Samsung HMD Odyssey VR headset upgraded with Anti-Screen Door Effect display

Samsung has announced an upgraded version of its HMD Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset, called the HMD Odyssey+. As expected, the upgrade comes in the form of a new display, one that has Anti-Screen Door Effect (Anti-SDE) technology. The display resolution remains the same as the original headset (2880×1600), but the anti-SDE tech will reduce the chances of users seeing gaps between pixels.

Samsung HMD Odyssey+ brings a sharper VR viewing experience

The screen door effect is one of the major drawbacks associated with virtual reality headsets. Despite a high pixel density of 1,233 PPI on the dual 3.5-inch AMOLED displays inside the HMD Odyssey+, the proximity of the user to the displays means pixelation can be visible in various kinds of content. The screen door effect can also cause dizziness or nausea in some folks. According to Samsung, the anti-SDE AMOLED display works by applying “a grid that diffuses light coming from each pixel and replicating the picture to areas around each pixel.” The Odyssey+ also has wider eye boxes (146mm vs 138 mm on the original) to better fit the user’s eyes, with breathable anti-fog material on the face padding preventing mist build-up around the eyes.

The rest of the features are carried over from the first Odyssey. You get premium AKG-tuned audio with 360-degree spatial surround sound, built-in dual microphones that support Cortana, and 110 degrees field of view and a 90Hz refresh rate for the dual AMOLED displays. The HMD Odyssey+ comes bundled with two motion controllers with six degrees of freedom (DOF) for a full range of three-dimensional movement, along with HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports for connecting to a Windows-powered computer. It also supports the Steam VR platform.

The Odyssey+ will go on sale in the US today with a price tag of $499.99 from the Microsoft Store and Samsung.com. Availability will expand to Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Brazil, among other countries, at some point in the future.

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Samsung Notebook Flash merges retro design with Gigabit Wi-Fi

.Samsung today unveiled a new laptop called the Samsung Notebook Flash. It merges retro design with the best wireless internet capability. The company has done a good job of differentiating this notebook’s design compared to existing products.

It features a 13.3-inch Full HD resolution wide viewing angle display and is available in three color cover designs. Linen White, Twill Charcoal and Soft Coral to be precise. It touts Intel’s latest Gigabit wireless LAN card.

Samsung Notebook Flash

The Gigabit wireless LAN card enables this machine to hit speeds of up to 1.7 gigabytes per second. This will enable the laptop to download large files in a short amount of time. It’s optimized for Korean carrier KT’s network services.

Samsung has gone with a retro look for the keyboard. The keys are reminiscent of analog typewriter keys and offer a comfortable typing experience. Each keycap is curved to give the impression that they have been individually crafted. The palm rest has a fabric-like texture. Samsung says it provides a different feeling compared to the metallic ones in other notebooks.

Samsung has worked with Microsoft to offer improved security features on this device. There’s a fingerprint sensor alongside the keyboard and the Notebook Flash supports the Windows Hello feature of Windows 10. Samsung’s secure folder will let users store content that can only be accessed by them on the device.

Samsung has not yet detailed the technical specifications of this product. It is unclear what processor it has and how much memory and storage it comes with. What the company has said is that the Samsung Notebook Flash features a USB Type-C port. The company will be selling this product in South Korea for 820,000 or $715. No word as yet if it plans on launching the Notebook Flash elsewhere.

Do check out the rather satisfying video from Samsung to find out more about the design of this new notebook.

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Samsung gaming phone hits the rumor mill once more

It was rumored three months ago that a Samsung gaming phone is in development. We haven’t heard much about this device since then. It wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung did do this. Smartphones aimed at gamers have become a thing and there’s nothing stopping Samsung from jumping on that bandwagon.

The rumor mill is talking about this device once again. Samsung is said to be working on a gaming smartphone. There’s even a claim that Samsung might test its S-GPU for this device. S-GPU is what Samsung reportedly calls its in-house GPU.

Samsung gaming phone could be in development

The latest scuttlebutt from Chinese social network Weibo suggests that Samsung is working on a gaming phone. That’s what we heard three months ago as well so not much has changed on this front. The interesting claim is that the possibility of the S-GPU being tested for this device hasn’t been ruled out.

It was first rumored a few years ago that Samsung is developing its own mobile GPU. The company then signed an agreement with ARM in 2015 to use its GPUs in Exynos processors. It’s believed that this led to the delay in the development of Samsung’s in-house GPU.

We reported earlier this year that Samsung was likely moving GPU development in-house. Later reports suggested that the company’s mobile GPU would offer exceptional performance. The new GPU design is said to be led by a veteran of the graphics industry, Dr. Chien-Ping Lu. An analyst claimed that Samsung’s GPU could be at par with the in-house GPU that Apple is working on for its mobile devices.

A gaming smartphone would obviously have flagship-level specs and would need a GPU to match. It was previously believed that Samsung would test the waters with its in-house GPU by shipping it with mid-range devices first. It would be quite a leap of faith for the company to ship it with a high-end device. However, that can also serve to showcase the company’s confidence in the chip.

No other details about the Samsung gaming phone have hit the rumor mill as yet. It would be best to treat it as an unsubstantiated rumor right now. There isn’t a lot of evidence to suggest that this device is being actively worked on. It’s likely that Samsung has considered the possibility but it’s still too soon to be sure about this.

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New Samsung flip phone images leaked yet again

Leaks concerning the new Samsung flip phone keep coming in. Merely days after we saw images of this device being revealed by China’s main certification agency, we have now come across additional images of the device.

It’s not uncommon for units of Samsung’s flagship flip phone to surface in the wild ahead of its official launch. Samsung is yet to confirm when it will unveil the SM-W2019 in China. It has been picking up the required certifications lately so the launch may take place soon.

New Samsung flip phone

The SM-W2019 looks similar to its predecessor, the SM-W2018. It’s likely going to be powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor. We can see the dual rear camera in these images and it would be backed up by software features like the Scene Optimizer.

Like other models before it, the SM-W2019 will also have two AMOLED displays of Full HD resolution. The device is going to ship with Android 8.1 Oreo but it should receive the Android 9 Pie update in the coming months.

These images show that not much has changed design-wise. It’s essentially a refreshed model of last year’s flagship flip phone. It may be doing well where it’s released considering Samsung decides to release a new one every year.

Samsung launched the SM-W2018 in December last year. It’s likely that the company will stick with the same timeframe for this handset as well. It does have “2019” in its moniker after all. The new Samsung flip phone will only be available in China and South Korea. The company only really finds takers for this form factor in these markets.

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Images of Samsung’s gradient covers for Galaxy J4+, J6+ and A7 surface

We reported last month that Samsung may soon launch gradient covers for some of its devices. The company is embracing gradient colors for its smartphones now. The cases will allow it to bring such colors to existing handsets. Images of these covers have now surfaced online. It appears that Samsung will first be releasing the gradient covers for the Galaxy J4+, Galaxy J6+ and the Galaxy A7.

Samsung could actually end up calling them “Gradation Covers.” The name is of little consequence, though. The idea here remains the same and that is to add a gradient color effect to these devices.

Samsung’s gradient covers for Galaxy J4+, J6+ and A7

The images of these gradient covers show that the color will go from a lighter tone to a darker tone. That’s the expectation from such shades. The cases for the Galaxy J devices appear to have a grid-like pattern with the color fading gradually. The ones for the Galaxy A7 have a diamond-like pattern and the gradient effect. There’s “Designed by Samsung” written at the bottom of all cases.

The finish will obviously not be as impressive as it is on the Galaxy A9 for example. It’s Samsung’s first smartphone with proper gradient colors. There’s a more complicated manufacturing process involved in achieving this effect on the device’s metal shell itself. We were told by the product’s designer that gradient colors are one of the design trends that the company’s design labs have identified for 2018.

There’s no word as yet on when these gradient covers will be available for purchase. The press renders have been leaked online so it may only be a matter of time before Samsung starts selling them. There’s no word on pricing as yet but expect them to cost about the same as an official case from Samsung would.

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Galaxy S8 gets October 2018 security update in Germany

The Galaxy S8 was the first Samsung flagship to get the October 2018 security patch, with the rollout debuting in Canada a couple of weeks back. It is now reaching the unlocked Exynos-powered international model. Germany seems to be the first market where the update has been released, but it should only be a matter of time before it comes to other countries across the globe.

Galaxy S8 October 2018 security update more widely available

The October security patch includes fixes for a dozen critical Android OS vulnerabilities and nearly the same number of vulnerabilities that only affect Samsung’s software. The Galaxy S8 October 2018 security update doesn’t bring anything to the table other than those security fixes. Yet, the over-the-air update size is higher than 500 MB. That’s standard fare for Samsung devices that didn’t launch with Oreo out of the box, as they lack Project Treble support. Regular security (and minor) updates for devices that were launched running Oreo are usually less than 100 MB in size.

The new update brings with it software version G950FXXU4CRJ5 and G955FXXU4CRJ5 for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ respectively. You should be able to download it by tapping the Download updates manually option in the Settings » Software update menu on your phone. We also have the complete firmware files for this update in our firmware database (Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S8+), which you can use if you don’t want to wait for the update to arrive over the air.

The October patch has also been released for the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, and the Galaxy Note 8, in addition to a number of mid-range and budget smartphones. Do check if it’s available for you, and let us know if you have already updated to the latest security patch.

Thanks, Jonas Fränkel!

Galaxy S8

• Model: SM-G950F
• Dimensions: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm
• Display: 5.8” (146.5mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 8895
• Camera: 12 MP, Dual Pixel F1.7 OIS

More specifications

Galaxy S8+

• Model: SM-G955F
• Dimensions: 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm
• Display: 6.2” (158.1mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 8895
• Camera: 12 MP, Dual Pixel F1.7 OIS

More specifications

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Early 2019 release for Samsung’s Pie update suggested once again

We first heard a possible time frame for Samsung’s Pie update from the company’s French Samsung Members community. In a post about possible changes to expect from Pie, a community moderator had suggested that we would have to wait until January 2019 before the Pie features and changes would reach users. That time frame has now been reiterated in a post on the Samsung+ app.

Samsung Galaxy Pie update isn’t coming before 2019

The Samsung+ post talks about some of the general Android Pie features, such as Adaptive Battery, new emojis, and Actions and Slices, instead of what we can expect from Samsung’s customizations and additions. But it mentions a similar time frame for when we can expect the update to roll out to Galaxy phones. Well, “early next year” could mean anytime from January to March, but January will hopefully see at least some markets get the update. We know Project Treble might not be of much help, but that doesn’t mean Samsung shouldn’t be trying its best to release Android Pie as quickly as possible.

The Samsung+ post doesn’t mention a specific device, but the Galaxy S9 is sure to be updated first. Samsung will kick off a Galaxy S9 Android Pie beta program in the near future, allowing us to test the new Samsung Experience 10 UX. Samsung Experience 10 will bring a new dark theme for the entire OS, along with features such as Scene Optimizer in the camera app and an updated Always On Display look. You can see an early Android Pie build running on the Galaxy Note 9 in the video below to see the kind of changes to expect from the next major version of Android on Galaxy devices.

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