7

The September 2018 patch brings fixes for nine critical vulnerabilities in the Android OS and 18 that pose a danger to Samsung’s software. You can expect the improved security to be the only change the new Galaxy S7 update brings to your phone. The Android version is still 8.0, and with two major OS upgrades already released for the Galaxy S7, Android 8.1 or Android 9.0 Pie are unlikely to ever arrive.

To check for the update on your Galaxy S7, open the Settings app on the phone, tap Software update, then hit the Download updates manually option. You can also download the complete firmware from our database if you wish to upgrade manually. Do leave a comment if you have received the update already or notice anything new after installing it.

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