Galaxy S

The Qualcomm Tech Summit is in full swing in Hawaii. The star of the show so far has been the announcement of the Snapdragon 855 SoC and its support for 5G. However, Samsung has captured the attention of journalists with a strange looking prototype that the company has been using to demonstrate the capabilities of the new cellular network technology.

Even more renders of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ have surfaced. The devices can be seen with circular cutouts at their top right corners—in the case of the S10+ two circles overlapping to form a pill of sorts.

Months after getting caught using DSLR shots as camera samples for the Galaxy A8, Samsung has been nabbed doing the exact same thing with the Galaxy A8 Star. Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi have also been caught in similar acts of crookery in the past.

Huawei ambassador Gal Gadot was revealed to have been tweeting with an iPhone a long while ago and if you thought that was bad, you'd be shocked, as an official Samsung account was caught parading the streets of Twitter with an iPhone in tow.

New data from market research company Gartner depicts a strong third quarter 2018 for Chinese manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi. Both companies managed to increase their global smartphone market share from 3Q17, whilst the big hitters Apple and Samsung have experienced flat growth and considerably diminished market share, respectively. Overall worldwide smartphone sales have risen by 1.4%.

Two new potential names for Samsung’s foldable flagship device have been spotted: Rize and Fold. The first name was found in trademark applications made with the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (UKIPO) and the USPTO. “Fold” has surfaced in another trademark filing, this time associated with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Turkpatent).

OnLeaks and 91Mobile have compiled a new image and video series purported to show CAD renders for the Galaxy S10. It shows a virtually bezel-less phone that, in fairness, closely resembles the Note 9. However, the Note does not have a dual camera integrated into the screen, a clear lack of a hardware fingerprint scanner, or triple rear cameras.

The well-regarded leaker IceUniverse has posted an image showing a phone with Samsung flagship-like design hallmarks. The tipster asserts that it is a Galaxy S10 clone. If so, it suggests that the makers of fake phones think that the device will strongly resemble the Note 9.

According to word on the grapevine, the Samsung Galaxy S10 could feature up to 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage, both of which have never been seen before on a smartphone. It's unknown what model of the device will boast of such firepower, though.

Samsung is determined to make its 2019 S10 flagships some of the most impressive Android devices in recent times, and that determination shows in the camera hardware the phones are said to sport, with the S10+, for example, touted to feature five cameras in total.

The leaker IceUniverse has shared an image that appears to portray a Huawei phone with an Infinity-O-like display via Twitter. This tweet also suggests that the phone in question will be a competitor to the Samsung Galaxy A8s, and that this device will be released in December. However, the unnamed Huawei counterpart may beat the mid-range Galaxy to launch.

Samsung devices with the model numbers SM-G975F, DS SM-G975F and SM-G975X have been spotted in a certification on the website of the Russian body ROSTEST. These numbers could well pertain to the Galaxy S10, and suggest that at least 2 variants of the upcoming flagship are undergoing official approval already.

The US carrier T-Mobile is offering US$580 in bill credits when a OnePlus 6T is bought on a monthly plan today (November 26, 2018). However, this deal requires an eligible device to trade in and for the customer to add a new line to their T-Mobile account. It also applies to the 8/128GB variant of the 6T only.

Samsung is offering US$200 discount on all unlocked 2018 Galaxy flagship devices including the Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, and Note 9 across all memory and storage variants. These discounts are instant without any bill credits and are available through Cyber Monday. They can be availed by purchasing these phones via Amazon, Samsung, and B&H Photo.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of the most expensive phones of the year; however, it offers standout features for all of that money. The YouTuber JerryRigEverything's durability test demonstrated that potential and actual customers need to consider additional investments into protective accessories, however.

Renders of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy A8s have surfaced, showing a device with three rear cameras and a notch solution that we will likely also see on the Galaxy S10 next year.

A report from Gizmodo UK has some bad news for those who were hoping for a price tag under US$2,000 for Samsung’s upcoming foldable smartphone. According to a verified source, the device, which may end up being known as the Galaxy Flex, will cost from £1,500 to £2,000 in the UK market. At current exchange rates, that’s ~US$1,922 to US$2,561.

According to a recent rumor, one of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 variants will feature a ceramic back, akin to Xiaomi products such as the Mi Mix 2 and Mi Mix 2S smartphones. It has been speculated that it will be the 6.7-inch Galaxy S10 model with six cameras that will be the edition to be adorned with a classy ceramic back.

A Korean IT news outlet claims that Samsung is developing three-dimensional time-of-flight (3D TOF) modules for next year's phones. 3D TOF is linked to improved depth-sensing and AR capabilities. The Galaxy S10 line may be in line for these next-gen sensors.

The Wall Street Journal has published an article stating that Samsung will deliver a smartphone featuring a total of six cameras in the next series of its Galaxy S range. Two of the cameras would be on the front, while the rear of the device would have a quad-camera setup for the user to enjoy. The flagship handset would also sport a 6.7-inch display and would have support for 5G.

A recent listing on Geekbench details an upcoming Samsung device. The Samsung SM-M205F, otherwise known as the Galaxy M20, will likely be the first entry in Samsung's new mid-range Galaxy M line. Sporting an Exynos 7885 SoC and 3 GB of RAM, the Galaxy M20 looks poised to supplant the aging Galaxy J line.

After all the buzz Samsung's upcoming Galaxy F foldable smartphone has generated, rival OEMs are taking notice of the new form factor. One of these rivals, Oppo, recently filed a foldable smartphone design with the Chinese patent office SIPO. While a patent doesn't necessarily mean that a device is coming, it does show that Oppo is considering the idea of a foldable smartphone.

Samsung has confirmed that there is a white variant of the Galaxy Note 9. However, it is only going to be available to the Taiwanese market. This new version of the S Pen-toting flagship is reported to go on sale from November 23.

While we're usually vocal about Samsung's unimpressive update roadmaps, we're also impressed by the company's treatment of the Galaxy S6, a device launched close to four years ago, and still receiving security updates.

T-Mobile looks like it has some great deals on some of the best smartphones released this year. Handsets like the iPhone XR and Galaxy S9 can be had for free, but reading the fine print shows a few caveats. In addition to activating two new lines and trading in an eligible device, the phones are only free because of a bill credit that is granted over a 36-month period, which effectively locks consumers into a three-year contract.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have been reported not to be in line for official upgrades to Pie until January. In the meantime, some users do have access to a version of the OS, in exchange for some beta-testing. In Korea, the latest of these betas replaces Samsung Experience with One UI.

Samsung is rumored to be preparing multiple varieties of its upcoming S10 series, one of which will be 5G-enabled. The well-regarded leakster Roland Quandt believes that, if this SKU is to exist, it will come with the new Exynos 9820 chipset only, to go with its Samsung 5G-NR modem.

Adoptable Storage is a feature introduced with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It allows a phone to effectively turn a microSD card into its own internal storage. Some brands still allow Adoptable Storage in their stock ROMs, but Samsung is not one of them. However, it now seems that it is coming back in future updates that involve Pie (9.0).

Samsung's Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 may be some of the highest profile devices of 2018 but the company will not be sending the Android Pie update to users of those devices until next year.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is likely to be coming soon, and with next-generation features such as an under- or in-display fingerprint scanner. A new leak about this phone aligns with the company's intentions for flat display technology, which were announced at the recent Samsung Developer's Conference.

It appears Samsung already has grand plans for the future of the Galaxy F foldable flagship. A report from the South Korean Yonhap News Agency has stated that the tech giant intends to keep releasing new foldable phones each year in selected markets. This will be alongside the usual yearly updates to the Galaxy S series and the Galaxy Note series.

The upcoming foldable Galaxy phone is going to be a dear proposition for a lot of people, according to a report by The Korea Times. The Galaxy F (or X) is estimated to cost around 2 million won or approximately US$1,770. The outlets quotes analysts who say that Samsung will be getting deliveries from parts suppliers this month and the company will be ready for a launch sometime early next year.

Samsung has officially unveiled the W2019 luxury flip-phone, which will be available for pre-order from November 11. The rather striking device with a clamshell design features a high-end Snapdragon 845 SoC, two 4.2-inch S-AMOLED displays, and it comes in a choice of either Platinum or Rose Gold. It will only be available for pre-order for the Chinese market through the state-owned telecommunications provider China Unicom.

Remember Samsung's DeX? While that program has so far been a failure, it had led to Linux on DeX, an exciting new feature for select Samsung Galaxy devices. Linux on DeX will allow users to load a full desktop Linux environment within an app container on their Android phone. After connecting their phone to an external monitor, users will be able to enjoy a full desktop Linux experience, all running off their Samsung Galaxy device.

This year's Samsung Developer's Conference (SDC) has been interesting already. This is mainly due to the Infinity Flex Display that had finally been confirmed during the event's first day. However, other SDC presenters made announcements that indicate that Samsung also has non-foldable displays in the works - with notches.

Korean media outlet ETNews reports that the Exynos 9820 SoC will feature two neural processing units (NPUs) for aiding in AI and deep learning operations. The Exynos 9820 is a 7 nm part made using the new EUV process and is expected to power the next generation of Galaxy phones including the Galaxy S10.

Samsung's new One UI based on Android 9 Pie will be released sometime next year but apparently, that includes only the latest Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 devices. According to a Samsung representative at the ongoing SDC 2018, the Galaxy S8, S8+, and the Note 8 will not be getting the new One UI user experience. However, it is not clear at this stage whether these devices will be getting the Android 9 Pie update separately or not.

Samsung has used its Developer Conference 2018 to introduce its next generation custom Android 9 Pie-based user interface design. Dubbed One UI, the new interface has been designed to simplify the user experience by reducing clutter. ​

Samsung Mobile has uploaded an image of a folding Samsung logo to its official Facebook page hinting at some possible news this week about the much awaited foldable smartphone. This could be an indication of Samsung announcing new details about the foldable Galaxy, or Galaxy X as we know it, at the upcoming Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco. Details such as a new UI that Samsung has exclusively developed for the foldable Galaxy are expected to be revealed at this event.

Global smartphone shipments for the third quarter have fallen by 6% over the last 12 months, according to data from IDC. The shipment volume for 3Q 2018 stood at 355.2 million units, compared to 377.8 million smartphones shipped in 3Q 2017. Samsung remains the overall pack leader, but Huawei has made significant ground on the South Korean manufacturer.

The iPhone XR scored about 25% better than Android's best in Geekbench 4's multi-core benchmark. While this is impressive on paper (considering that the $750 iPhone XR is cheaper than most Android flagships), there is much more to consider when buying a phone than synthetic benchmarks and raw specs.

The Samsung Galaxy S10+ will be the most impressive device in the upcoming Galaxy S10 lineup. It will also get a bigger battery to power all of that new technology, with sources touting an increase to 4000 mAh.

Samsung was nabbed slowing down devices with its software updates and has been hit with a $5.7m fine in Italy. This comes after Apple was caught doing the same thing earlier in the year, although the American company did have plausible reasons—unlike Samsung.

A leak on Weibo claims that the Galaxy S10 lineup will consist of 4 versions of the phone rather than the usual 2. One of these will be a 5G variant - with 12GB RAM. The Weibo poster also believes that the Huawei P30 Pro will have this spec.

Samsung has teased a device called the Galaxy A8s at a recent launch event held in China for the Galaxy A9s and A6s. An image of the unexpected third smartphone was displayed at the event, which seemed to show a handset with a completely bezel-less and notch-free design. However, it has been rumored that the Samsung Galaxy A8s could utilize a hole rather than a notch for the front-facing camera.

The XDA has gotten its hands on what appears to be the most recent beta for Android 9.0 (Pie) on the Samsung Galaxy S9. This build does not exactly introduce new features, but is reported to have fixed the significant bugs of the previous beta. They include failing navigation gestures and incomplete native night theme.

Samsung may have completed work on the graphene battery with which it have been linked over the last few years. This next-gen power-storage technology may improve significantly on its lithium-ion counterpart in some respects. A well-regarded leaker believes that the Note 10 may be in line for these enhancements.

A leaked image from a private business event held by Samsung in China recently has shown off some of the display technologies that the South Korean company is working on. The four technologies mentioned in this instance are Fingerprint on Display (FoD), Haptics on Display (HoD), Sound on Display (SoD), and Under Panel Sensors (UPS).

A freshly-submitted patent for Samsung may shed new light on how the company plans to handle fingerprint authentication in 2019. The good news is: It is in the display. The bad news is that it may not be the more state-of-the-art ultrasound version bandied about in previous speculations.

There are some phones to be released later this year - as well as some that already have been - with in- or under-display fingerprint (FP) scanners. This technology is based on optical (or light) sensors that act to construct a 2D FP model in order to learn, store and authenticate different prints. However, it seems that next year's versions will improve on this method.