Samsung might acquire micro-LED developer PlayNitride

If a new report is believed, Samsung might be interested in acquiring PlayNitride. This Taiwan-based company manufactures micro-LED panels. Samsung is said to be interested in manufacturing micro-LED displays for its VR headsets and may even use the technology for some TV models as well.

Micro-LEDs aren’t that popular as yet but market analysts believe that this display technology has the potential to be brighter and more efficient than OLED displays. Significant technical challenges exist, though, so the technology may not be properly commercialized before 2020.

Samsung isn’t the only company that’s interested in this technology. Apple acquired micro-LED company LuxVue in May 2014. Sony is working on this display technology as well while Oculus has acquired InfinitiLED, another micro-LED company.

This acquisition will enable Samsung to get a foot in the door, so to speak, as far as this next-generation display technology is concerned. Nothing is confirmed at this point in time but Samsung is reportedly going to pay $150 million for the company. Only time will tell if it decides to do that.

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Daily Deal: Save 51% on a 32GB EVO microSD card

For a limited time only, you can pick up a 32GB EVO microSD card for $18.48 (51% off), which is a great price to pay for a chip that not only offers super-fast transfer speeds, but is also waterproof and resistant to extreme temperatures.

If you like the sound of the 32GB EVO microSD card and want to take advantage of this promotion, hit the Buy Now button below. We should note, however, that orders won’t ship until May 7.

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Samsung patent shows what the Galaxy S8 might have looked like with a physical home button

Looking at the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, it’s easy to think that Samsung had always envisioned these devices with the virtually bezel less Infinity Display, with no physical home button or company logo to ruin the beautiful design. But every new smartphone goes through multiple iterations and usually has different prototypes before the final design is decided, and a Samsung patent shows what a Galaxy S8 might have looked like had it come with a physical home key.

It’s unclear if the design was patented just for the sake of having a patent, or whether it’s based on an actual prototype, but it does make it clear that a physical home button had no place being there at the front of the phone. It would simply have ruined the beauty that is the Galaxy S8, although it’s too bad Samsung threw the fingerprint sensor next to the camera instead of placing it in a more sensible position. The small size of the button, as seen in the image below, would also have made ergonomics an issue.

What do you think?

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Samsung Gear S3 receives an official price cut in the US, now available for just $299.99

The Gear S3 classic and the Gear S3 frontier, which were launched in the US last year with price tags of $349.99 each, have received an official price cut. Bluetooth variants of both these smartwatches are now available for just $299.99 through Samsung’s official online store as well as Amazon.

The LTE variant of the Gear S3 frontier for AT&T’s network is now priced at $299.99, but the T-Mobile variant will still set you back by $349.99. The Gear S3 is compatible with Android smartphones from Samsung as well as other brands. Moreover, it is also compatible with recent iPhones, but with limited functionality.

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Samsung’s compatibility list shows which Gear S3 features work with the iPhone and non-Samsung devices

With the Gear S3, Samsung finally opened up its smartwatch platform to non-Galaxy Android devices, later bringing support for the watch to the iPhone. But the Gear S3 works best when paired with a Galaxy device, and Samsung has published a list today which reveals how its latest smartwatch works with Android devices from other manufacturers and with the iPhone.

As we had noted in our experience of using the Gear S3 with the iPhone 7, the watch’s functionality is severely limited on Apple’s flagship, and things haven’t improved since then, no doubt because of Apple’s tightfisted control over iOS. Non-Samsung Android devices fare much better, only missing out on some functionality in messaging, calling, and email, while getting full functionality even with Samsung Pay. The next Gear S smartwatch will hopefully bring full support for all Android devices; for now, go ahead and check out Samsung’s official list below.

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This might be the best Galaxy Note 8 concept yet

Samsung has reiterated multiple times that it’s going to launch a new Galaxy Note flagship later this year. The new flagship will presumably be called the Galaxy Note 8 if Samsung decides to stick with the same brand name.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been hearing more rumors and reports about what we can expect from the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung has a lot to make up for after the disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7 so it may work hard to regain the Note’s lost appeal.

We’ve come across what might be the best Galaxy Note 8 concept yet. It completely reimagines the phablet as a slimmer and sleeker device with the gorgeous Infinity Display that Samsung has introduced with the Galaxy S8.

It also imagines that the Galaxy Note 8 is going to have a dual camera system on the back. That remains a possibility given that Samsung was also expected to introduce such a system with the Galaxy S8. Many believe that Samsung’s first dual camera smartphone will be its next Note flagship.

None of this has officially been confirmed yet so it goes without saying that you should take this all with a grain of salt until we have more information to go on.

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Samsung’s Marshmallow parental control app teaches kids healthy smartphone usage habits

We exclusively reported six months ago that Samsung was working on a new parental control app for Galaxy smartphones. We told you in detail what features the app was going to offer and what the interface would look like. Samsung has now officially launched its parental control application.

The app is called Samsung Marshmallow. It’s a smartphone management and parental control app that helps kids develop healthy smartphone usage habits. It teaches them how to use a smartphone naturally by making their own usage plans, achieving goals and getting rewarded in the process.

Kids earn points – called Marshmallows – when they use their smartphones properly and lose them if they don’t. Kids will be able to set daily smartphone usage time limits themselves, which seems a bit counterproductive since most kids will not willingly limit their own time.

Parents are able to set bedtime, choose apps that they don’t want their kids to use, get information about their usage habits, and more.

Samsung Marshmallow is now available as a free download from the Google Play Store. It’s compatible with the Galaxy A, Galaxy J and Galaxy S series handsets running Android 5.0 and up. The Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note 5 are supported as well.

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