Samsung is reportedly planning to cut down memory chip output next year

Thanks to the stellar performance of its semiconductor business, Samsung posted record profits in the last couple of years. The impressive growth in its chip business also helped Samsung to emerge as the world’s largest chipmaker in the world, ending Intel’s 24-year reign at the top. Many analysts, however, saw this growth as temporary, driven by a volatile boom in the semiconductor industry.

It appears the boom days are coming to a close and the chip industry is expecting a slowdown in the near future. Samsung is making plans accordingly to cut down memory chip output next year, at least according to a report in Bloomberg. Reducing the supply will help the company to maintain or drive up the prices of its products.

Samsung expects lower bit growth next year

Samsung was apparently expecting a ‘bit growth’, a term used to refer to the amount of memory produced in the market, of 20 percent for DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) products and 40 percent for NAND offerings in 2018, but has now revised its expectations to less than 20% for DRAM and 30% for NAND.

Since bit growth is a key metric for assessing market demand, the estimates from Samsung do point to a slowdown in the market. However, being the largest producer of DRAM and NAND, Samsung Semiconductor has the clout to control supply and influence prices. The fact that there are only three major players in the market (SK Hynix and Micron Technology) will also work in Samsung’s favor.

Interestingly, there were reports earlier this year that the Chinese agencies were looking into Samsung and other chip makers for possible collusion and price fixing. Though nothing concrete has come out of it yet, we wonder if the reported strategy of restricting supply to jack up prices will add more fuel to those allegations.

“We’re flexibly managing capacity in line with the market supply-demand situation,” Samsung said to Bloomberg in a text message.

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First Galaxy A7 (2018) firmware now online, wallpapers available

Samsung has said the new Galaxy A7 will go on sale sometime this fall, and it looks like some markets could see the phone hit retail shelves within the next week or two. The first Galaxy A7 (2018) firmware are now available in the SamMobile firmware database for Turkey, India, and the UAE.

Oddly, the phone is running Android 8.0 and not Android 8.1. That’s a shame considering cheaper devices like the Galaxy J6+ will run Android 8.1 out of the box. It suggests Samsung is rushing the Galaxy A7 out so it can have a device with three rear cameras on the market, and hopefully the imaging experience will make up for the slightly older software.

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) wallpapers also available

Thankfully, the Galaxy A7 firmware do include the September 2018 security patch. And thanks to the firmware, we also have the official Galaxy A7 wallpapers available for download from our wallpaper archive. These are similar to those found on the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy J4+, and Galaxy J6+, with a couple of new additions. You can download individual wallpapers or get all wallpapers in a single package that you can extract on your PC or mobile device. We have added some of the wallpapers below for your viewing pleasure.

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Confirmed: These are the three Galaxy S10 model numbers

Plenty of rumors in the last couple of months have suggested that the Galaxy S10 will be released in three variants. We have now been able to confirm the model numbers Samsung will be using for the three Galaxy S10 variants. Two of the Galaxy S10 model numbers are SM-G970F and SM-G975F, following Samsung’s usual tradition. What about the third Galaxy S10 model? That will be the SM-G973F.

Testing on all three Galaxy S10 models has begun

Samsung is testing the three Galaxy S10 models with firmware version XXU0ARI8 at the moment. The Galaxy S10 will run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box, as expected. Speaking of Android Pie, the leaked Galaxy S9+ Android 9.0 Pie firmware confirmed earlier this week that a 5G variant of the largest Galaxy S10 version is also being tested. The 5G variant is unlikely to have a separate model number and will most probably be exclusive to South Korea and the US, two countries where Samsung is actively working to usher in the 5G era.

Current rumors and reports peg the screen size of the biggest Galaxy S10 at 6.44-inches. A recent benchmark listing suggested an increased aspect ratio as well. The SM-G970F and SM-G973F are rumored to have a 5.8-inch screen, with a dual rear camera on one and a single rear camera on the other. The SM-G975 could have a triple camera setup at the back and a dual camera setup up front, although everything is just a rumor at this point. It also remains to be seen if the significant design changes DJ Koh had mentioned will be seen across all three models.

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Good Lock 2018 update brings enhanced Multi Window functionality

After a long hiatus, Samsung resurrected the much-loved Good Lock app in June this year. In our hands-on with the app, we were impressed with the long list of features and deep customization options it offers to Galaxy owners. The app is now receiving an update with new features, including a new add-on called MultiStar.

Latest Good Lock 2018 update improves multitasking

The MultiStar add-on focuses on Multi Window options and is only compatible with Galaxy devices running Android 8.1 and above. The most impressive feature of the MultiStar module is the ability to use apps in Multi Window mode without pausing any of them. It allows for much better multitasking when compared to the current Multi Window implementation in the default Samsung Experience launcher.

MultiStar also brings a Ghost Mode feature which allows users to control the transparency level of any pop-up window. It currently supports five transparency levels, starting at 20% and going all the way up to 100% in intervals of 20. This is an addition to the Pop-up View multitasking feature all Samsung devices offer.

Another major feature in the new Good Lock 2018 update is called Floating Notification. When enabled, it displays incoming notifications as app icons, which, when tapped, will open the application in a pop-up window. Other changes in the update include support for Routines in LockStar, creating new clock styles with ClockFace, and some bugfixes.

Available via Galaxy Apps store and our APK database

The Good Lock 2018 update is already rolling out via the Galaxy Apps store. Once the update is installed, you can access the MultiStar plugin from within the main Good Lock app. Do remember that the Good Lock 2018 app is available only in select regions and for select Galaxy devices. If the app is not yet released in your region, you can download the APKs from our database.

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Galaxy A7 (2018): What storage options will be offered in different regions?

The triple-camera system on the new Galaxy A7 is its main highlight, marking Samsung’s first proper response to the growing competition from China in the mid-range segment. Another nice feature of the Galaxy A7 is its memory options, which start at 64GB and go as high as 128GB of internal storage. The 128GB model comes with 6GB of RAM, but for the 4GB RAM model, Samsung has both 64GB and 128GB storage configurations. And we have now learned what storage and RAM variants will be offered in various regions.

Galaxy A7 6GB+128GB variant will be rather elusive

For Europe and South Korea, Samsung is only going to offer the 4GB+64GB variant. European consumers are already used to getting the base models for mid-range and budget Galaxy smartphones, but it’s surprising to see South Korea also getting just the base variant this time around. It isn’t set in stone, however, and it’s also possible some of the countries in Europe could get the 4GB+128GB or 6GB+128GB models.

For Latin America, the Galaxy A7 will come in 4GB+64GB and 4GB+128GB variants. The same goes for markets in the Middle East. For Southeast Asian countries, Samsung will be releasing all three configurations: 4GB+64GB, 4GB+128GB, and 6GB+128GB. In the Southwest Asian region, the 4GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB will be available.

As mentioned earlier, it’s possible Samsung will make an exception for some markets in various regions or launch higher storage variants later on (something Samsung has a habit of doing). We are also yet to learn exactly when the Galaxy A7 will go on sale, as Samsung has only mentioned that it will release sometime this fall.

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