SamMobile Daily Recap: June 1, 2017 — Galaxy S8, Gear VR and more!

We publish a decent amount of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up with every post. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap.

So, without further ado, here’s what went live today:

APK

Always On Display with Clear Cover support released on Google Play

Business

Samsung identifies 80 key districts in India to boost sales

Deals

Daily Deal: Save 37% on a Keyboard Cover for the Galaxy S8

Phones

Galaxy J5 (2017) release in Europe may take place on June 22

Galaxy J7 (2016) Nougat update being tested by Samsung

Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM launched in India

Leaked render shows off Rose Gold color variant of the Galaxy S8+

Refurbished Galaxy Note 7 to carry a price tag of around $620

Themes

Themes Thursday: Take a look at this week’s five best new themes

Virtual Reality

Samsung’s new display for VR headsets has 3.5x more pixels at 858ppi

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2rYTSOr
via IFTTT

Always On Display with Clear Cover support released on Google Play

Samsung is keeping up with its penchant for unbundling system apps from its Galaxy smartphones and releasing them as standalone apps on the Google Play Store. This enables them company to quickly send out updates for these apps without having to bundle them with software updates. Always On Display is the latest to receive this treatment.

The Always On Display provides users with several clock designs and displays key information about notifications. Users can configure what they want to see on the AOD, they can even select an image from the gallery as a wallpaper for the AOD screen.

Users can experience different widgets on the AOD screen by double-tapping the clock area, set an active clock that has a running second hand, pin images and text to the AOD screen and download AOD-exclusive themes from the Theme Store.

The company today released Always On Display as a standalone app on the Google Play Store. That’s not all. It even has support for Samsung’s Clear View cover so AOD will be useful even when users have that cover installed on their supported Galaxy handset.

Always On Display is available as a free download from the Google Play Store. It used to be updated only via Galaxy Apps previously. Since this feature is only available on select Galaxy smartphones like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7, you need to have a compatible device to take advantage of AOD.

Thanks, Henk!

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2rtRTB1
via IFTTT

Galaxy J7 (2016) Nougat update being tested by Samsung

The upcoming Galaxy J (2017) series may be getting all of the attention these days but there’s something that existing Galaxy J series handset owners can look forward to: the Nougat update. Samsung is yet to roll out Android 7.0 Nougat for these devices. A GFXBench listing reveals that the Galaxy J7 (2016) Nougat update is now being tested by Samsung.

The listing reveals that benchmark tests are being conducted on the Galaxy J7 (2016) model number SM-J710 with Android 7.0 Nougat onboard. This is normally taken as an indication that the update is not that far off. Nevertheless, it can’t be said with absolute certainty at this point when Samsung is going to release Nougat for this handset.

The Nougat update for this device will bring all of the features that are part and parcel of Android 7.0. Some of Samsung’s own features like the Blue Light Filter and Secure Folder might be included as well.

It’s also not known at this point in time when the other handsets in the Galaxy J (2016) series will receive their Nougat update. Hopefully, Samsung will provide more clarity on the matter soon.

Those who are looking forward to the Galaxy J (2017) need not be concerned, the refreshed series is likely to come with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2sin0gX
via IFTTT

Daily Deal: Save 37% on a Keyboard Cover for the Galaxy S8

For a limited time only, you can snag yourself a detachable QWERTY Keyboard Cover for the recently-released Galaxy S8 for just $37.90, which is a cool 37% off its recommended retail price.

“The Samsung Galaxy S8 Keyboard Cover provides the protection of a standard protective cover with the convenience and functionality of a mechanical QWERTY keyboard,” reads the product description.

“Pairing or separate battery not required. Simply clip the keyboard to the front of your device with the included protective cover installed – your screen interface adjusts automatically to accommodate the keyboard.”

To go ahead and purchase the Keyboard Cover for the Galaxy S8, hit the Buy Now button below. You’ll probably want to hurry though, as it inventory won’t be around for too long.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2rI4sd4
via IFTTT

Leaked render shows off Rose Gold color variant of the Galaxy S8+

An alleged press render of a Rose Gold color variant of the Galaxy S8+ surfaced on Weibo on Thursday — and we have to say, it looks absolutely fantastic. We’re unable to trace its provenance, though, which means it should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt.

That said, it doesn’t seem too unrealistic for Samsung to release another hue for the Galaxy S8. After all, it released two additional colors for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge a couple of months after they hit the shelves, and Rose Gold will certainly be a welcomed addition.

It should go without saying that if this turns out to be true and the handset hits the shelves, it will sport identical internals to all of the other variants of the Galaxy S8+, meaning it’ll have a 6.2-inch Infinity Display, an Exynos 8895/Snapdragon 835 processor and a 3,500mAh battery.

Fingers crossed!

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2reG29y
via IFTTT

Themes Thursday: Take a look at this week’s five best new themes

Welcome to Themes Thursday! 357 new theme packs have been published in the Theme Store for compatible Galaxy devices from Samsung. We’ve checked all the new themes and shortlisted five interesting ones for you.

The [Anup] Translucent UI 2 (AOD) theme has a mix of neon colors and a black background. If you want to match your phone’s theme with your blingy outfit, check out the [HIO] Gold Hexagon theme. PEARL, [Kendi] Dream UI, and [Walk On Mars] Mystery Green themes have stock (or near-stock) icons and good-looking backgrounds.

You can check out screenshots of all the mentioned themes below.

[Anup] Translucent UI 2 (AOD)

[HIO] Gold Hexagon

[Kendi] Dream UI

[Walk On Mars] Mystery Green

PEARL

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2sr57vT
via IFTTT

Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM launched in India

Samsung may be selling the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in most markets across the globe with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage, but it has made a variant of the larger model that has 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. This variant has only been released in a handful of markets and it will soon be released in India as well.

We heard that this variant could be launched in markets outside Korea and that’s what Samsung is now doing. The company today launched the Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage in India. It will thus cater to customers who want to have more memory and storage on their handset, even though more RAM doesn’t necessarily mean more performance.

One of the reasons why Samsung made this variant in the first place was to take part in the numbers game. It’s normal for most Chinese OEMs to release handsets with 6GB RAM, so in markets where the numbers are taken at face value, it doesn’t look good if Samsung’s new flagship smartphone is perceived to be less powerful just because it doesn’t have more RAM.

The Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage will be available in Midnight Black. Customers in India who want one can pre-order it at Samsung Shop or Flipkart starting tomorrow.

Samsung has an introductory offer on this handset and it will give all customers a free wireless charger. The handset has been priced at 74,990 ($1,162) and will be released in India on June 9.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2sqyM8y
via IFTTT