“Okay, Google” command is back and working on the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge

Did you try to activate the “Okay, Google” command on your Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge, but never found a way to do it? Well, Google accepted that there was indeed a problem, but they have now verified that the hotword is working again.

The hotword detection was broken for weeks, and the option to activate it was totally missing from the settings. Some users believed that it was an intentional omission by Samsung, but it isn’t completely true. It turns out that it was just an old bug, or what you can see as a conflict between Google app and S Voice. A Google representative mentioned on the company’s forum that the bug has been fixed. In order to get the feature working, users need to have the latest version of Google app (v4.6) installed on their devices.

If you still can’t get it working, you might need to clear the cache, or even clear the data. If you activate the option to enable “Okay, Google” from any screen, S Voice will be disabled, except for the times when the screen is off. Many users that I know have disabled the S Voice altogether as they prefer Google Now over Samsung’s solution. Do let us know if the hotword detection is working on your Galaxy S6 or S6 edge.

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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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