Exclusive: Samsung to start rolling out Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update to Galaxy Note 4 by the end of July

Google revealed the developer preview of the next big version of its mobile device operating system – Android M – last week during Google I/O 2015, and the release of its final version is due in Q3 2015. Now, you must be thinking if Samsung is too slow in updating its existing smartphones and tablets to the latest version of Android.

Samsung has already improved its software update game starting this year, and it has already rolled out Lollipop update many existing devices. Now, Samsung is already testing beta versions of Android 5.1.1-based ROMs for various existing devices, and we’ve already shown you the upgraded camera app for the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge that will be released with Android 5.1.1 update for the devices.

Many Galaxy Note 4 users are impatiently waiting for Samsung to release Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update for the device. Well, here’s some good news for those guys. According to our highly placed sources, Samsung is planning to release Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update to the Galaxy Note 4 by the end of July. As usual, we will be the first ones to show you the upcoming ROM running on the actual device.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1PZ4EL5
via IFTTT

Investment bank analyst claims that Samsung’s business is imploding

An Oppenheimer analyst has claimed in the investment bank’s letter to its client that Samsung’s current-generation flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge, have turned out to be failures. The letter also mentioned that the South Korean smartphone giant’s business is “imploding“.

Samsung managed to ship about 10 million Galaxy S6 devices till now, a million units less than what it managed with the Galaxy S5 last year. However, it’s worth noticing that Samsung managed to ship around 83 million smartphones last quarter, dethroning Apple, becoming the largest smartphone brand in the world during Q1 2015.

When we look at Samsung’s flagship in 2015, the Galaxy S6 Edge, almost all of its differentiators fall back to hardware: a cutting-edge CPU, curved display, iPhone-like metal casing, front area fingerprint sensor, and camera with OIS. At the same time, we see little improvement in Samsung’s software user experience, and no value-added to existing Samsung users who are on prior generations of devices.

- Oppenheimer’s letter to its clients

Read more: Despite Samsung’s success, bias keeps company down

In its letter, the investment bank states that Samsung made a mistake by focussing solely on the hardware of its flagship devices, and that they saw little improvement on the software and user experience front, which appears to be silly. We all know (in fact, every other reviewer and expert accpeted) that Samsung has made huge strides in terms of software with the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge by removing unnecessary features and speeding up the user interface.

Via Source

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1HG7L0J
via IFTTT

Samsung starts reviewing and selecting third-party designers for Galaxy Theme Store

About two months ago, Samsung called third-party designers to develop themes for its new and upcoming smartphones and tablets. A month later, the company revealed more details about how to proceed with partnering with the company on building themes. Now, Samsung has started reviewing and selecting third-party designers for its Galaxy Theme Store.

As you can see in the image below, a designer who applied to be a Theme Service partner for Samsung has received an official email from the company stating that they have been selected. The email goes on to explain the preliminary procedures that are required before Samsung delivers the theme editor for Galaxy devices. Now, the designer can start developing themes for Samsung devices and upload it to the Galaxy Theme Store.

Read More: Themes Thursday – Ten new themes launched in the Samsung Theme Store today

Samsung has already started releasing a bunch of new themes every week, and if you can remember, we have started a new section called Themes Thursday where we’ll write about new themes released each week. Have you been liking the themes released in the Galaxy Theme Store? Do let us know in the comments below.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1Fo9ZkO
via IFTTT

Android M is bringing extensive SD card support at a very ironic time

The lack of expandable storage on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge is among the few major gripes consumers have with Samsung’s latest flagships. But while Samsung only rejected microSD cards here in 2015, Google has always been against the notion of having expandable storage on its Nexus devices. Android has never properly supported external storage, with Google offering excuses like a confusing user interface and the slowness of microSD cards as the reasons behind its reluctance to support them.

But now, with Android M, Google is introducing support for external storage in a way that no one would ever have thought possible – on Android M, the OS will adopt an SD card inserted into a device and treat it like internal storage, and allow users to install apps on the card. This is no doubt a result of Google’s new Android One initiative, which brings stock Android with direct updates to users on a budget. Since budget smartphones have very low internal storage, the fact that the microSD card will now be treated as additional internal storage will negate the limitations of low storage spaces for things like app installation.

It took a lot of time, but Google finally seems to have seen sense and understood that while microSD cards might not offer the best experience, they are something the smartphone market cannot live without, especially in the low-end and mid-range smartphone market. Unfortunately for buyers of Samsung’s newest flagships, the search giant’s new found acceptance of expandable storage is extremely ironic, as they will not be able to use a feature that many have long clamored for on the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge feature UFS 2.0-based flash storage, and adding a microSD card would do nothing but hold down the performance of what is the fastest storage technology on smartphones today. But again, Android M’s extensive support of SD cards is sure to make a lot of S6 users feel somewhat disappointed. Thankfully, cheaper Samsung devices will still be able to reap the benefits, unless and until fast memory technology for mobile devices becomes considerably cheaper and manufacturers start ignoring SD cards on smartphones from all segments.

What do you think about Android M’s expandable storage support? Let us know in the comments below!

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1HCjM7n
via IFTTT

Samsung SM-G9198 with Snapdragon 808 appears on GFXBench

Samsung is the only major Android manufacturer that has chosen to ignore the Snapdragon 810 and opt for a different flagship chip (one it’s making all by its lonesome), thanks to the 810′s heating issues and the fact that the Korean giant’s Exynos chip is considerably superior. But Samsung has said that it chooses processors according to need and hasn’t given up on the Snapdragon lineup, and the company might just be gearing up to launch its first device to be powered by the Snapdragon 808.

The Snapdragon 808 is a hexa-core chip that slots in somewhere between the Snapdragon 805 and the Snapdragon 810, and has none of the heating issues of the latter. It’s the chipset LG has chosen for the G4, its 2015 flagship, and while it might not be as powerful as the 810 or the Exynos 7420, it’s certainly a high-end chipset that can tackle everything you would throw at it. That would make the SM-G9198, which has appeared out of nowhere on the GFXBench benchmark database with a 4.6-inch display, a small yet formidable powerhouse of a device.

There’s no telling what this device is, but its specs – a 1.8GHz Snapdragon 808 SoC, a 4.6-inch, a 16-megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and Android 5.1.1 – suggest it could be a spin-off of the Galaxy S6. It could possibly be the Galaxy S6 mini, and if that is indeed what this device is, then we could finally see a powerful mini version of Samsung’s flagship, something none of the previous mini smartphones managed to be.

Via

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1SHj9lM
via IFTTT

Android M could introduce Multi Window to Android later this year

Google officially announced Android M, the next major version of the world-dominating mobile OS, at Google I/O yesterday. While not being as big an update as Android 5.0 Lollipop, Android M will bring a lot of new features, such as native support for fingerprint sensors, Android Pay, better volume control, a new battery saving feature called Doze, and an iOS-like permissions management system for apps. But what Google didn’t announce was that Android M might also bring support for a Multi Window-like feature, something that has been discovered in the preview build the internet giant released for Nexus devices.

Samsung introduced Multi Window to Android with the Galaxy Note II back in 2012, and many have clamored for the feature on stock Android ever since. Google was rumored to be working on an implementation of its own but there was never any proof until now. A Reddit user managed to enable a multi-window feature on Android M through a series of rather complicated steps (though those who flash custom ROMs shouldn’t find it too hard to follow the procedure) – it’s rather buggy and experimental for the moment, but it’s certainly a nice indication that multi-window support could make its way to vanilla Android later this year.

A lot of Samsung features have made their way into Android’s core over the years (like the notification toggles, KNOX, or the smart select-like copy feature that will be part of Android M), but this might just be the most useful functionality that Google is taking from the Korean manufacturer. It remains to be seen if Google’s implementation will be ready by the time Android M rolls out, but it’s looking more and more likely that it will be part of the OS at some point in the future.

Moreover, this also shows how stock Android is becoming better and better each year, and how manufacturers might not need to add too much bloat and could instead work on differentiating their software mostly through the user interface in the years to come.

If you have a Nexus device and are trying out the Android M developer preview, head to the source link to see how the multi-window feature can be enabled. Or you could simply use a fully stable and intuitive Multi Window mode if you have any of Samsung’s recent mid-range and high-end devices.

Via Source

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1SGA0oE
via IFTTT

Samsung completes Lollipop rollout for Galaxy A lineup with the Galaxy A5

This week is turning out to be a good one for owners of Samsung’s full metal Galaxy A devices. The Galaxy A7 recently started receiving the Lollipop update, and it is now hitting the Galaxy A5. The Galaxy A3 was the first A series device to get the update, and today marks the day when it is available for all three in at least one region around the world. The Galaxy A5 update is rolling out in Poland, and it comes with build number A500FUXXU1BOE6.

You can expect the same changelog as the OTA for the Galaxy A3 and A7 – a slightly refreshed user interface, increased performance, lockscreen notifications, and more. You can grab the update over the air, via Samsung Kies, or through our firmware database (this is similar to how Kies works, though the installation process is manual and explained fully in our firmware section.) If you don’t see a notification for the update on your device in the next day or two, you can force it to show up by heading into the Settings » About device » Software updates menu.

Firmware Details:

Model	SM-A500FU
Model name	GALAXY A5
Country	Poland
Version	Android 5.0.2
Changelist	4944491
Build date	Thu, 21 May 2015 07:53:55 +0000
Product code	XEO
PDA	A500FUXXU1BOE6
CSC	A500FUOXA1BOE6

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/1d3kjHw
via IFTTT