Samsung May Lose Its Grip on OLED Monopoly Because Of Google & Apple

The race is on to break Samsung's near-OLED Monopoly. Google joined the race back in April, reducing their reliance on Samsung's OLED's by supposedly investing about $880 million into using LG's OLED's for their Pixel phone screens. Now, Apple's stepping up with a rumored $2.5 billion investment into LG's OLED Display initiative for their phones too.

Previously, Samsung has been in control when it comes to OLED display, holding 95% of the market. This certainly makes Samsung the superpower in the industry, but competitor LG is not giving up without a fight. And if Apple is investing so much in them, they must have a real chance, especially since Apple had previously turned to Samsung for OLED needs. 


After LG Display's partnership with Google, they have turned their attentions towards the other major company, Apple. The $2.5 billion deal would have LG Display providing Apple with 92 million OLED screens over the next two years. Which would be huge.

WitsView a display market research division of Trendforce, suggests just how huge it would be, saying that the adoption will be used in 50% of smartphones by 2020.

Apple had already revealed that they had invested money in Samsung for OLED screens for the iPhone 8, though not nearly as much. It seems they have now chosen to invest in LG as well for a few reasons.

One is that according to the Investors, Apple likes to have multiple suppliers so it's not reliant on one company and reduces the risk of component shortages. The second reason is that it would be best for their sales if Samsung does not have a monopoly on the best OLED screens, this way Samsung won't be able to raise the prices too high due to them being the only solid provider.

Samsung isn't out of the fight yet, however, as they have been pouring money on new facilities such as the largest OLED factory in the world.

The deal has not been finalized yet, but the Korea Herald reports that they are 'close' to coming to a solidified partnership, as right now it's 'tentatively agreed' upon.

Normal Samsung Galaxy S8 is Reportedly Selling More Than The Galaxy S8+ In The USA

There’s no question that the market is still headed toward the “bigger is better’ direction when it comes to our mobile devices. Whether consumers see the value in more screen real estate, or perhaps just better battery life, most folks tend to opt for the bigger of two devices when shopping around for a new smartphone.

This was exactly the case with the Samsung Galaxy S8 which saw the device’s display growing once again, reaching sizes of 5.8-inch for the “smaller” model and 6.3-inches for the larger S8+. That may sound excessive, but Samsung managed to change up the aspect ratio, making the device taller (instead of wider) by stretching out the aspect ratio. 


It seems they may have hit a sweet spot with consumers — at least here in the US — but instead of the bigger model being the most popular, it’s actually the smaller S8 model that’s reportedly been outperforming sales of the S8+. This is actually quite exciting for a small phone lover like myself, as we could finally start seeing more one-handed devices launching in the future.

I will say, I have noticed a lot of chatter from readers in the comments or just on social media about how the S8+ was just a little too unwieldy, so it seemed like many people tended to opt for the smaller model (despite the surprisingly mediocre battery life).

Which leads me to my next question: for those of you that purchased the Galaxy S8, which model did you get: the regular S8 or the larger S8+?

via Fierce Wireless

Buy An Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S8 and Get $200 Gift Card

If you’re looking to get an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S8, you may want to jump on this deal from Best Buy. Starting today, if you purchase the unlocked version of the Galaxy S8, you’ll receive a $200 gift card. The gift card can then be used to purchase anything from Best Buy, including some accessories for your shiny new device. 

Best Buy is offering the Galaxy S8 unlocked for $749.99, but we don’t know how long this gift card promotion will last. The offer also includes a stick-on holder mount. If you need some help deciding on whether to pick up the Galaxy S8 for yourself, be sure to check out our full review, as well as some tips and tricks to get acclimated to the device.

[via Best Buy]

Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition Will Officially Start Selling in South Korea on July 7

If you were a big fan of Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 7, you might be happy to hear that 2016’s ill-fated exploding smartphone will soon be making a return. The manufacturer has announced that it will begin selling refurbished units, dubbed Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition, in its home country of South Korea starting on July 7th. This comes after last year’s worldwide recall that saw every Note 7 returned due to a battery design that caused some phones to burst into flames. 

It’s still unclear what other countries the Note 7 FE will be launching in, but 400,000 units will be available in South Korea at a price of roughly $611, a markdown of approximately 30% from the phone’s price when it debuted last year. This time around, the Note 7 FE will be using a battery with a smaller capacity than the original model, and they’ll be assembled using unsealed, recalled devices paired with unused components. 



In addition to new batteries, Samsung has pledged that all of its phone going forward will put through a new 8-step safety inspection process that focuses on their batteries. The company has worked extra hard to restore the damage to its reputation caused by the Note 7 recall with the launch of this year’s Galaxy S8 smartphone, so you can be sure they’ve taken every precaution possible with the Fan Edition.

We’ll have to wait and see how well the Note 7 FE is received by consumers in South Korea. Samsung says it will decide what other markets to make the refurbished device available in at a later date, but confirms it will not be coming to the US or India.

The other interesting thing about the return of the Note 7 is the timing: Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 8 before the end of August, meaning those who want the latest and greatest devices should probably just wait a few extra weeks.

SOURCE Samsung

Samsung Now Building Solid-State Batteries For Mobile Phones That Won’t Explode

Samsung is taking steps to ensure another Galaxy Note 7 fiasco doesn’t happen: it is developing solid-state batteries for smartphones, something that could be available to consumers within the next handful of years. The tip comes from an unnamed Samsung executive who recently spoke to a Korean publication anonymously, saying that the technology is only one or two years away. 

The information comes from the Korea Herald, which says it got word from a Samsung executive who is staying anonymous. Per this alleged executive, the company’s ‘technological level to produce a solid-state battery for smartphones will be mature enough in one to two years.’ That’s great news, but the source goes on to say that it ‘depends on Samsung Electronics whether it will be used for phones.’ 


Samsung has a good reason for exploring solid-state batteries given the volatile nature of the batteries shipped with the original Galaxy Note 7 devices. Lithium-ion battery technology is notoriously unstable; overheating and explosion incidents have affected many, not the least of which is NASA .

Samsung isn’t the only company developing solid-state batteries; competitor LG is doing the same, a company that likewise views them as a ‘realistic’ alternative to presently used technologies. The development process is still relatively young, though, and it will be years before we see the technology become common place. Once they do, solid-state batteries may be commonly found in phones, electric cars, and more.

SOURCE: Korea Herald

You Can Unlock Your Windows 10 PC With A Samsung Phone

Much like Apple’s Handoff feature, Samsung’s Flow app lets you switch between different devices seamlessly. It originally only worked on Samsung phones and tablets, including the Windows 10-based Galaxy TabPro S, but an update means you can now use your smartphone to unlock any PC running the Windows 10 Creators Update.

You can also use Flow to perform other useful tasks, such as checking notifications across devices, and replying to messages directly. 

 

Samsung revealed it was planning to make this change back in February and estimated the feature would roll out in April. In the end it took quite a bit longer to arrive, but it's here now, and setting it up takes seconds.

The process uses Bluetooth and Windows Hello, and you'll need a Samsung phone running Marshmallow or higher, or Samsung tablet running Nougat or higher.

Download the latest version of the Flow app on your PC/tablet and phone from here. In the app on your PC, select your phone and click the Pair link. Confirm the passcode on both devices and the Bluetooth pairing will complete. Click 'Register device' and enter your Windows PIN. Confirm the passcode on both devices again, and enter your PIN once more. That's it, you're all done.

[Update: Flow is finally back up on the Windows Store]

Bigger Galaxy Note 8 Could Be The Answer Power-Users’ big Complaint Needed

What with 4K video recording, increasingly high-quality photos, and games that are becoming huger as they get more console-like, word today that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will bump up its storage options is welcome. The upcoming phablet is expected to be Samsung‘s largest smartphone of the year in terms of its physical size, but it should also be among the most capacious in terms of storage, too. Given the Note series’ ongoing ambitions as true productivity devices, that can only be a good thing.

According to Korean language site Osen, Samsung will be offering two storage variants of the Galaxy Note 8 this year. The entry-level version of the phone will have 64GB of flash memory, just as the Galaxy Note 7 did. However, going by a source at Samsung, there’ll also apparently be a 128GB version too.

Samsung retired the 32GB entry-level model after the Note 5 – the “Note 6” name was skipped, so as to bring the nomenclature in-line with the Galaxy S series – though that wasn’t the only criticism that iteration of the phone was subject to. Users weren’t impressed by the absence of the microSD card slot, which meant any storage expansion would have to be in the cloud. That was rectified on the ill-fated Note 7, and the Note 8 will supposedly also have a memory card slot, compatible with up to 256GB microSD cards.

The storage decisions make all the more sense when you take into account Samsung’s productivity goals for the Note 8. It’s expected to have support for Samsung’s DeX dock, like the Galaxy S8, a desktop docking station which will allow the Note 8 to drive an external monitor and connect to full-sized peripherals like a keyboard and mouse. Samsung’s goal with DeX is to offer a portable “desktop experience” for those who might not need, or want, to carry a full notebook or tablet; there are full-screen versions of apps for word processing, video and photo editing, and more. However, if it’s to be truly productive, it needs to offer sufficient onboard storage for local copies of potentially large files.

Given one of Samsung’s divisions is responsible for manufacturing flash memory – and sells it not only to Samsung Mobile but many other companies, too – this bump in capacity isn’t exactly a technical challenge. It will, however, have an impact on pricing. According to the unnamed Samsung executive spilling the beans on the bigger-capacity Note 8, speculation recently that the phone could command a $1,000-$1,100 price tag may well pan out. Final pricing is yet to be decided, they say, but the cutting edge in components won’t come cheap.

VIA SamMobile
MORE Osen

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Will Start At A 64GB Storage

Korean news site Osen has quoted an official Samsung spokesman as saying the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 will have 64GB and 128GB storage options. Both phones will also have a microSD card slot that will let you expand the storage up to 256GB.

The previous Galaxy Note 7, which met its demise after just a couple of months being on sale, only had a 64GB storage option with a microSD card slot.


Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 phablet could be unveiled on 26 August, according to a recent rumour, although this hasn't been officially confirmed by Samsung. It's also expected to launch in September, but for the mighty high price of £870 or $1120.

Elsewhere it's expected to follow a similar to design to the Galaxy S8, that being an Infinity Display with virtually no bezels around the edge of the screen. It was thought Samsung would be able to fit the Note 8 with a fingerprint scanner under the screen, but a recent set of renders suggest it will in fact be placed on the rear of the phone.

The scanner will sit alongside the dual camera, a first for a Samsungphone, heart rate sensor and LED flash, in a protruding rectangle lens. The Note 8 will also be thicker than the S8 and S8+, mainly due to the fact the phablet will come with the S Pen stylus, which will have a slot inside the phone to stay in.

Samsung Reportedly Filed Magnetic VR Hand Controllers Patent

Today we learned that Samsung, the creators of the Oculus-powered Gear VR headset, filed a patent in late December of last year for magnetic VR hand controllers. Based on the description in the patent and the accompanying concept image (embedded below), the controllers would be used to provide more visceral and accurate hand-tracking for the Gear VR. 

According to the Abstract, the patent is for: “a method of controlling an electronic device, the method includes, based on a magnetic field generated by a source, obtaining a coordinate of a user’s hand; and reflecting the obtained coordinate of the user’s hand in a virtual reality environment based on a change of a location of the source due to a movement of the user.”

I’m no expert on the inner workings of VR technology, but it sounds similar to me in concept to how the STEM System’s Sixense controllers work — although their current status remains a bit of a mystery. Granted, there are probably some very key differences, but the patent language isn’t specific enough to clear that up in my head. 

Concept image from Samsung’s magnetic VR controller patent.

In the concept image above you can see the controllers which appear to be similarly shaped to the existing Gear VR controller, albeit with a new handstrap that attaches over the back of the hand, similar to Valve’s Knuckle controller prototype. This would allow the user to move their hands more freely without having to grasp the controller itself at all times.

A magnetic tracking system directly from Samsung would be a big move forward for the otherwise limited Samsung Gear VR. With over 5 million units sold so far it’s easily the most widely distributed VR headset on the market, but it lacks positional tracking and its controller pales in comparison to the likes of the Vive, Rift, and even the lackluster PSVR Move controllers.

And of course it goes without saying, but this is just a patent. There’s no reason to necessarily believe Samsung is actively working on a magnetic VR hand controller that will actually see the light of day.

What do you think of this patent? Let us know in the comments below!

Samsung Release Update For TouchWiz Home in Galaxy S8 To Solve Issues Of Lag

The Samsung Galaxy S8 definitely isn’t the smoothest Android phone out there. It’s filled with lag. From transitions, to UI animations, or even just opening links, the phone pales in comparison to devices like the HTC U11 or even last year’s Google Pixel.  

One of the worst offenders is Samsung’s TouchWiz Home, the Galaxy S8’s stock launcher. It seems Samsung may have gotten the memo and in a new update to the app, they’re claiming they’ve fixed the “lag issue” with the launcher. Here’s the changelog:

What’s New [TouchWiz Home 6.1.09.2]

• Added an information screen to Samsung TouchWiz Home.
• Fixed the lag issue when swiping up and down to switch between the home and apps screens.
• Improved the visibility of app names under icons.

We’ve already applied the update to our Galaxy S8 and S8+ and the best part? It’s done virtually nothing to improve any perceived “lag” on the launcher, specifically when dealing with scrolling between the app drawer and your home screen (swiping up/down). So… ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Anyone else notice any sort of improvement?

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