Samsung Display accountable for 95 percent of all Q1 2016 OLED shipments, firm estimates

AMOLED panels have been a long-held trademark of Samsung over the last few years on its Galaxy smartphone lineup, but with AMOLED panels decreasing in production cost, the field is ripe for other manufacturers to invest in AMOLED panels – which is giving the Korean giant a huge financial boost. Samsung has been leading the way in marketshare in the AMOLED market for some time, but the rise in Chinese manufacturers adopting active matrix organic light-emitting diode (or AMOLED, for short) panels is putting Samsung even further ahead of its competition.

According to market research firm UBI Research, Samsung Display shipments accounted for 95% of all total OLED panel shipments in Q1 2016, with OLED shipments totaling in at around 91.3 million units. Samsung Display OLED shipments were at 86.7 million in Q1, and this is best explained by the rise in OLED panel adoption in smartphones. Chinese smartphone makers have adopted OLED displays in an alarming number, with the number of OLED smartphones having more than tripled from just 5 in 2015 to 17 in 2016 — and the year is just getting started.

Samsung’s closest rival in OLED marketshare is LG, who is beefing up its OLED smartphone panel production in order to gain some ground on its fellow Korean rival this year. With OLED demand for smartphones increasing, and with Samsung supplying nearly all OLED panels on smartphones worldwide, the financial roses are in bloom for Samsung. The Korean giant is looking to ramp up its OLED production even further to meet this growing demand, by increasing its A3 plant production from 15,000 units per month to 105,000 units per month by year’s end.

Samsung dominates the OLED market, with manufacturers such as Lenovo and Huawei with its Nexus 6P flagship relying on the company’s trademark displays. With Samsung lowering the prices of AMOLED panels this year, Huawei and other Chinese manufacturers turning to Samsung’s curved displays for upcoming smartphones, and Apple having ordered 100 million AMOLED panels while planning to implement OLED displays into the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 2017, the good news bears testimony to Samsung’s decision to stand out from the crowd of manufacturers. It turns out that many other manufacturers want to stand out, too.

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Samsung’s new curved monitors will appeal to gamers

Samsung today announced its first curved gaming monitors – the CF591, CF391, and CF390 – the company aims to help transform the PC gaming experience with its latest products. Samsung’s first gaming monitors were unveiled earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in January. They are designed to match the natural shape of the human eye. This design incorporates a sharp 1800 mm (1800R) curvature radius which offers immersive and panoramic viewing angles and makes for a less visually-strenuous viewing experience. The monitors also feature a 3,000:1 contrast ratio which produces darker blacks and minimizes light leakage.

All of Samsung’s curved gaming monitors have support for AMD FreeSync Technology Over HDMI which synchronizes the screen refresh rates with AMD graphics card frame rates to reduce stutter, lag, and input latency. Samsung’s CF591 curved monitors are being showcased at EA Games’ EA Play gaming event which takes place until June 14 at the Novo at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. EA is going to use this monitor to preview some of its upcoming games which include Titanfall 2 and FIFA 17.

Samsung has also launched a promotion for people looking to purchase a new gaming monitor. Every US and European customer who purchases a new Samsung CF39 Series or CF591 gaming monitor will get one EA game for free, games available to choose from include Need for Speed, FIFA 16, Battlefield 4, and Battlefield Hardline. Promo participants will get a promo code on their receipt, through email or the Samsung website. This code can then be used to redeem the free game download from EA Games website.

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Only the rugged survive: Galaxy S7 Active survives drop test battle with the regular Galaxy S7

The Galaxy S7 is one of Samsung’s most durable Galaxy S flagships to date, but the Galaxy S Active lineup has always brought more to the table in terms of rugged durability. There are many consumers who love the idea of having a “naked” phone without a case, but few live that dream — and those who do usually cave in and get what we’d call sensible protection. A new drop test continues the tradition of the Galaxy S Active lineup, showing that it really does pay to have rugged protection.

The test, performed by tech site PhoneBuff, shows the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Active competing in four rounds: 1) back drop, 2) bottom drop, 3) side drop, and 4) face drop, and 5) a bonus round. In the back drop round, the Galaxy S7′s back glass created fringe spiderwebs and cuts in other places, while the Galaxy S7 Active, save for a few scuffmarks on the back, emerges unscathed. The bottom drop was something of a tie between the two, but the side drop favored the Galaxy S7 Active due to its rubber bumpers that protect the side buttons.

The face drop confirmed the back drop round, as the Galaxy S7 Active emerged untouched (Samsung’s claim that its device is shatter-resistant to drops as high as 5 feet is behind this feat). Things didn’t turn out so hot for the Galaxy S7, however, as the fringe spiderwebs appeared on the right side of the display. Even the internal display shattered on the regular S7.

The bonus round is probably the most beloved part of this drop test battle, with the Galaxy S7 Active maintaining call capabilities for up to 50 drops. Apparently, the tech site in question got exhausted with trying to beat the phone up. Any phone that exhausts tech enthusiasts in a drop test deserves applause.

The Galaxy S7 Active, Samsung’s latest handset, features a 5.1-inch, Quad HD (1440p) display, Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 32GB of storage with a microSD for expandable storage, a 5MP front camera and 12MP back camera with f/1.7 apertures, and a 4,000mAh battery, along with IP68 water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810 G protection from bumps, falls, and drops. This latest rugged smartphone is available as an AT&T carrier exclusive for $795 outright (it can also be had on an AT&T Next plan) and comes in three colors: Titanium Gray, Camo Green, and Sandy Gold colors. If you’re a non-AT&T customer, though, drooling over this device is a short-lived affair.

Take a look at the video below and see what the rugged hype is all about.

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International variant of the Galaxy A9 Pro gets Bluetooth certification

Samsung launched the Galaxy A9 Pro in China earlier this year and a few weeks ago we reported that the company could launch this handset in other markets in the near future. The international variant of this handset – SM-A910F – has already received Wi-Fi certification and it’s another step closer to launch now as it bags the necessary Bluetooth certification as well.

The Galaxy A9 Pro has received its Bluetooth certification which is an indication that the launch is just around the corner. Both single-SIM and dual-SIM models of this smartphone have previously been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The Galaxy A9 Pro touts a 6-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, an octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor with 4GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 16-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera, a 5,000mAh battery and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. It’s unclear at this point in time which markets outside of China will first receive this handset and how much it will cost once the international launch is made official.

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Galaxy Note 7 teaser answers the question on everyone’s mind

We here at SamMobile have been bringing you, our faithful readership, details on “the next Galaxy” for some time now, but we were given something of a small market shock to discover that the next Galaxy would bear the number “7″ instead of the number “6.” A leak showing the lucky number put any additional questions about its truth to rest. Now, anyone who knows successful marketing understands why this must be, but the next question following the number is the name itself: would we see a Galaxy Note 7 or Galaxy Note 7 edge?

Well, our evidence has shown the Galaxy Note 7 edge for the last few weeks, though we’ve still had a bit of skepticism toward it. First, we’ve seen an import listing that confirms the Galaxy Note 7 edge by way of its model number. A render of the upcoming Galaxy shows a dual edge design, though renders aren’t enough on their own, but a new Samsung patent filed in August 2015 shows the Korean giant is developing a setup where users can write on the edge of the display - hinting that the next Galaxy would be the Galaxy Note 7 edge. Some have said that patent filings such as these are unlikely to see the light of day, but Samsung faithful have seen this pattern with Samsung before. Just last year, before the Galaxy Note 5 was unveiled, Samsung had patents published related to a Write On PDFs feature. It was implemented into the Note 5 and announced, so Samsung isn’t one to file patents for filings’ sake.

A new leak shows us that the next Galaxy moniker is indeed, the Galaxy Note 7 edge. The leak shows a panel with the light bursting forth from it with the words, “Write on the edge of something great.” Now, we know the next Galaxy is the Galaxy Note 7, but we don’t need any further hints that the upcoming device will, though bearing a different number, bring back the Six Appeal days. It appears as though that edge writing patent will be put to good use, very soon.

The Galaxy Note 7 edge will feature a 5.8-inch, curved Slim RGB AMOLED display with a Quad HD (1440p) screen resolution, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 823 SoC, 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a 4,000mAh battery, USB Type-C charging, and IP68 water and dust resistance. Alongside of these familiar rumors, other rumors pertain to the possibility of a dual-lens camera setup similar to the LG G5 and Huawei P9 as well as the implementation of an iris scanner, a feature that Samsung has been developing for some time. We’re also expecting Samsung to bring its Always On Display, 5MP front camera, 12MP back camera (both cameras having f/1.7 apertures), as well as similar accessories as the Galaxy S7 to the Galaxy Note 7 edge as well.

The Galaxy Note 7 edge will be unveiled the first week of August.

Are you ready for the next Galaxy?

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Exclusive: Samsung working on a high-end clamshell smartphone for China codenamed ‘Veyron’

Samsung hasn’t stopped releasing clamshell smartphones in China. It released the SM-W2016 in China last year with high-end specifications and a clamshell design. This year, Samsung is working on its successor, the SM-W2017, which will be released exclusively in China.

The Samsung SM-W2017, which is codenamed ‘Veyron‘ internally, will feature a clamshell body and high-end specifications. We don’t have a lot of details about the device right now, but it could feature dual 3.9-inch HD Super AMOLED displays, an Exynos 8890 processor, a 12-megapixel primary camera, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera.

The device could feature the same glass-and-metal build as the Galaxy S7, but we’re not sure whether it would be water- and dust-resistant. We will get back to you on the matter as soon as we have more details regarding this high-end clamshell Android smartphone from Samsung.

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Verizon’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge start receiving June security patch

Verizon has begun pushing June security patch to Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 (SM-G930V) and the Galaxy S7 edge (SM-G935V). This month’s security update has been pushed out quite fast considering that Google released it on the 6th of June.

The latest update with firmware number MMB29M.G930VVRU2APE1 brings the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge up to date with the latest security patches from Google. Samsung had detailed its June security patch earlier this week, which contains Google’s June security patches along with fixes for nine Samsung vulnerabilities.

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