Sprint rolling out Android 9.0 Pie for the Galaxy Tab S4

Keen not to be left out, Sprint has started rolling out Android 9.0 Pie for the Galaxy Tab S4 in the US. The move comes a mere matter of hours after a near-identical release began arriving on the T-Mobile-branded model of the slate, and a week after it was released for the standard Wi-Fi variant.

To be more specific, the Android 9.0 Pie release that’s making the rounds is skinned with Samsung’s One UI interface and bundles a slew of new features, including a Night mode that’s easier on the eyes in the evening and can be triggered to extend battery life when you’re running low on juice.

The update also bundles improvements for Bixby and support for HEIF images, as well as a new Adaptive Battery optimization tool and improved notification management. For a more detailed overview of what One UI brings to the table, be sure to check out our One UI Feature Focus series.

Sprint, like T-Mobile, is pushing out the update, in stages. To see if it’s available for your device, head into Settings, navigate to Software update, then hit Download updates manually. Alternatively, you can always download the firmware from our database to flash it on to your unit manually.

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‘Burnt’ Galaxy S10 5G not a cause of device malfunction, says Samsung

After the Galaxy Note 7 went off the market because of malfunctioning batteries, Samsung implemented advanced battery checks for its smartphones to make sure no such issues would arise in the future. And it worked, too: There have been no reports about any Galaxy flagship launched after the Galaxy Note 7 burning or catching fire. There may have been a stray case or two, but Samsung had denied that any of those cases were because of problems with the devices themselves. And that’s what it’s doing for a Galaxy S10 5G that reportedly decided to spontaneously combust.

No details on why and how it happened

A South Korean consumer released pictures of his Galaxy S10 5G burnt beyond repair, saying that the phone was simply sitting on the table “when it started smelling burnt” and was engulfed by smoke. The Galaxy S10 5G comes with faster charging technology than any previous Galaxy smartphone, but it’s impossible to say if that was the reason here. There aren’t any details available about whether the burnt device was being charged or if a third-party charger was used, and Samsung has denied that there is any problem with the phone and refused to reimburse the customer.

Considering all the money Samsung lost by recalling the Galaxy Note 7 and the bad press it received over the matter, it’s not surprising the company is denying the Galaxy S10 5G has any underlying issue. And we’re inclined to believe Samsung, as there’s been practically nothing about any of its flagships burning up in the last two years. It may not have properly tested the Galaxy Fold for real-world usage, but to correlate that with battery problems on Samsung’s phones would be an incorrect thing to do unless we actually see more widespread reports.

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Samsung could be hinting that it’s fixed the Galaxy Fold

Samsung has reiterated that it will announce the revised release date for the Galaxy Fold in a few weeks, after it was left with no choice but to delay the handset earlier this month. This is the second time the firm has stressed that it will cast a new launch date into the wild in the near future — first in the statement it issued when it postponed the handset, and now in its latest earnings call.

To us, that sounds like Samsung is confident it has identified the source of the issue(s) that resulted in a number of reviewers running into a roadblock while using the Galaxy Fold. More often than not, that was because they toyed with the protective film affixed to the delicate 7.3-inch folding screen, thus rendering it unusable.

There’s a simple fix for that, however. All Samsung has to do is find a way to notify customers that the layer must be left in place. As it stands, there’s a small notice on the cellophane film covering the unit in the box, but that’s not enough. At the very minimum, there should be a pop-up notification the first time you power on the device.

What’s more concerning is the small number of reports from reviewers claiming that their Galaxy Fold broke after foreign matter managed to seep into the device itself, obliterating the screen from the inside. A teardown later confirmed that there are a number of openings around the hinge that could allow debris to enter.

As we noted in our teardown coverage, that could be another somewhat simple fix. Apple had a similar issue with the keyboard on the MacBook Pro and introduced a silicone layer to act as a buffer between the inside and outside — and that’s something Samsung could do with the Fold to stop debris from making its way inside.

Despite Samsung’s silence, US carrier AT&T has announced that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Fold in the region on June 13. We wouldn’t advise taking that as gospel, though; that could be the temporary date Samsung told the operator. But until Samsung speaks out itself, it’s unconfirmed.

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Galaxy Home Mini picks up Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications

Samsung has long been working on a premium Bixby-powered smart speaker, the Galaxy Home. The device was showed off at the Galaxy Note 9 launch event last year. However, it’s still a “coming soon” product, with Samsung keeping mum about any semblance of a release date. In the meantime, the Galaxy Home Mini, which we exclusively revealed last December, seems to be nearing launch. The “AI speaker” has just been certified by the Bluetooth SIG and the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Galaxy Home Mini nearing its launch?

Samsung’s Galaxy Home Mini, bearing the model number SM-V310, has just passed the Bluetooth SIG certification process. While the listing does not reveal anything about the upcoming Bixby speaker, it does confirm that the speaker will work on Bluetooth v4.2. The Bluetooth certification comes a week after the device was certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, revealing Tizen 4.0 and support for 2.4GHz Wi-Fi on-board. Of course, with the Galaxy Home still not released, the Galaxy Home Mini may not come out anytime soon, either, despite picking up two important certifications.

When Samsung’s smart speakers do get released, they will be competing against the likes of the Google Home and Amazon Echo. These devices have been in the market for quite a long time now and come with far more refined digital assistants — Google Assistant in the former and Amazon Alexa in the latter. While Bixby has grown a lot over the last year or so, Samsung clearly needs to offer a compelling reason for buyers to switch to its digital assistant. It also needs to bring back some of the functionality Bixby lost in its first major update, and we hope that’s what the company is working on.

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New Galaxy Note 9 update brings camera improvements and more

Samsung is pushing out a second Galaxy Note 9 update with the April 2019 security patch in Germany. There are a couple of new features that this update brings to the device — the Note 9 finally has the option to set a schedule for Night mode, and it is also getting the ability to switch between a narrow and wider field of view when taking selfies.

The field of view on the selfie camera is now set at 68 degrees by default and can be changed to the full 80-degree field of view with a tap on the toggle switch that resides above the shutter button. This is something Samsung introduced on the Galaxy S10 lineup and then later brought to the Galaxy S9 with a software update in March. It has now come to the Note 9, and it’s possible the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 will also get the field of view switch at some point.

The new update does not bring a Night mode for the camera app, in case you were wondering. It was the first thing we checked after installing the update on one of our Note 9s, and while Samsung has constantly been bringing camera features from new flagships to older devices, the company is likely to keep some of the Galaxy S10 camera functionality exclusive to the S10 trio for some time.

You can download the new Note 9 update over the air from the Settings » Software update menu by tapping Download and install. The update is currently available in Germany with software version N960FXXU2CSDE; Samsung might bundle this update with the May security patch for some countries, so it may be a while before these changes come to Galaxy Note 9 users outside Germany.

Have you received this update on your Galaxy Note 9? Noticed anything new or different other than the things we’ve mentioned above? Let us know in the comments!

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T-Mobile releases Android 9.0 Pie for the Galaxy Tab S4

A week after it started making the rounds for the Wi-Fi model in the US, T-Mobile has started rolling out the much-anticipated Android 9.0 Pie update for its LTE variant of the Galaxy Tab S4 — bundling all of the new features baked into Pie, as well as Samsung’s revamped One UI user interface.

As for what’s built into Pie for the Galaxy Tab S4, we’re looking at a Night mode that can extend battery life when you’re running low on juice, especially when coupled with a new Adaptive Battery optimization tool that comes enabled out of the box; improved notification management and more.

Elsewhere, the LTE model of the Galaxy Tab S4 was treated to a similar update at the beginning of April in France. That same release started cropping up in Brazil, Chile, India, Malaysia, Peru, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom soon thereafter — and now it’s in the US.

T-Mobile is pushing out the update, which also bundles improvements for Samsung’s Bixby assistant and well as support for HEIF images, in stages. To check to see if it’s available for your Galaxy Tab S4, head into Settings, navigate to Software Update, then hit Download Updates Manually.

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Q1 2019 earnings report: Samsung posts its lowest profits in three years

A few weeks ago, Samsung released its earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2019, estimating a 60% decline in operating profits. The company has now published a detailed report confirming that projection with an operating profit of 6.23 trillion won (about $5.35 billion), a drop of 60.2% from 15.64 trillion won a year ago. This is Samsung’s worst performance since the Galaxy Note 7 debacle in 2016.

Display Panel business running in loss

Samsung’s Q1 2019 profits were hit by multiple factors. The ever plummeting semiconductor business generated 30.4% less revenues as compared to Q1 2018. The company’s chip business, however, is still its largest contributor in operating profits, owing to improvements at the System LSI and Foundry businesses. Samsung expects the business to improve slightly in the second quarter, as demand for image sensors and 5G chipsets rises.

Samsung’s mobile business also saw a drop in profits, despite the solid sales of the Galaxy S10 series. The new Galaxy M and Galaxy A series smartphones are also selling well, but increased expenses from the lineup revamp means they aren’t contributing much to the profits. Sales of premium TVs, however, contributed to the earnings growth in the Consumer Electronics division. Going ahead, Samsung aims to secure profitability by improving cost efficiency with its mid-range and low-end smartphones. The company also sees the potential in 5G and foldable smartphones to strengthen its leadership in the smartphone market.

It is the display business that hurt Samsung badly in the previous quarter. The company suffered from lower than expected demand for its OLED panels, as well as weaker prices of LCD panels, resulting in operating losses of 560 billion won. Samsung expects the display business to recover going forward with launch of flagship phones from its clients. The South Korean tech giant also has hopes on large-sized display panels to bring limited improvements in the next quarter. The demand for flexible displays and LCD panels is likely to remain weak.

Overall, Samsung expects slight improvements in profits over the next two quarters. However, the company may find it tough to reach the levels of the last two years, when it recorded its highest ever profits.

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