Samsung Internet Browser now supports some non-Samsung devices

Samsung Internet Browser is one of the many system apps that Samsung has unbundled and made available for download via the Google Play Store. The app has long been compatible with only Samsung smartphones.

Not too long ago, the company made the beta version of the app compatible with some non-Samsung devices. The beta version works with Google’s Nexus and Pixel devices. The non-beta version of Samsung Internet Browser now works with them too.

The beta version of the browser was released back in March this year. It allows the company to test new features for the browser with users who like using beta apps. New features are put to the test before they’re released for all users in the stable version of the browser.

Previously, only Samsung Internet Beta could be download on Nexus and Pixel devices. The Play Store listing for Samsung Internet Browser reveals that it’s now compatible with the aforementioned devices.

It’s possible that this support has been enabled for some time now. Samsung made the change quietly, then again, this isn’t something that requires a proper announcement. If you own a Nexus or Pixel you can head over to the Play Store right now and take the Samsung Internet Browser for a spin.

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Samsung to invest $620 million to double smartphone production in India

Samsung is reportedly mulling a $620 million investment in India to double smartphone production in the country. Government and industry sources mentioned in the report claim that Samsung is going to expand its existing 120,000-square-meter production facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh to 240,000 square meters.

It’s reported that Samsung has completed the purchase of land next to the Noida plant for setting up the new production line. Samsung is expected to perform groundbreaking of the new plant at a ceremony on June 7.

Samsung Electronics India signed a memorandum of understanding for expansion of its Noida plant with the Uttar Pradesh state government in October last year. It announced back then that it was going to invest $305 million and has since decided to double the size of its investment.

Once the expansion is completed, the factory will be able to produce 10 million units of smartphones every month, which will be double the existing production capacity of 5 million units per month. Moreover, the monthly production of refrigerators will see a twofold increase from 100,000 units to 200,000 units.

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Galaxy A4 (2017) allegedly receives Wi-Fi certification

An unidentified Galaxy-branded handset, which is believed to be the Galaxy A4 (2017), has been spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s database. Unfortunately, the documentation doesn’t reveal any details about the handset itself, other than that it was tested running Android 7.1.1 Nougat; however, a recent post on Weibo casts a light on a lot more details.

The Galaxy A4 (2017) is rumored to feature a similar design to the Galaxy A3 (2017) and reportedly bears a resemblance to the Galaxy J7 (2017). Under the hood, it’s said to pack a 5-inch Full HD display, an Exynos CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (expandable up to 256GB), a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 3,000mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) review: Finally the ‘A class’ compact phone we wanted

What’s particularly interesting is that the Galaxy A4 (2017) was submitted for testing with Android 7.1.1 Nougat on board. Whether it’ll be the Samsung device it debuts on remains unknown, though there’s a good chance the Galaxy Note 8 will also be powered by the aforementioned build of the operating system — so it’s whatever hits the shelves first.

It should go without saying that all of the details outlined in this post should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt, as nothing’s confirmed.

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Galaxy J5 (2017) launch now expected on June 5

We heard a lot of reports so far that the new handsets from Samsung’s Galaxy J (2017) series will be unveiled in June. The company is yet to provide a confirmed release date at this point in time. However, if a listing for the device is believed, it may be out on June 5.

Earlier this week, the Galaxy J5 (2017) was spotted at a German retailer called Cyberport. It was suggested that the handset was going to be launched on June 22. The listing revealed specifications of the handset.

The Galaxy J5 (2017) is expected to feature a 5.2-inch 1280×720 pixel resolution display in a full metal body with an octa-core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage. The handset will also have dual-SIM support, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, Android 7.0 Nougat and a 2,600mAh battery.

Listings for the Galaxy J5 (2017) in Gold and Black colors have now popped up on Amazon France where the handset has been priced at 279 euro. These listings reiterate whatever we’ve heard about the handset’s specifications so far.

The renders that accompany this listing have June 5 set as the handset’s current date. This is normally an indication of when the device is going to be made official. If the date mentioned in the renders is indeed correct then we will see Samsung officially making an announcement concerning the Galaxy J5 (2017) on June 5.

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Samsung has now released the Device Maintenance app on the Play Store

Samsung has gradually been unbundling its system apps and releasing them as standalone apps on the Google Play Store. It has only been three days since the Always On Display app was released on the Android app repository and now the company has given similar treatment to yet another system app called Device Maintenance.

The reason why Samsung does this is because unbundling system apps and releasing them as standalone apps enable the company to push out updates more quickly. They no longer have to accompany a major software update for the device itself. Samsung can update the features in the app as and when it pleases and just send it out as a regular app update.

The Device Maintenance app is similar to many cleaner apps on the Play Store. It enables users to clear memory and delete files they do not need. It also provides a score of the device’s health and recommends actions that users should take if the score needs to be improved.

Additional features include the ability to identify battery-draining apps, free up RAM, one-tap smartphone optimization, malware detection, four different Performance modes, and more.

Device Manager version 1.0.24.19 is now available for download from the Play Store. It only works on select Samsung smartphones.

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Samsung took 13 percent of global smartphone market profit

A new report by Strategy Analytics reveals that Samsung took 13 percent of the global smartphone market’s operating profit in the first quarter of this year. It accounted for 13 percent of the combined operating profit posted by global smartphone vendors.

Samsung posted $1.57 billion in smartphone division’s operating profit in the second quarter of this year, registering a 21.9 percent decline from the same period a year ago.

Samsung is not the market leader when it comes to this metric. Apple is far ahead of the pack. It posted an operating profit of $10.1 billion in the first quarter of this year which accounted for 83.4 percent of the industry’s combined operating profit for Q1 2017. Apple saw a 79.8 percent increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year.

The data further reveals that Apple’s operating profit ratio in relation to sales amounts to 30.7 percent. This is considerably higher than the 9.7 percent profit to sales ratio for Samsung.

Industry analysts are of the view that Samsung is having troubles in improving its profitability due to market saturation and margins that are generally shrinking. It will be interesting to see what steps the company takes in the following quarters to turn this metric around, after all, it’s not like it doesn’t want to see its operating profits climb.

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Samsung’s Connect Home Wi-Fi mesh router goes up for preorder tomorrow

Samsung had announced a mesh Wi-Fi router along with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ two months ago. The Connect Home is actually a combination of a Wi-Fi router and a SmartThings Hub. The company has now announced a release date and pricing for the device.

The Connect Home goes on preorder from BestBuy.com starting tomorrow. It will be sold in a variety of combinations. The company will sell a pack of three, enough for a large 4,500-square feet home, for $379.99. A single unit, which is enough for a 1,500-square feet home, is priced at $169.99. A mesh of five Connect Home units can cover an area of 7,500 square feet.

There’s also a Pro variant of the Connect Home router which features a 4×4 MU-MIMO antenna array and a maximum theoretical speed of 1.7Gbps. The non-Pro variant of the Connect Home feature a 2×2 MU-MIMO antenna array and a maximum speed of 866Mbps. It’s not clear whether standard and Pro variants can play nice with each other in the same network, though.

The Connect Home features Zigbee and Z-Wave to control compatible home automation and IoT products. All the configurations of the Wi-Fi router will be available for purchase starting July 2nd in the US through Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com.

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