Purported Galaxy Xcover 4 running Nougat granted Wi-Fi certification

Earlier today, an unidentified Galaxy-branded smartphone was spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s online database. Unfortunately, the documentation doesn’t reveal anything about the device, other than that it carries the model number SM-G390F, which leads us to believe that we’re looking at the long-overdue Galaxy Xcover 4.

What’s particularly interesting about this sighting is that the handset’s operating system is listed as Android 7.0 — so it’s safe to assume that it’ll run Nougat skinned with the latest version of Samsung’s Experience – formally known as TouchWiz — user interface straight out of the box.

Unfortunately, it’s unknown when the Galaxy Xcover 4 will hit the shelves, but seeing as it’s now received its Wi-Fi certification credentials, we don’t expect to have to wait too much longer before it passes through the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), then launches on the open market.

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Samsung may be working on a Gear Fit Pro fitness tracker

Samsung already offers wearable fitness trackers like the Gear Fit 2 and also provides health and fitness tracking features in smartwatches like the Gear S2 and the Gear S3. The company has now filed a new trademark application for the Gear Fit Pro brand. On the face of it, this might be a new wearable fitness tracker that offers advanced health and fitness tracking features.

Perhaps it might tap into Samsung’s Simband health platform for cloud-sourced health tracking that the company announced three years ago. Samsung showed off the Simband, a reference wearable device for this platform that any manufacturer can use to build their own devices. The Simband wearable featured a variety of sensors that measure data points like oxygen level, body temperature, heart rate and more.

Samsung has filed this trademark application with the European Agency For Intellectual Property. It’s unclear at this point in time what features this wearable device might have that will set it apart from somewhat similar products like the Gear Fit 2.

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Samsung job posting confirms AI virtual assistant for the Galaxy S8

Samsung acquired an artificial intelligence startup founded by the people that created Siri a couple of months back. The acquisition of Viv Labs led many to believe that the company was working on a new AI-powered digital assistant for the Galaxy S8. Fresh trademark applications suggested that the assistant might be called Bixby. We’ve since exclusively confirmed some of the major features of Bixby that will set it apart from the likes or Siri and Cortana.

In its Q4 2017 earnings release, Samsung detailed the strategy that it’s going to stick to for further growth in the smartphone market. Delivering new AI-powered software and services was mentioned as an integral part of this strategy.

If there was any doubt remaining about Samsung’s intention to introduce a new AI virtual assistant with the Galaxy S8, this job posting from Samsung should eliminate it. The LinkedIn posting is for a Principal Program Manager who, among other things, will be responsible to “drive the execution and delivery of Samsung’s upcoming AI (Artificial Intelligence) assistant on the Galaxy S8. Samsung is expected to eventually expand the AI assistant to some of its other products as well.

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Themes Thursday: Here are three new themes you should check out this week

We welcome you to this week’s Themes Thursday! Samsung has released 79 theme packs in its Theme Store since past seven days, and we’ve shortlisted three that might look appealing to you. All the themes listed here are paid, but there are some decent free themes too.

The Black and Orange color combination of the Orange Breakthrough theme looks quite sharp and attractive. The [HIO] Golden Lion: Live theme has golden accents with circular icons and a suitable wallpaper, and it might appeal to a lot of users.

The Rotate UI [Platinum] theme by popular designer Hiten Soni uses striking colors, an interesting background that looks like a map, and a well-designed dialer. Which theme did you like from this week?

Orange Breakthrough | Paid

[HIO] Golden Lion:Live | Paid

Rotate UI [Platinum] | Paid

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BREAKING: First live photo leak of the Galaxy S8 confirms key details

We knew this was bound to happen in the days leading up to the Galaxy S8 launch and it has happened today. VentureBeat has posted what appears to be the first live photo leak of the Galaxy S8. The image confirms some key details about Samsung’s next flagship smartphone that have been reiterated in rumors and reports repeatedly.

Samsung is going to launch two models of the Galaxy S8 which will feature a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display. There’s not going to be a flat display version as both handsets will have the dual-edge curved display. The screens are said to cover 83 percent of the handset’s front panel and it certainly looks nice.

We already know that the Galaxy S8 is going to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and the report adds that it’s going to feature 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. A battery size of 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh is mentioned for the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch model respectively.

The image reveals that the Galaxy S8 is going to have a USB Type-C port and that the physical home button has been removed. We can also see that the standard 3.5mm headphone jack has not been ditched. We can also see that the fingerprint sensor has been positioned alongside the camera on the back.

While the 12-megapixel (f1.7) rear and 8-megapixel (f1.7) front cameras are reportedly not going to see a resolution improvement compared to the Galaxy S7, the rear camera is said to have a new visual search feature with icons being displayed on the screen that enable users to indicate the type of search to be performed. This feature can be used to perform Optical Character Recognition-enabled web searches, for example. There’s a sensor alongside the front camera which will provide iris scanning functionality like the Galaxy Note 7.

The report also mentions that Samsung is going to launch the Galaxy S8 at a special event in New York on March 29. The public release is going to take place a couple of weeks later in April. Both Galaxy S8 models are reportedly going to cost €100 more than the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 with the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch models expected to be priced at €799 and €899 respectively.

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Galaxy S7 Active Nougat update might arrive soon

Samsung finally started rolling out the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge last week. The company also posted a list of devices that are going to receive the said update in the first half of 2017. Since it’s part of the 2016 flagship series, many would expect the Galaxy S7 Active to be prioritized, even though the device is exclusive to just one carrier in the United States.

While Samsung is yet to confirm when the Galaxy S7 Active Nougat update is going to be released, we’ve spotted that the handset bearing model number SM-G891A has received its Wi-Fi certification. This is normally an indication that the release is not that far off. However, keep in mind that since this device is locked to AT&T, the carrier can hold up the update and that’s something that mobile carriers have a tendency to do.

It really can’t be said with any amount of certainty at this point in time when the Android 7.0 Nougat update is going to be released but this is a positive indicator and hopefully, the Nougat update is going to be released for the Galaxy S7 Active soon enough.

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Samsung’s new Windows 10 tablet one step closer to launch

We exclusively reported last year that Samsung is going to launch its second Windows 10 tablet in a few months. It’s going to be a successor to the company’s first Windows 10-powered hybrid tablet, the Galaxy TabPro S. Presuming that Samsung sticks to its naming convention, this new tablet will be called the Galaxy TabPro S2 and given that it has now received its Wi-Fi certification, it’s one step closer to launch.

Our report mentioned that Samsung is going to offer four models of the new Galaxy TabPro: SM-W728, SM-W727, SM-W723, and SM-W720. It’s possible that some of these variants might offer LTE support. We’ve spotted the Wi-Fi certification for the SM-W727V and it’s only a matter of time before the others go through this process as well.

Details about the specifications of this tablet are slim at this point in time but it’s likely going to tout a 12-inch Super AMOLED display with 2160×1440 pixel resolution and the latest Intel Core M series processors.

It’s possible that Samsung might launch this new Windows 10-powered tablet at the Mobile World Congress 2017 next month. The company is also expected to launch the Galaxy Tab S3 at this event.

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