UK Galaxy Watch 4G pre-orders now open at EE

The UK Galaxy Watch 4G pre-orders are open starting today. This variant of Samsung’s latest wearable device is exclusively available from EE in the country. EE has got dibs on Samsung’s new 4G smartwatch in the United Kingdom.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch three months ago. It comes with an Exynos 9110 Dual core 1.15GHz processor with 4GB of storage. The smartwatch works with Samsung and non-Samsung Android devices running version 5.0 or later. It also supports the iPhone 5 and up running iOS 9.0 or later.

UK Galaxy Watch 4G pre-orders now open

Samsung first released the Galaxy Watch in the United States on August 24. Availability was expanded to South Korea on August 31 and other markets on September 14. The UK Galaxy Watch 4G launch is taking place almost three months after its initial release.

The LTE variant of the Galaxy Watch comes with 1.5GB of RAM. It’s available in 46mm and 42mm sizes with 1.3-inch and 1.2-inch Circular Super AMOLED display respectively. The Galaxy Watch is manufactured to the MIL-STD-810 durability standard.

The two sizes feature 472mAh and 270mAh batteries and that they’re good for 80+ and 45+ hours of typical usage respectively. Mileage in the real world will obviously vary and the figures will be a bit different for the LTE variant.

EE customers can pre-order the Galaxy Watch 4G over the phone, in-store or through the EE online shop. It’s available on a 24 month plan for £20 per month. The carrier expects to dispatch the orders within 14 days.

Customers will get unlimited data and a 1GB boost for their smartphone data allowance. The 4G variant will enable users to make calls, send and receive messages, stream music and track their wellness routine all without a paired smartphone.

Interested in purchasing this smartwatch? Do check out our Galaxy Watch review to find out if the device is worth your money.

The post UK Galaxy Watch 4G pre-orders now open at EE appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2RwDT3r
via IFTTT

Galaxy S9 Android 9 update adds ‘Tap to Show’ for Always On Display

Samsung has recently been working on the Galaxy S9 Android 9 update. It’s expected to launch the official beta program for Pie in the near future. Fresh builds continue to surface online prior to the release and the latest reveals a new feature that Samsung has added for the Always On Display.

Always On Display is a very useful feature that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S7. It displays time, date, notifications, battery status and more when the display is turned off. There’s no need to power up the display to check these things. The ‘Tap to Show’ feature will make it easier to wake up the AOD.

Galaxy S9 Android 9 update will make it easier to wake up the AOD

When this feature is turned on, the Always On Display can be woken up by double tapping on the screen when it’s locked. This will wake up the AOD for 30 seconds. It will let users check the AOD whenever they want on-demand.

Samsung previously required you to either have the AOD always enabled or set to enable at scheduled times. This Tap to Show gesture may be new for Samsung smartphones but it has been used before elsewhere. Google’s Pixel smartphones have this feature as part of the “ambient display.”

This is a minor change but one that will prove to be very useful. Many of us rely on the AOD to keep an eye on notifications and the battery status so it certainly will be appreciated if Samsung makes it easier to wake up the AOD.

Another recently surfaced Android Pie build had suggested that the Always On Display will get support for colored notification icons. That’s in addition to the AOD time and icons being off-center with a new font.

Samsung may launch the official beta program for the Galaxy S9 Android 9 update in the coming weeks. Users should expect the update to be publicly released early next year.

The post Galaxy S9 Android 9 update adds ‘Tap to Show’ for Always On Display appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2CWkeps
via IFTTT

Why tease your foldable smartphone endlessly when you still can’t be the first?

This week, Royole, a display manufacturer, introduced the world’s first foldable smartphone. Called the FlexPai, the device is based on Android Pie with a custom interface. YouTube videos reveal the FlexPai is rather slow, but it does look futuristic. After years of Samsung teasing a foldable device, a new brand has stolen its fame. Companies trying to one-up each other is normal, but it feels quite disappointing. Samsung lost the race to be the first with an in-display fingerprint sensor and it has now lost the foldable device game as well.

Samsung’s not the first in the race for commercial foldable devices

Now, Samsung’s mobile chief has already said that the company doesn’t want to be the first just for the sake of it. Its focus is on quality and not on quantity. That said, as a long-term Samsung fan who still loves the company, I feel sad. Samsung was once innovating before everyone else, but it has now considerably slowed down while the competition from China keeps putting out new stuff ahead of everyone else. Samsung also has a timing problem. How can it be teasing a foldable device since CES 2013 and still get beaten by an unknown company from China five years later?

It hurts me as a fan, but sadly, not many of our readers seem to agree with me. In one of our polls asking whether people would be willing to pay more for experimental/research devices, very few voted yes. However, I still believe it’s the fastest way to test the market. Remember the Galaxy Note Edge or the Galaxy Round? Samsung hasn’t yet lost its mojo completely , but it does seem to have a timing issue with new devices and features. Experimental devices allow them both to be the first and also test the waters before a wider commercial launch.

And I get it, quality takes time. Slowing down software innovation makes sense. For example, Bixby was clearly rushed when it debuted last year and could have used more time in the oven. But hardware innovation needs to keep happening, especially at a time when everything on the market looks so similar. I also understand Samsung’s need to develope a proper user interface for the foldable device before bringing it to consumers, but at this point Samsung is in danger of being left too far behind in terms of innovation and setting the trends.

What do you think? Do you agree with me? Is Samsung too slow with hardware innovations? Let me know down in the comments!

The post Why tease your foldable smartphone endlessly when you still can’t be the first? appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2F0iQ86
via IFTTT

Samsung feels pressure from the Chinese as phone shipments decline

Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi are giving Samsung a tough time particularly in key markets. The decline in the Korean giant’s smartphone shipments started late last year. That has remained the case throughout this year. Strategy Analytics reveals that Samsung’s phone shipments have declined 13 percent in Q3 2018 YoY.

The shipments declined by 4 percent in Q4 2017. This year, they were down 2 percent in Q2, 2018 and 10 percent in the previous quarter. This goes to show that Samsung’s flagship devices like the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 haven’t done enough to arrest the slide. The company’s entry-level and mid-range handsets significantly contribute to its market share but Samsung itself acknowledged recently that it’s struggling in this segment as well.

Samsung’s phone shipments continue to decline

This confluence of the high-end not delivering the intended results and the mid-range coming under pressure continues to erode Samsung’s lead. On the other hand, its Chinese rivals have thrived in the same period. Huawei saw a 32.5 percent surge in smartphone shipments compared to Q3 2017. It accounted for 14.4 percent of the smartphone market in Q3 2018 compared to Samsung’s 20.1 percent.

This is the second time that Huawei has overtaken Apple for the second spot on the list. Xiaomi also registered a 19.1 percent year-over-year increase in quarterly shipments. Huawei has a stated goal of overtaking both Samsung and Apple. It wants to become the top vendor of smartphones in the world and it continues to close in on that goal.

What’s more impressive is that Huawei has been able to achieve this position when it has essentially been declared persona non grata in the United States. That entire lucrative market is basically closed off to Huawei. Yet, the company is within a fighting chance of snatching the lead from Samsung.

Samsung is fast losing ground to these companies in the key markets of China and India. It has recently revamped its strategy to better compete in these markets. Samsung is now making more affordable devices that are packed with technologies that we haven’t even seen in flagship devices.

The Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9 are perfect examples. Samsung’s first triple and quad-camera smartphones are mid-range devices. It expects shipments to rise in Q4 2018 on the back of these handsets. It will also be launching a foldable smartphone next year to offer a unique product in the high-end segment in addition to three models of the Galaxy S10.

Whether or not that would be enough to hold off the Chinese challenge remains to be seen.

The post Samsung feels pressure from the Chinese as phone shipments decline appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2RylL9r
via IFTTT

Additional Samsung foldable display phone details surface

We have been hearing about the Samsung foldable display phone for the past few years. The company only recently acknowledged that it’s developing this device and as a result, it’s going to show a sneak peek of the device’s unique user interface at SDC 2018 next week.

A new report from South Korea brings some additional details about the device. Samsung has apparently finalized the display specifications for its foldable smartphone. Samsung’s mobile boss DJ Koh has previously said that the device will double as a tablet and a phone.

Additional Samsung foldable display phone details

Samsung reportedly had to decide between adding an external display or not. An external display would make sense as users could access core features without having to unfold the device, therefore, it would really allow the device to double as a smartphone and tablet.

The disadvantage is that the device would be thicker and require more power. Consequently, the cost of the additional display panel would make it more expensive. If Samsung decided not to add an external display, the device would be thinner and cheaper. The battery need not be as big due to the power requirement not being higher.

Samsung has reportedly decided to add the external display. Its foldable smartphone is now said to feature a 7.3-inch foldable internal OLED and a 4.6-inch external OLED display. This would truly allow the device to function as a tablet/smartphone hybrid.

The hinge will fold the internal display to the extent that the two panels touch each other with just a little space in between to prevent them from shattering easily on impact. Parts for the Samsung foldable display phone will reportedly enter mass production this month. We have also exclusively revealed that the firmware for a device that’s potentially the foldable phone is now being tested in the US.

Expect Samsung to provide more information about the device at SDC 2018 from November 7-8. It will release the device at some point next year if reports are believed.

The post Additional Samsung foldable display phone details surface appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2CWTF3t
via IFTTT

Samsung said to ditch the Galaxy S10 iris scanner

The Galaxy S10 iris scanner might be on the chopping block. This biometric authentication technology was first introduced by Samsung in 2016 with the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. It has been a staple on all flagship Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series handsets since then.

The company will presumably be doing away with the iris sensor for the reason that it can stretch the display even further. Seems like the idea here would be to achieve a more impressive screen-to-body ratio on the upcoming flagship.

Galaxy S10 iris scanner reportedly ditched

According to a report out of South Korea, the in-display fingerprint sensor will be the only biometric authentication solution on the Galaxy S10. Samsung is reportedly going to ship all three models of the Galaxy S10 without the iris scanner.

The more affordable Galaxy S10 is expected to ship with an optical in-display sensor or a side-mounted sensor like the Galaxy A7. The other two models are said to get an ultrasonic in-display sensor, Qualcomm’s best.

Samsung has positioned iris recognition as a key feature of its flagship smartphones in recent years. It will not have made the decision to remove it lightly. It’s possible that Samsung feels the display fingerprint sensor technology has evolved enough to eliminate the need for a second biometric solution.

Samsung has also hinted at how it will go about destroying the notch. The Galaxy S10 won’t have one. Its front camera will reportedly be underneath the display. The iris scanner may also have been removed to realize Samsung’s vision of a notch-less full-screen smartphone.

Do you tend to use the iris scanner often? How would you feel if the Galaxy S10 came without it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

The post Samsung said to ditch the Galaxy S10 iris scanner appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2CUz9k4
via IFTTT