Samsung has gone crazy with its budget smartphone lineup

So, the Galaxy On8 launched in the Indian market today. Last week, the Galaxy On (2016) lineup was announced in China. A few days before that, India saw the launch of the Galaxy J5 Prime and the Galaxy J7 Prime. These are a lot of devices to launch in a month, but then it’s something we have gotten used to when it comes to the Korean giant. Except now, Samsung seems to have lost the plot completely and is making a mess of its budget smartphone lineups.

Take a look at this conversation I had with my SamMobile colleague earlier in the day, discussing exactly where the Galaxy On8 stands:

Do you see how confused we were? It’s a telling sign of how logic or planning no longer dictates how the company goes about making its smartphones if Samsung can confuse those who write about its devices every day. The Galaxy On8 is a rebranded Galaxy J7 (2016), rebranded because the On series is only sold online and it would have been impossible to do so if Samsung had kept the Galaxy J title. The Galaxy On8 is also a Galaxy J7 Prime with an AMOLED display replacing the latter’s LCD display. Meanwhile, the Galaxy On5 (2016) and Galaxy On7 (2016) launched in China are simply the J5 Prime and J7 Prime under different names.

I know what some people are thinking: What’s wrong with rebranding devices and selling them off as different options in different markets? Well, nothing much, except Samsung has also forgotten what each lineup used to stand for. The Galaxy J series, for example, was supposed to be all about the Super AMOLED display, while the Galaxy On series had LCD displays and considerably lower price tag. Now, the Galaxy J5 and J7 Prime mean the J series also has LCD displays, and the On series has moved on to Samsung’s excellent Super AMOLED panels.

Indian retailer Flipkart even lists the Galaxy On8 with the Galaxy J7 (2016)’s model number, so it is purely a name change. Before you start wondering why Samsung didn’t simply drop the J7 (2016)’s price, I should point out that it has to do with the online-only availability of the On series. Taking brick and mortar stores out of the equation means Samsung can aim for a lower price without cutting down on features or hardware. In that regard, it is actually good that the On8 exists, as consumers can opt for the same specs offered by the J7 (2016) – which is the most feature-packed Samsung smartphone in India under $250 – for a lesser price.

But rather than working on offering consumers as great a proposition as it can at different price points, Samsung is just haphazardly launching devices with varying names and slightly varying prices. There is apparently no clear aim, and it’s a good sign that Samsung’s penchant for letting its subsidiaries in different countries operate in a vacuum is making things go out of hand. Maybe this is all the company can do if it intends to stay relevant in a segment that is overrun by Chinese manufacturers offering excellent smartphones at ultra affordable prices, but Samsung really needs to create a game plan instead of throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks.

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Samsung Galaxy On8 with 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display launched in India

After teasing it last week, Samsung has launched the Galaxy On8 today in India. The mid-range smartphone costs INR 15,900 ($239 or €213), and it will be available for purchase through Flipkart. The Galaxy On8 is the first device in Samsung’s Galaxy On series of smartphones to feature a Super AMOLED display.

The Galaxy On8 comes with a metal body and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is equipped with a 1.6GHz Exynos 7580 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a 3300 mAh battery. There’s also a microSD card slot for storage expansion. The 13-megapixel rear-facing camera features autofocus, single-LED flash, HDR, and 1080p video recording. The 5-megapixel front-facing camera is accompanied by an LED flash as well.

Similar to every Samsung smartphone that has been launched in India this year, the Galaxy On8 features a dual-SIM card slot. It also features 4G LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, microUSB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The device comes in Black, Gold, and White, and will be available for purchase starting from the first week of October.

 

 

 

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Samsung’s flagship flip phone reveals specs on GFXBench

We first told you a couple of months ago that Samsung has a new flagship flip phone codenamed “Veyron” in the pipeline. Since then we have seen many rumors and reports concerning this handset. Quite a few images of the handset have also been leaked online so it’s not like the handset will come as a surprise when Samsung ultimately unveils it. Specifications of the flip phone bearing model number SM-W2017 have been revealed once again, this time on GFXBench.

The benchmark result shows that the SM-W2017 features a 5.5-inch Full HD Always On display with a 2.1GHz Snapdragon 820 processor underneath that’s hooked up to 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. A 12-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front camera is also listed alongside Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Previous reports have claimed that the SM-W2017 features a fingerprint scanner on the back and that it supports Fast Charging.

Samsung is yet to confirm when this handset is going to be launched and how much it’s going to cost. It normally releases flip phones in just a couple of markets and that might be the case with this new handset as well, even though it has the specs to take on some proper high-end devices.

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Galaxy Note 7 sales for pre-order customers in South Korea will resume tomorrow

As the Galaxy Note 7 replacement program is moving along nicely to meet its objectives, Samsung can now start thinking about resuming sales of its 2016 flagship. The company has confirmed when sales will be resumed in its home country of South Korea. Today, it has been confirmed that sales of the Galaxy Note 7 are going to be resumed tomorrow for customers who placed a pre-order for this device.

Major South Korean carriers SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus have all confirmed that they are going to resume sales of the Galaxy Note 7 for those who placed a pre-order in August and have not yet received their units. Samsung is going to officially resume sales for all customers in the country starting October 1. The company has also extended the timing for promotions so all those who purchase the handset before October 15 will receive a Gear Fit 2 as well as 50 percent cost support for repairs. Samsung will gradually start selling the Galaxy Note 7 once again in all markets across the globe in the coming weeks.

 

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Samsung says 90 percent of Galaxy Note 7 owners have opted for a replacement

Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Note 7′s battery cell issue on September 2 and immediately suspended sales of the handset. The company also said that it will voluntarily replace all Galaxy Note 7 units across the globe. Customers were given the option to either obtain a full refund for the price or simply hand in their existing Galaxy Note 7 and get a new, safe one. In some markets Samsung even allowed customers to exchange their Note 7 for a Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge and obtain a refund for the price difference. The company has provided some figures today which showcase the progress of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 replacement program.

“Just over three weeks ago, Samsung committed to a global replacement program for the Galaxy Note7. Last week, that program began for the majority of markets and the progress is encouraging” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our focus now is to make sure that all affected devices are replaced as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he added.

Samsung says that since the replacement program was initiated around 90 percent of Galaxy Note 7 owners across the globe have opted to hand in their unit for a new one. It also says that more than 60 percent of all recalled Galaxy Note 7 units in the United States and South Korea have been exchanged through the program and that in Singapore more than 80 percent of customers have already participated in this program.

“We are humbled by our customers’ loyalty to the Galaxy Note7 device,” said Koh. Samsung reiterates that people who still have an old Galaxy Note 7 unit should power it down and take part in the replacement program to ensure that they have a safe device which is not a fire hazard.

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Samsung to work with Mobile TeleSystems to develop 5G technologies

Samsung wants to bring 5G networks to consumers by the year 2020 and to be the global top-three player in 5G networks. To that end, the South Korean electronics giant has been working with various cellular operators around the world including SKT, KDDI, and T-Mobile to explore, develop, and test 5G networks. Now, Samsung and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) have joined hands to explore and advance next-generation telecommunication technologies.

Samsung and MTS have signed an MoU to jointly explore and improve 5G networks including Carrier Aggregation, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), LTE Broadcast (eMBMS), and Multi-path TCP (MPTCP) technologies. Thanks to Samsung’s experience in the field of IoT (Internet of Things), MTS will also collaborate with the South Korean electronics giant to test NB-IoT and LTE-Machine technologies. As a part of this newly signed MoU, these companies will conduct multiple tests on these technologies to improve the speed of data communication.

MTS is Russia’s leading cellular operator, and it has been working with Samsung since 2013 to establish LTE networks in cities across the North-West Federal District of Russia, including St. Petersburg and the Leningrad regions. These companies will continue their long-term relationship with a view of commercialising 5G networks within the next few years.

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Samsung pushes out September security patch for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge in Europe

Samsung has today started rolling out this month’s Security Maintenance Release (SMR) to all unlocked variants of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge that were purchased in Europe. The upgrade itself is weighs in at approximately 140MB and transports a handful of much-needed patches for both the Android operating system and the individual devices to make them more stable and secure.

As we’ve come to expect from all major and minor firmware updates, the OTA is being pushed out in stages. However, if you’d like to see if it’s ready for your device simply follow these steps: Settings » About Device » Software Update » Update Now. Alternatively, you can always wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to download the upgrade.

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