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Showing posts with the label Samsung

Analysts see uphill climb for Apple HomePod as Amazon and Google rule smart speaker market

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2017 was the first year that smart speakers became extremely popular as Christmas and Chanukah gifts. Amazon, who created the category in 2015 with the Amazon Echo, has a huge lead in market share over Google and its Google Home series. This past holiday shopping season saw both Amazon and Google fight over market share by cutting the price on their low-end smart speaker. Combined, both firms have a large lead in smart speaker market share. During the holidays, the Amazon Echo Dot and the Google Home Mini were both priced at $29. Both were about $50 prior to the sale. Amazon's cost to produce the Echo Dot is roughly $31 a unit according to ABI Research. And while it takes only $26 to build the Google Home Mini, the $3 gross profit was eaten up by overhead, shipping and other costs. That means that both Amazon and Google took a little hit to the bottom line, just to try and increase their smart speaker market share. A fight for market share could be bad for Apple, w

Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) gets listed on the official website ahead of announcement

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The Galaxy J2 (2018) is clearly one of Samsung's budget-friendly smartphones that will make its debut on the market in the coming weeks. We've already reported on the handsetlast month when we told you Samsung plans to sell the Galaxy J2 (2018) for around €115. Today, we're here to tell you that Samsung has just listed the Galaxy J2 (2018) on the official website. Although the South Korean handset maker did not confirm the phone's price tag or specs sheet, but at least that's an indication the Galaxy J2 (2018) will be introduced very soon. One thing that we're able to confirm is Samsung's entry-level smartphone will be available in four color options: Black, Blue Coral, Gold, and Pink. Here is what you can expect if you plan on getting the Galaxy J2 (2018) when Samsung launches it later on. First off, the smartphone will be equipped with a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 1.5GB RAM, and 16GB expandable storage. Also, the device is expe

iPhone with 6.5-inch OLED screen could debut this year, LG Display to start shipping panels for Apple in H2 2018

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LG Display might not have produced a single OLED panel for Apple in 2017, but it looks like things are about to change this year. A new report from South Korea suggests that Apple is planning to diversify its OLED suppliers for the next iPhones. Sources of  The Investor  state that LG Display is close to inking an OLED supply deal with Cupertino and is expected to start panel shipments in the second half of 2018. This information is unofficial, but the display maker did previously confirm that it was in talks with Tim Cook & Co. over a possible agreement. According to the latest information, LG Display will only produce about 15-16 million panels in 2018. If this turns out to be accurate, it would mean that Samsung Display would still produce the majority of OLED panels for the upcoming iPhones, as Apple typically sells more than 200 million handsets per year. 5.8/6-INCH AND 6.5-INCH OLED IPHONES INCOMING? The report also mentions the possible screen sizes of t

Samsung Galaxy A5 and A7 (2017) updated with selfie focus, other camera improvements

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Although we should be talking about the new lineup of Galaxy A series smartphones, a new update makes the previous models newsworthy. It appears that both Galaxy A5 and A7 (2017) smartphones have received an update that brings some important camera-related features. The most important is called Selfie focus and it's a new mode for the front camera that when enabled allows users to take a picture without having to tap the screen to focus on a subject. It's supposed to add some sort of bokeh effect and make the background blur while the subject of the picture is right on focus. The new mode seems to work very well when in good lighting, but rather fails in low-light conditions. Nevertheless, it's a great addition to the 2017 Galaxy A series. Then, the update brings some improvements to the image processing software and adds a new color correction option for the skin tone. The new feature is available when you take pictures with the front camera and can be accessed from

It's true, Samsung Galaxy S9 will launch with the new DeX Pad

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DeX Station We reported last month that Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone,  the Galaxy S9 will come with a brand new Dex Pad . Obviously, customers will be able to purchase the accessory separately, but we can't help but wonder whether or not Samsung and/or some retailer won't run some promotions that will offer the  Galaxy S9  bundled with the DeX Pad. In any case, it looks like that rumor was pretty accurate since we've just learned that Samsung trademarked the DeX Pad name in Europe. Filed on December 29, the application comes in time for a Mobile World Congress (MWC) reveal late next month. Unlike DeX Station , the new DeX Pad is supposed to be a touchpad of some sorts (hence the name). It's also rumored to feature wireless charging, but there's no telling if the accessory will require wired connections for communication with the monitor. Price-wise, we have no reason to believe Samsung will offer the DeX Pad for a lower price than the DeX

Some Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ phones are turning on by themselves before shutting back off

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Thanks to posts put up in the t:Samsung community and Reddit by some Galaxy S8/S8+owners, we have learned that Sammy's current flagship model is having a mysterious issue. The problem starts when the phone is turned off either by pressing the power button, or by letting the display get timed out. The phone then powers itself back on for about ten seconds before shutting down once again. Since this is taking place throughout the entire day, it results in the draining of the phone's battery. A video posted on YouTube by a Galaxy S8 owner whose handset carries this strange bug, shows the phone turning off and turning on again all by itself. This cycle takes place even with the phone inside a flip case, as you can tell by the video. It appears that this bug is affecting some Samsung t:Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy t:S8+ models only. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 does not appear to have this affliction. Thus far, there has been no word from Samsung about this issue. Last week,

Samsung reportedly working on a Chrome OS tablet with high-end CPU and camera

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Samsung is reportedly hard at work on a new Surface-style, detachable tablet, codenamed "Nautilus", which will be powered by Google's Chrome OS. What's more interesting, is that Samsung is apparently not aiming for the high-end, not holding back in the hardware department, even when it comes to the camera. That's interesting, considering how Chromebooks have never had great cameras (not that anyone's complaining). According to  Engadget,  "Nautilus" will be powered by a 7th gen Intel Core CPU, much like the competition from Microsoft, and will also employ a Sony IMX258 sensor in its main camera. That's the same sensor that LG used in the LG G6, which is pretty surprising, considering that Chrome OS-powered devices have never had strong camera game. In fact, the best camera you can find on a Chromebook right now is a 720p shooter with very limited capabilities, notes  Chrome Unboxed . Clues about the "Nautilus" tablet have

No, this is not a leaked Samsung Galaxy S9 photo

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No, despite some reputable blogs portraying this blurry, low-res picture to be a   "real"   and   "leaked"   photograph of Samsung's next two flagship phones, this is NOT a leaked photo of the Samsung Galaxy S9. And it sure isn't real either. Just as other bloggers and journalists who received this picture in their mailboxes, we also got that initial kick of adrenaline that comes with having an early peek of a hot gadget that nobody has seen just yet. The low resolution of the photo suggested authenticity, as if someone was in a rush to take the picture, prosecuted by the secret Samsung police (yeah, we totally made this up), and the hard-to-trace link to a Chinese Weibo account directs us into depths that the average English speaker would not go into. BEWARE OF FAKE PHOTOS But after that first-look excitement, it was obvious that something was wrong. The angle the picture is taken suggests that a camera reflection should be seen, so

Samsung planning to sell 320 million smartphones in 2018, foldable phone in development

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t:Samsung plans to sell as many smartphones in 2018 as it did in 2017: some 320 million phones. The information comes from Korean publication The Investor which cites leaked Samsung projections to suppliers. With 320 million smartphones sold in 2018, Samsung will keep sales flat and the reason for this lack of growth is a saturated phone market, according to leaked information from the company. Here are Samsung's sales projections for 2018 by different types of devices: 320 million smartphones 40 million feature phones 20 million tablets 5 million wearable devices If Samsung indeed succeeds with its projected sales of 320 million smartphones, it will easily retain the number one spot in unit sales in the global smartphone market. Its two biggest competitors, Apple and Huawei, are estimated to sell 200 million and 150 million devices accordingly. SAMSUNG CONTINUES WORK ON A FOLDABLE PHONE The really interesting part of the report, however, comes

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ rumor review: Specs, design, features, price and release date

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We know, it's rather hard to realize that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are already six months old - unleashed onto the world on April 21, 2017, these two still look as forward-thinking and futuristic as it gets. Yet, all kings and queens have to relinquish their thrones, which will happen to the Galaxy S8/S8+ in a few months' time as well.   The newcomers? Well, it doesn't take a genius to know that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are about to supersede Samsung's current flagship stock, and given our general impression with Samsung's current flagships, it's definitely hard to NOT get excited about next year's Galaxies.   Rightly so, and here's what we know about these so far: Contents : 1. Design 2.   Display 3.   Camera 4.   Hardware 5.   Price and release date Design To put things bluntly, the Galaxy S9 is not expected to usher in a whole new design.   "Same old, same old" is not always bad Unsurprisingly, the overall be