Samsung Galaxy A8 (2016) is now available in the UAE and Taiwan

Samsung launched the Galaxy A8 (2016) earlier this year as an exclusive to South Korea carrier SK Telecom. At the time of launch, the company failed to mention if the device would ever make its way to other markets, but it seems like the A8 (2016) has quietly been launched in the UAE (and possibly other Gulf states) and Taiwan.

The Galaxy A8 (2016) features a 5.7-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, the Exynos 7420 SoC, 3GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel rear camera, an 8-megapixel front facing camera, 32GB of internal storage, and a 3,500 mAh battery. It runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (with Samsung’s Always On Display feature) and should receive an update to Android 7.0 in the future. The A8 (2016) is listed in blue, gold and silver colors on the Samsung Gulf website and is priced at 1,799 AED (roughly USD 490) in the UAE. The pricing should be roughly equivalent for Taiwanese consumers.

It’s unclear how long the handset has been available outside South Korea, but we thought we would let our readers know that it is no longer exclusive to Samsung’s home market. Anyone interested in picking up the Galaxy A8 (2016)?

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CES 2017: Nvidia’s new Shield TV is compatible with Samsung SmartThings Hub

Nvidia unveiled a newer version of its Shield TV smart media streaming box at CES 2017. It features not only 4K HDR video streaming through Amazon, Google Pay, Netflix, VUDU, and YouTube but also 4K HDR game streaming from PCs to the TV. Since it also features Google Assistant, it is also compatible with Samsung’s SmartThings platform, letting you control your smart home.

Owners of the Nvidia Shield TV can use the Nvidia Spot accessory (sold separately) to trigger Google Assistant and control SmartThings compatible smart home devices through voice commands. The Android TV-based media streaming box features an Nvidia Tegra X1 processor, and it comes in two variants: Shield TV (16GB storage) and Shield TV Pro (500GB storage). The Shield TV is priced at $199.99, while the Shield TV Pro is priced at $299.99.

Nvidia CEO and founder Jen-Hsun Huang said, “SHIELD TV is the world’s most advanced streamer. Its brilliant 4K HDR quality, hallmark NVIDIA gaming performance and broad access to media content will bring families hours of joy. And with SHIELD’s new AI home capability, we can control and interact with content through the magic of artificial intelligence from anywhere in the house.“

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This could be our first proper look at the Galaxy S8, but it probably isn’t

Over the course of the past few months, we’ve heard an awful lot about Samsung’s much-anticipated upcoming flagship smartphone of 2017, the Galaxy S8 — and now it looks like we’re finally getting our first proper glimpse at the design of the device, thanks to a leaked photograph that surfaced on Chinese social networking website Weibo earlier today, which corroborates everything we’ve previously reported about its appearance.

As you can see in the image below, the most noticeable difference between the purported Galaxy S8 and its predecessor is the omission of the physical home button and capacitive navigation keys. What’s strange, however, is that there don’t appear to be any on-screen buttons, either. Typically, when you head into Settings, they don’t automatically hide — so we’re left wondering whether the photo is a product of some Photoshop wizardry.

There could be a simple explanation for the lack of buttons, though. It’s perfectly feasible that Samsung could have developed a full-screen mode, which can be manually activated to take advantage of the entire display. If this (or a similar feature) turns out to exist, then it’s likely that they keys would only appear when a user swipes up from the bottom of the screen. This is, of course, nothing but speculation on our part.

If it wasn’t for this major discrepancy, we’d feel pretty confident in saying that this picture is the real deal. Earlier this week, we heard from our insiders that by doing away with the front-facing buttons, Samsung was able to shrink the width of the top and bottom bezels on the handset by as much as 30 percent. Although, we have to say, it doesn’t look great; mainly because the bottom bezel is thinner than the top (another discrepancy).

Unfortunately, as with all leaks, we have to take this alleged design with a pinch of salt until Samsung provides us with some evidence with regards to what it has in store for its next flagship, and if the latest rumors are anything to go by it looks like we may have to wait until April 18 to find out more. There is some good news, though. As we approach its release date, the frequency of leaks should increase — so there’s a good chance we’ll see more of the device in the coming weeks.

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CES 2017: Portable wireless storage solution with 2TB SSD and optional LTE is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7420 processor

We’ve seen some pretty amazing products at CES 2017, including premium Galaxy A (2017) smartphones, new QLED TVs, and laptops from Samsung. We’ve now come across a nifty little portable wireless storage solution for smartphones with up to 2TB of storage. The most interesting part of the gadget is that an Exynos processor powers it.

Unveiled at CES 2017, the Fasetto Link is a portable storage solution with a fast NVMe SSD from Samsung. It is driven by a 2.1GHz octa-core Exynos 7420 processor. This 2-inch wide accessory also packs in dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 (with LE) for connectivity as well as a USB Type-C port for data transfer and fast charging. It can be connected and controlled through a smartphone app.

The device can turn into a portable NAS, so it can also be used to stream media to connected smartphones or tablets. There’s an optional LTE module (that costs an additional $149) that can turn the Link into a portable hotspot. It is also an IP68-certified product, making it resistant to dust, shock, and water. The 256GB SSD variant costs $349, and the price goes as high as $1,149 for the 2TB storage variant.

The Fasetto Link is available for pre-order right now from the company’s website. It’s great to see that other brands are using Samsung’s Exynos processors in a variety of products ranging from smartphones, standalone VR headsets, and portable storage solutions.

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Samsung capping Galaxy Note 7 battery at 15 percent in Korea

Over the past few months, Samsung has sent out updates for the Galaxy Note 7 that cap the battery charge in order to nudge owners to return their units. It has also been rolling out the final Galaxy Note 7 update in several markets including the United States, this particular update basically bricks the device remotely. The return percentage had been low in South Korea compared to other markets which is why Samsung has had to hold off on tougher measures but with the company having received 94 percent of all units sold in South Korea, it’s now pushing ahead with this update.

Samsung has said that it’s going to release a new update for the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea next week. The update is going to cap the battery at 15 percent. It would be an absolute nuisance to get any proper use out of a device that can’t charge itself beyond 15 percent and Samsung would certainly be hoping that this finally compels the holdouts to return their units.

As for what caused the Galaxy Note 7 to catch fire, Samsung confirmed during its Consumer Electronics Show 2017 press conference yesterday that the root cause report will be shared with the public “very soon.”

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Galaxy S8 release date reportedly revealed

Samsung was expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in February but if recent reports are to be believed, it may conduct a separate event in New York City to launch the handset in a couple of months. It’s not known for sure right now when the device will actually be released. A new report claims that the Galaxy S8 release date has been decided and that it’s April 18.

Citing industry insiders, the latest report out of South Korea claims that the Galaxy S8 release date is April 18. It’s also said that Samsung is going to unveil the Galaxy S8 to the public either by late March or by early April and would then proceed to release the handset across the globe on the aforementioned date. Another recent report suggested that Samsung will start mass production of the Galaxy S8 in March so it does add up.

Keep in mind that this is an unconfirmed report from an unofficial source so the April 18 Galaxy S8 release date is not set in stone just yet. Samsung is expected to launch two variants of the Galaxy S8 this year with one retaining the flat display.

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SamMobile Premium November and December giveaway winners

It’s time again for the SamMobile premium giveaway, folks! We missed posting the winners for the last two months, so we’re making the announcement of the winners for both November and December today. The Gear S3 was the prize for the two months, and we now have the names of the lucky ones who will receive the smartwatch.

Here are the winners:

• Username: 1R0niC
  Country: Mexico
• Username: dovidfeldman
  Country: United States
• Username: gerd
  Country: Germany
• Username: highres
  Country: Germany
• Username: shingokw
  Country: Brazil
• Username Telakces
  Country: Poland

For this month (January), we will be giving away three Gear S3 smartwatches once again (don’t forget to read our reviews of the classic and frontier versions). How do we choose the winners? We count all our Premium and Supporter subscription members and use random.org to pick the winners. Didn’t win this month? Well, there’s always a next time!

Note to the winners: Please be sure to check your email. If you don’t receive a message from us, kindly contact us through the contact page.

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