Samsung patents fingerprint scanner with swipe functionality

A patent application made by Samsung in South Korea has been published today, it reveals that the company is thinking about bringing swipe functionality to fingerprint sensors. This feature will make the fingerprint sensor even more useful as users will be able to get certain things done by simply swiping in a particular manner. We’ve already seen an implementation of this functionality in Google’s new Pixel handsets, users can view notifications by simply swiping down on the fingerprint scanner that’s located on the Pixel’s back.

Samsung has patented something similar though it merits mentioning here that this patent was filed nearly two years ago and it has only just now been published. One example mentioned in the patent demonstrates how users can jump straight into a specific application by placing their finger on the sensor to unlock the phone and swiping it to automatically launch the app. The possibilities here are endless.

Just because Samsung has patented this functionality doesn’t mean we’re going to see it in a smartphone anytime soon. It may be out of the question entirely for the Galaxy S8 since the next flagship is expected to be the first smartphone to feature optical fingerprint recognition technology which will be baked inside the display itself.

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Galaxy J7 (2016) now receiving September security patch in Europe

Just a matter of hours after it started distributing this month’s security patch for the Galaxy J5 (2016) in Europe, Samsung has begun rolling out a similar update for the Galaxy J7 (2016) in the region. What’s strange, however, is that the upgrade is dated September 1 and not October 1, which means that it includes all of the fixes included in last month’s release.

We’re not entirely sure why Samsung has opted to push an older release to the Galaxy J7 (2016), but we’re guessing that it will issue another OTA later this month to bring the patch in line with the other handsets in the J series. In the meantime, if you’d like to see if the update is ready for your unit, you can do so by heading into Settings » About Device » Download Updates Manually. 

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The Gear S3 is still on schedule to launch next month

Over the course of the past few weeks, many rumors have been bandied around claiming that the Gear S3 would miss its November release as Samsung is believed to have put a hold on future projects while it identifies the exact reason for the Galaxy Note 7′s unfortunate demise. However, popular online blog Tizen Experts has obtained information that suggests quite the opposite.

According to its “Samsung insiders,” the Gear S3 is still on schedule for its November launch and will go on sale on separate dates in different markets as originally planned. Unfortunately, an specific dates remain unknown at this precise moment in time, but we’ve put out the feelers with our reliable sources to try and uncover some additional details.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Samsung where we received comprehensive answers to ten of the most popular questions our readers had about the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier, including how the firm settled on their design, software features and internals. We also touched on the technology behind Samsung Pay and how the company was able to integrate MST into the wearbles.

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Daily Deal: Save on select SmartThings smart home products today

Many brands have started pushing smart home appliances and IoT products since the past couple of years, and Samsung is one of them. If you’ve been thinking to try out some of the smart home products from Samsung, now is a good chance. Amazon is offering discounts on a bunch of SmartThings products in the US.

The Home Monitoring Kit from SmartThings, which usually retails for $249, is being offered for just $199. The Motion Sensor from the company, which is usually priced at $39.99, is now listed with a price tag of $31.99. The SmartThings Outlet, which retails for $54.99, is now being sold for $43.99.

If you want to start off with a smart home without burning a hole in your pocket, you can grab the Hub from SmartThings from Amazon and add compatible products later. It is now being sold at a discounted price of $74.99, which is usually priced at $99. Amazon will ship these products only to addresses within the US, though.

• SmartThings Motion Sensor: $31.99 vs. $39.99 (Original)
• SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit: $199.99 vs. $249 (Original)
• SmartThings Outlet: $43.99 vs. $54.99 (Original)
• SmartThings F-Hub US-2 Hub: $74.99 vs. $99 (Original)

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China finally bans the Galaxy Note 7 from flights

When the Galaxy Note 7 was recalled for the first time Samsung said that customers in China were not affected by it as they were given units with safe batteries. Despite countless reports of Galaxy Note 7 units catching fire in the People’s Republic, Samsung only formally recalled the handset in the country after it confirmed that the Galaxy Note 7 was being discontinued. Samsung’s insistence that Galaxy Note 7 handsets shipped in China were safe was heavily criticized with the country’s state broadcaster even saying that Samsung had an arrogant attitude towards Chinese customers. We’ve already seen other countries take this step and now China has announced that Galaxy Note 7 handsets will no longer be allowed on flights.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has announced today that starting tomorrow no one will be allowed to take a Galaxy Note 7 handset onboard a plane. The use and charging of Galaxy Note 7 onboard flights was already banned last month, now units can’t even be kept inside checked bagged. Galaxy Note 7 users in China will have to look to other modes of transportation if they want to travel with their handset.

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Galaxy J5 (2016) update brings October security patch

Samsung has started rolling out a minor update for the Galaxy J5 (2016) in Europe. The handset already runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow so it’s not like the update will bring any major changes to the Galaxy J5 (2016). What it does bring is the October security patch which contains patches for 68 crucial bugs identified by Google and 7 patches for vulnerabilities identified by Samsung.

Software version MMB29M.J510FNXXU1APJ3 is now being rolled out for the Galaxy J5 (2016) model number SM-J510FN in The Netherlands. It’s only a matter of time before this update is also rolled out to other countries across Europe. Samsung is rolling out this update over-the-air in the country so it might take some time to go live for everybody. Users can head over to Settings > About Device > Software Update > Update Now to check if the update is available for their handset. Those who are okay with manually flashing firmware on their handsets can also download this update from our firmware section.

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Samsung Display betting on virtual reality panels to increase share in mobile OLED market

Samsung Display is looking to further improve its share in the mobile OLED market by betting on panels for virtual reality and augmented reality, one of the company’s top engineers said at a display seminar in South Korea today. Park Won-sang, Samsung Display’s principal engineer, was speaking at the International Meeting on Information Display in Seoul, he said that the company expects the mobile OLED market to grow as virtual reality and augmented reality applications become more popular.

Park said that Samsung Display is working to increase energy efficiency for high power consumption of VR panels. It’s a major obstacle but Samsung is working to overcome this technical limitation. Samsung Display is also attaching importance to augmented reality, “We are viewing the augmented reality market as very important,” Park said, adding that it allows for innovative applications that combine the digital and real world. He said that Samsung Display is working to solve eye problems that AR users often complain about, users complain about eye strain and dry eyes as they have to focus on panels from a short distance in a dark environment. That’s one of the augmented reality pain points that Samsung is working to address.

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