Welcome to the latest edition of Wallpaper Wednesday. This week we’re highlighting five more winter-themed backgrounds. All of the images are available in a suitable resolution for the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ — and just about any other smartphone on the market.
The post Wallpaper Wednesday: Winter (Part 2) appeared first on SamMobile.
An interesting new leak has surfaced today regarding Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy A series devices. Twitter leakster @mmddj_china has shared an image that mentions a Galaxy A8 (2018) and a Galaxy A8 Plus (2018), adding some confusion given the lack of any previous hints of a new Galaxy A8. We have had some discussions here at SamMobile about this, and we’re speculating that the A8 (2018) and A8 Plus (2018) might not be anything but the 2018 iterations of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7.
Confused? Well, allow us to explain. While we know better than to believe an image that mentions device names in regular text, it could make sense for Samsung to streamline the naming convention for the Galaxy A series phones and bring it in line with the Galaxy S flagship lineup. The Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) are more or less confirmed to feature Infinity displays similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The Galaxy A and Galaxy S phones already share their design language of having glass on the front and back with metal in the middle, and an Infinity display will leave pretty much no difference between the A and S series as far as design is concerned.
http://pic.twitter.com/LQsPOlkxrw
— 萌萌的电教 (@MMDDJ_) November 15, 2017
As a result, bringing the names of the upcoming Galaxy A5 and A7 in line with that of the Galaxy S8 would make sense, with the 2019 upgrades getting the A9 moniker, and so on. Now, you must be wondering what will happen to the Galaxy A3. To be honest, we don’t think Samsung will be making any more of those, given the lack of any leaks or rumors suggesting the existence of a 2018 model. That would fit right in with the company’s plans for unifying the product names of its mid-range lineup with those of its top-of-the-line phones. And if an A3 (2018) does have to exist, maybe Samsung could call it a Galaxy A8 mini.
Samsung has already done something like this before. The Korean giant made the decision to skip the Note 6 moniker for the ill-fated 2016 Galaxy Note flagship to bring consistency to its naming scheme, and to make sure consumers don’t feel that the latest Note device is in any way inferior to that year’s Galaxy S flagship just because it carries a lower model number. By renaming the A series on similar lines, Samsung would have an easier time telling consumers that a Galaxy S handset is the top-end offering and a Galaxy A device is a mid-range one with a similarly attractive design but lower-grade specs.
Again, all of this is speculation on our part, based on an image that’s far from trustworthy as far as leaks are concerned. Changing the way Samsung names its mainstream mid-range phones could cause major confusion, but things will likely normalize a year or so later. Samsung will also have a problem once the Galaxy S10 arrives. Perhaps completely revamping its naming scheme across all segments with new letters would be a better idea, with something like Galaxy X, Galaxy Y, or Galaxy Z for the low-end, mid-range, and flagship categories.
In any case, we will be paying close attention to the rumor mill to see where the Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8 Plus (2018) fit and whether they even exist. Samsung has tried to streamline and reduce the number of devices in its “Galaxy” before, only to continue throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, so there’s no telling if it will even make another attempt.
What do you think? Could Samsung really be looking at unifying the Galaxy A series phone names with its flagships, or are we getting too ahead of ourselves? Get a conversation going in the comments section!
The post Is Samsung unifying Galaxy A series phone names with its flagships? appeared first on SamMobile.
Merely days after we spotted a listing for the Galaxy A5 (2018) on Samsung’s website, a similar listing has been spotted for the Galaxy A7 (2018). Both handsets have recently sailed through the FCC as well. Enough circumstantial evidence has mounted to support the theory that Samsung will soon be launching these smartphones.
While the listing doesn’t reveal any details about the flagship Galaxy A series handset, it does point out that the Galaxy A7 (2018) launch isn’t that far off.
The listing for the Galaxy A7 (2018) model number SM-A730F has been spotted on Samsung Russia’s official website. It’s a support page that doesn’t have any information about the handset at this point in time but will undoubtedly be updated before the handset’s launch.
The Galaxy A7 (2018) will be the flagship handset in Samsung’s new Galaxy A series. It’s going to be powered by an Exynos 7885 processor. The handset is also expected to feature an Infinity Display and Bluetooth 5.0 support.
No word as yet on when Samsung is planning on unveiling this new series. If history is any indication, we might see the company launch the Galaxy A (2018) series early next year. No pricing and availability information is available at this point in time.
The post Galaxy A7 (2018) gets listed on Samsung’s website appeared first on SamMobile.
Samsung doesn’t have the best kind of support for unlocked variants of its flagships in the US, but it has certainly picked up the slack in recent months. It’s still not perfect, though, as the company is now rolling out the October security patch for the Galaxy Note 8, its latest flagship, and the November patch for last year’s Galaxy S7 edge. But then again, older devices do seem to be getting preference right now, with phones like the Galaxy A5, Galaxy J1 (2016), and Galaxy S6 receiving the November update already.
Note 8 owners on AT&T’s network are seeing the update (with build number N950USQU2BQJA) arrive on their device, and according to users on XDA, the update may disable the ability to get root access. For those who need a refresher, the October security patch fixes 215 Android vulnerabilities and six specific to Samsung’s software. The November patch carries the same number of fixes for Samsung-specific exploits, but only 61 vulnerabilities that affect Android. It also includes a fix for the KRACK Wi-Fi vulnerability, which is why it’s slightly disappointing that Samsung’s latest flagship is walking behind.
In any case, should you own an unlocked Galaxy Note 8 or S7 edge, you can see if the update is available by going into the Settings » About phone menu and selecting the Download updates manually option. We will also have the full firmware files in our database shortly for those who wish to do a manual upgrade. Got the update already? Let us know if you notice anything new or different after you’ve updated your phone by leaving a comment.
The post Unlocked Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S7 edge getting October and November updates in the US appeared first on SamMobile.
It has finally happened: Xiaomi has managed to make it to the top of the Indian smartphone market, according to the latest data revealed by IDC. Samsung and Xiaomi are currently tied for 23.5 percent share each of the Indian smartphone market, and if the Chinese OEM keeps up, it may soon zoom past Samsung to become the top Indian smartphone manufacturer. How did this happen? How, in such a short time, did a small Chinese company that mostly just deals in the budget and mid-range segments take over Samsung, which has been a player in India far longer?
Well, the primary reason for Xiaomi’s success has been its value-for-money budget smartphones (like the Redmi 4 and Redmi Note 4). A majority of smartphone sales in India happen in the affordable segment, and Xiaomi has continued to offer specs from nearly thrice more expensive Galaxy devices at dirt cheap prices. It has dealt mostly in the sub-Rs. 12,000 (or around $190) part of the Indian market, where Samsung has traditionally failed to offer smartphones with impressive features (other than an AMOLED display from time to time).
What makes Xiaomi’s achievements particularly impressive is that it has managed to catch up to the Korean giant without selling phones offline and through a flash sales model that see these phones go on sale only on specific dates. Xiaomi has kicked off sales in retail stores in recent months and has also gotten around the flash sale model by selling devices on its official website, and these moves have no doubt offered the final push that Xiaomi needed to level with Samsung.
Can Samsung do anything to ensure that it can take the fight to Xiaomi and win back the market share it has steadily lost in India in the last couple of years? More importantly, can it do something to directly counter Xiaomi’s popular sub-$200 devices, which have driven the company’s market share from a niche to nearly 25 percent of the pie?
Well, we aren’t experts, but there are a few steps we think Samsung can take to course correct its decline in the world’s second most important smartphone market.
We have already talked about how a sub-brand could help Samsung offer more value-for-money devices while keeping its mainstream Galaxy lineup separate. Huawei has managed to capture the interest of consumers in China and India with its Honor sub-brand, and Samsung could benefit from a similar sub-brand for these markets. It would still be impossible to sell devices with good specs at Xiaomi’s prices, as the Chinese OEM operates on razor-thin profits in the initial months.
Once component prices go down, Xiaomi starts earning a little more profit on each device sale as the reduction in component prices isn’t accompanied by a (notable) drop in a phone’s original price. Xiaomi also saves on marketing costs, opting to let word-of-mouth and social media handle the brunt. And no, Xiaomi’s customer support isn’t too lacking, either. In fact, it has managed to do quite well in that field, even if it didn’t start out with the same quality of support.
Xiaomi’s strategy is not something Samsung can truly adopt, but it can spin off more sensibly priced phones under a different brand so it can attract more consumers without hitting the market value of its vast Galaxy-branded lineup of devices. The technicalities of such a strategy would be complex for a giant corporation like Samsung, but it certainly seems one of the clearest strategies to us if the Korean manufacturer intends to kindle consumer interest in India.
Other than the high price compared to competing devices from Xiaomi and other Chinese OEMs, Samsung’s poorly optimized software is a key reason for why its smartphones no longer attract the same attention. Pick up a Xiaomi phone, and you’d be surprised by how smooth and quick it is, even one that has been in use for some time. Granted, Xiaomi does have more powerful chipsets inside these devices, but let’s be honest: Even high-end chipsets are unable to keep Samsung’s Android software running smoothly after a few months (and even a few weeks in some cases). It’s not like Xiaomi doesn’t offer a slew of additional features like its Korean competitor; in fact, MIUI is among the most customized Android skins out there.
“Does it lag?” is a question that has come to be associated with Galaxy smartphones, and it’s particularly damaging in a country like India, where the much higher smartphone buying population means word of mouth doesn’t take a long time to get around. Samsung’s still holding on to nearly 25 percent of the Indian market, so people are buying its phones, especially those who care about brand value and support. But there are also a large number of people – especially on tight budgets – who opt for a non-Galaxy device because someone or the other tells them that low-end and mid-range Galaxy handsets aren’t great performers.
Of course, quite a few no doubt experience it themselves and decide to switch to a different OEM, which is usually one of the Chinese OEMs that sell smartphones in India. And again, it’s not like only Samsung’s budget and mid-range phones have performance issues. The Galaxy S8 has developed noticeable stutter, and we see only the Note lineup of devices truly holding their own even after months of usage. Put the same software on low-end phones with entry-level processors and mid-range devices without sufficient horsepower, and you can see why one would find it hard to recommend the Korean giant’s offerings. Samsung has even failed to sometimes optimize handsets powered by its Exynos chips as well those powered by Snapdragon chips.
Optimized software isn’t just a necessity to improve sales; it’s also important for the user experience, and Samsung is far from perfect in that regard. Its Android interface has come a long way, but it’s unclear why Samsung has failed to truly bring it up to modern standards when it comes to performance. Perhaps it doesn’t care, given it still moves the highest number of smartphones globally from stores to customers, but if there ever was a time to double down on software optimization, this is it.
Xiaomi isn’t known for quick software updates. Actually, while it takes an obscene amount of time to bring newer versions of Android to its phones, it offers regular updates to MIUI, its custom Android skin. Samsung, with the resources at its disposal, can get a head start in this field to increase the value of its budget and mid-range devices. Bring out major software updates faster, and maybe offer more than just one major upgrade to budget phones. I have a Galaxy J7 Pro that launched in India four months ago, and I don’t think it has received a single update in that time, with its security patch level sitting at June 1 here in mid-November.
Again, Xiaomi isn’t great at bringing newer versions of Android to its devices quickly, instead focusing on regular updates that bring new features and functionality, sometimes on a weekly basis. Samsung has a chance to get in on the action early here. It’s certainly been increasing focus on mid-range phones on the update front, but maybe it should now start bringing major Android updates to these handsets in a considerably shorter span of time.
Like I said in the introduction, we’re not experts, and we’re sure Samsung has actual ones butting heads to come up with ways to counter Xiaomi. Flooding the market with phones isn’t going to help, but a sub-brand, phones that perform well even if they don’t have powerful internals, and quick software updates for all are something it should consider. Xiaomi will probably continue its rise in the Indian market, and Samsung needs to scramble if it intends to take back the throne or even stay in the running in the years to come. The time for action is now, especially with the company’s refreshed leadership, or it may just be too late for any of this to matter.
What do you think? Is there something you think would be a good solution for Samsung in the Indian smartphone market?
The post Can Samsung take back the Indian smartphone market from Xiaomi? appeared first on SamMobile.
Samsung has revealed that it will retire its My Knox platform on December 19, 2017. This news comes less than a year after the firm announced that it would be axing the service in favor of Secure Folder, a sandboxed, secure environment that can be used to store sensitive information.
My Knox users won’t be able to update—or install—the application from Galaxy Apps after the end-of-service date; however, they’ll still be able to use the platform to access their files, and even create new content, until they switch smartphones—or make the leap to Secure Folder.
Before deciding whether to carry on using it, they should probably ensure that they’re familiar with their My Knox credentials, as they will be unable to recover any account details from December 19. They also won’t be able to access the My Knox Portal to remotely manage their handset.
Samsung’s made it extremely easy to migrate private content from My Knox to Secure Folder. All users have to do is create a copy of their My Knox data by heading into My Knox, followed by Settings and Backup and Restore, then Restore it within Secure Folder. Simple, right?
The post Here’s when Samsung will retire its My Knox platform appeared first on SamMobile.
Oprah Winfrey releases her Favorite Things List annually ahead of the holiday season. Winning one of those coveted spots brings in a lot of sales for featured products. Samsung has announced that The Frame TV has been featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2017 list. It has been selected by Oprah and the editors of O, The Oprah Magazine as one of her favorite things for the upcoming holiday season.
Samsung launched The Frame TV at the Consumer Electronics Show 2017 earlier this year. It was initially launched in 55-inch and 65-inch models. The design makes this product seem more like a photo frame than a conventional TV. It’s no surprise that the TV has an Art Mode which displays works of art like paintings.
The Frame TV customers get 100 pieces of artwork preloaded and they can also buy more from Samsung’s Art Store. Frame options for this UHD TV include Oak, Walnut and White.
“Can you believe this is a television? Finally, a way to get rid of the black screen,” Oprah says in the December issue of her magazine, adding that “You select the frame, the layout, and the painting or photograph, either from a large gallery of choices or your own album. Program it and prepare to be amazed.”
Samsung recently launched a 43-inch model of The Frame TV as well. It was released in the United States a couple of weeks back for $1,300.
The post Oprah’s Favorite Things 2017 list features The Frame TV by Samsung appeared first on SamMobile.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة لمدونة الغريب 2013
تصميم :zouia mohamed تطوير :عمرو محمد
