الاثنين، 6 أبريل 2020

Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge stop receiving updates four years after launch

The Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge were launched in 2016 with Android 6.0. Samsung released two major Android version updates to the phones over the years. Both the phones received the Android 8.0 update in 2018, and the company continued to roll out security patches until last month.

Now, Samsung has removed the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge from its list of phones, which are bound to receive quarterly security patches. Both the phones received the March 2020 security patch last month, and we had predicted that it could be the last software update from the South Korean firm.

Samsung fulfills its promises of four years of software updates for its flagship phones

Google and OnePlus roll out Android version updates and security patches to their phones for three years. Samsung’s flagship phones, on the other hand, get Android version updates for two years. However, Galaxy phones continue to get security patches for four years from the launch date, which is commendable.

Samsung might still release security patches to the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, but only when critical security vulnerabilities are discovered. If you are using any of these Galaxy S7 phones, you know that it has been a particularly good run when it comes to software updates.

The Galaxy S7 Active, which was launched in June 2016, is still listed on Samsung’s website to receive quarterly security updates. The next security patch might be the last update it ever receives. The phone received its last Android version update (v8.0) in 2018.

The post Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge stop receiving updates four years after launch appeared first on SamMobile.



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Samsung’s 3nm chip production plans facing delays due to COVID-19

Samsung is one of the biggest chip manufacturing companies in the world, and it has been competing with rival TSMC for the past few years in gaining contracts from firms like AMD, Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. After losing a huge client like Apple to TSMC in 2016, the company has been unsuccessfully trying to race ahead of its competitor in bringing newer fabrication technologies.

Earlier this year, the South Korean firm said that it could start the mass production of chips based on its 3nm technology by 2021, but those plans have reportedly been delayed. According to a new report from DigiTimes, Samsung is now forced to postpone the launch of its 3nm process node to 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The company reportedly couldn’t complete the scheduled installation of equipment that is necessary for its new production lines.

Both Samsung and TSMC are expected to start mass production of 3nm chips by 2022

Samsung plans to become the biggest silicon manufacturing firm in the world by 2030, and one of the major landmarks in its goal was to beat TSMC in the 3nm race. The company already fell behind TSMC in crossing the 5nm milestone, and it will be necessary for Samsung to reach the 3nm stage faster than TSMC.

The South Korean firm has been developing its 3nm process based on GAAFET (Gate All Around Field-Effect Transistor) technology. This new design, which uses gates all around the channel to reduce power leakage and to offer better control over the channel, is what enabled Samsung to make considerable progress in such a short time. To be precise, the company is using its patented MBCFET 3nm technology, which is based on GAAFET.

The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has affected businesses and factories in South Korea and Taiwan. Now, both Samsung and TSMC are scheduled to start volume production of 3nm chips in 2022. It will be interesting to see which company reaches there first and attracts the most number of clients with their newer and more power-efficient chip manufacturing technologies.

The post Samsung’s 3nm chip production plans facing delays due to COVID-19 appeared first on SamMobile.



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Robust chip sales help Samsung’s Q1 2020 profits rise despite COVID-19 crisis

Samsung has announced its earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2020 earlier today, and the company said that its sales will rise compared to the first quarter of last year. However, the numbers won’t be quite as strong as what analysts had initially expected. Samsung’s shares were up 1.5% in South Korea after the earnings guidance was made public.

According to the company’s press release, Samsung expects consolidated sales of KRW 55 trillion ($44.9 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 6.4 trillion ($5.2 billion). The profits are up 2.73 percent compared to the numbers from Q1 2019. While the company’s latest earnings are higher compared to the first quarter of last year, analysts had predicted slightly higher numbers than Samsung’s own estimates.

Last year, the South Korean firm reported sales of KRW 52.39 trillion ($42.8 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 6.23 trillion ($5.1 billion). Samsung reported an operating margin of just 11.6 percent for the latest quarter, which is lowest since the third quarter of 2016. The company is expected to have shipped just 60 million smartphones in Q1 2020 compared to 72 million in Q1 2019.

Strong chip sales cushioned the smartphone sales drop

The Galaxy S20 series has been selling quite poorly. Samsung had predicted last month that its revenues from smartphones and consumer electronics would take a hit due to the COVID-19 situation. However, the South Korean company said that it expected the demand from data centers to make up for the losses in the consumer electronics business.

While Samsung didn’t reveal the breakdown of its earnings, more than KRW 4 trillion ($3.27 billion) of the company’s operating profit is said to have come from the chips business. More people have started working from home during the lockdown period, which led to the rise in demand from data centers that support team collaboration software, video conferencing tools, and video streaming services.

The company’s mobile business is bracing for a bigger hit in Q2 2020 as consumers hold off making big-ticket purchases after looking at the grim economic situation worldwide. Samsung was initially expected to sell 300 million smartphones, but analysts have cut the estimates to 260 million.

Samsung Q1 2020 Earnings Guidance Revenue Profits Estimates

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Samsung’s new MCPTX solution brings video calls to first responders

Today, April 6, Samsung demonstrated the world’s first video call on AWS (Amazon Web Services) through its MCPTX (Mission Critical Push-to-Talk, Data and Video) solution at its lab in South Korea. The demo relied on Samsung’s complete lineup of MCPTX solutions as well as the Galaxy XCover FieldPro. The rugged smartphone was released in the USA today via AT&T.

The platform offers multimedia-based communications to first responders and public safety officials. Samsung’s MCPTX solution can be deployed on the AWS cloud platform or the customers’ on-premise servers. Through cloud solutions, particularly AWS, customers can benefit from extensive scalability, enabling network operators to offer reliable services even during the greatest capacity strains.

Land Mobile Radio (LMR) technology is limited to traditional voice communications. In contrast, Samsung’s MCPTX platform offers powerful data and video capabilities and allows hundreds of first responders to be connected at the same time and exchange files, images, videos, and more, during emergencies.

Samsung claims that the technology will help improve situational awareness and information accuracy, especially in times when public safety plays a pivotal role against local disasters or urgent threats. All of this ensures an unprecedented level of reliability, coverage, and scalability. Samsung’s MCPTX implementation is based on 3GPP Release 14 specifications. It’s technically an upgraded version of MCPTT (Mission Critical Push-to-Talk), which was first demonstrated in 2015 and has been in use in Korea’s Public Safety LTE network since 2018.

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US Newberry factory reopens, third employee tests positive for coronavirus

Operations at Samsung’s home appliance manufacturing plant in Newberry County, South Carolina, resumed today following a temporary shut-down last Thursday when two employees tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). In total, an area of 1.5 million square feet has been thoroughly disinfected over the weekend, beginning Friday.

In the meantime, a third employee was confirmed to have been infected but was asymptomatic, according to a Samsung representative cited by The Newberry Observer. The company notified the employee today, along with everyone else who was in contact and asked them to remain in quarantine for the next 14 days.

The third positive coronavirus (COVID-19) case won’t affect operations

The third employee from Newberry that had tested positive for coronavirus was last seen in the building on Thursday, said the Samsung spokesperson. Therefore, the case doesn’t render Samsung’s disinfection work over the weekend futile and it doesn’t prompt another shut-down.

The facility in Newberry County, South Carolina, has around 1,000 employees and the factory churns out washing machines for the US market. It has been operational since 2018 when Samsung invested $380 million to achieve this goal. The factory combines components made in-house by Samsung with supplied modules, and the final products are shipping to customers across the United States.

The post US Newberry factory reopens, third employee tests positive for coronavirus appeared first on SamMobile.



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You can save as much as $90 on a Galaxy Watch Active 2 with this deal

The entire Galaxy Watch Active 2 series is now available at a discount in the USA, and the deal applies to the LTE and Bluetooth-only models, as well as the Under Armour Edition. You can now save at least $20 when buying the smartwatch, or as much as $90 if you choose to purchase the 44mm Bluetooth variant in Cloud Silver from Microsoft.

Similar Galaxy Watch Active 2 deals are available from retailers including Best Buy and B&H, but as of this writing, it looks like you’ll find the best discounts on Microsoft’s online store, at least for variants that haven’t already been sold out. The aforementioned 44mm Cloud Silver BT model is selling for $90 off at $209, but you can also buy the 40mm model for $80 less.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 Under Armour Edition benefits from discounts too

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 Under Armour Edition is offered exclusively through Samsung’s website in the USA, but for a limited time, you can shave $30 off the original price for both the 40mm and 44mm variants. They now cost $279.99 and $299.99, respectively, down from $309.99 and $329.99.

You can refer to our Galaxy Watch Active 2 review for more details on what to expect from this wearable, but keep in mind that the ECG feature has been delayed and it may take a while before it becomes available. In the meantime, the Camera Controller app has been updated to support the Galaxy S20, allowing you to sync the Galaxy Watch Active 2 with your flagship and use it as a remote viewfinder/shutter button.

Galaxy Watch Active 2 review

  • Buy the Galaxy Watch Active 2 from Samsung
  • Buy the Galaxy Watch Active 2 Under Armour Edition from Samsung
  • Buy the Galaxy Watch Active 2 from Microsoft
  • Buy the Galaxy Watch Active 2 from Best Buy
  • Buy the Galaxy Watch Active 2 from B&H

Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm)

  • Model: SM-R820
  • Dimensions: 44 x 44 x 10.9mm
  • Display: 1.4"(34mm) Super AMOLED
  • CPU: Exynos 9110
  • Camera:
More specifications

Galaxy Watch Active 2 (40mm)

  • Model: SM-R830
  • Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 10.9mm
  • Display: 1.2"(30mm) Super AMOLED
  • CPU: Exynos 9110
  • Camera:
More specifications

The post You can save as much as $90 on a Galaxy Watch Active 2 with this deal appeared first on SamMobile.



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[Poll Results!] 60Hz or 120Hz: Which do you use on your Galaxy S20?

One of the latest additions to Samsung’s flagship smartphones is the 120Hz display. The Galaxy S20 series is the company’s first to support a 120Hz refresh rate, and this contributes to smoother animations across the board, from One UI to mobile games that support this mode.

The implementation is not perfect, as there is no dynamic refresh rate. This means that the Galaxy S20 is not capable of automatically switching between the two modes on the fly, and it’s always up to the user to decide between 60Hz and 120Hz.

Third-party tests have also suggested that the 120Hz display mode on the Galaxy S20 is quite taxing on battery life, so although there are benefits to using the 120Hz refresh rate, there are also reasons not to.

What display refresh rate are you using on your Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, or Galaxy S20 Ultra? Are you sticking with one mode, in particular, or do you manually switch between them to enjoy smoother animations and/or better battery life on a case-by-case basis? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments.

Poll results: It looks like Samsung’s new 120Hz display is being appreciated by the majority of our readers who own the latest flagship, with 53% of votes going towards the 120Hz mode. On the opposite side, 25% of voters prefer using 60Hz exclusively. Meanwhile, 14% of Galaxy S20 users who have participated in our poll will switch between 60Hz and 120Hz modes, while 8% of voters are unconvinced by the display’s higher refresh rate and don’t notice a difference between 60Hz and 120Hz. Thank you for participating in our poll! Stay tuned for more.

[Poll] 60Hz or 120Hz: Which do you use on your Galaxy S20?
Results

The post [Poll Results!] 60Hz or 120Hz: Which do you use on your Galaxy S20? appeared first on SamMobile.



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