Galaxy S5 Android 5.0.2 update will arrive later this month

A few weeks back it was reported that Samsung will release micro-updates for some of its devices that faced various issues following the update to Lollipop. Information made public on the website of Optus, the Australian carrier, reveals that the Galaxy S5 is going to receive one of those micro-updates later this month. Android 5.0.2 has now entered testing with Optus.

It’s going to be a minor update for the Galaxy S5 (SM-G900) and will probably only include bug fixes and performance improvements. The update is meant to fix some of the issues that users have faced after jumping on the initial Lollipop update. So far Samsung has not provided a confirmed release date for Android 5.0.2 for the Galaxy S5 in other markets across the globe, Optus says that it will roll out the update in “early June.”

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Samsung successfully demonstrates world’s first Public Safety LTE network

Today, Samsung successfully demonstrated world’s first Public Safety solution over LTE technology that is based on the newly released 3GPP Rel.12 standard.

The technology was demonstrated live at the company’s Digital City in Suwon, South Korea. The company showcased how its PS-LTE solution could be used for connectivity during an emergency situations such as a huge disaster. More than 80 devices were connected to the network, and HD voice was transmitted between them simultaneously during the demonstration. If in case such a disastrous situation arrives, HD voice, multimedia Push-To-Talk (PTT) as well as video conference services could be provided to relevant parties such as rescue teams.

“The live demonstration of our PS-LTE solution is a significant achievement,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “It takes us one step closer to successfully participating and building the world’s first nationwide Public Safety network with LTE Technology, and we are confident in accomplishing this thanks to our leading product portfolio and constant innovation.”

Even though the new standard was completed and released less than three months ago, Samsung managed to demonstrate complete end-to-end services over it, complete with a newly developed base station, LTE core, IMS core, application server, and compatible devices.

Samsung aims to achieve even more with the Release 13 specification by providing new features such as Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Isolated E-UTRAN Operation for Public Safety (IOPS), and enhanced device-to-device (eD2D) standardization.

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Samsung SM-G9198 (Philipe) might actually be a flip phone for Chinese market

The Samsung SM-G9198 that leaked last was suspected to be the Galaxy S6 Mini, but looks like it might a different device altogether.

If you remember (well, we don’t actually hope that many would), Samsung released the SM-G9098 – a clamshell Android smartphone with dual displays – in China last year. It is completely possible that the recently leaked SM-G9198 might be a successor to that clamshell smartphone.

If it this speculation turns out to be true, the device might only be launched in China, and will feature dual displays. Other hardware specifications include a 4.6-inch HD display, a Snapdragon 808 processor with Adreno 418 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a 16-megapixel primary camera, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. The device was leaked running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

If the device is not the Galaxy S6 Mini, as speculated by many, hopes of someone who wants a powerful mini smartphone from Samsung would be destroyed.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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