الأربعاء، 8 فبراير 2017

SamMobile Daily Recap: February 8, 2017

We publish a lot of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the bulk of the news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to follow every post that goes live on SamMobile. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap.

In the list below, you’ll find the stories we’ve published today. Chances are, you’re not going to be interested in all of them. To help you find what’s important to you, we’ve split them into their respective categories — so if you want to see the latest security patch news, locate the Firmware News subheading.

Business

Apple vs Samsung lawsuit sent back to where it all started

Samsung has had to delay key business decisions due to corruption investigation

Samsung SDI’s China factory catches fire

Deals

Daily Deal: Score yourself a SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit for 11% off

Firmware News

Latest Galaxy J7 Prime update brings February security patch

T-Mobile releases January security patch for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge

Opinion

Roses are red, smartphones are blue: Galaxy Note 7 Blue Coral color option gets a heavily-inspired admirer

Phones

Samsung giving away free 256GB microSD cards to Galaxy S7 customers

Samsung to showcase a prototype foldable smartphone at MWC

Size comparison: Galaxy S6 vs. Galaxy S7 vs. Galaxy S8

Polls

[Poll] How do you feel about voice control on Samsung smartphones?

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is now available in Thailand

Tablets

Samsung’s Q4 2016 tablet shipments see double digit decline

Samsung’s upcoming Windows 10 tablet might feature an Intel U-Series processor

Wallpapers

Wallpaper Wednesday: Summer

Watches

Samsung’s smartwatch market share stood at 15% during 2016



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Roses are red, smartphones are blue: Galaxy Note 7 Blue Coral color option gets a heavily-inspired admirer

Xiaomi announced its Mi Note 2 back at the end of October 2016, and the phone bears more than just a coincidental resemblance to the Galaxy Note 7. The Mi Note 2 features a 5.7-inch, curved OLED display (rather identical to the Galaxy Note 7′s 5.7-inch, curved AMOLED panel), quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (to the Galaxy Note 7′s quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820), 4GB/6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of onboard storage (the now-deceased Note 7 never arrived with the highest variant specs, despite the 6GB RAM, 128GB storage model Samsung considered launching in China due to the country’s never-ending spec race), 8MP front camera, 22.56MP back camera, and 4,070mAh battery.

Sure, not all the specs match (in fact, some surpass, if you evaluate devices based on sheer numbers alone; I don’t recommend this, however), but the curved OLED display and 5.7-inch screen size are not present on the Mi Note 2 by mistake.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 has been called a Galaxy Note 7 alternative by some (though not all), and those who call it this overlook the fact that the Mi Note 2 does not have a digital pen/stylus of any kind. I’d compare the Mi Note 2 to more of a Galaxy S6 edge+ than anything else, considering that the S6 edge+ had a 5.7-inch, curved AMOLED panel (though the Mi Note 2 is only slightly wider than the 5.5-inch, Galaxy S7 edge). But, there may be some reasoning, though strange, to justify Xiaomi’s own estimation of its Mi Note 2 as a Galaxy Note 7 alternative. Now, to add further fuel to the imitation claim, Xiaomi is preparing to launch the color to remove all doubt as to the heavily-inspired nature of this device.

Xiaomi Founder Lei Jun announced the device would receive new colors (pink, green, and blue) at CES 2017, but now, to confirm this Galaxy Note 7-inspired device for what it is (a little too inspired), Xiaomi will launch a Blue Coral version of the Mi Note 2. That’s right: “roses are red, smartphones are blue, the Galaxy Note 7 debut color is coming to the Mi Note 2,” to use a rhyme that just fits.

Lei Jun went skiing in Switzerland recently, taking time to pose with the new Blue Coral Mi Note 2. The color does match that of the same color option on the Galaxy Note 7, which debuted the color before Samsung brought it over to the Galaxy S7 edge to appease former Note 7 users who preferred the color over existing color options.

What we can take away from the Blue Coral Mi Note 2 being prepared for the market is that, in addition to Samsung’s dual-curved AMOLED displays, the company’s R&D work into new color options is also leading the way, too. We also think that the retro Black Sapphire and (future) Crimson Red Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus color options will further enhance Samsung’s reputation in phone color and customization.

Samsung’s Blue Coral debut color for the Galaxy Note 7 has become one of the company’s most famous color options, but it is not the first blue color option the Korean giant has launched in its “Galaxy.” Other blue color options consist of Blue Topaz for the Galaxy S6, Blue Iceberg for the Galaxy S4 Mini, Electric Blue for the Galaxy S5, Blue Arctic for the Galaxy S4, Scuba Blue for the Galaxy Alpha, the Pebble Blue Galaxy S3, Blue Galaxy J1, and Blue Topaz Galaxy Note 2, among others.

To check out the upcoming Blue Coral Mi Note 2 following in the footsteps of the original debut phone, the Galaxy Note 7, check out Lei Jun’s phone poses below.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Blue Coral 1

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Blue Coral 2

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Blue Coral 3

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Blue Coral 4

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Blue Coral 5



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Wallpaper Wednesday: Summer

Welcome to the latest edition of Wallpaper Wednesday. This week we’re focusing our attention on five summer-themed backgrounds. All images are available in a FHD resolution, which is a perfect fit for the Galaxy S7Galaxy S7 edgeGalaxy Note 5 and other flagships, but they can, of course, be used on different smartphones too.

If any of the following images float your boat and you want to download and set one as your wallpaper, simply tap on a photo to maximise it, then click and hold to save it. Once the picture is stored locally, open up Settings, locate and select Wallpaper, then just tap the newly-saved image to set it as your background.

Alternatively, you can download a ZIP file containing all of this week’s backdrops by hitting the Download button at the very bottom of this post.


Aloha

Aloha


Lemon Slice

Lemon Slice


Mr. Cone

Mr. Cone


Sunset

Sunset


Watermelon

Watermelon


Download

Note: We’ve tried our best to identify the creators of all of the wallpapers featured in this week’s column. However, the images appear to lack copyright information, artist signatures or any real trace of origin. If you created a wallpaper we’ve posted and would like credit, or would rather we remove the image, kindly contact us.



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Daily Deal: Score yourself a SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit for 11% off

If you’re looking to modernize your home, you’ve come to the right place. While stock lasts, you can bag yourself a SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit for $220.96 (11% off). Using the two multipurpose sensors, motion sensor and outlet adapter included in the bundle, you’ll be able to connect even the most basic appliances — like a lamp — to the Internet and use your smartphone or tablet to control them.

Like the sound of the SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit and want to take advantage of this promotion? Simply hit the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s worth noting, however, that only US residents will be able to purchase the bundle for the reduced price.

Buy Now



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Samsung’s Q4 2016 tablet shipments see double digit decline

The tablet market has been in a state of constant decline and the final quarter of last year was no different. Global tablet shipments fell 9 percent in Q4 2016 according to a report by Strategy Analytics. Apple and Samsung, the two largest tablet vendors on the market, both contributed to this decline as they saw their tablet shipments post a double digit decline.

Samsung shipped 9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015 and thus accounted for 12.9 percent of the entire tablet market. The company shipped 8.1 million units during the same quarter last year and thus posted a 10 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. It accounted for 12.8 percent of the overall tablet market in the final quarter of last year. Apple saw an even bigger decline as it went from shipping 16.1 million units in Q4 2015 to 13.1 million units in Q4 2016, registering a 19 percent decline.

Besides these two, Amazon, Lenovo and Huawei all saw their shipments increase considerably in the previous quarter, ranging from 21 percent all the way up to 49 percent. Samsung will breathe new life into its tablet lineup this year by launching the Galaxy Tab S3 and the Windows 10-powered Galaxy TabPro S2 in the coming weeks.

samsung-tablet-shipments



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Samsung to showcase a prototype foldable smartphone at MWC

If a new report is anything to go by, it would appear that Samsung is preparing to showcase a prototype foldable smartphone, alongside a folder panel, at Mobile World Congress later this month. The device and display technology won’t be kept on the show floor, though. They will, instead, be housed in a private exhibition room and it’s thought that only select individuals will be able to enter.

Speaking to ETNews, industry sources allegedly revealed that the firm will also show off a handful of other pieces of display technology at the conference, in order to predict market response. It’s believed that both inward- and outward-folding products will be available for inspection by all attendees, though in terms of product quality it’s the latter that is more likely to be commercialized.

foldable smartphones

Sadly, Samsung is yet to confirm the time frame for its introduction of foldable smartphones. However, it’s rumored to be using its demonstrations at MWC as a platform to pitch the technology to other device makers at the conference who may be interested in placing an order through its display-manufacturing subsidiary, Samsung Display, which leads us to believe that it’s made some pretty big advances.



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Samsung smartwatch market share stood at 15% during 2016

Samsung was one of the first big-name brands to enter the smartwatch market, and it released some great smartwatches over the past few months. However, the company’s efforts still did not land it the first place in the global smartwatch market. According to an estimate from market research firm Canalys, Samsung stood third in the smartwatch market share during 2016.

As per the reports, Apple managed to sell 11.9 million smartwatches last year, resulting in a market share of 49%. Fitbit (with 17% market share) and Samsung (with 15% market share) stood second and third, respectively. We reviewed the Gear S3 classic and the Gear S3 frontier from Samsung and came up pretty impressed. The company is expected to push the sales of its smartwatches this year, which might increase its market share.

Global Smartwatch Market Share Q4 2016 Canalys



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