Samsung rolling out May 2018 security patch for the Galaxy J7 (2017)

Samsung detailed the May 2018 security patch last week and it’s now gradually rolling out the latest security maintenance release to compatible devices. The Galaxy J5 Prime was the first device to receive the May 2018 security patch four days ago after Samsung confirmed it and now it’s the Galaxy J7 (2017) that’s getting it.

Galaxy J7 (2017) May 2018 security patch

Samsung had actually released this security patch for the Galaxy J2 Pro even before it or Google had revealed anything about the latest security maintenance release. As expected, the rollout is beginning with mid-range devices. It’s going to take a few days before we see this patch arrive for more high-end devices.

The May 2018 security patch brings fixes for six critical vulnerabilities in the Android operating system and the dozens of high and moderate-risk vulnerabilities also discovered in the operating system. Fixes for 7 vulnerabilities discovered in Samsung’s software are included in this release as well.

Samsung has now started rolling out firmware version J730FXWU2ARE1 for the Galaxy J7 (2017) in Turkey. The update is being rolled out over-the-air and it’s also available for download from our firmware section.

It’s going to be a while before Galaxy J7 (2017) owners in other markets get this patch. We’ll update you as soon as the patch is rolled out for more devices. Expect that to happen over the next week or so.

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Exclusive: Here’s the Galaxy J6 with its Infinity display in the flesh

The Galaxy J6 is the next Samsung smartphone that will get the company’s Infinity display, following its introduction to the Galaxy A lineup with the Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+. The Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ were also launched with Infinity displays earlier this month, and while there’s no word on when the Galaxy J6 will go official, we have gotten hold of live images of the device that give us a clear look at Samsung’s first budget phone with an 18:5:9 display.

Infinity display on a (finite) budget

These images show the Infinity display in all its glory. Like the A series devices, the Infinity display on the Galaxy J6 isn’t as “infinite” as it is on Samsung’s flagship phones, so there are plenty of bezels even though the screen-to-body ratio is higher than usual. But the front is all black, so despite all that bezel, the phone should still offer a more immersive viewing experience. As for the back, we’re told it’s all plastic but not removable, so the battery won’t be accessible to the user.

For those who missed it, we also revealed the complete Galaxy J6 specs (and the J4’s) earlier this week. Its AMOLED display will be 5.6 inches in size (most likely of 720p resolution), and under the hood, an octa-core Exynos 7870 chipset clocked at 1.4GHz will do the heavy lifting. There will be either 2GB, 3GB, or 4GB of RAM depending on the market, along with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot for expansion).

The Galaxy J6 also has 13-megapixel and 8-megapixel rear and front cameras (with an LED flash for both), dual SIM slots and LTE support, and a 3,000 mAh battery that charges via a microUSB port. There’s a fingerprint sensor at the back, and like many recent J series devices, facial recognition is available as well. On the software side of things, the phone will run Android 8.0 Oreo with the Samsung Experience 9.0 UX out of the box.

Check out the rest of the Galaxy J6 pictures below, and let us know what you think!

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Rumor: Galaxy S10 display pixel density to exceed 600 PPI

The rumor mill doesn’t usually start spinning at full speed for the next Samsung Galaxy S flagship so many months before the current year’s Galaxy Note flagship is due. But, with the Galaxy S10 set to mark the tenth anniversary of Android’s most popular smartphone lineup, it’s not too surprising that we’re already seeing numerous reports about the device. Some of these rumors are often about a feature that Samsung reportedly isn’t going to be offering with the Galaxy Note 9, which is an in-display fingerprint sensor. But today’s titbit comes straight out of left field: According to leakster Ice universe, the Galaxy S10 could have a display with a pixel density exceeding 600 PPI.

High Galaxy S10 pixel density rumored

With a resolution of 2960×1440 pixels (WQHD+), the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ sport pixel densities of 570 and 530 PPI respectively. The next popular display resolution after WQHD is UHD/4K, or 3840×2160 pixels. If one were to apply that resolution to the 6.2-inch Galaxy S9+ display, they would get a pixel density of around 710 PPI. Now, we would be remiss if we didn’t say this particular rumor isn’t very believable, unless Samsung has decided it either wants the Galaxy S10 to fold out into a tablet, thinks virtual reality is important enough to give users 4K resolution for the Gear VR, is considering increasing the screen sizes on both models, or just thinking of equipping the Galaxy S10 with a 4K display to make it stand out.

Samsung, right now, makes its flagship smartphones run at Full HD+ (2220×1080 pixels) out of the box. So a jump to a 4K display mostly makes sense if the Galaxy S10 display will run at 4K resolution only when connected to a Gear VR, or if Samsung wants to offer a sharper experience inside some apps, such as the gallery (which is what Sony does). Samsung could also adopt a non-standard resolution between WQHD and 4K. Not something Google (and developers) would be happy about, as the non-standard resolution would be an outlier among the accepted resolutions in the Android ecosystem, and a non-standard higher resolution just for the sake of it would serve no purpose.

Which brings us to the possibility that Samsung wants the Galaxy S10 to run at WQHD+ by default instead of Full HD+, which, again, would mean the device will switch to 4K resolution only for the Gear VR and perhaps a few proprietary Samsung apps. Yet, unless we hear about the company doing something new with the size or form factor of the Galaxy S10, a 600+ PPI display sounds rather impractical and unnecessary.

That’s the very nature of these early rumors, though, that we have to be skeptical when we hear them and play the usual game of waiting for the next big rumor to come along. But there’s no reason we can’t have a discussion, so let us know your thoughts on a 600+ PPI Galaxy S10 display by leaving a comment!

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Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ ARCore support is now live

ARCore, Google’s augmented reality platform (AR) for Android, is now supported on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Samsung had teamed up with Google early last year to bring ARCore support to its 2017 flagships, and naturally, buyers of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ had expected to be able to try out AR apps based on ARCore out of the box. That wasn’t the case, however, and it was revealed that ARCore support for the Galaxy S9 duo would be out “in a few weeks.” The day has finally arrived, as confirmed by multiple Galaxy S9 owners.

Galaxy S9 ARCore support is a go

If you’ve played Pokemon Go (and let’s face it, almost everyone has tried that game at least once), you probably know what ARCore makes possible. With ARCore, apps can superimpose computer-generated objects and shapes on the real world as seen through a smartphone camera, then let users move around and view those objects and shapes by walking around with the phone in their hand, using the phone’s sensors to detect movement. It’s not true augmented reality as made possible by Microsoft’s HoloLens or what you see in the movies (like Tony Stark investigating a crime scene by waving his hands in the air in the Iron Man films), but it does enable AR to be experienced by practically anyone with a smartphone.

Many developers have already taken advantage of the ARCore platform to create AR apps for Android, and if you own a Galaxy S9 or S9+, you should now be able to try those apps out. To do so, you will first need to install the ARCore app from Google Play. It might not be immediately available for you as support will gradually be rolling out for all regions, but once you’re able to install the ARCore app, you can check out the many AR apps by searching for “ARCore” in Google Play. A good starting point is Google’s Just a Line app, or this one that allows you to view the atomic model of one of the 118 elements in the periodic table and then sends you to Wikipedia for detailed information on the chosen element.

Thanks, Samir Xhaferi!

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SamMobile Firmware Update Magazine: May 14, 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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Dolby Atmos is now supported on five of Samsung’s Android devices

The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are Samsung’s first flagship smartphones with stereo speakers, and the company also chose to equip the devices with Dolby Atmos support, which makes a substantial difference to sound quality. Well, it’s not just the Galaxy S9 that has Dolby Atmos support: The newly announced Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ have it as well, and Samsung has also brought the feature to the Galaxy Tab S3 with the Oreo update that started rolling out today.

Dolby Atmos everywhere

That makes a total of five Samsung devices that now have Dolby Atmos, and it’s likely more devices will come with Atmos support in the future. Of course, devices with single loudspeakers won’t be able to take full advantage of Dolby Atmos, but since the effect is more pronounced on a pair of earphones anyway, that’s not much of a limitation. And the takeaway here is that Samsung isn’t holding back on making Dolby Atmos a regular feature. It’s a nice addition for the company’s flagship devices in particular, which now come with AKG-tuned audio thanks to the Korean giant’s acquisition of Harman International.

If you own a Galaxy S9, Galaxy A6, or a Galaxy Tab S3 (running Oreo, which might not be the case for most folks at the moment), you can enable and customize Dolby Atmos from the Sound and vibration » Sound quality and effects menu in the device settings.

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BREAKING: Galaxy Tab S3 Android 8.0 Oreo update rolling out now

It’s a good day for Galaxy Tab S3 owners, at least in the United Kingdom, as the Android 8.0 Oreo update for the tablet is now rolling out in the country. Samsung UK seems to be on a roll, as it was the first to release Oreo for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge as well. At the moment, only the Wi-Fi variant of the Galaxy Tab S3 (model number SM-T820) seems to be receiving the update, and it may be a while before the LTE-equipped model joins the party, depending on how quickly Samsung is able to obtain the necessary certifications.

Galaxy Tab S3 Oreo update rolling out

The build number for the first Galaxy Tab S3 Oreo release is T820XXU1BRE2; it comes with the April 2018 security patch and is available for download from our firmware database. The update should also be available over the air, and you can see if that is the case by opening the Settings app, going into the Software update menu, and tapping Download updates manually. As far as new features are concerned, the Galaxy Tab S3 should be getting most of the Android 8.0 Oreo and Samsung Experience 9.0 functionality seen on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, and you can check out our extensive coverage of everything for more details.

As usual, it will be a few weeks before the Oreo update expands to other markets, though it shouldn’t take too long if Samsung treats the Galaxy Tab S3 as a flagship device, as it’s supposed to be. Hopefully, every Galaxy Tab S3 will be running Oreo before Samsung makes the Galaxy Tab S4 official. If you have downloaded the update already, let us know how it’s running for you, and if you are seeing the update in another country, do mention that as well so others can be apprised of its availability.

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