Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8 (2019) specs revealed in new leak

Samsung is preparing to launch a new low-cost tablet as part of the Galaxy Tab A series. According to a WinFuture report, there will be two versions of the tablet; one with the model number SM-T290 which will be limited to Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as an LTE-enabled variant identified as the SM-T295. It runs Android 9 Pie so it’s nice to know that One UI will be part of the experience.

A lower-resolution display and a switch to Qualcomm’s SoC

All of the purported specifications place the upcoming Galaxy Tab A 8 (2019) model in the low-end segment. It retains the 8-inch display diagonal and 16:10 aspect ratio from the Galaxy Tab A Plus 8 model launched earlier this year but has a lower-resolution display with a pixel count of 1280 by 800. The overall design is nothing to write home about, having hefty bezels all around, but that’s to be expected from a product that’s supposed to target the budget market.

Samsung also appears to have switched from an in-house Exynos chipset to a low mid-tier Qualcomm solution, namely the Snapdragon 429. The SoC has four ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz and an Adreno 504 GPU with Vulkan 1.1 support. It was the company’s first SoC to be built on a 12nm FinFET process and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

Affordable across the board but a larger battery is included

The upcoming low-cost Galaxy Tab A 8 (2019) is said to feature 2GB of RAM and at least 32GB of onboard storage expandable through a microSD card slot. There may be other storage variants available at launch, but as yet it’s not entirely clear whether this will be the case.

Unsurprisingly, the camera setup also underwent a downgrade from the earlier 2019 model. The rear-facing unit might still have an 8-megapixel resolution, but the front-facing sensor has been demoted to 2-megapixels. Other expected features include a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity as opposed to Bluetooth 5.0. A plastic body will wrap around the components and the entire package should tip the scale at roughly 347 grams.

There is at least one area in which the low-cost Galaxy Tab A 8 (2019) has been improved, and that is the battery capacity. The upcoming model is said to rely on a 5,100mAh unit, which is a considerable increase from the ongoing model’s 4,200mAh internal battery.

The tablet should be officially introduced in the coming days, according to the source, and will be launching in two color options including black and gray.

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Daily Deal: 29% off this Samsung Sound Bar

A sound bar can be a good solution if you don’t want a full home theater setup but want better sound than what your TV is able to offer. Sound bars can produce impressive sound quality so that you can enjoy your movies or games as they were meant to be enjoyed. On top of that, sound bars are easy to set up, you can be done with the process in just minutes. The HW-R550 sound bar from Samsung even has smart sound technology, so it will automatically detect what you are watching and adjust the sound for the best experience.

You can now get this Samsung sound bar for 29% off at just $197.99, making it a good alternative for more expensive surround sets, while not sacrificing sound quality. Use the Buy Now button below to order one before the price changes again!

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Samsung’s Q2 profit likely took a big hit due to poor memory chip sales

Samsung’s smartphones may get a lot of media coverage, but they are not the major contributor to the company’s bottom line. That title has been held by the company’s semiconductor business for many years now. So, when the US government came down heavily on Huawei, more than helping Samsung’s smartphone revenue, the move probably harmed the company’s semiconductor business, which counts Huawei as a client.

A report in Reuters says Samsung Electronics’ Q2 profit may be halved due to a substantial drop in memory chip sales. The situation is believed to be further exacerbated by Huawei’s growing woes, resulting in a likely drop in overall quarterly profit when Samsung reports its preliminary earnings on Friday. If the earnings pan out as predicted, it will be the Korean company’s lowest in nearly three years. Analysts believe Samsung will report a 60% drop in April-June operating profit at 6 trillion won ($5.14 billion).

The memory chip market is reeling from oversupply, bringing down the prices in an already slowing market. Analysts believe Samsung’s recovery is at least a few quarters away. Though Samsung stands to gain in the global smartphone market where Huawei is currently the second largest vendor, the likely gains are no match to the erosion of profits from its semiconductor business which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company’s overall profit.

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Samsung fixed the Galaxy Fold and it may be out by the holiday season

Despite admitting that the Galaxy Fold’s launch had been rushed, Samsung mobile CEO DJ Koh didn’t say when the device would be released. He did mention that over 2,000 units were constantly being tested to ensure that there are no further problems after the relaunch. His comments were very much meant to dispel the rumors that Samsung had given up on the device.

A new report says that Samsung has now completed its two-month redesign of the Galaxy Fold to fix the screen failures. With mass production set to begin soon, the Galaxy Fold can now be expected to arrive in time for the holiday season.

Galaxy Fold may arrive before the holiday season

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Samsung is now in the final stages of producing a commercial version of the Galaxy Fold. However, it hasn’t pinned down a date yet to begin sales. The April 26 release was delayed because it wasn’t abundantly clear to many that peeling the protective layer on top of the display would cause it to break. The hinge gaps also didn’t provide adequate protection against foreign substances making their way inside.

The report says that this protective film has now been stretched to wrap around the entire foldable display. It flows into the outer bezels so that it’s impossible to peel off by hand. Samsung has also re-engineered the hinge. It’s now pushing slightly upward from the screen and is flush with the display.

This is to help the film stretch further when the phone is unfolded. This tension is what makes the film feel harder and a more natural part of the device instead of something like a screen protector. That’s what many reviewers mistook it for initially and just peeled it off. This added rigidity may also reduce the chance of a crease forming in the middle of the screen, a source mentions.

Samsung will reportedly be shipping major components for the Galaxy Fold such as the display and battery to a plant in Vietnam for assembly. The launch date is still being debated but it remains unlikely that the Galaxy Fold will be relaunched alongside the Galaxy Note 10 on August 7. Samsung hasn’t commented on this report.

The company would certainly want its marquee device of the year to be out before the lucrative holiday shopping season. So while it seemingly won’t be available in a few weeks time, it does seem like it’s not going to be too long before we can finally get our hands on the Galaxy Fold once again.

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