Samsung takes a big step on the road to commercial 5G

Samsung has been working very hard over the past few years for the commercialization of next-generation 5G networks and the company has announced that it has now taken a big step on the road to commercial 5G. Samsung has announced the commercial readiness of its 5G RF Integrated Circuit (RFIC) which is an important component that will be used in the production and commercialization of next-generation base station and other radio access products.

“We’re excited to finally bring all the pieces together and announce this important milestone on the path to commercial 5G. This will have a big role to play in the upcoming connectivity revolution,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung Electronics.

The new RFIC was announced by Samsung at a 5G mobile technologies workshop. It gave details about the development and the strengths of the chip and also outlined its role in the roadmap to commercial 5G products. The chip has been designed to “greatly strengthen” the overall performance of 5G access units. Samsung has particularly focused on designing it for low cost, high efficiency and compact form factors. The chip uses a high-gain/high-efficiency power amplifier that Samsung unveiled in June last year.

This enables the RFIC to provide extended coverage in the millimeter wave (mmWave) band, overcoming a big challenge of high-frequency spectrum. It also provides improved transmission and reception performance. The RFIC is destined for use in the 28GHz mmWave spectrum band, making it a primary target for early 5G deployments in marks like the United States, Japan and South Korea. Now that development on the chip is complete, Samsung is going to accelerate its plans for 5G commercial product readiness and expects to announce the first RFIC-equipped solutions by early next year.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2mcycYP
via IFTTT

It’s business as usual at Samsung despite vice chairman’s arrest

Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the conglomerate’s heir Lee Jae-yong was arrested earlier this week as the investigation into South Korea’s influence-peddling scandal continues. His sudden arrest has left a leadership vacuum at the company but Samsung says that despite his arrest, it’s going to be business as usual at the conglomerate.

Lee Jae-yong appeared before the special prosecutor’s team today for further questioning after spending the night in a jail cell. The team is expected to continue questioning him until February 28. They will be focusing on allegations that Lee paid more than $35 million in bribes to a close friend of President Park Geun-hye in return for the government’s support.

According to a report out of Korea, the management at Samsung remains on high alert following the arrest of their leader. The company says that day-to-day operations will be run by professional managers. “Daily operations of Samsung Electronics and its affiliates will not be affected by the arrest because they are run by professional CEOs” said a Samsung future strategy office spokesperson. The office serves as the control tower of the conglomerate and was on duty over the weekend.

Simply put, just because Lee Jae-yong has been arrested doesn’t mean that Samsung will suddenly take a break from everything. It’s a very, very big company that has competent people in its ranks to keep the ship steady through these troubled waters.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2lkeqex
via IFTTT

Harman International merger with Samsung Electronics approved by shareholders

Samsung Electronics announced in November last year that it had decided to acquire Harman International for $8 billion. This acquisition gives Samsung access to Harman’s automotive business as well as its premium audio brands which include Bang & Olufsen, Harman Kardon, JBL, and more. There was some pushback from minority investors who felt that the price was too low. Some even filed a lawsuit against Harman’s CEO for deciding to sell the company at a price that they perceived to be lower than what the company was actually worth.

However, despite those concerns and the troubles that Samsung is going through these days, Harman International shareholders have voted in favor of the acquisition. This means that a major hurdle is now out of Samsung’s way as it seeks to close this deal in the coming months.

A regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission confirms that 70.78 percent of Harman’s common shares – 49,460,322 out of 69,883,605 shares – were represented at the shareholders meeting either in person or through proxies. 46,921,832 shares were in favor of the acquisition, 2,107,178 against with 431,312 abstentions.

With the shareholder approval now out of the way, the acquisition now requires an approval by antitrust authorities in the United States, South Korea, China and the European Union. Samsung plans on closing this deal by the third quarter this year.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2kWaQpW
via IFTTT

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge Nougat update released by AT&T

Owners of Samsung’s 2016 smartphones in the United States have anxiously been waiting for their carriers to release the Nougat update that Samsung started rolling out for the international unlocked variant of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge in the second week of January. T-Mobile started pushing out the update earlier this week, and the wait ends today for AT&T subscribers.

The second largest carrier in the United States has finally released Android 7.0 Nougat for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge. AT&T’s support pages for the two devices hasn’t been updated with information on the Nougat update, but it is rolling out over the air for many users and should soon be available to every Galaxy S7 and S7 edge owner on the carrier’s network.

Nougat brings more than a few changes for the devices, including but not limited to user interface tweaks, several new features and overall system and performance enhancements. If you’re curious to find out more, don’t forget to check out our What’s New With Nougat series and also see a few tips and tricks to get the most out of your device and the latest iteration of the OS.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2kViyke
via IFTTT

First Galaxy Tab S3 firmware now online, grab the wallpapers here

Samsung is getting prepared to launch the Galaxy Tab S3, from specification leaks to S Pen-toting confirmation, device pricing, a press conference tease, and even the device manual showing Note-like ambition. Now, in honor of Samsung’s upcoming February 26th announcement, the first Galaxy Tab S3 firmware has appeared online. The Tab S3 will be, along with the Galaxy S8, the first device from Samsung to feature Nougat out of the box. The firmware available is for the WiFi-only model of the Tab S3, not the LTE model.

For a refresher, the Galaxy Tab S3 (SM-T820, SM-T825 for LTE) is said to feature a 9.7-inch, Super AMOLED display (no 8-inch tablet this year) with a 2048 x 1536p screen resolution, 2.1Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor (the same one found in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge), 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 5MP front/12MP rear camera combo, along with a home button with an embedded fingerprint sensor, LTE Category 6, Gigabit WLAN, and Bluetooth 4.2. As for colors, a new black model will replace the former white model.

In honor of the upcoming tablet to the “Galaxy,” we offer the Galaxy Tab S3 wallpapers that you can download here for your enjoyment. You can go here to download the first Tab S3 firmware.

All eyes are on Samsung now, as the day of the Tab S3′s unveiling quickly approaches.

Firmware Details:

Model	SM-T820
Model name
Country	United Kingdom
Version	Android 7
Changelist	10638878
Build date	Mon, 13 Feb 2017 19:25:36 +0000
Security Patch Level	2017-02-01
Product code	BTU
PDA	T820XXU1AQB9
CSC	T820OXA1AQB9

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2lVnfP4
via IFTTT

Galaxy S8 RAM confirmed for China along with US sales commencement

The Galaxy S8 has been leaked in all its glory by now, new software being the exception, so the countdown until the announcement is in full swing. At this point, the devil is in the details, with interested buyers and diehard fans alike yearning for specific information and the time of the sales commencement in their region or part of the world. Twitter member @mmdj_china, known for his Galaxy C5 Pro photo leak, brings new information about the Chinese variants as well as US sales commencement of the next Galaxy.

From Twitter, the leakster says that all Galaxy S8 Chinese variants, both the S8 and S8 Plus, will feature 6GB of RAM and have a minimum of 64GB (128GB maximum) onboard storage out of the box. Chinese buyers can expect to pick up either Galaxy S8 in the 15th week (which puts Chinese sales commencement in the third week of April). As for the US Galaxy S8 sales release, the States will see the handset go on April 14th (one day earlier than the rumored late April 15th announcement date), which means that the March 29th announcement date is starting to make sense of things.

The 6GB RAM confirmation from the leakster isn’t surprising, considering that China has been confirming the same RAM capacity for Chinese variants as early as 4 months ago and @mmdj_China confirmed the same thing himself just a few weeks ago. What differs between his report three weeks ago and his report now is that, whereas before, Samsung would only launch one 6GB RAM variant (the others were suspect), now all Chinese variants will have the same RAM capacity. Samsung confirmed that this high RAM capacity is one of the great selling points in the Chinese market, and 5 Chinese OEMs have already started implementing the RAM capacity in their high-end sellers. What this means for the rest of the market, though, is anyone’s guess.

For those in other markets longing for a 6GB RAM Galaxy S8, we’ll keep you posted.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2kz5lBv
via IFTTT

Galaxy S8 clear case leaks in new photo

The Galaxy S8 rumor mill has been in full swing, but things always get serious when photos start surfacing across the Web. In this case, famous VentureBeat reporter Evan Blass (a.k.a @evleaks) who confirmed the Galaxy S8+ moniker last week is back with a Galaxy S8 clear case photo that proves that the Galaxy S8 does exist apart from assuming renders and that accessories are in order for the big announcement.

The photo doesn’t tell us much that we haven’t seen already, but we do notice the Speck logo at the top right of phone back (which would likely be the top left if you’re holding the phone) along with the lack of SAMSUNG branding at the top of the phone display, matching the first photo leak from Blass three weeks ago.

The fingerprint sensor remains back-mounted, perhaps intentionally so, and there is a third button on the left side of the front display (which retains the AOD) or a fourth physical button on the Galaxy S8 that is indeed the Bixby AI button renders have affirmed as of late. Additionally, the Galaxy S8 comes with a dual-curved display, a display of Samsung’s long-term panel investment that echoes Blass’s initial photo of the next Galaxy.

Blass’s leaked photo does not only confirm the Galaxy S8, but also the upcoming LG G6, that, in what is a revolutionary move for LG, does not feature a removable back cover and battery in contrast to years past. The LG G6 dual-camera combo on the backside of the phone is much improved from LG’s modular experiment last year.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2kJfKpE
via IFTTT