Samsung recently filed a patent with USPTO, which has been revealed today. The patent shows a smartphone that unfolds into a tablet. Earlier this year, reports hinted that Samsung was working on a folding phone under the name ‘Project Valley’. The patent, titled Foldable Device and Method Of Controlling The Same, was submitted to the USPTO on May 26th, 2015.
The sketches on the patent application reveal several configurations of a folding device. One of the sketches also includes some onscreen icons like WhatsApp, Phone, Messages and even an iPod icon. Samsung and Apple have had a love-hate relationship for a while now, and both have been very guarded when it comes to keeping their patents a secret.
The designs, in fact, look quite innovative for smartphone displays, which are currently ruled by square, flat designs. A folding phone would give you access to the display even when the device is folded. Perhaps after introducing the first curved screen on a smartphone with the Round, Samsung plans to take it up a notch with this design. Only time will tell if the Korean manufacturer has something innovating up its sleeve.
Last year, Samsung had introduced a 64GB 3D TSV DDR4 DRAM, and now it has revealed that it has begun mass production for the first ever TSV (through silicon via) DDR4 (double data rate-4) in 128 GB modules. Joo Sun Choi, Samsung’s executive vice president for Memory Sales and Marketing says:
“We are pleased that volume production of our high speed, low-power 128GB TSV DRAM module will enable our global IT customers and partners to launch a new generation of enterprise solutions,”
The new 128 GB TSV modules will be made up by 144 DDR4 chips; these chips are further structured into 36 4 GB DRAM packages containing four 20nm based 8GB chips. The design of this new module will allow for better signal transmission as compared to other conventional ones. It also comes packed with 4GB master chips embedded for data buffer function. Therefore, it will cut power consumption by 50% and can also provide speed of up to 2,400 Mbps.
Apart from all of the above, Samsung is looking to produce 20nm 8GB DRAM chips, higher performance modules with 3,200 Mbps and 2,667 Mbps speed and even looking to open applications for higher bandwidth memory. Let’s hope it all comes around.
Samsung’s new chip-set – the Exynos 8890 has earned a record score of 100K in the AnTuTu benchmark test; this new chip-set is also expected to come packed within the upcoming Galaxy S7. The Exynos 8890 has beat out competition from the likes of Huawei’s Kirin 950 SoC (79K points) and the Mate 8, which secured more than 94K points.
The Exynos 8890 is expected to be incorporated in a number of high-end Galaxy series devices next year. AnTuTu isn’t the only benchmark where the chipset has scored high points; it has also scored a top-score of 6,908 points on the multi-core test and 2,294 on the single-core test on Geekbench. The Exynos 8890 has been manufactured by the 14 nm FinFET process, that promises to be energy efficient.
Despite rumours that this is the chipset that will power the upcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge; further reports also mention that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chip could also be in this race to power the Galaxy S7. Stay tuned for more updates.
New reports suggest, that an FCC certification reveals the new Galaxy A7 to offer a 3,300mAh battery. It also says that the A7 is 151.8mm long and 74.5mm wide. Connectivity wise, this phone will have 4G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.
The FCC has not given out anymore specifications of the phone, however another benchmark had leaked them. So, according to that, the A7 will have a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front camera, 3GB of RAM, a 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, and will run on Android 5.1 Lollipop. As of now, Samsung has not confirmed anything, but with all the leaks and rumours, let us hope that something gets confirmed soon enough.
A new Samsung smartphone has been spotted on the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) in the United States with a model number of SM-J120F. This device is speculated as being the Galaxy J1’s successor.
The FCC certificate does not reveal any specifications for the handset, although a siting on GFXBench can throw some light on it. The SM-J120F is expected to arrive with a dual SIM variant which will be assigned a model number of SM-J120F/DS. It will be powered by the Samsung Exynos 3475 chipset with quad-core 1.3GHz CPU and will come with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal memory. On the camera front, one can expect a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera. The entire device will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS out-of-the-box.
Another listing suggests that the display of this smartphone could be 4.5 inch, which s slightly larger than the current J1’s 4.3 inch. This losting further suggests that the phone will be a mid-range phone arriving at Rs.6,686.
A Samsung smartphone is on its way, so obviously there are a thousand leaks and rumours about it. This time its about the Samsung Galaxy S7. The latest one said that the Galaxy S7 might come with a 4k display, now it seems it might also improve on a feature that most people had a problem with in the previous installment in the Galaxy line-up.
The Galaxy S7 might come with a microSD slot for memory expansion. Further reports also suggest that the device might also sport a 5.2 inch display, while the Galaxy S7 Edge could arrive with a 5.7 inch curved edge display. Let us wait for the launch and see what this new smartphone has to offer. Until then watch this space for more updates.
The specifications of a new Samsung A9 (SM-A9000) showed up on Geekbench and it looks like this new handset will arrive with a Snapdragon 620 SoC(MSM8976). Other features include a dual quad-core CPU, Cortex-A72 cores along with Cortex-A53. The chip is said to be geared towards single core performance with a score of 1446 while the multi core score was 4134. The device can also be expected to arrive with a 3GB of RAM and run on the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop version.
The specifications of this device had earlier also appeared on An Tu Tu and match the specifications shown on GeekBench. An Tu Tu had said that the A9 could also arrive with a 5.5 inch full HD Super AMOLED display and 32GB of internal storage. The only information that seems to be missing is that of the anticipated handset’s camera. The A8 comes with a 16MP primary camera, so going by that, the new phone might comes with either the same camera or an enhanced one.
After receiving TENAA and 3C certifications this month, Samsung’s new smartphone Galaxy J3 has now been listed on the company’s China website. However, the name of the device has been slightly altered, it’s called Galaxy J3? now.
In terms of the specs, the phone packs a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU, along with 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display. It further has a 1.5 GB RAM and 8 GB of expandable internal memory. The battery is marked at a 2600 mAh. The main and the front cameras are marked at 8 MP and 5 MP respectively. With a measurement of 142.3 x 71 x 7.9 mm, the device weighs a 138 g.
Though the TENAA certified model was running on Android 5.1.1, the official listing doesn’t mention the operating system of the phone. Milk Music app and a Smart Manager tool are some of its other highlights on the software front. The official listing also doesn’t mention the price and the availability of the phone in other markets. Watch this space for more updates.
There have been a couple of smartphone manufacturers in the news today regarding mobile payment services. Earlier today we reported that LG is working a mobile payment platform, and now Samsung is looking to introduce Samsung Pay in some other countries as well.
Samsung Pay uses NFC technology and Magnetic Secure Transmissions (MST). Since MST technology is used by every retailer that swipes a credit card, Samsung Pay can be used at more retailers than Apple Pay and Android Pay.
So far, Samsung Pay has been launched in Korea and the U.S. In Korea, Samsung Pay has seen $30 million in transactions, which is reason enough for the company to expand. Rumour has it that Samsung is now eyeing China, Spain and the U.K during the first quarter of 2016.
If Samsung Pay launches successfully in these countries as well, we could see further expansion plans by the Korean giant. As of now, India is still not on Samsung’s list, but never say never.
According to reports, Samsung is planning to launch a flip phone called SM-W2016. Yes, you read correct, a flip phone. While we don’t know what inspired Samsung to do this, we do know that the smart-flip-phone could come with a 3.9 inch display and 1280×768 pixel resolution on each side of the phone cover. The numeric keypad will be at the bottom of the phone, which will run on the Android 5.1.1 with an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor. A few days back some pictures of this phone were leaked showcasing the design. Take a look:
The phone will have a 3GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage, 16MP primary camera and 5MP secondary camera. Samsung has not officially confirmed these rumours, however, speculation suggests that this phone won’t be available in the U.S and Europe.
It’s been a couple of months to the launch of the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and yet the the OS has only been installed on about 0.3% of Android devices so far. The job of rolling out the latest update lies on the OEMs. Today, there’s finally some good news for eager Samsung users.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
For those who own Samsung devices, a leaked document reveals possible dates for the Marshmallow update. The updates will take place in three phases. Samsung Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ users will likely receive the update in December, though the exact date is not revealed. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will receive the Android update in January 2016. Meanwhile, older models like the Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge are expected to receive their’s in February.
There’s no word yet on when the Galaxy S5, Alpha and the Galaxy A and E-series will receive the update since it’s still pending approval.
Samsung is creating a buzz about its next rumoured smartphone, the Galaxy S7 Premium Edition. According to rumours, this phone will only be offered in South Korea and could feature a 4K display with a dual-lens camera module made by Sony.
This phone is expected to run on the new Exynos 8890 chipset, which is expected to come with a 14 nm FinFET process chip, an integrated CP and modem chip and is the first custom core design chip that the company has created. This chip is expected to arrive with Samsung’s next flagship phone, the Galaxy S7 in all markets except for USA and China. In those two countries, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC.
The original Exynos 8890 Soc is expected to come with the Mali-T880 and 12 cores, however new reports suggest that the Exynos 8890 for the Galaxy S7 Special Edition will come with the Mali-T880 and 14 cores.
As lovely as all this sounds, Samsung has not confirmed any of the above rumours. So, let’s just wait and see what Samsung has to offer us, until the next Samsung Unpacked event.
Popular and reliable phone leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) tweeted last night that AT&T is already testing two new Samsung phones with model numbers SM-G930A and SM-G935A, which presumably refer to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
AT&T already testing both Galaxy S7 variants (SM-G930A and -G935A), adding weight to rumors of an early- to mid-1Q16 release.
It is already known that Samsung plans an early 2016 launch of its flagship devices. Earlier this month, rumours were afloat that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on February 21, just before the start of MWC 2016.
Not much is revealed in the specs department yet. Rumours have been suggesting that the flagship could sport a 12MP sensor provided by Sony, which will focus on better low-light images. Other details that have been going around suggest an Exynos 8 Octa 8890 processor, a 5.2-inch display on the Galaxy S7 and 5.8-inch dual-curved display on the S7 Edge. However, nothing is confirmed at the moment.
The fact that AT&T is already testing the models means the launch of the device will follow shortly after the unveiling in February. The devices will be widely available after the U.S launch and will be sold by all major carriers around the world.
We are all aware that the Samsung S7 will be the company’s next handset, what we also know is that the company just announced it’s first new chip in the Exynos 8 Octa series, called the Exynos 8890. This chip is also the first 14 nm FinFET process chip with an integrated CP and modem chip and is also the first custom core design chip.
Now you are probably wondering why this piece of information is relevant to you. The answer is that not only does this new chip affect the ‘tech geek’ in you, but will also show tangible changes that will affect the average smartphone user. The small size of the chip is said to affect power consumption and performance positively. The smallest size so far is 14nm and this chip will be used by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, which hopefully be seen in next year’s smartphones.
While the details will surely excite more technical people, the implications of those features will also be felt by regular users. Chip manufacturers have forever been trying to use smaller and smaller manufacturing processes for their silicon. The smallest so far is 14 nm, which has now arrived on mobile thanks to Samsung. Using a smaller process not only results in smaller chips but also includes benefits to power consumption and performance. The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 uses the same 14 nm FinFET process, so we’ll be seeing the results of this new process in next year’s smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy On7
If you’re done processing all that information, we’re sorry to bother you but there’s more. This Exynos chip will also provide you with faster internet. How? Well, this chip combined within itself both the CPU and the LTE modem which can reportedly support 600 Mbps on down-link and 150 Mbps on uploads with the help of the Cat 12 and Cat 13 LTE. Furthermore, this chip, as mentioned earlier, is Samsung’s first custom core design chip. So, it will come with its own CPU core design which will only optimize its performance on the company’s devices. The Exynos also comes with four CPU cores and four Corted-A53 cores with the latest Mali-T880 graphics chip.
Availability wise, the Exynos 8 Octa will start shipping later this year and is expected to come integrated with Samsung’s next flagship smartphone. Until then, let us sit tight and await Samsung’s Unpacked event scheduled for the 21st of February 2016.
Samsung is all set to release Gear VR, company’s virtual reality headset, before Black Friday that is 27th November. It will be first launched in the US, followed by a UK launch a couple of days later and then other parts of the world. The headset would be shipped with the new Occulus Social app. Vimeo and Twitch videos would also be part of the app which can be watched with other people in anywhere in the world, participating as avatars.
Samsung has also launched Samsung Milk VR, it’s own VR video channel, along with a VR camera Project Beyond which is a 360-degree 3D capture camera built specifically to create videos for virtual reality.
Samsung’s Vice President for VR, Nicholas DiCarlo comments on Gear VR and says, ““Some people think virtual reality (VR) will be isolating but I think it’s clear it’s going to be a social medium… It’s the launch of consumer virtual reality.”
Other than the Occulus Social app and Milk VR, there are also plenty of games, apps such as Facebook 360 videos and Jaunt (a technological initiative that commissions and therefore encourages film-makers to make VR-friendly films) which have been developed for the headset. The headset is priced at $99 (close to Rs. 6,500) and can be plugged into the Galaxy S6, Edge, Edge + and Note 5 and any of the other new Samsung handsets.
Virtual reality seems to be the next big thing in the world of entertainment as well as tech. Would you be willing to give it a try?
