Galaxy J7 Duo (SM-J720F) manual reveals dual rear camera, Bixby Home

It was around two weeks ago that we discovered a new Galaxy J7 model thanks to the FCC, with the device carrying model number SM-J720F. Recent reports peg this device to be the Galaxy J7 Duo, and since its model number is lower than that of the Galaxy J7 (2017) (which was SM-J730F), the J7 Duo is expected to be placed somewhere between the Galaxy J7 (2017) and the Galaxy J7 Pro. The latter was released in India last year with a few additional features over the regular J7 (2017), and it looks like the Galaxy J7 Duo will also have at least one feature that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Galaxy J7 Duo will have a dual rear camera

The user manual for the SM-J720F has been published on Samsung’s website, and it reveals that the device will have a dual rear camera setup. If this phone is anything like the Galaxy J7+ that launched in a few Asian markets last year, the two cameras should be 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel sensors, with the second camera enabling Live Focus (bokeh) photos. The manual also shows a removable battery, although that would be surprising for a device that has popped up in benchmarks with the Exynos 7885 SoC that powers the Galaxy A8 and A8+. Granted, the chip powering the J7 Duo might be a lower clocked variant called the Exynos 7884, but it’s hard to believe such a device would offer a removable battery in this day and age.

Of course, no one is going to complain if the J7 Duo does have a removable battery, a feature that Samsung omitted from last year’s Galaxy J series phones. As for the rest of the phone’s specs, it should have a 5.5-inch 720p display, 3GB/4GB of RAM, at least an 8-megapixel front camera (with a front-facing flash), dual SIM functionality, a fingerprint sensor, and Android 8.0 Oreo. As the manual confirms, Bixby will be making its debut on Samsung’s budget lineup with the Galaxy J7 Duo. Since there’s no dedicated Bixby button, the phone will only offer Bixby Home and Bixby Reminder, both of which you will be able to easily ignore if you wish to.

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Gear Fit2 and Gear Fit2 Pro update makes ‘tracking fitness goals easier’

Following the major Gear S2 update last week, Samsung has announced an update for its fitness trackers, the Gear Fit2 and Gear Fit2 Pro. The Fit2 and Fit2 Pro update adds two new features called Weight Management and Fitness Program, both of which debuted with the Gear Sport. Weight Management does exactly what the name suggests: You can track your daily food consumption and exercise to keep a track on your calorie intake, which is an important aspect for those who are trying to shed some weight and those who are looking to put on a few pounds.

Gear Fit2 and Fit2 Pro update adds new features

Fitness Program, meanwhile, is for those who tend to workout at home. The feature allows the user to sync the phone connected to the fitness band with a TV and see workout videos on a big screen while they work up a sweat, similar to how you might have live videos demonstrating each exercise at a functional training gym. Naturally, the tracker continues to record your workout numbers in the background. The update also streamlines the way all the information is shown. The Workout Screen, for example, is now divided into three separate pieces of data, with the option to customize what information is displayed (such as calories burned or exercise duration). Finally, the update also brings the option to store favorite exercises on the new Multi-Workouts widget accessible on the home screen so you can access them quickly.

The new Gear Fit2 and Gear Fit2 Pro update is available for download from the Samsung Gear app. As with all such updates, it may be a while before the update shows up for you. Once you have installed it, do try out the new features and let us know your thoughts on how well they work.

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Samsung publishes details of the April 2018 security patch

Samsung took us by surprise when it released the April 2018 security patch for one of its devices at the end of last month, before details on what the patch contains were released by Google. But that’s changing today, as both Google and Samsung have published information on the latest security maintenance release (SMR). Naturally, Google’s Pixel and Nexus devices are already receiving an update with the latest patch, while Samsung will take a couple of weeks to get the update out to most devices and countries.

April 2018 security patch detailed

The April 2018 security patch brings fixes for seven critical vulnerabilities that affect Android, along with fixes for a slew of high and moderate risk vulnerabilities. Of course, there are a few fixes that are exclusive to Samsung’s software, and the latest patch contains fixes for eight such vulnerabilities. At least one of those eight vulnerabilities is serious enough not to have been revealed in the April security bulletin, as that would allow hackers to take advantage before the update has reached everyone. And, considering not every patch gets released for a particular device in every country, information on such vulnerabilities is best left a secret.

With the newest security patch, Samsung has once again released the update for a non-flagship device first, and we’re betting the next device to receive the April patch will be one of the company’s mid-range Galaxy A smartphone. Of course, we’d be happy to lose such a bet and keep our fingers crossed that owners of the company’s expensive flagship phones don’t have to wait too long.

For complete information on the April 2018 security patch, check out the source links. Seeing the update on your Samsung device already? Tell us the name of the device and where you’re from by leaving a comment!

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Galaxy A6 release nears as support page pops up on Samsung’s website

It appears that the Galaxy A6 release may not be that far off as a support page for the handset has now been spotted on Samsung’s own website. It was revealed not too long ago that the Galaxy A6 and the Galaxy A6+ are among the new devices that Samsung has in the pipeline for this year. We have also exclusively confirmed that these handsets will be released in Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

The Galaxy A6 and the Galaxy A6+ were most recently spotted at the FCC for the requisite certification. While that doesn’t confirm a North America launch for these devices, it’s possible that the FCC certification is being obtained because the Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ may eventually be launched in South America as well.

Galaxy A6 release

The FCC listing contained screenshots which revealed that the Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ will feature a flat Infinity Display much like the Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ (2018). They won’t have a physical home button courtesy of the 18.5:9 aspect ratio display. The inference drawn from these screenshots is that the display resolution will be 720p and 1080p for the Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ respectively.

The first support page for the Galaxy A6+ bearing model number SM-A605FN has been spotted on Samsung Poland’s website. While the support page doesn’t confirm a lot of the device, it does reveal that there’s going to be a dual-SIM variant of this device.

There isn’t a lot of information about these devices that is known for sure at this point in time. Their listings that surfaced on benchmark and certification websites over the past couple of weeks have suggested that the Galaxy A6 will be powered by an Exynos 7870 processor with 3GB of RAM whereas the Galaxy A6+ will feature a Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM.

Samsung is yet to confirm when it’s going to launch the Galaxy A6 and the Galaxy A6+ but much like the new handsets that the company will release this year, we can expect them to come with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

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SamMobile Firmware Update Magazine: April 3, 2018

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Firmware Magazine. You can think of it as your go-to resource to find out which of your Samsung devices has received a new update or if it’s going to receive a new firmware update in the near future.

To keep things interesting, we present the Firmware Magazine in new designs every week. It will always include the important details about firmware updates such as the firmware versions, device model numbers, Android OS versions and the country where said update is out already.

SamMobile Firmware Update Magazine

Keep in mind, however, that these firmware details are based on the firmware that are available in our database, and in some cases, the latest updates might not show in the same week as the full firmware files take additional time to make it to our database.

The purpose of this magazine is to bring all of that important information about firmware updates to you, the reader, in a manner that’s easy to comprehend—so even if you’re new to the world of firmware, you’ll have no trouble making sense of it all.

Click on the image below to grab the latest firmware magazine!

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Bixby can now order coffee from Starbucks

Samsung is gradually expanding Bixby’s capabilities so that the assistant can do more to make your life easier. The company announced today that Bixby will now be able to order coffee and other menu items from Starbucks in South Korea. Users can give it relevant voice commands and it will go ahead and order what they want from the coffee chain.

This has been made possible by linking Bixby to Starbucks Korea’s mobile order and payment app Siren Order. It was launched by Starbucks in South Korea back in 2014 and it lets customers order and pay for their items via the app. South Korea was the first country where Starbucks launched its Siren Order system. The integration lets users pay for their orders and even ask for information such as parking and drive-thru facility at Starbucks stores.

Replicating the in-store ordering experience

The ordering experience via Bixby has been designed to replicate the in-store ordering experience with a barista. Users can order as if they’re talking to a barista in the store and even as for items such as extra whipping cream and more syrup. Bixby will quickly move from order to payment without requiring the user to install any additional apps. They can then just walk to the store and pick up their order.

Samsung users with a Bixby-compatible device can now use this functionality in South Korea. Supported devices include the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9/S9+ and the Galaxy S8/S8+. This is the first collaboration for Samsung in which it has integrated its virtual private assistant with a mobile ordering and payment service.

It goes without saying that there’s a possibility that the company might ink similar partnerships with other food and beverage chains that are running mobile ordering and payment services. This will enable Bixby to order from a variety of chains in response to simple voice commands. We’ll likely see such integrations being rolled out in South Korea first before Samsung decides to expand them to other markets.

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Galaxy S6 lineup to no longer receive security updates

It’s been three years since the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge went on sale as Samsung’s first flagships with its modern glass-heavy design language, and the phones have had a good run as far as software updates are concerned, just like it usually is the case with the company’s top-of-the-line phones. But software support has to come to an end at some point, and that point seems to have arrived for the entire Galaxy S6 lineup. Samsung has removed mention of the S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, and the S6 Active from the page where it details security updates, suggesting no further updates will be released for these handsets.

End of the line for the Galaxy S6 lineup

Samsung’s been embroiled in a lawsuit that says the company should support its phones for at least four years after launch, but it isn’t exactly open to changing its policies despite the pressure. Samsung promises two years of major OS upgrades and three years of security updates, and that period has now elapsed for the S6 and S6 edge. However, what’s odd is that the S6 edge+ seems to be off the list as well while the Note 5 isn’t, despite the two phones launching at the same time. The same goes for the Galaxy S6 Active, which released in June so is technically two months away from the end of its three-year support period.

But, as Samsung has iterated time and time again, this doesn’t mean software updates for the Galaxy S6 lineup won’t come out when the need arises, as many older devices receive updates every now and then. But it does mean that if you own one of the Galaxy S6 devices, you can stop checking for new updates as often as you might be right now. And hey, this might just be the push you need to upgrade to a Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+, which will be receiving security updates till 2021 and have a laundry list of new features for anyone moving from a two-year or older Samsung flagship.

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