Rabu, 31 Oktober 2018

Samsung W2019 luxury clamshell leaks in even more images

Every year Samsung launches an odd clamshell smartphone in China with two screens, top of the line internals, and a very high price. Following the W2016, W2017, and W2018, it's almost time for the W2019 to be officially unveiled. That should happen very soon, perhaps even in the next few weeks, given the amount of leaks we've seen about it recently. Samsung W2019 Today we have a bunch of new pictures showing the upcoming device in all its blocky glory. There are multiple angles, and the focus is mainly on how thick and unashamedly big it is. More angles of the Samsung...

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Mate 20 Pro breaks Huawei's pre-order record in Western Europe

Today Huawei has proudly announced that the Mate 20 Pro is shaping up to be its best selling smartphone ever in Western Europe. That is, at least, if we go by pre-order numbers. During the first ten days of pre-orders, the Mate 20 Pro managed to log 40% more of those than the P20 Pro did earlier in the year. The Mate 20 Pro is now Huawei's most pre-ordered smartphone of all time in Western Europe. Walter Ji, President of Huawei Western Europe's Consumer Business Group, said "the winning combination of innovative technologies on the Mate 20 Pro has proved impossible to resist and...

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OnePlus 6T getting its first update already

The OnePlus 6T isn't out yet as customers still have to wait until November 6 for sales to begin but we are now receiving an OTA update for our testing unit with some promising improvements. The OTA update upgrades the OxygenOS version to 9.0.4 and promises to deliver improvements mainly in the camera department by including the Studio Lighting effect when taking portrait shots and adds final touches to the Nightscape mode used for low-light photography. Along with the camera update, the software claims to squash a few bugs, further optimizes standby power consumption and improves...

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Latest Samsung Galaxy S9+ Android Pie beta brings DeX without a dock

With the launch of the Galaxy Note9 this year, Samsung brought a new version of its DeX feature, which didn't need a dock to enable the full desktop DeX experience - a USB-C to HDMI cable would do just fine. And according to the leaked Samsung Experience 10 beta software based on 9.0 Android, the Galaxy S9+ will get the feature as well. There's a catch though - if you choose not to use the DeX dock, you will be allowed to open only 5 windows instead of 20 and you will lose all the additional connectivity options the dock provides. In any case, since the Galaxy S9+, the regular Galaxy...

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ZTE gets back to US market with Blade Max 2s and Blade Max View

After a long hiatus from the US market, ZTE is back with two new phones. The ZTE Blade Max View has a 6" 18:9 1080p display and a Snapdragon 435 chipset with 3GB of RAM. Its 32GB storage is expandable and there's a 4,000mAh battery inside. The Max View offers a 16MP + 2 MP dual camera on the back with the latter sensor serving only to collect depth information for the portrait mode. At the front there's an 8MP camera. ZTE Blade Max View The ZTE Blade Max View will be available on Verizon and unlocked through B&H and Newegg for $199 starting October 31. The ZTE Blade Max...

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High-speed Samsung microSD cards heavily discounted on Amazon.com

If you’re looking for a microSD card for your smartphone or any other device that accepts SD cards, Amazon.com has nice discounts running on Samsung’s Evo Select microSD cards at the moment. 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB variants are all available for a considerably lower price than what they normally cost.

Higher the storage, bigger the discount

For $60 (40 percent off), you can pick up a 256GB class 10 card. If you own a Galaxy Note 9, you can pick up two of these for a much lower price than what Samsung’s new 512GB card is expected to cost. Don’t need all that storage? You can grab a 128GB card for $25 (also a 40 percent discount). Both 128GB and 256GB cards have read and write speeds of 100 MB/s and 90 MB/s respectively.

If you want to go even lower, the 64GB card can be yours for just $14 (39 percent off). The read speeds remain the same, but you will have to make do with 60 MB/s write speed. The 32GB card, meanwhile, is available for $7, which is 30 percent off its regular price. This one has read and write speeds of 95 MB/s and 20 MB/s respectively, so it’s a basic card fit for basic needs.

Every EVO Select Samsung microSD card comes with a 10-year warranty. To buy one from Amazon, just hit the links below.

Buy Samsung EVO Select microSD card: 32GB | 64GB | 128GB | 256GB

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Lines for the OnePlus 6T were longer than the ones for the iPhones, says T-Mobile

People are buying what OnePlus and T-Mobile are selling - the lines for the OnePlus 6T in front of the carrier's stores were longer than those for the new iPhones (according to a T-Mo employee quoted by Business Insider). T-Mobile stores are currently the only place in the world where you can buy a 6T, but that's not why the carrier has the best deal on the new flagship. By trading in an eligible phone (the list is quite long and even includes the original OnePlus One) you get $300 credit towards buying a OnePlus 6T. That drops the final price from $580 to just $280 - a deal that Apple,...

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Samsung posts record Q3 profit, expects a much tougher year to follow

Samsung posted its quarterly report for Q3 and again smashed its own record by reaching KRW65.46 trillion ($57.3 billion) in revenue and KRW17.57 trillion ($15.4 billion) in operating profit. However, the Korean company realizes the money flow will likely decrease going forward due to the end of a two-year boom in memory chips demand. The IT & Mobile Division, responsible for the Galaxy smartphones, recorded a 10% YoY decline in sales to KRW24.91 trillion ($2.2 billion) compared with KRW27.69 trillion ($2.4 billion) in Q3 2017 despite "solid flagship sales." The semiconductor...

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The throttling feature hits iPhone X and iPhone 8 duo with iOS 12.1

Apple started rolling out iOS 12.1 yesterday with, among other improvements, a fix for the charging issues experienced by the latest batch of iPhones. Yet there was also a not so pleasant surprise for last year's batch - the "performance management feature" is back, despite early claims that it's not necessary. It is added to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X by the update. However, Apple notes that this management "may be less noticeable due to their more advanced hardware and software design". Everything's okay • Performance management enabled • And disabled • Battery...

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LG will unveil its foldable smartphone during CES 2019

Clearly, next year's big thing will be foldable devices and LG wants in. Samsung promised to announce its flexible Galaxy phone soon, but its local rival might even beat it. According to the latest tweet from Evan Blass LG is looking to unveil its revolutionary smartphone at its own keynote at CES 2019. I can't speak for Samsung......but I do know that LG plans to unveil a foldable phone at its 2019 CES keynote.— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 31, 2018 Going by the patent that got approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office in late 2017, the smartphone will most likely fold...

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Google Pixel 3 review

Bringing the small Pixel into the now with a tall display and less wasted space, we have this year's Google Pixel 3. Updated glass build and a couple of selfie cameras mark the other key changes compared to the 2017 vintage.

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Samsung’s AR Emoji feature isn’t optimized enough for budget and mid-range phones

Samsung has been quite serious about bringing new camera features from its latest flagships to existing devices. AR Emoji, which debuted on the Galaxy S9, is now supported on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy A8 Star, and the Galaxy A7, just to name a few. It also made its way Samsung’s budget lineup with an update to the Galaxy J7 Duo, and we can rest assured we will see AR Emoji on new Galaxy devices across various segments in the coming months.

I just hope Samsung plans to optimize AR Emoji to make it less cumbersome than it is at the moment.

AR Emoji has too much lag and stutter

On the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9, AR Emoji works great. It doesn’t work great in terms of how well the emojis it creates look like your real self, because it’s only a software trick that doesn’t take long enough to make realistic digital avatars of the user. But the process of creating AR Emojis is a quick affair on the S9 and Note 9, with even real-time mapping possible. On devices like the Galaxy A7 or Galaxy J7 Duo, however, there’s an enormous amount of lag when an emoji is being created. The same goes for the Galaxy Note 8 as well.

Even the general interface itself has stutter when it’s playing out animations, like zooming in on the face after you have gone through the initial process of clicking your picture and selected your gender. Perhaps the feature requires considerable processing power despite being just a software trick, which might be why no existing device got the ability to change your facial expressions in AR Emoji in real time. But as it stands, AR Emoji is simply too slow on non-flagship devices.

And I know AR Emoji is a gimmick, that some of you will point out that it’s not worth any serious discussion. But if Samsung is bringing the feature to more and more of its devices, especially existing ones and those in the budget range, the company needs to optimize the underlying code. It’s great to see the latest update for a device bring AR Emoji support with it, but it’s no use if the actual procedure of using it is slow enough to turn people off from ever trying it again.

Do you use AR Emoji on a Galaxy phone that is not a flagship device? Do you agree with my opinion that it is too slow and unoptimized?

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Nokia 6.1 Plus is now receiving Android 9.0 Pie

October is almost over and HMD Global rushed to deliver the OTA updates for the Nokia 6.1 and 6.1 Plus and so kept its promise. Technically, both handsets got their deserved OTAs right before the month ended - yesterday it was the Nokia 6.1 and today it's Nokia 6.1 Plus' turn. Juho Sarvikas, the CPO of HMD Global, took it to Twitter and announced that the Nokia 6.1 Plus is now receiving the 9.0 Pie upgrade. He even included a short clip that demonstrates some of the new features. These include Adaptive Battery Saving, integrated Google Lens into the default camera app and the new Pie...

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FlexPai is the world's first foldable phone, first with Snapdragon 8150 too

The first foldable phone is a reality - the FlexPai. Well, it's actually a tablet as unfolded it boasts a 7.8" screen (4:3 aspect ratio). Folded, that drops to a more manageable 4". And get this, this device is the first to use the 7nm Snapdragon 8150! This is the "world's first foldable screen phone" released by Rouyu Technology, which will use the Snapdragon 8150 processor, but its design is very rough, just to seize the "first", this is a futures product. pic.twitter.com/M0v9o2z0Bw— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 31, 2018 Back to the screen, it's an AMOLED that folds down the...

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Honor Watch Magic unveiled: a smaller Huawei Watch GT at a lower price

Following Huawei's lead with the Watch GT, Honor has unveiled a smartwatch based on the proprietary Light OS platform. The Honor Watch Magic is smaller and less fancy than the GT, but even more affordable. The Honor smartwatch has a 1.2" AMOLED display, compared to 1.39" for the Huawei one. In both cases the resolution was selected to deliver a sharp 326ppi pixel density. The battery is smaller as well, 178mAh, down from 420mAh. Honor claims that this is enough for a week of typical operation. Honor Watch Magic in Lava Black The price of the Honor Watch Magic is CNY 900, down...

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Honor Magic 2 slider arrives with six cameras and UD fingerprint scanner

‘Tis the season of slider phones - the Honor Magic 2 arrived a week after the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 and a day ahead of the Lenovo Z5 Pro. The new flagship by the Huawei subsidiary has six cameras (three front-facing, three on the back), Kirin 980 chipset and impressively fast 40W charging. Oh yeah, there are also no notches at the front, thanks to the sliding mechanism. The screen is a 6.4" OLED panel with Full HD+ resolution in 19:9 ratio with a curved 2.5D glass on top. On the inside, we see the latest chipset by HiSilicon, coupled with either 6 GB RAM or 8 GB RAM. The storage is...

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No, you can't use the old Apple Pencil on the new iPad Pros

Alongside the new iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 Apple also introduced a second generation Pencil. In case it wasn't clear, the new tablets are not compatible with the old stylus and the new stylus isn't compatible with the old tablets. A big part of that is charging - the new Apple Pencil is charged wirelessly from the new iPad Pros while the old one plugged into the Lightning port (which, by the way, the new tablets do not have). The second-gen Pencil also attaches to the tablet with magnets, which triggers a pairing process. There are other differences too. The new Pencil supports...

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Fresh SM-W2019 images reveal the new flip phone in all its glory

Samsung has a new flip phone in the pipeline that it’s going to launch in the coming weeks. Some fresh SM-W2019 images have surfaced online today. They show off the device in all its glory. We have previously seen some leaked images of this device as well. It appears to be quite similar in design to its predecessor, the SM-W2018.

The company is yet to confirm when this device will be unveiled. Whenever it arrives, it will only be available in South Korea and China. Samsung doesn’t launch its flagship flip phone widely as there’s not a lot of demand for it in other markets.

Fresh SM-W2019 images surface online

The SM-W2019 has already hit China’s main certification agency. This suggests that the official launch may not be that far off. Samsung announced its predecessor in December last year. It’s highly likely that we may get an official announcement for this phone around the same time this year.

The flip phone will have two Full HD resolution AMOLED displays. There will be the Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood. These images also show us that the device will have a dual rear camera. It should come with some camera software features like the Scene Optimizer as well.

Samsung’s flip phone is meant to be a premium device. We can see that it’s fashioned out of metal and appears to have a solid build. It does look and will certainly feel like a premium device. On the software front, it will most likely ship with Android 8.1 Oreo. The device would eventually receive an update to Android 9 Pie as well but who knows how long that’s going to take after it’s released.

The company will soon be confirming the official pricing and availability details for this device. It may not be more than a few weeks now before all of the details about the SM-W2019 are divulged by Samsung.


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Xiaomi trolls OnePlus fans with a calculator giveaway

Remember when last year Big Shaq taught us quick maths - two plus two is four, minus one that's three? Xiaomi went one step further and gave away calculators to people lining for the OnePlus 6T launch in New Delhi, India. They had to "do the math" how much cheaper the Poco F1 is compared to the new OnePlus flagship. Quick math Poco India even took the diss to Twitter, hijacking the OnePlus key slogan "Never Settle" and explaining that you can get the same processor, RAM, better battery and a headphone jack, all of them in separate tweets, for INR20,999, rather than INR37,999....

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Galaxy S6 update rolling out, brings October 2018 security patch

The Galaxy S6 crossed its three-year software support period earlier this year, but as is par for the course, that isn’t stopping Samsung from releasing a new security update for the device. The Galaxy S6 is getting an update in South Africa at the moment, carrying software version G920FXXU6ERI1 and the October 2018 security patch.

Galaxy S6 October security update released

Since the Galaxy S6 is almost four years old, the new security update is unlikely to reach many markets. Samsung only updates its devices past the support period when it’s necessary. For example, South Africa’s last Galaxy S6 update came out in May, while the device was updated with the June patch in some markets later on. The October update doesn’t seem to be available for the Galaxy S6 edge just yet, but it’s probably not far behind and will make the jump to the newer software in the coming days.

You can download the Galaxy S6 October security update from the Software update menu in the phone’s Settings app. As usual, we have the related firmware available in our firmware section for those who don’t want to wait for the over-the-air release. Do let us know if the update makes any notable changes once it has been installed on your Galaxy S6 (or Galaxy S6 edge).

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ZTE nubia X unveiled with two screens and two fingerprint readers

ZTE nubia X is finally here and as expected - the dual screen flagship went official earlier today. Arguably, the best feature is the main display achieving 93.6% screen-to-body ratio. It uses and LCD panel, while on the back you get a secondary OLED screen. The main display has a FHD+ (1080 x 2280 pixels) resolution and a 6.26-inch diagonal with a tall 19:9 aspect ratio. The secondary one stretches to 5.1" and has the same 19:9 aspect ratio but lower HD+ (720 x 1520) resolution. The ZTE nubia X are powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM while...

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[Poll] Galaxy S9 will run in DeX mode without the dock on Android Pie

The Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 brought support for turning the phone’s display into a trackpad, removing the need for an external mouse to use the DeX Station. Then the Galaxy Note 9 came out with the ability to run in DeX mode with just a USB Type-C to HDMI cable, a feature the Galaxy Tab S4 supports as well. And thanks to Android Pie, DeX mode will be coming to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

Galaxy S9 will offer desktop experience without a DeX dock on Pie

Leaked Android Pie firmware for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ have revealed a number of features that will be introduced with the next major upgrade for Samsung flagships. The ability to offer a desktop-like experience without Samsung’s DeX station or DeX Pad is one of them. We can already see it in action on a Galaxy S9+ thanks to a video published by XDA Developers, and it seems to work just as well as it does on a Galaxy Note 9. That’s not surprising as both the S9+ and Note 9 have the Exynos 9810/Snapdragon 845 SoC and 6GB RAM inside.

The regular Galaxy S9 should also be getting the feature despite having only 4GB RAM, as the Galaxy Tab S4 has the same amount of RAM and manages to run in DeX mode just fine. Of course, it remains to be seen if built-in DeX mode will make more people use the feature on the Galaxy S9 or S9+. In fact, we here at SamMobile have been wondering just how many folks use Samsung DeX, so we have added a poll below that you can use to let us know. Don’t forget to leave a comment to give us more of your thoughts on DeX.

Do you use Samsung DeX?
  • Model: SM-G960F
  • Dimensions: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm
  • Display: 5.8” (146.5mm) Super AMOLED
  • CPU: Exynos 9810
  • Camera: 12 MP, CMOS OIS (F1.5/F2.4)
  • Model: SM-G965F
  • Dimensions: 157.7 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm
  • Display: 6.2” (158.1mm) Super AMOLED
  • CPU: Exynos 9810
  • Camera: 12 MP, CMOS Dual OIS (F1.5/F2.4) & Telephoto: 12MP AF F2.4)

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Apple iPad Pro arrives on Verizon, promo in tow

Yesterday Apple announced the new iPad Pro in two iterations - an 11" model and 12.9" model with prices starting at $799 and $999. Verizon followed through with an announcement that it is launch pre-orders tomorrow, with the official launch taking place next Wednesday - in line with other channels that will offer the tablets. You can get the device with monthly payments and 0% interest, but there are promos if you purchase a plan along with the tablet. Pricing for the 11" Wi-Fi + Cellular 64 GB model starts from $39.58/mo for 24 months, which is $950. The same configuration for the...

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OnePlus 6 to get Nightscape and Studio Lighting camera features from the 6T

The new OxygenOS Open Beta 6 for the OnePlus 6 is now rolling out and it contains a number of new features coming straight from the newly released OnePlus 6T. This one doesn't come as a surprise because the company promised to bring the nifty camera features to the OnePlus 6 and since the latter uses the same camera setup as the 6T, there's no reason not to. As promised, the Open Beta 6 delivers the so-called Nightscape mode for hand-held long exposure shots and the Studio Lighting effect for professional-looking portraits. The latter, however, isn't a mode of its own but it's...

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Honor Magic 2 visits TENAA, specs and pictures in tow

An hour before the announcement we get a full scoop of Honor Magic 2 specs thanks to a TENAA listing. We already knew that Huawei's Kirin 980 chipset will be running the show, but now we can confirm it's paired with either 6 or 8GB of RAM. Storage options are 128GB and 256GB with no mention of microSD card support The display is listed as 6.39-inch with AMOLED panel sporting FHD+ (1080 x 2340) resolution. Honor Magic 2 in white The list continues with a triple-camera setup that consists of two 16MP sensors and one 24MP while the front-facing cameras on the slider are 16MP +...

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Samsung promises foldable and 5G phones as mobile division disappoints

Samsung posted record profits in Q3 2018 which were largely contributed by its semiconductor division. This has been the case over the past few years. Samsung’s mobile division hasn’t contributed significantly to its record profit run. It’s a similar story in Q3 2018.

The company revealed today that its mobile division has reported a drop in earnings “despite solid sales of its flagship smartphones.” It attributed the decline in earnings and profit due to a decrease in sales of mid- to low-end products. Overall smartphone shipments remained flat this past quarter.

Foldable and 5G phones to diversify Samsung’s lineup

The mobile division earned 24.77 trillion won or $22 billion in revenue in Q3 2018 with just 2.2 trillion won or $1.9 billion in profit. That’s almost a billion dollars less in profit made during the same period last year.

Samsung doesn’t provide shipment figures in its earnings releases. However, it says that shipments remained flat in the quarter as increased competition in the affordable segment decreased sales.

The company now has a new strategy in place to try and regain its strong footing in the affordable segment. It blames the overall profit decline for the division on increased promotional costs as well.

Samsung predicts that its smartphone shipments will increase in the fourth quarter due to the year-end peak season. It predicts increased demand for newer models like the Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9. Earnings are forecasted to take a dip owing to increased marketing expenses. Samsung expects competition to intensify across all segments of the market next year.

The company says that it’s going to work harder to expand the sales of its premium handsets through a diversified lineup. It also promises to improve its competitiveness in the mid- to long-term by launching foldable and 5G phones.

We may get a peek at Samsung’s foldable smartphone at SDC 2018 next week but it may not arrive until early next year. The 5G smartphone may also be due for an early 2019 release. Clearly, the company needs to do more in order to improve the performance of its mobile division.

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Pocophone F1 starts receiving closed Android Pie Beta

Xiaomi released the Pocophone F1 two months ago and it was an instant hit due to its flagship chipset and impressively low price. The device has MIUI for Poco out of the box, which is a simplified MIUI 9.6, based on Android Oreo. Today a closed beta ROM started going around the internet with a version number 10.8.30, based on Android Pie. Jai Mani, head of product at Pocophone promised yesterday at least Android Pie and Android Q will come to the F1. If everything goes according to plan with the closed beta, the company should open the beta to everyone this Friday. The stable ROM...

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Lenovo Z5 Pro live images leak a day ahead of announcement

Lenovo Z5 Pro is getting introduced tomorrow, and we know the phone is going to have a dual 24 MP + 16 MP main camera with dedicated AI Night Scene Mode. It is also expected to have a sliding mechanism for the selfie camera and ZUI, and now these have been confirmed by leaked live images of the flagship in its retail box. Lenovo Z5 arrived with ZUI 4.0, and the logical step is the Lenovo Z5 Pro to come with ZUI 5.0 or something similar, but apparently, the company decided to ditch the whole numbering system of the user interface. More Lenovo Z5 Pro images Massive...

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Selasa, 30 Oktober 2018

Samsung manages expectations after posting record Q3 2018 profit

Samsung released its Q3 2018 earnings guidance last month. It predicted record profits this past quarter compared to the same period last year. Samsung expected sales of 65 trillion won or $57.5 billion and 17.5 trillion won or $15.5 billion in operating profits. That would have smashed its record for the highest profit ever in a single quarter.

The company today released its full earnings results for the quarter. It has indeed met expectations with 65.46 trillion won in revenue and 17.57 trillion won in operating profit. That’s a 20.9 percent surge in profit compared to Q3 2017. However, the company in now managing expectations as it warned of lower profits until early next year.

Record Q3 2018 profit driven by the semiconductor business

Samsung’s semiconductor business has once again driven the company to a new quarterly high. The revenue increased on the back of strong sales of memory products. There was also strong seasonal demand particularly for server and mobile memory.

The Korean giant now says that it expects overall earnings across the company to dip in Q4 2018. This will largely be due to the weak seasonality for the semiconductor market. This period of low demand will also hit the memory chip business. It expects this to impact the first quarter of next year as well. Earnings are then predicted to pick up in subsequent quarters as business conditions improve.

This two-year boom in memory chips has contributed significantly to Samsung’s record earnings. Samsung has now signalled its end by slashing its 2018 capex by over a quarter. It says that the capital spending this year will drop by 27 percent to 31.8 trillion won or $28 billion from the record 43.4 billion won last year.

Analysts expect that this capex cut should assuage the market’s concerns about further supply growth during a period when demand and prices are likely going to drop. Memory chip prices have already fallen to two-year lows. New production lines by Samsung’s rivals are coming online next year and the increased supply may push prices down even further.

Samsung says that it will continue to improve its competitiveness in emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. It aims to sustain mid- to long-term growth by doing this.

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Galaxy J7 Duo update introduces AR Emoji to Samsung’s budget lineup

Samsung has been bringing many camera features from its newest flagships to mid-range devices and existing flagship phones in recent months. Devices like the Galaxy A8 Star and Galaxy S8 were updated with the AR Emoji camera mode, and the feature has now come to Samsung’s budget lineup. The Galaxy J7 Duo seems to be the first J series phone to be getting AR Emoji support, although it remains to be seen if it will make its way to other existing Galaxy J smartphones.

New Galaxy J7 Duo update also includes November 2018 security patch

The Galaxy J7 Duo should get a basic version of AR Emoji like other devices, which means it will not work in real time and, therefore, not support the Disney AR Emojis. The J7 Duo is also the third Galaxy device to have been updated with next month’s patch ahead of schedule, following the Galaxy J7 Prime and the Galaxy Tab 2 Active. The update comes with software version J720FDDU3ARJ3 and is a 480 MB download over the air.

To update your Galaxy J7 Duo, open the phone’s Settings app, tap Software update, then select the Download updates manually option. You can also grab the latest firmware from our database and install it on your phone using your desktop computer or laptop.

galaxy j7 duo update november ar emoji

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Energizer E500S with Android Go is a 4G smartphone for less than €100

A new Energizer smartphone has been made official today. It's called E500S and right off the bat its most important spec seems to be the price: €99.99 SIM-free and unlocked. It comes with Android Oreo (Go Edition), the special version of Google's OS that is optimized to run well on very low-end hardware. The E500S has 4G support (including VoLTE), an 8 MP main camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie shooter, and a 5-inch 800x480 touchscreen. You get 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage, dual-SIM functionality, and a 2,000 mAh battery - which is frankly unimpressive from the brand...

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BlackBerry KEY2 LE is now available through the company's online store for the EU

BlackBerry's latest smartphone, the KEY2 LE, was announced at IFA at the end of August as a toned down version of the KEY2, with lesser specs but also a more affordable price. This smartphone is now up for grabs from the company's own online store serving the EU. At the moment only the Slate color version is in stock, and you can buy a KEY2 LE in that hue with 32GB of storage for €399. The Champagne colorway is up for pre-order, and will start shipping on November 12. This comes with 64GB of storage and a €429 price tag attached. Regardless of which color you pick, you have a...

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OnePlus releases the kernel source code for the 6T

Shortly after the announcement of the new OnePlus 6T, the company released the kernel source code for on GitHub so that developers can build ROMs and mods taking advantage of the full potential of the handset. In a community forum post, the OnePlus team reminds us that the tradition of unlocking the bootloader and giving away the kernel source code started with the release of the OnePlus 3. A big part of the community goes back to OnePlus every year because the OEM doesn't care if you are rooting, modding or just unlocking the bootloader - the warranty stays valid. So OnePlus is...

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LG patents new phone design with three or four cameras, no notch

LG has filed design patents for a new phone, which sports a quad camera and a traditional fingerprint reader on the back. The design was submitted in three version, each with more rounding on the corners (of the screen and of the phone itself). LG's recent V40 was its first with three cameras and this new phone may go up to four. They are arranged in a square a la Huawei. No flash is indicated in the drawings, so it is possible that just like the Mate 20 phones one of the circles is actually the flash and not a camera. New LG design: Design A • Design B • Design C The company...

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Sony posts record profit, but sold only 1.6 million phones in Q3

Sony's mobile business cannot catch a break - last quarter it published its financial report, revealing only 2 million phones sold between April and June. The July-September numbers are out, and they are even less impressive - just 1.6 million, which is half the sales this time last year. In term of revenue the numbers are down from JPY172 billion to JPY117.8 billion, with an operating loss of JPY29.8 billion, half of it due to an impairment charge against long-lived assets. Sony Mobile Communications financial results During the past quarter, Sony saw decreased sales mainly...

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Nokia 6.1 is now receiving Android 9.0 Pie

Right on schedule! HMD promised to release the OTA update to Android 9.0 Pie for a the Nokia 6.1 and 6.1 Plus this month and it's now happening. Users report that their beloved Nokia 6.1 is now getting the fresh new look and functionality of the 9.0 Pie. The update is 1,462MB big and carries a slew of changes - both visual and under-the-hood. You can expect Android's new gesture-based navigation system, Adaptive Battery optimization, new camera optimizations and UI and much more. You can check out all the changes in the screenshots below. With the regular Nokia 6.1 out of the way,...

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Google Pay arrives in Scandinavia

Google Pay is a payment method for Android devices with NFC in over 20 countries that allows you to leave your credit and debit cards at home. Today the number of markets it's offered in grew by four after banks in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark enabled the service for its customers. Google Pay is already rolling out to users Although we have four more countries, the initial number of banks and platforms in Scandinavia is pretty basic. Nordea and Revolut are two financial services available in all new markets, and they are accompanied by Jyske Bank in Denmark, Edenred in...

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Oppo R17 Neo launches in Japan: its first phone with in-display fingerprint reader

Japan often gets cool tech gadgets first, but not this time - it just got its first phone with an in-display fingerprint reader and it's late to that particular party. The phone itself is quite interesting - the Oppo R17 Neo. For the most part it's based on the Oppo R17. That means a 6.4" AMOLED display with a teardrop notch and 1080p+ resolution, which houses the fingerprint reader in question. The back is painted in two new gradient colors. The computational power of the phone took a bit of a hit. The Oppo R17 Neo has a Snapdragon 660 chipset (down from S670) with 4GB of RAM (down...

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[Poll] If the Galaxy S10 looks like this, would you buy it?

A recent report about the Galaxy S10 suggested that its front camera might be under the display. The company has teased this implementation of the front camera already. It has shown off others as well which give us an idea of how Samsung will go about killing the notch.

The company was never one to adopt the notch. It continues to stick to its guns even though many of its rivals have gone the notch way. The upcoming Galaxy A8s might show us how it intends to put the front camera under the display itself.

No actual images or press renders of the Galaxy S10 have surfaced online as yet. Ben Geskin has created some mockups based on the information that’s available about this device so far. It depicts a tiny hole up top which will be used for the front camera. This implementation may prevent the use of components that allow for 3D facial recognition but many would be willing to make that trade-off for not having a notch on the device.


The question is, would you be willing to buy the Galaxy S10 if it looks like this? Do you think this hole up top for the camera is a better alternative to the notch? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments section.

If the Galaxy S10 looks like this, would you buy it?

The post [Poll] If the Galaxy S10 looks like this, would you buy it? appeared first on SamMobile.

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nubia X listed benchmark listing confirms key specs

A TENAA listing from last month gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect from the nubia X smartphone with two displays so the latest leaks serves as more of a confirmation of what the phone will bring tomorrow. The Master Lu benchmark listing shows a respectable 311,411 score that's typical for a Snapdragon 845-powered flagship. It's paired with 8GB of RAM and the screenshot also lists the main screen with 1080 x 2280 resolution. We've seen this concept before on the YotaPhone, but this time around, the nubia X promises much larger rear display. Only one day until the...

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OnePlus 6T price and availability around the world

The OnePlus 6T was announced yesterday but it will go on sale in a manner of days around the globe. This is OnePlus' biggest launch ever, bringing in T-Mobile and Verizon in the US as well as all major carriers and retailers in the UK as partners. So when will the new 6T become available in stores and how much are you going to pay. The when is November 1 in the States and India and November 6 in Europe. OnePlus impressed us when it came to price. The base model costs a few bucks more than its predecessor but it comes with double the storage at 128GB. Here's an easy to read...

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New Apple iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 come with the fastest mobile chipsets

If the new MacBook Air is the new MacBook, then the new iPad Pro is the new MacBook Air. Apple says it's more powerful than 92% of laptops out there and it's running the full-blown versions of Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk AutoCAD and, yes, it could easily transform into a laptop-like device with keyboard or even a desktop with an external monitor. There's so much to cover, but we have to start with the new screens. With thinner bezels, Apple fit larger screen in the same body on the iPad Pro 11 and the same screen in a smaller body on iPad Pro 12.9. The new tablets are available in...

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Apple updates the Mac mini - more RAM, more cores and more connectors

Apple just announced a long-awaited hardware refresh of the Mac mini. The mini desktop computer was overdue for an update as the last one was four years ago. So it's only natural to make the new one considerably faster and more refined. But does it deserve your hard-earned money? The new Mac mini comes in a familiar enclosure with improved cooling to support the considerably more powerful hardware. It's also made of 100% recyclable aluminum and comes in a new cool Space Gray finish. Configurations start from Intel's 8th Generation quad-core Core i3 processors and go up to six-core...

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Apple seeds iOS 12.1 to fix soft selfies, add group FaceTime

Today Apple will seed the final iOS 12.1 firmware to supported iPhone and iPad models. The firmware enables the dual-SIM support of the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, brings Group FaceTime calls with support for up to 32 people at once and adds some 70 new emoji characters. It also fixes the charging woes of some devices and brings an end to the soft selfies that were coming out of new iPhone XS, XS Max and XR units. Finally iOS 12.1 adds depth control for portrait mode shots while in the camera viewfinder (not only in the Photos app). Supported devices should start getting the iOS...

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Apple finally unveils all-new MacBook Air with Retina Display, thinner bezels, updated internals

The rumors were right: Apple has finally decided to update the very long in the tooth MacBook Air. Apple's best selling laptop (and cheapest one, incidentally) has been in need of a refresh for years, and today we finally got it. The new MacBook Air has a 13.3" 2560x1600 Retina Display with 50% narrower bezels than its predecessor, and a modern-looking design that has glass coverage up to the edges. The screen can show 48% more color, and the FaceTime camera is still at the top. The laptop has Touch ID, which is enabled by the T2 chip that's inside the MacBook Air (and made its...

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Watch the OnePlus 6T's Indian launch here

OnePlus 6T got unveiled yesterday and now the phone is having a separate introduction in New Delhi, India. The global launch was broadcasted on YouTube and this one will be live and freely available as well. The stream will be live at 8.30 PM IST when the event begins. Although we know the OnePlus 6T comes with an UD fingerprint scanner, waterdrop notch, and Snapdragon 845, we are expecting to see prices and availability dates for the Amazon Exclusive device, and hopefully some local promos with gifts.

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The Pocophone F1 will get "at least" Android 9.0 and the one after that

The Pocophone F1 is a great value for money phone and the value just got better - Jai Mani, Head of Product at Poco, has confirmed on Twitter that the F1 will get "at least" Android 9.0 Pie and Android Q. The Pocophone launched with Android 8.1 Oreo and was spotted testing Pie over a month ago. There's no release time frame, though. "Q", the Android version after Pie, is yet to be named, but if Google keeps the schedule, it will be delivered in August next year. That would be a year after the Pocophone F1 launched. "At least" suggests there will be more to come, but Mani offered no further...

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