Galaxy A8s Bluetooth certification is a go ahead of December 10 launch

Samsung’s first commercial device with a hole in the display will soon be made official. Samsung has the launch date for the Galaxy A8s set for December 10, and the device has now been certified by the Bluetooth SIG. This comes just two days after the Galaxy A8s got its Wi-Fi certification. As expected, the Bluetooth certification doesn’t reveal anything new, only that the phone will support Bluetooth 5.0.

The Galaxy A8s is shaping up to be an upgraded version of the Galaxy A7 (2018) with Samsung’s new Infinity-O display. It’s also expected to be the first Galaxy smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 710 chipset. The rest of the specs are quite similar, with the three rear cameras of the A7 (2018) and the not-so-latest version of Android Oreo along for the ride on the A8s. Not that the version of Android will matter. Even the Galaxy A9 (2018) runs Android 8.0 instead of 8.1, but it does get the latest version of Samsung’s camera app and some flagship-grade features.

Other specs should include 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a 3,400 mAh battery. The Infinity-O display will have a 24-megapixel front camera residing on the left hand side. The rear cameras will include an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens with F2.4 aperture, a 24-megapixel F1.7 lens for regular photos, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor for bokeh shots.

It’s unclear when the Galaxy A8s will hit retail. Rumors have indicated a January 2019 release, but it’s possible the handset will be available for purchase in the Chinese market sometime in December. We’ll know for sure on December 10 when Samsung takes the wraps off the device following a teaser at the Galaxy A9 (2018) launch two months ago.

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Samsung extends its association with the Olympic Games for another decade

Samsung has signed an extension to its partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for another 10 years. Samsung and IOC signed the new deal at a ceremony held in Seoul, South Korea on December 4. The ceremony was attended by Thomas Bach, IOC President and DJ Koh, President and CEO of the IT&Mobile Communications Division at Samsung among others. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung will continue as the official sponsor of the Olympic Games till 2028.

Samsung extends global partnership with IOC through to 2028

Samsung has been a Worldwide Olympic Partner for over two decades now. The company’s involvement in the Olympic games began as a local sponsor of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. It extended as a Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment category at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Under the new extension, Samsung will continue to play the same role as the Worldwide Olympic Partner at least until 2028. The period will cover five Olympic games — three Summer Olympics and two Winter Olympics, as well as youth Olympic games. Samsung will also continue as a Worldwide Partner of the International Paralympic Committee, extending a relationship that began in 2006.

Samsung will be able to promote artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and 5G features of its equipment in those mega sporting events. IOC and Samsung will also work together to further develop their strategic digital collaboration to engage young generations around the world. This will help promote the power of sport and the values of Olympism among youth.

Samsung will also continue its Athlete Phone Program under which it provides limited edition Samsung flagships to all participating athletes. It’s a trend the company started years ago and continued in the 2018 Olympic Games as well.

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AT&T may just have confirmed Galaxy Note 10 5G variant

Whatever a new Galaxy S flagship gets, the Galaxy Note flagship that follows does as well. That will stand true for 5G support next year, and AT&T may just have confirmed it in its latest press release. AT&T has announced that it will offer a second Samsung phone with 5G support in the second half of 2019. Like the Galaxy S10 5G announcement, AT&T isn’t mentioning the device’s name. But it’s easy to guess that it’s the tenth-anniversary Galaxy Note the carrier is talking about.

Now, we didn’t really need confirmation that the Galaxy Note 10 would also support 5G networks. The Galaxy S10 is going to be the first Samsung phone with 5G compatibility, and Samsung can be expected to keep the momentum going with the Galaxy Note 10. Of course, whether 5G networks will have captured a wider foothold by the time the Note 10 comes around is something only time will tell. It also remains to be seen if the Galaxy Note 10 will have a separate model that supports 5G or whether Samsung will release just a single version of the Note 10 that offers 5G compatibility as long as a particular country has 5G networks.

Like AT&T, Verizon is also likely to offer a 5G-enabled Galaxy Note 10, even if it isn’t already being as upfront about upcoming Samsung 5G smartphones as AT&T. And no matter the carrier, it’s Samsung that stands to benefit from being among the first to launch 5G smartphones. The company plans to invest as much as $22 billion in 5G and AI technology in the coming years, and it may just be one of the ways Samsung manages to keep consumers interested as it fights off declining sales and consumer demand.

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SamMobile Daily Recap, December 5, 2018: Galaxy S10, Galaxy M20, and more

We publish a lot of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up. However, we think we’ve come up with a fantastic solution — a daily recap.

Here’s what we covered today.

Phones

Prototype Samsung 5G phone shown yesterday had an odd corner notch

Galaxy S10 display fingerprint sensor unveiled by Qualcomm

5G Galaxy S10 with Snapdragon 855 seems like a done deal

Rumored Galaxy M20 front panel shows a different notch design

The Galaxy A9 (2018) comes with many flagship-grade features

Data from Gartner shows massive decline in Samsung’s smartphone sales

Display

Samsung to launch the first 4K OLED laptop panels at CES 2019

Polls

[Poll] What would you prefer on the Galaxy S10, notch or a display hole?

The post SamMobile Daily Recap, December 5, 2018: Galaxy S10, Galaxy M20, and more appeared first on SamMobile.

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Data from Gartner shows massive decline in Samsung’s smartphone sales

Gartner has released the global smartphone sales data for Q3 2018 and, like other recent reports, it brings bad news for Samsung. Gartner says the South Korean company has seen the biggest decline in sales since it started tracking global smartphone sales data. Though Samsung has once again emerged as the largest smartphone vendor globally, it has seen a huge dip in its sales and market share.

According to Gartner, Samsung’s smartphone sales dropped 14% from 85.6 million units in Q3 2017 to 73.3 million units in Q3 this year. As a result, the company’s market share also took a dive from 22.3% to 18.9% during the same period. Gartner mentions weak demand for Samsung smartphones across categories, including the premium segment populated by the critically-acclaimed Galaxy S9/S9+, Note 9, and others.

Huawei once again the star performer

Huawei was once again the star performer with a massive 43% year-on-year growth in sales from 36.5 million units to 52.2 million units in the third quarter, resulting in a substantial surge in market share from 9.5% to 13.4%. Apple took the third spot on the list, but its sales (grew by a mere 0.7%) and market share were mostly flat, signaling a possible end to Apple’s dream run. Despite the negligible growth, Apple’s performance is commendable given the mounting market saturation and the price points at which the company operates.

Xiaomi was the fourth largest vendor with 33.2 million units and 8.5% market share, up from 26.9 million units and 7% market share in Q3 last year. OPPO also saw a minor bump in sales from 29.4% million units to 30.6 million units in the quarter and secured the fifth place on the list. Together, the top five vendors accounted for more than 60% market share, leaving very little for dozens of other brands.

Thanks to the performance of Huawei and Xiaomi, overall smartphone sales grew by 1.4% to 389 million units in the quarter. If we exclude both these brands from the list, the smartphone market in Q3 declined by 5.2% year-on-year globally. The data once again demonstrates the rising domination of Chinese brands in the global smartphone market.

Samsung has hope with the Galaxy S10 and foldable phone

Samsung is hoping that the upcoming Galaxy S10 and the much-awaited foldable smartphone will halt its decline. But going by Gartner’s observations, it appears these devices will mostly remain a niche and will not have any significant impact on Samsung’s smartphone business as a whole, at least not in terms of unit sales. More worryingly for Samsung, many of the thriving Chinese brands are operating in a limited number of markets currently. As they continue to expand their operations globally in the coming quarters, we can expect Samsung’s troubles in the smartphone market to become worse.

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The Galaxy A9 (2018) comes with many flagship-grade features

Samsung’s flagship and mid-range phones differ in more than just hardware specs. The company has often held back some features and functionality from mid-range phones, and some of this functionality is so basic that even many owners of flagship Galaxies are likely unaware it exists. Take, for example, the ability to share a Wi-Fi network over a hotspot, which has only been available on flagship Galaxy S and Note phones. But it looks like Samsung is becoming more lenient in this regard. The Galaxy A9 (2018) comes with quite a few features that were previously available only on flagship devices.

We have already written about one of these features, and that’s a fingerprint sensor that can register a new fingerprint with a swipe action. The A9 (2018) can also share the Wi-Fi network it is connected to with other devices when you enable the mobile hotspot. In the camera app, you get a Super Slow-Motion mode. It’s basic and doesn’t include automatic slow-motion recording like the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9, but it’s still good to have. Super Slow-Motion was also released for the Galaxy A7, so this one feature may end up on more than just Samsung’s three and four rear camera-toting mid-range phones.

In fact, as Samsung finds it harder and harder to compete with the Chinese competition, it seems the company will start bringing over more and more features to its non-flagship devices. We are already seeing it happen with camera features such as AR Emoji and Super Slow-Motion, and the A9 (2018) suggests Samsung will also stop limiting mid-range and budget phones from basic software features. Which is well and good, since many of these features don’t require high-end hardware to run properly.

Look forward to our Galaxy A9 (2018) review in the coming days.

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Rumored Galaxy M20 front panel shows a different notch design

Samsung is reportedly developing a new Galaxy M series of smartphones. It’s said that this series will replace the Galaxy J, Galaxy On and Galaxy C lineups. A rumored front panel of one of the new devices from the Galaxy M series has appeared online today. It shows a notch design that’s different than what we have come to expect from Samsung.

We exclusively reported last week that Samsung has as many as three different Galaxy M models in the pipeline. This includes the Galaxy M20 with model number SM-M205. The series will be offered in markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Rumored Galaxy M20 front panel surfaces with a notch

The front panel, which has seemingly been identified incorrectly as a display panel by the source, has a different notch design. Samsung revealed its Infinity-U, Infinity-V and Infinity-O notch designs at SDC 2018 last month. Either this is what the Infinity-U actually looks like or Samsung has simply decided to go with a different design for the Galaxy M20. The possibility of the Galaxy M20 featuring a notched display was recently raised by its AnTuTu benchmark as well.

Samsung’s aim behind these new Infinity displays is to increase the screen to body ratio significantly using a notch, no notch and even a display hole. The front panel is a testament to that objective. It will allow for a nearly full-screen display with curved sides and small bezels. It does have a substantial chin, though. There’s a small notch shaped like a drop of water at the top for the camera.

The benchmark also revealed that the device may have an Exynos 7885 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage. It’s unclear when this device will be released but it will most likely ship with Android 8.1 Oreo and not Android 9 Pie.

Best view this front panel with skepticism until there’s more to go on. It’s not really all that difficult to fabricate these components. Who knows, maybe it’s meant for some Chinese device and not the Galaxy M20 to begin with.

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Samsung to launch the first 4K OLED laptop panels at CES 2019

Samsung could present a 4K resolution notebook OLED panel at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2019. The company is reportedly ready with the panel which will be available in three sizes — 13.3-inch, 14-inch, and 15.6-inch. The CES 2019 is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, USA, from 8-11 January 2019.

OLED technology involves the use of organic LEDs and have several advantages compared to traditional LCD screens. OLED laptops could be a trend to look out for next year, and Samsung is expected to be a part of it.

Samsung could launch an OLED laptop next year

The 4K notebook OLED panels developed by Samsung Display have a high resolution, low blue light (better for long-usage) and wide viewing angle. They also are thinner than their LCD counterparts and guarantee minimal energy consumption. In addition, OLED panels also offer bright colors and good contrast and help with eye-strain issues.

So these OLED panels will certainly bring considerable advantages over the LCD panels for notebooks, but will be a little costlier as well. However, the price difference between an OLED and an LCD panel of same resolution will not be too big. The price of Samsung OLED panels is expected to be about $50-60 higher than a comparable LCD panel.

This not so huge price difference may tempt manufacturers to switch to OLED panels next year as it pays off with quality and demand in the market. Industry insiders believe that there will be many notebook computers using high-resolution OLED panels in 2019. Samsung is reportedly in talks with HP, Dell, and Lenovo to supply these panels. The company, meanwhile, will be looking to launch a product of its own as well.

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5G Galaxy S10 with Snapdragon 855 seems like a done deal

The 5G Galaxy S10 with Snapdragon 855 was more or less confirmed by Samsung yesterday during Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. Qualcomm unveiled its new mobile processor at the event, the Snapdragon 855. It’s a 7nm chip with significant performance and efficiency gains, in addition, to support for “multi-gigabit” speeds on 5G networks.

Qualcomm doesn’t make phones itself so it needs partners willing to put its technology inside their devices. Samsung has stepped up to the plate. Justin Denison, Samsung’s SVP of product marketing and strategy, confirmed yesterday that the company’s 5G phone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. Denison said that this smartphone will be available in the United States in the first half of 2019.

5G Galaxy S10 with Snapdragon 855 has more or less been confirmed

Samsung did have a prototype of its 5G phone on display at the event. It caught visitors’ eye more for its rather odd corner notch than it’s ability to run on a 5G network. Little can be inferred from this device regarding the Galaxy S10, though. It was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor coupled with the company’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem.

It’s understandable why Samsung was present at the event. It does ship its flagship smartphones in select markets with Qualcomm chipsets and the US is one of them. The Galaxy Note 9 you get in the US runs the Snapdragon 845, not Samsung’s Exynos 9810. So it’s highly likely that the device Denison is talking about is the 5G Galaxy S10.

There’s no evidence to suggest that Samsung has a different device with a flagship Qualcomm processor in the pipeline. The reports about Samsung launching a separate 5G variant of the Galaxy S10 may turn out to be true after all. This variant would only be offered in select markets where 5G networks go live in 2019. Samsung also has its own 5G capable Exynos 5100 modem which it may use for the Exynos 9820-powered 5G Galaxy S10.

Two leading US carriers, Verizon and AT&T, have both confirmed that they will start selling a 5G smartphone from Samsung early next year. Neither Samsung nor its carrier partners have named this device. Nevertheless, it’s hard to deny that what they’re all talking about is anything but the 5G Galaxy S10.

The post 5G Galaxy S10 with Snapdragon 855 seems like a done deal appeared first on SamMobile.

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[Poll] What would you prefer on the Galaxy S10, notch or a display hole?

The recent reports about the Galaxy S10 display suggest that it may feature an Infinity-O panel. It’s an alternative to the notch as it punches out a hole in the display itself for the front camera. However, some of our readers have not been impressed with how the implementation looks so far, based on unofficial renders and some leaks from China.

This begs the question, would some of you rather prefer a notch instead? Samsung is no longer averse to notched displays, but whether it would use one for a flagship device remains to be seen. Or are you in the camp that feels this is just too absurd, that Samsung should keep things simple and stick the camera on the bezel like it is on the Galaxy S9.

That may not happen, though, as Samsung does seem adamant to increase the screen-to-body ratio on its next flagship. It will only be able to do that by either opting for a notch or a display hole. You can get an idea of how the two may look below.

Do let us know in the comments how you feel about this entire notch, no-notch business.

What would you prefer on the Galaxy S10, notch or a display hole?

• Display hole, I feel it's a good alternative
• Neither, I want it to be like the Galaxy S9
• Notch, the display hole is absurd
• I'm fine with either one

Results

• Display hole, I feel it's a good alternative 52%, 11 votes
  11 votes 52%

  11 votes - 52% of all votes
• Neither, I want it to be like the Galaxy S9 43%, 9 votes
  9 votes 43%

  9 votes - 43% of all votes
• Notch, the display hole is absurd 5%, 1 vote
  1 vote 5%

  1 vote - 5% of all votes
• I'm fine with either one 0%, 0 votes
  0 votes

  0 votes - 0% of all votes

Total Votes: 21

5 December 2018

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You or your IP had already vote.

• Display hole, I feel it's a good alternative
• Neither, I want it to be like the Galaxy S9
• Notch, the display hole is absurd
• I'm fine with either one

×

You or your IP had already vote.

Results

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Galaxy S10 display fingerprint sensor unveiled by Qualcomm

Qualcomm made a number of announcements at its Snapdragon Technology Summit, including one for what may very well be the Galaxy S10 display fingerprint sensor. It has long been reported that the Galaxy S10 will come with the best in-display fingerprint sensor that Qualcomm has to offer. The company provided more details about this component yesterday.

Qualcomm is calling it the 3D Sonic Sensor. The rumor mill has been in agreement that Samsung will opt for an ultrasonic instead of an optical in-display sensor. Qualcomm says that the sensor will ship in mobile devices available in the first half of 2019.

Qualcomm unveils Galaxy S10 display fingerprint sensor

It’s past due for Samsung to launch a smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Many of its Chinese rivals have already done so but Samsung has been waiting for the ultrasonic solution.

Optical sensors work by shining light on the finger when it’s pressed on the display. This is done to visually check the fingerprint against a pattern previously stored. It’s cheaper than ultrasonic but not as reliable or secure. It’s theoretically possible to fool the optical sensor with an accurate image of the fingerprint.

Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Sensor does things a bit differently. It doesn’t just store a flat image of the finger pressed against the display. The “ultrasonic” capability is what enables the sensor to develop a 3D mold of the finger by bouncing sound waves off the skin. It captures incredible detail right down to the ridges and pores that are unique for everyone.

This capability makes the sensor more accurate and safe. The security community is yet to perform real-world tests on this sensor. At least from a technological perspective, it shouldn’t be vulnerable to spoofing with a mere image of the fingerprint.

If Samsung is indeed sourcing them from Qualcomm, it shows that the Galaxy S10 display fingerprint sensor will be much better compared to the ones on Chinese handsets. However, with in-display fingerprint sensors expected to trickle down to more affordable Samsung handsets, it’s possible that Samsung may opt for optical sensors for those devices.

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