There’s no denying the fact that LeBron James is one of the greatest players that the NBA has ever seen, he has made five straight trips to the finals and bagged two titles which have only added to this star power. Samsung has worked with James in the past to promote its products and it has brought in the NBA great once again, this time around he’s in a 12-minute virtual reality “experience” for the Gear VR.

Called Striving for Greatness, the virtual reality experience featuring LeBron James shows the athlete’s training regimen, his routine and the level of focus that he needs to maintain his top form. It’s an interesting look at what happens before the players are fit enough to take to the court, and it’s much more interesting to watch it in virtual reality. The 12-minute VR experience is now available through Samsung Milk VR as well as the Oculus Store.

[iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pfq8hvelAJw" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"]

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

A new report by Reuters cites “serving and former executives” who claim that Samsung’s efforts to revive its once spectacular profits in the mobile market will be all in vain if the company does not overcome its dominant engineering culture. According to the unnamed sources this culture has defeated many efforts made in the past to develop viable software and service platforms to support the smartphone business. We’ve seen several of Samsung’s services being closed shortly after they were launched, one such service was shut down less than a year after it was launched.

A person claimed to be familiar with the company’s inner workings said that there’s a lot of distrust among top executives who have the authority to implement additional software and services offerings, defining the company’s approach as “It’s still ‘we know how to sell boxes, we sell boxes.” Samsung can argue that the launch of Samsung Pay and Internet of Things platform SmartThings goes to show that it has learned from the past and is now more open to software and services but the question remains whether or not this is going to be enough.

Even though Samsung returned to operating profit growth in the previous quarter after seven straight quarters of decline market analysts still believe that it’s not going to be smooth sailing for the company. It’s believed that Samsung will have to withstand much more pressure in the mobile market in this quarter which have an impact on its balance sheets. Some analysts now predict that whatever changes that Samsung is making to its approach now are perhaps too little and too late, time will certainly be the true judge of that.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

After battling out its patent infringement lawsuit against Apple for a couple of years Samsung recently decided to pay $548 million in damages to the fruit company, while asserting its right to a refund should any of the judgements be amended or set aside. Samsung has knocked on the door of the United States Supreme Court to get this matter quashed, and while there’s no confirmation yet if the apex court will take up the matter, Apple has put forward a demand for an additional $180 million to be paid by Samsung as damages.

In its filings before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple has said that Samsung owes an additional $180 million in interest and supplemental damages, relating to the five devices that Samsung sold after a 2012 jury verdict found the company to be infringing on Apple’s patents. There has been no comment on the latest filing by representatives for Samsung though it goes without saying that won’t accept this latest claim without putting up a fight. Many are now looking towards the US Supreme Court to see whether or not it takes up this matter, it hasn’t heard a case related to design patents in well over 100 years, a decision by the highest court in the land might put this matter to rest for good.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

The antitrust watchdog in South Korea is of the view that the recent merger between companies under the Samsung Group’s umbrella has tightened cross-shareholdings between the companies, which is why it has ordered Samsung SDI to reduce its stake in the holding company. The Fair Trade Commission remarks that “The number of cross-shareholding links may have been reduced to seven from 10 following the merger of Samsung C&T with Cheil Industries (on Sept. 1), but we have found the ties have been further strengthened.”

Under the existing antitrust rules conglomerates are prohibited from creating new circular ownership among affiliated companies through equity investments. Therefore the FTC has said that Samsung SDI, the battery unit of the conglomerate, should reduce its shareholding in Samsung C&T by 5 million or 2.6% shares by March 1. Based on Friday’s closing prices the approximate value of these shares is about $622 million. Samsung has said that it’s not going to appeal the FTC’s decision, instead it’s going to ask the antitrust watchdog for a grace period considering the market impact of this decision. The merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was a part of the company’s efforts to further strengthen the owning family’s control over the group, it made heir apparent Lee Jae-young the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T with a 16.5% share with other family members and investors holding a combined stake of over 50%.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

The dual-curve display of the Galaxy S6 edge didn’t really do much aside from looking really pretty when the handset first came out, Samsung repeated the same mistake that it made with the Galaxy Note Edge, which also had a beautiful curved edge display that didn’t serve any real purpose. The company did add more functionality to it with subsequent software updates and Marshmallow for the Galaxy S6 edge brings the most significant improvement yet for Edge panels on this handset.

A video overview of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow beta running on the Galaxy S6 edge shows that the Edge panels feature is much more useful than before. Aside from People and Apps Edge, there’s a panel for My places which lists the most recently used apps, a Task edge panel which has shortcuts to relevant apps, a Quick tools panel which mentions the location and also contains a compass as well as separate tiles for S Planner, Weather, Twitter Trends, Yahoo Finance and Sports. All of this would really make the curved display of the Galaxy S6 edge much more useful, however users will have to wait for Marshmallow to arrive before they can take advantage of all this on their handset.

[iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u0cVD0j3lwE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen]

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

It’s not unusual to hear all sorts of rumors about an upcoming Samsung flagship before the device is formally unveiled by the company, that’s how it always is, and it’s not going to change. There’s a new rumor about the Galaxy S7 which claims that the upcoming flagship is going to feature an iris scanner. It’s not like we haven’t heard this one before, even the Galaxy S5 was rumored to feature an iris scanner, but we all know it didn’t and neither does the Galaxy S6.

This rumor also suggests that the Galaxy S7 is going to be more expensive as opposed to the Galaxy S6 mainly because it has the iris scanner and its predecessor does not. It’s also claimed that the iris scanner will be present in all variants of the Galaxy S7 though it’s unclear whether the fingerprint scanner will stick around or not since the iris scanner will more or less do what it already does like provide easy unlocking of the device as well as authorization of mobile payments. An iris scanner will certainly make the Galaxy S7 stand out from the competition, but be cautious, we’ve heard this before and it didn’t turn out to be true. There’s nothing to really hint right now that it’s going to be true when the Galaxy S7 is formally unveiled.

Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

It’s not unusual to hear all sorts of rumors about an upcoming Samsung flagship before the device is formally unveiled by the company, that’s how it always is, and it’s not going to change. The Wall Street Journal had reported that the S7 could feature a retina scanner, and the same rumor has now cropped up again from another source. It’s not like we haven’t heard this one before; even the Galaxy S5 was rumored to feature an iris scanner, but we all know it didn’t and neither does the Galaxy S6.

This rumor also suggests that the Galaxy S7 is going to be more expensive as opposed to the Galaxy S6 mainly because it has the iris scanner and its predecessor does not. It’s also claimed that the iris scanner will be present in all variants of the Galaxy S7 though it’s unclear whether the fingerprint scanner will stick around or not, since the iris scanner will more or less do what it already does like provide easy unlocking of the device as well as authorization of mobile payments.

An iris scanner will certainly make the Galaxy S7 stand out from the competition, but be cautious, we’ve heard this before and it didn’t turn out to be true. There’s nothing to really hint right now that it’s going to be true when the Galaxy S7 is formally unveiled.

Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Over the past few years it has become a tradition for Samsung to release Active and Mini variants of its flagship handsets, it followed this tradition last year with the Galaxy S5 Active and the Galaxy S5 Mini but appears to have strayed from it this year. We did get the Galaxy S6 Active but the Galaxy S6 Mini has not yet been officially announced even though some pictures of this handset were leaked back in June. An online retailer has now listed the Galaxy S6 Mini once again igniting hopes that this handset might be coming soon.

The listing on UAE-based online retailer LetsTango.com also mentions the specifications of the Galaxy S6 Mini. A 4.6-inch Super AMOLED display, hexa-core 1.8GHz processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, 15 megapixel rear and 5 megapixel front camera, fingerprint sensor, non-removable battery and Android 5.1 are all mentioned in the specs list. The listing also mentions that the Galaxy S6 Mini isn’t available for purchase just yet but those who are interested in picking one up can register with the retailer to be notified when this handset goes on sale. So far Samsung has not said anything about the Galaxy S6 Mini so it can’t really be said for sure right now when or if this device is going to be released.

Via Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Samsung has a plethora of phones and tablets in its lineup, and regularly releases firmware updates for various devices. These can include major updates, which bring a newer version of the OS to a particular device, or minor ones that improve performance and stability and fix bugs. Software updates for Samsung devices roll out in various regions every day, and you can find out which firmware updates were pushed out by the company over the last 24 hours through our firmware list.

As usual, you can download each of these firmware from our firmware section (simply enter your device’s model number to view all firmware for that device) in order to update to a new firmware manually, or as a means to return to your phone or tablet’s stock software.

Author: All credits for this post go to Abhijeet M. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Earlier this week Samsung announced that it was seeking beta testers in South Korea and the United Kingdom, only those who had unlocked variants of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge could take part in the program to test the Android 6.0 Marshmallow beta firmware. We have already posted a guide on how you can get the Marshmallow beta on the aforementioned devices even if you’re not in the UK or South Korea. Samsung isn’t running a similar beta test program for any other device but it appears to have sent out Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow by mistake to a rather lucky guy. That’s not unsurprising considering that about three weeks ago someone with the Galaxy Note 4 received a beta build of Android 6.0.

We have been told that this beta firmware arrived over the air, and it’s possible the same method was used to seek this update which we have already covered in a guide for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge, the only two devices that Samsung is supporting in the beta program. It’s also a possibility that it just might be a port of the firmware that has already been released for the supported handsets. Android 6.0.1 beta on this Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) does look legitimate for all intents and purposes so most likely it’s a test version that has been pushed out by mistake. It goes without saying that the Galaxy S5 isn’t going to be receiving this update any time soon, so we can chalk this up as a fluke.

Update: The Android security patch version is listed as “1 January 2016″ on the device, which is a major indication this firmware isn’t fully final and/or isn’t an official firmware either, since Samsung only recently updated its flagships with the December security patch and it’s unlikely even Google has released the January security patch.

[iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K6zeXI_SZyM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"]

Thanks, Hicham!

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

These days, almost every other new phone that gets announced seems to have a fingerprint sensor on-board. Once the iPhone introduced a fingerprint scanner, Samsung followed in its competitor’s footsteps and introduced one with the Galaxy S5. Samsung originally used a swipe-based scanner, then moved to an immensely better touch sensor, which is the kind that has become rather commonplace these days.

Next year, Samsung will launch the Galaxy S7, and rumors have it that the company will be introducing an iris scanner with its seventh Galaxy S flagship. Samsung won’t be the first to do so – Microsoft was the first to implement an iris scanner on a smartphone with the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, both of which are among the first Windows 10 phones on the market. The presence of an iris scanner will drive up the phone’s cost according to the latest rumor, but that might not be the most worrisome aspect of the device, especially for fans of the fingerprint sensor.

What would be more worrisome for such fans is the possibility that Samsung might replace the fingerprint sensor with the iris scanner. That would be a nice move for the wow factor, but an iris scanner isn’t expected to be as accurate or consistent as a fingerprint sensor. It would work well even in low-light conditions since it would work using infrared, but even then there will be conditions where your eyes will not be properly visible to the scanner, hence making it a liability rather than a useful feature. It probably won’t be as fast either, and could add an additional step to even unlocking the device (with a fingerprint sensor, you can simply long press the home button for a few seconds to unlock the phone.)

Now, Samsung is most likely familiar with the technology’s limitations and won’t make it the only security system on the S7, especially since it would interfere with the convenience of Samsung Pay, a service the company is putting a lot of resources behind. But if does decide to do away with the fingerprint sensor and opt for an iris scanner, would you be fine with that decision?

Or would the lack of a fingerprint sensor put you off from buying the Galaxy S7? Or maybe you won’t care? Well, whatever your opinion is, do let us know through the poll below. Don’t forget to leave a comment as well with your thoughts on the matter.

 Loading ...

Author: All credits for this post go to Abhijeet M. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Samsung will apparently start mass producing DRAM chips with a new 1X-nano (18nm) process in 2016 according to a report from Electronic Times. The company plans to do this to cut production costs and to improve profitability since DRAM prices are predicted to continue to fall next year.

According to the report, Samsung, which is one of the fastest to implement new manufacturing processes, has finished developing 1X-nano DRAM chips and is looking to mass produce them starting Q1 2016. SK Hynix and Micron will follow the suit next year, but Micron is expected to be on the verge of making a loss after failing to use the new process.

Samsung started mass producing 20nm DRAM chips in 2014, and it was the first in the world to do so. As a result, the electronics giant was able to improve profits as well as market share by decreasing the production cost. According to DRAM Exchange, a market research company, the contract price of 4GB DDR3 D-RAM chip in November was $1.72, which is 49.1 percent lower than its cost from January.

Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Asif S. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

It looks like Samsung is quite serious in keeping its promise about monthly security updates for its devices. Samsung has started rolling out a firmware update for the Galaxy S6 edge+ in India and the Nordic countries, which includes the latest Android security patch from December 2015.

Samsung had earlier posted the details about this update on its official mobile security-related blog. The changelog is similar to the one that came with the previous firmware update. This update improves security and stability of voice calls, and the company has mentioned specifically that downgrading won’t be possible after installing the update.

The India-specific update is available only through OTA, but it will be available from our firmware section shortly. It is possible that the Galaxy Note 5 could start receiving the security patch update soon since both these devices were released at the same time.

Firmware Details

Author: All credits for this post go to Asif S. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Even though it was rumored multiple times this year that the Galaxy S7 will be launched ahead of schedule in 2016 there’s really no reason to believe that Samsung is going to break its tradition of unveiling a new Galaxy device a day before the Mobile World Congress festivities kick off in Barcelona. Given that MWC is being held in February instead of March this year, that’s really the only explanation one can provide for an early launch of the Galaxy S7. Ivan Luchkov says that Samsung Unpacked 2016 will take place on February 20 in Barcelona.

In case you’re unaware, Luchkov is a Ukrainian tech blogger who shared the correct date for the Unpacked event back in 2014 when the Galaxy S5 was due to be announced. He hasn’t shared on Twitter the source of this information, only saying that you should mark your calendars for February 20 because that’s when Galaxy Unpacked 2016 is going to take place. Samsung is yet to confirm next year’s event but it’s likely to take place on or after February 20 if it’s going to stick with its traditional of unveiling new Galaxy S handsets before Mobile World Congress. This time around the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge which may very well be the first Samsung handsets to feature an iris scanner.

Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Samsung hasn’t released a Windows-powered tablet in quite some time now but that might be about to change in the near future. About four months back we reported that the company was working on a 12-inch tablet powered by Windows 10 and now one such tablet bearing model number SM-W700 has been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG. These certifications are usually a good indicator that the device is indeed in the pipeline and destined for shelves soon.

As far as specifications go this 12-inch Windows 10 powered tablet is expected to tout a 2560 x 1600 or 3840 x 2400 pixel resolution display with a 13nm Intel Core M processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. It may also feature an S Pen which would certainly increase its productivity credentials. Samsung hasn’t hinted anything as yet about a new Windows 10 tablet so it can’t be said for sure when this tablet is going to be released and what it’s final moniker is going to be, though given that it has already received certifications, the release may not be that far off.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Samsung has just release the first video commercial for the Galaxy A 2016 series of smartphones on YouTube, which is a one-minute video showing a preview of what Samsung has in store for us. The video commercial explains why humans do what they do such as taking a lot of selfies and endlessly laughing while watching viral videos.

The video shows the glass-and-metal design of the Galaxy A (2016) series of smartphones in all its glory. The new Galaxy A series includes the Galaxy A3 (2016),  the Galaxy A5 (2016), the Galaxy A7 (2016), and the Galaxy A9, all of which were released in China this month. These devices might be launched in other parts of the world soon since the South Korean smartphone giant has released the first video commercial for them.

[iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hy409bgKcgE" width="853" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"]

Author: All credits for this post go to Asif S. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

It’s not uncommon to see cases for a new Samsung device leak out even before it has actually been announced, we saw this happen with the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy Note 5 this year and now we’re seeing history repeat itself for the Galaxy S7. Multiple images of purported cases for the Galaxy S7 have already leaked online and today we’re getting a look at additional cases, there’s even one for the Galaxy S7 Plus.

Samsung is likely to unveil the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge a couple of months from now but we did pick up on a rumor recently which claimed that there might be as many as four different models of the upcoming flagship with the Galaxy S7 Plus being one of them. One of the cases seen in these pictures is meant for the Galaxy S7 Plus, and while it’s too soon to say if they’re the real deal, they don’t seem to show any major design changes when compared against the existing Samsung flagships. Samsung is more likely to focus on internal hardware with the next generation handsets as they’re expected to feature the new Exynos processor and even the Snapdragon 820 in some markets, and it’s becoming more plausible that the Galaxy S7 may also feature an iris scanner. A recent report suggests that Samsung is going to unveil the handset at Galaxy Unpacked 2016 which is said to take place on February 20 in Barcelona, Spain.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

The Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge are without a doubt two of the most highly anticipated devices for 2016 which is why the rumor mill is just so interested in anything and everything that might be remotely related to the new flagships. The latest leak appears to be a big one though since it brings us the purported dimensions of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, Shai Mizrachi is behind this leak, he has previously established his credibility by leaking a similar diagram for the Galaxy S6 edge+.

It’s evident from just one glance that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge have different screen sizes, and that’s precisely what has been reported multiple times this week, the curved variant is expected to feature a 5.5-inch display as opposed to the Galaxy S7′s 5.2-inch display. The bigger display means that the Galaxy S7 edge is going to be taller at 151mm vs 143mm and wider at 73mm against 70.5mm. The Galaxy S7 essentially has the same dimensions as the Galaxy S6, it’s only because of the larger display that the Galaxy S7 edge might be taller and wider. The accompanying report reiterates rumors that the Galaxy S7 will have a flat display and curved back and the Galaxy S7 edge will have the exact opposite, just like it is on the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ respectively.

In this diagram one can also see that the IR blaster may be dropped from the upcoming flagships, if that is indeed the case Samsung fans won’t be happy, we all know how badly they took it when Samsung removed the IR blaster from the Galaxy Note 5. The diagram doesn’t betray the presence of an iris scanner on the front even though countless reports suggest that it’s going to debut with the 2016 flagships. Samsung is believed to hold the Unpacked 2016 event on February 20, 2016 to unveil these new flagship smartphones, sticking with its tradition of announcing new handsets before the start of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Source

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Samsung has confirmed that it’s going to showcase the 2016 Series 9 notebooks at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas next month. Two models, the 900X5L and 900X3L, will join many of the other products that Samsung is going to showcase at the annual technology convention. Both of these notebooks will go on sale later in the year with CES being used as a launchpad to get the word out about the newest notebooks from Samsung.

The notebooks are powered by six-generation Intel Core i5 processors with up to 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and will be available in Modern Pink and Iron Silver colors. 900X5L has a very thin 6.5mm bezel and also supports Quick Charge which promises 3.7 hours of battery life after just 20 minutes of charging. The 900X3L is going to be the lightest notebook in its class, weighing in at just 840, both of these notebooks have a new feature called Consulting Mode which allows the display to be tiled up to 180 degrees. In South Korea the 2016 Series 9 900X6L and 900X3L will retail for 1.79m won and 1.71m won respectively.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com

Over the past year or so Samsung has got really serious about Internet of Things, not only did it purchase SmartThings, it also brought in a former Google executive to lead its IoT efforts. Earlier this year the company also released its IoT platform called Artik and refreshed the SmartThings product lineup and a fortnight ago it confirmed that its CES 2016 keynote will be about its plans for Internet of Things. Despite all that Samsung has figured only ninth on the list of global IoT companies compiled by market research firm IoT Analytics.

IoT analytics evaluates companies on three different dimensions which include how often the company is mentioned online and how often it’s tagged in LinkedIn. Highest scoring company in each dimension gets a rating out of 100% and all other companies get a lower percentage in linear relation to the score of the company at the top of this list. Intel came in first place with 71% with IBM and Microsoft coming in second and third with 67% and 56% respectively. Samsung is all the way down in ninth with 28% with Oracle rounding up the top ten also with 28%. Samsung is the only non-American company that ranks in the top ten, at least it’s got that going for itself.

Via

Author: All credits for this post go to Adnan F. @ sammobile.com
Read the original article at www.sammobile.com