Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on

Introduction

After a month of what seemed like never ending barrage of leaks, Samsung has finally (and officially) announced its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. This marks the company's first major smartphone release since the sad demise of the Galaxy Note7 last fall, which prompted the company to implement a new 8-point battery safety check to the S8 and all future devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is Samsung's first major design change since the Samsung Galaxy S6, when Samsung went with premium materials like metal and glass to construct a beautiful device. And beautiful these devices are. Both feature curved edges on both sides so there is no longer an 'edge'-specific model. The S8+ otherwise has the same features and specs at the S8 except for a larger display and battery.

The display is the hallmark of the two phones - tall and narrow, pixel-rich and covering as much of the phones as possible. The aspect ratio is the odd bit here, though we've been prepped by the LG G6's 18:9 already - Samsung's panels are in an even more unorthodox 18.5:9 ratio. Super AMOLEDs, the two, naturally.

Samsung is one of the first, if not the first, to launch with the latest Snapdragon 835 chipset. Rumors suggested there will also be an Exynos version of the devices but so far we haven't seen that one announced.

The camera sensor for the S8 duo appears to come from the S7 and Note7, but with promised tweaks in processing (Pixel-like image stacking) the camera should be even better. And we're digging the bump in front camera resolution - it was high time Samsung decommissioned those 5MP selfie shooters.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ at a glance

• Body: Polished aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front and back; IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. Arctic Silver, Orchid Grey, Black Sky, Maple Gold, and Coral Blue color schemes.
• Display: 5.8"/6.2" Super AMOLED, 2,960x1440px resolution, 18.5:9 (2.06:1) aspect ratio, 571/529ppi; HDR 10 compliant (no Dolby Vision).
• Rear camera:12MP, f/1.7 aperture, dual pixel phase detection autofocus, OIS; multi-shot image stacking; 2160p/30fps video recording.
• Front camera: 8MP, f/1.7 aperture, autofocus; 1080p/30fps video recording.
• OS/Software: Android 7.0 Nougat; Samsung Grace UX; Bixby virtual assistant; Smart Connect, Smart Connect Home
• Chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835: octa-core CPU (4xKryo 280 + 4xCortex-A53), Adreno 540 GPU. Exynos 8895: octa-core CPU (4x2nd-gen Mongoose + 4xCortex-A53), Mali-G71 GPU.
• Memory: 4GB of RAM (6GB option for some markets, probably later down the line); 64GB storage; microSD slot for cards up to 256GB, UFS cards support.
• Battery: 3,000mAh/3,500mAh Li-Po (sealed); Adaptive Fast Charging (same as S7); QuickCharge 2.0 support; WPC&PMA wireless charging.
• Connectivity: Single-SIM, Dual-SIM available in certain markets; LTE-A, 4-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16/13 (1Gbps/150Mbps); USB Type-C (v3.1); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; GPS, Beidou, Galileo; NFC; Bluetooth 5.0.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader; iris recognition/face recognition; single speaker on the bottom; 3.5mm jack; bundled AKG headphones.

Samsung is also big on iris recognition, though it could have used a better ambassador for it than the Note 7. It is what is. Let's hope it's good enough for us to stop kvetching about that unconventionally placed fingerprint sensor.

A few other check boxes in the specsheet sure won't leave us complaining - the IP68 rating (should be mandatory on flagships, really), 3.5mm headphone jack (let's not go there again), and USB-C port (USB-C on all the things, already). AKG headphones also sound nice. Having them in the box, that is, we haven't actually heard them play.

We got to spend a few hours in a room with a few Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ near-final units - the perks of the job. What good are those initial impressions if we don't share them with you?

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Survey showed 12 out of 24 Note7 owners switched to iPhone

Research firm IDC surveyed 1,082 U.S. customers of the Note7 through on online survey on October 17 and 18, just a few days after the phone maker decided to permanently discontinuethe productivity-focused phablet.

Of the 1,082 U.S. consumers, 507 were current Samsung owners, 347 were past Samsung users, 228 of which have never owned a Samsung device. Only 24 of the customers surveyed were owners, both past and present, of the Note7.

Key findings from the surveys show that half of the Note7 customers (12 out of 24) said they have or “will choose” an iPhone to replace their Samsung purchase. 17% of the surveyed customers said they would choose another Samsung. And most of them said they will return their phones physically to a carrier store.

The recall doesn’t appear to negatively affect Samsung’s brand, as most of the surveyed consumers said the recall wouldn’t affect future buying decisions for other non-smartphone appliances and products from Samsung.

“Although the recall may have an adverse impact on the brand in the short term, the truth is that Samsung remains the clear market leader in the worldwide smartphone market.” says Anthony Scarsella, research manager of mobile phones at IDC, “Moving forward, Samsung will need to put the Note7 to rest as quickly as possible to focus all efforts on producing a stellar Galaxy S8 come next spring.”

Source | Via

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70% من ملاك Galaxy Note 7 قرروا البقاء إلى جانب سامسونج وفقا لإستطلاع للرأي

وفقا لدراسة حديثة، إقترحت بأن 40 في المئة من عملاء سامسونج لا يخططون للبقاء مع الشركة بعد نكسة Galaxy Note 7. وهذا يعني أن حوالي 60 في المئة منهم يخططون للبقاء مع الشركة. 

الآن، نحن هنا مع دراسة جديدة أجرتها مؤسسة BayStreet أسفرت عن نتائج مماثلة تقريبا بحيث إتضح أن 70 في المئة من ملاك Galaxy Note 7 قالوا بأنهم سيواصلون شراء منتجات سامسونج في المستقبل. وتقول مؤسسة BayStreet :

” نحن نعتقد بأن الغالبية العظمى ( 70% ) ترغب في البقاء مع سامسونج وقررت على الأرجح الإنتقال إلى Galaxy S7 كبديل. ثانيا، المتغير الأكثر صعوبة هو النسبة المئوية من الأشخاص الذين هم على إستعداد لترك نظام الأندرويد. عملاء هواتف Galaxy Note يطمحون إلى العلامات التجارية الممتازة والقيمة، وبالتالي فإن هواتف iPhone تعد مناسبة لهؤلاء العملاء. ومع ذلك، إتضح أن عملاء سامسونج يكنون الكثير من الولاء لشركة سامسونج. “

ربما هذا هو الخبر السار لشركة سامسونج التي تلقت الكثير من الخسائر على جميع الأصعدة بسبب الفشل الذريع للهاتف Galaxy Note 7. وقد عملت شركة سامسونج على الحفاظ على عملائها من خلال تقديم الحوافز مثل تقديم بطاقة خصم بقيمة 100 دولار أمريكي لكل شخص يقرر إستبدال Galaxy Note 7 بهاتف آخر من الشركة.

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Report says Samsung Galaxy Note7 fiasco won't affect Gear S3's launch

Following Samsung's announcement that the Galaxy Note7 has been permanently discontinued, there were reports from Korean media that the Note7 debacle will have a negative impact on the company's future projects, many of which will get delayed.

However, according to a new report, that's not true - at least in the case of the tech giant's Gear S3 smartwatch. Citing "Samsung Insiders," the report says that the Tizen-powered wearable is on schedule for a November launch, although an exact date is yet to be confirmed.

There have been reports that the Gear S3 will be launched in mid-November, and South Korea, the US, and select European countries will get it first. The wearable is also up for pre-order in Canada, with a shipping date of November 18.

Via

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نكسة Galaxy Note 7 لن تؤثر على عملية إطلاق الساعة الذكية Samsung Gear S3

بعدما أعلنت شركة سامسونج عن إيقافها للهاتف Galaxy Note 7 بشكل نهائي، كانت هناك تقارير من وسائل الإعلام الكورية الجنوبية تفيد بأن نكسة Galaxy Note 7 سيكون لها تأثير سلبي على المشاريع المستقبلية للشركة، وكثير منها سوف تتأخر.

ومع ذلك، وفقا لتقرير جديد صدر اليوم، فيبدو أن هذا ليس صحيحا، على الأقل في حالة الهاتف Samsung Gear S3. نقلا عن مصادر مطلعة على خطط شركة سامسونج، فيبدو أن هذه الأخيرة ذاهبة لإصدار ساعتها الذكية الجديدة المدعومة بنظام TizenOS في الموعد المحدد، وهو ما يعني في شهر نوفمبر المقبل، على الرغم من أنه لم يتم تحديد موعد الإطلاق بالضبط.

وكانت هناك تقارير تفيد بأنه سيتم إطلاق الساعة الذكية Samsung Gear S3 في منتصف شهر نوفمبر في كل من كوريا الجنوبية والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وفي عدد من البلدان الأوروبية. وهذه الساعة الذكية متاحة بالفعل للطلب المسبق في كندا مع إمكانية بدء عملية الشحن في اليوم 18 نوفمبر.

المصدر.

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Samsung to invest record W27tr in chips, displays

 Samsung Electronics said on Oct. 27 it will make a record 27 trillion won (US$24 billion) investment in production facilities for semiconductors and displays this year. 

The company said 13.2 trillion won will be poured to beef up the production of V-NAND flash memory chips that are used for large-scale data centers and business servers and to upgrade other production facilities overall.



Another 10.9 trillion won will be used for the production expansion of flexible organic light-emitting diode displays whose demand is soaring recently as more handset makers, including Apple, are bracing for the adoption for their next high-end models. 

On the day, the company reported its third-quarter operating profit tumbled 29.7 percent to 5.2 trillion won from a year ago, hit hard by the discontinued Galaxy Note 7 for safety concerns. Revenue also fell 7.4 percent to 47.8 trillion won. 

source.

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Samsung Galaxy Note7 hits the USA on August 19, pre-orders kick off tomorrow

The hottest flagship of the hottest season is now official and the wait for its release has now begun. The Samsung Galaxy Note7 sure sounds superb with its cool design, an HDR sAMOLED screen, and powerful processor. It's also water-proof and the S-Pen can work underwater.

Now, about that US availability. All major carriers - AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless will offer the Galaxy Note7. The pre-orders open tomorrow - August 3, and the phablet will be officially out on August 19.

Each carrier pricing and tariffs will be detailed tomorrow.

Of course, a plethora of retailers will be selling the Galaxy Note7, too. All Samsung Experience Stores, Best Buy stores, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Car Toys, Sam’s Club, Target and select Walmart stores are among the retailers to offer the Note7.

The USA market will be getting the Snapdragon 820-powered Note7, and it will be available in three different flavors - Blue Coral, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx. You bet freebies are in order, and while Samsung isn't as generous as it was with the Galaxy S7 series, it's still quite enough.

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Samsung Galaxy Note7 video promos introduce the new phablet king

A barrage of Samsung Galaxy Note7 info just burst onto tech sites and social media. If you're feeling overwhelmed, I have a few short and sweet ways to introduce you to the Note7.



First up, there's the infographic. But if you don't feel like scrolling, you can just watch a 30-second video that shows the best of the new flagship.

If you have another 30 seconds to spare, here's a video that shows the Galaxy Note philosophy: "More everything."

Finally, a deeper look - a whole 3 minutes with the Note7 and its new features.

Of course, if you want to really dive into the Galaxy Note7, our hands-on is the place for you.

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Samsung details the upgrades the Galaxy Note7 brings in an infographic

There are certainly those that will say that the brand new Galaxy Note7 isn't much of an upgrade over the outgoing Note5 and to counter those naysayers from day one Samsung has released an infographic detailing the differences between the two.

Conveniently, the key improvements have been highlighted in (non-coral) blue, and the list starts with the dual-edged display of the just-introduced model. Perhaps Samsung could have pointed out the Cat.9 LTE over the Note5's Cat.6 (450Mbps vs 300Mbps downlink), but hey, they have marketing teams to decide on that.

Of course, the IP68 certification for protection against the elements gets its dedicated section, and rightfully so. The list of highlights goes on with the Dual Pixel primary camera, microSD slot and USB Type-C port for wired connectivity. The Iris Scanner is duly mentioned too. You won't find an IR emitter though, not in the phone and not in the infographic.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 unveiled with a 5.7" curved screen, IP68 rating

Riding on a wave of rumors and hype, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 has landed. The new flagship will help Samsung venture deeper into several market segments.

The Note7 is tough. It's the first Note to be waterproofed - IP68 rating certifies it for depths beyond 1m. The phone's metal frame is sandwiched between two symmetrically curved sheets of Gorilla Glass 5. The new Blue Coral option paints the metal and accents in gold, the rest in blue.

The Note7 has an amazing screen. Samsung kept to the 5.7" Super AMOLED formula but curved it on both sides like an edge phone. It has QHD resolution, naturally, but is among the first mobile displays to feature HDR support - a feature borrowed from 4K TVs that allows the screen to show more colors and scenes with very high contrast.

The S Pen promises a ballpoint pen-like experience. The stylus can leave notes on the Always on screen. And it can write underwater! Other new features include a text magnifying glass, a translate tool, even a GIF creator.

The Note7 is secure. It adds an iris scanner to its arsenal of biometric sensors. Soon, it will be able to replace the fingerprint reader as the way to secure Samsung Pay, Knox and your personal files (hidden in the Secure folder). You can still use the fingerprint reader, of course. Both will be available to third-party apps through Samsung Pass.

The Note7 is Samsung's first with USB Type-C. The port supports On The Go and quick charging. There's wireless quick charging too, to fill the 3,500mAh battery in a hurry (yes, it's 100mAh smaller than the S7 edge battery).

The 12MP dual-pixel camera from the Galaxy S7 is back. It features a bright f/1.7 aperture and OIS and can record 2160p video. On the front is a 5MP selfie camera, again borrowed from the S7.

The Note7 is powerful. It's powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset or an Exynos 8890 (depends on region), has 4GB of RAM (the 6GB rumor fizzled out) and 64GB storage. You get a microSD slot, but UFS cards are not supported. There's no word on a 128GB version yet.

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Galaxy Note7 now rumored to be out in Europe on August 16

Samsung's Galaxy Note7 is almost here. Almost official, as its dedicated special launch event is taking place next Tuesday, on August 2. We pretty much know everything about it already, save for one thing - when exactly will you be able to buy one? Well, that actually might depend on where you live. A report from earlier this month said the Note7 would go on sale on the day of its announcement, however that may only be valid for South Korea.

In Europe, on the other hand, the release date could be August 16. At least it will be in the Netherlands, according to a new rumor out of that country. If this pans out, then it's pretty likely that many other EU countries will get the phone on the same day. Apparently only the silver and black colors will be available from day one, with gold and blue to follow later.

The Note7 will probably cost €849 in the Eurozone. It's going to have a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED touchscreen with curved edges, a 12 MP Dual Pixel rear camera, a 5 MP selfie snapper, the Exynos 8893 chipset or the Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, and a 3,500 mAh battery. Its dimensions will be 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm.

Source (in Dutch) | Via

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cases confirm it will have a curved display

Less then 24 hours ago a new rumor claimed to shed some light on certain details regarding Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note7 - namely that it will be outed on August 2 (something we've heard before), and that it will sport a 3,600 mAh battery. But what about its screen?

So far we've had a lot of reports saying that Samsung opted to go with a dual-edge display for the Note7. Then again, there were some other mumblings telling us that wouldn't be the case. So what to believe?

Well, if the renders showing these newly outed cases for the phone are any indication, then it looks like the Note7 will indeed come with a curved display. The cases in question have been listed by a well-known UK-based mobile accessory retailer, and they're made by a brand that's got a full line of such products for most handsets out there.

And, as you can see, the Note7 depicted in these cases definitely has that trademark dual-curved touchscreen, a la the S7 edge. But it also has a stylus (with the slot in its usual place on the bottom side of the device), as you would expect.

Speaking of things you should expect, the Note7's resolution is going to be QHD (with a size of 5.7" or 5.8"), while other rumored internals include 6GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, an iris scanner, IP68 water and dust resistance, a USB Type-C port, the same cameras as the S7 and S7 edge, and a new Exynos chipset with octa-core CPU (replaced with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821/823 in some markets).

Source | Via

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to be allegedly announced on August 2, also said to have 3600mAh battery

Notorious Russian leakster, Eldar Murtazin has been responsible for a few credible leaks in the past. Even so, he has also been responsible for some controversial reports as well. Any who, Murtazin reports that the Galaxy Note 7 will be officially announced at Samsung’s unpacked event.

Murtazin also reports that the Galaxy Note 7 will be capable of pushing 20 hours of video at maximum brightness on a single charge, and that the battery size will be 3,600mAH, the same size battery found in the Galaxy S7 edge. Whether or not this will be achieved with a battery of that size isn’t known.

The Note5 scored 13:51h of video playback in our battery tests last year, and the alleged 3,600mAh battery size is only a 20% increase from the Note5’s 3,000mAh power pack. If Murtazin is right about the 20-hour video playback, the 4,000mAh would be more likely to reach that. Unless Samsung optimizes the crap out of its software, uses a power efficient display, and uses new ultra-efficient CPUs, then 3,600mAh sounds like a long shot.

The next Samsung Unpacked even will reportedly take place on August 2 and will reveal all that we would like to know about the successor to the Galaxy Note5 including whether or not the Note will finally be IP-certified or not, along with the screen size, which is said to be curved on both edges and 5.8 inches in size, breaking past the 5.7 inch cycle of the last 3 Galaxy Note iterations.

Source (Translated) | Via

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New Galaxy Note7 leak reveals SD821 and Exynos 8893-powered variants

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note7 smartphone will be available in Snapdragon 821 (a.k.a SD823) and Exynos 8893-powered variants, according to a new leak out of China. Presumably, the former will be aimed at markets like the US, while the latter will be available in developing regions.

Aside from this, the leak also reveals (mostly re-confirms) some of the key specs of the Galaxy Note7, including 5.7-inch QHD display, 6GB RAM, 64/128/256GB storage options, 12MP/5MP camera combo, and 4,000mAh battery.

The device will come with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box, and will feature a USB Type-C port, making it the first Samsung phone to have one.

Source | Via

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After confirming 'Galaxy Note7' name, leakster reveals device's specs

Shortly after confirming that Samsung's upcoming Note device will be called the Galaxy Note7, the usually reliable leakster Evan Blass - who goes by the Twitter handle @evleaks - has revealed some of the device's key specifications.

23h

Evan Blass @evleaks

Also confirmed: iris scanner

 Follow

Evan Blass @evleaks

Couple confirmed specs: 5.7" QHD SAMOLED, 64GB + microSD, 12MP DualP / 5MP, IP68, black/silver/blue

5:30 PM - 25 Jun 2016

 
•  277277 Retweets
 
•  460460 likes

According to the information he shared, the Note7 will sport a 5.7" QHD Super AMOLED display, feature a 12MP rear and 5MP front camera, and come with 64GB internal memory. The handset will be IP68 certified, and will be available in black, silver, and blue color options.

In addition, @evleaks also confirmed iris scanner for the phone, something which has already been confirmed. In case you don't already know, the Galaxy Note7 is expected to be unveiled in the first week of August - August 2 to be precise.

Source

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