SlashGear:
Arriving alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10, the Galaxy Buds promise the convenience of AirPods but with the sort of customization Android fans love. With a $129 price tag, though, is this all too good to be true?
The review is surprisingly good. Lots of customization, Qi-charging, ear-tips (to customize the fit, included) and equalizer controls.
I hope the next generation AirPods includes all these features.
[VIDEO] Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:
Samsung today introduced its latest smartphone, the Galaxy A8s. It is Samsung’s first smartphone with an Infinity-O display, which has a nearly edge-to-edge, uninterrupted design beyond a small hole for the front-facing camera.
And:
It is also Samsung’s first smartphone without a headphone jack, much to the amusement of iPhone users.
Double-dongle? Check the ad embedded in the main Loop post.
You knew this was coming.
Yesterday, we posted about Samsung’s awful deal with a Supreme brand copycat.
After a wave of terrible publicity, Samsung did an about face, saying:
Recently, Samsung Electronics announced at the Galaxy A8s conference that it will cooperate with Supreme Italia in the Chinese market. We are currently re-evaluating this cooperation, and we deeply regret the inconvenience caused.
Suggestion for you, Samsung: Do your homework before you sign the deal.
Merrit Kennedy, NPR:
At a press conference, Kinam Kim, president and CEO of the company’s Device Solutions Division, gave a low bow as part of the apology.
“Beloved colleagues and families have suffered for a long time, but Samsung Electronics failed to take care of the matter earlier,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News Agency. “Samsung Electronics also did not fully and completely manage potential health risks at our chip and liquid-crystal display production lines.”
And:
One of the instigators of the push was Hwang Sang-gi, whose daughter Yu-mi contracted leukemia and died after working at a Samsung factory.
“No apology would be enough when considering the deception and humiliation we experienced (from Samsung) over the past 11 years, the pain of suffering from occupational diseases, the pain of losing loved ones,” Hwang said at the news conference, according to The Associated Press. But he added that he views the apology as a vow to improve safety conditions.
Damn.
First things first, there were a number of articles about this, but most sourced this Mirror article, and the headline made me laugh.
On to the story, from the Mirror:
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s ‘goddaughter’ may have lost an incredible £1.25million after she was caught on camera using her iPhone.
Ksenia Sobchak, a journalist, politician and reality TV show host, is the face of rival smartphone manufacturer Samsung.
But the 36-year-old was caught on camera using her iPhone X – despite trying to hide it under a sheet of paper – during a television interview.
Apparently, Sobchak’s Samsung contract requires her to only use a Samsung device when in public. Ouch.
Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac:
Apple is likely to establish a technical lead over most smartphone brands as the company moves to a 7nm process for the A12 chip that will power this year’s flagship iPhones. That lead could last well into next year.
And:
This leaves only Apple chipmaker TSMC with 7nm process capabilities, though Samsung has announced plans to develop its own 7nm process in an attempt to win back some of Apple’s A-series chip business. Apple used to split its chip orders between Samsung and TSMC, but the Taiwanese chipmaker beat Samsung to a 10nm process, and has been Apple’s sole supplier since the iPhone 7.
Fascinating. A smaller gap between chip elements means more elements per chip, faster data flow, less heat, and more energy efficiency.
Being first in this particular space to 7nm seems a big deal. That said, Huawei has a 7nm-chip-based phone said to ship in October, and Samsung is hard at work on their own 7nm chip, said to ship in early 2019.
From the CIRP mobile market share report, updated to reflect the quarter ending June 30th:
“Apple improved in part at Samsung’s expense, whose share of activiations declined relative to both last quarter and last year,” said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “In a quarter without any significant phone launches, Samsung had market share only equal to Apple’s. A year ago, Samsung had a considerably greater share of sales.”
Two interesting points from this report:
Interesting charts. It’s clearly an iOS/Android world. Windows Phone never had a chance.
[VIDEO] This ad screams spite, taking on the iPhone 6 and “battery throttling”. Nothing in the ad makes a case for the Galaxy S9 being better than anything remotely recent from Apple. They also brought back the guy with the notch haircut, this time with a kid.
I just found the ad (video embedded in the main Loop post) puzzling and dark, not at all clever or entertaining. Just me?
Sam Byford, The Verge:
One of Samsung’s messages with the new Galaxy S9 is that it’s “Built for the Way We Communicate Today.” And while that’s a laudable goal, one of the key features behind that message — AR Emoji — doesn’t feel like it connects with the way anyone communicates now, or will want to in the future. At least I hope not.
And:
from our brief testing, they’re a plane crash right into the depths of the Uncanny Valley. They’re not abstract enough to be cute, yet not realistic enough to be authentic.
Great turn of phrase (Here’s a link to the uncanny valley Wikipedia page). Seems to me I’ve seen this animated emoji concept somewhere before.
To give you a sense of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 facial recognition, here’s a video from Mel Tajon showing it in action.
He takes a selfie on one phone, then points his Galaxy Note 8 at the selfie. Note that he doesn’t even need to frame the selfie particularly well and the Note 8 unlocks.
Nope.
UPDATE: Folks are saying this is the Note 8 in demo mode. Would love a verified source on this, but posting this here to give Samsung the benefit of the doubt. That said, take a read of the New York Times review, which doesn’t fare much better.
[Click through to the main Loop for the tweet/video.]
Brian X. Chen, New York Times:
There is as much to love about the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 as there is to hate.
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. For unlocking the phone, the eye scanner barely works and the fingerprint sensor is in a lousy place. Samsung’s Bixby, which is included, is the most incompetent virtual assistant on the market. And — need I remind you — this phone line has a reputation for gadgets that spontaneously combust.
There are superlatives that follow. Brian loves the screen (“It has the best smartphone display — as bright and vivid as a screen on a high-end television set — that I have ever tested.”) and the camera is fast. And it doesn’t explode.
But:
Some of the biometrics, including the ability to unlock your phone by scanning your face or irises, are so poorly executed that they feel like marketing gimmicks as opposed to actual security features.
And:
The iris scanner shines infrared light in your eyes to identify you and unlock the phone. That sounds futuristic, but when you set up the feature, it is laden with disclaimers from Samsung. The caveats include: Iris scanning might not work well if you are wearing glasses or contact lenses; it might not work in direct sunlight; it might not work if there is dirt on the sensor.
And, best of all:
When you set up the face scanner, Samsung displays another disclaimer, including a warning that your phone could be unlocked by “someone or something” that looks like you.
This is an actual warning on a shipping high-end phone? I do love
DigiTimes:
Apple has purchased evaporators from Korea-based Sunic System to build a 2.5G OLED panel line to develop related technology and products in Taiwan, according to a Korea-based ET News report.
“Apple is eagerly developing its own OLED technology in order to reduce its reliance on Samsung Electronics for the supply of OLED panels, while enabling it for product differentiation”, said the report.
Apple’s move will break the dominant position held by Japan-based Canon Kokki in the evaporator market, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Canon Tokki is currently the primary supplier of evaporators and ships the bulk of its output to Samsung.
This is a big move by Apple. Not only does this help reduce their reliance on an arch-competitor, it allows them to more finely control their supply chain. At the rarified levels at which the iPhone sells, it can be difficult to source high quantities of the more state-of-the-art parts.
Bringing manufacturing in house is a bet that the up front cost will be more than amortized by the number of iPhones sold. Given Tim Cook’s supply chain expertise, my bet is that this is no gamble on Apple’s part.
UPDATE: As several readers have pointed out, it’s more likely that Apple will provide this equipment to a selected partner, let them run the factory. Makes sense.
Korea Herald:
The English version of Samsung Electronics’ voice-assistant service Bixby has been delayed because the firm lacks the accumulation of big data, which is key to deep learning technology, according to the company Tuesday.
And:
Bixby is now available only in Korean, although Samsung’s mobile chief, Koh Dong-jin, said in April, “Bixby’s English version and Chinese version will be unveiled in May and in June, respectively.”
Didn’t happen.
“Many engineers in the US are making full efforts to develop the English version. But, (due to geographical and language barriers) their frequent reports to and communication with the management located in Korea makes the progress much slower than developing the Korean version here,” said a source on the condition of anonymity.
I was wondering what had become of Bixby.
Arjun Kharpal, CNBC:
Adam Cheyer was one of the people behind Siri which was acquired by Apple in 2010. Since then, Cheyer has created a next generation voice assistant called Viv which was acquired by Samsung in 2016. Viv is [now] a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung with the South Korean titan looking to integrate the technology into future products.
Watch the video embedded at the top of the article. Interesting to hear Cheyer’s point of view. Interesting that he specifically leaves out Google in his list of companies competing in this space.
Chaos Computer Club blog:
Biometric authentication systems – again – don’t deliver on their security promise: The iris recognition system of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 was successfully defeated by hackers of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC). A video demonstrates how the simple technique works.
The video is embedded in the main Loop post. This seems incredibly easy to replicate. Did Samsung even try to break their own iris recognition system? Sigh. Oh, Samsung.
Brian X. Chen:
When a splashy new smartphone hits the market, consumers often weigh whether to place an order right away or to wait and see how others react to the device.
But with the Galaxy S8, Samsung’s first major smartphone release since the spontaneously combusting Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued last year, there isn’t much of a debate. Your best bet is to wait to buy the roughly $750 device — not just for safety reasons, but also because other uncertainties surround it.
I just can’t help but wonder if this next bit had anything to do with the Times’ take:
Samsung declined to provide an early review unit of the Galaxy S8 to The New York Times
No matter the logic, this does feel a bit like spite. And Samsung, what were you thinking here? You gave a review unit to the Wall Street Journal, but not the Times?
Motherboard:
Last month, the CIA got a lot of attention when WikiLeaks published internal documents purporting to show how the spy agency can monitor people through their Samsung smart TVs. There was a caveat to the hack, however—the hijack involved older models of Samsung TVs and required the CIA have physical access to a TV to install the malware via a USB stick.
But the window to this sort of hijacking is far wider than originally thought because a researcher in Israel has uncovered 40 unknown vulnerabilities, or zero-days, that would allow someone to remotely hack millions of newer Samsung smart TVs, smart watches, and mobile phones already on the market, as well as ones slated for future release, without needing physical access to them. The security holes are in an open-source operating system called Tizen that Samsung has been rolling out in its devices over the last few years.
Got any Samsung devices in your house? Might want to read the details here.
[VIDEO] Well, that didn’t take long. As seen in the video embedded in the main Loop post, a user’s picture taken by one Galaxy S8 is used to unlock another Galaxy S8. Not good, not good.
Wait, we can spin this. That’s how good the camera on the S8 is. So realistic, it can hack itself!
Face palm.
Reuters:
Apple Inc said it was planning to open a retail store in South Korea, its first in the country that is home to its smartphone archrival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
The iPhone maker listed hiring notices for 15 positions dated Thursday on its website, including a store leader and business manager. The listings did not specify the exact location or when those who are hired will begin working.
“We’re excited about opening our first Apple Store in Korea, one of the world’s economic centers and a leader in telecommunication and technology, with a vibrant K-culture,” Apple told Reuters in a statement Friday.
This seems culturally significant, almost personal.
Sui-Lee Wee, writing for The New York Times:
Zhang Sitong was saving a friend’s phone number on his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone when it started to vibrate and smoke. He threw it on the ground and told his friend to start filming.
Two employees from Samsung Electronics showed up at his house later that day, he said, offering a new Note 7 and about $900 in compensation on the condition that he keep the video private. Mr. Zhang angrily refused. Only weeks before, even as Samsung recalled more than two million Note 7s in the United States and elsewhere, the company had reassured him and other Chinese customers that the phone was safe.
And:
“They said there was no problem with the phones in China. That’s why I bought a Samsung,” said Mr. Zhang, a 23-year-old former firefighter. “This is an issue of deception. They are cheating Chinese consumers.”
And:
Samsung initially said the Chinese version of the Note 7 had a different battery and was safe. But last week, after reports in China of phones catching fire, it finally recalled the Note 7 there before it scrapped the phone globally.
Samsung was once the top phone maker in China. Now this. Wow.
The Verge:
Samsung is setting up Galaxy Note 7 exchange booths in airports around the world, hoping to stop customers taking the dangerous device onto flights at the last minute. The first of these new “customer service points” appear to have been introduced in South Korean airports, but Samsung has confirmed the booths are opening in airports across Australia, with reports of the desks appearing in the US as well.
The booths are located in “high-traffic terminals” before security screening, says Samsung, and allow Note 7 owners to swap their phone for an unspecified exchange device. According to a report from ABC7News in San Francisco — where a Samsung exchange desk has appeared at the city’s international airport — employees for the tech company are on hand to help customers transfer their data onto a new phone.
Crazy that this is necessary. I wonder what devices Samsung is offering in trade. If it’s an older Samsung device, there’s still the possibility the phone will be confiscated anyway, as there seems to be some confusion at airports on the name of the actual banned device.
And I somehow doubt Samsung is handing out iPhones, though that would be a great story.
I suppose you could see this coming, but I still find the whole thing incredible. Will Apple reap this windfall? Will Google’s new Pixel phone?
There’s Apple, at number one. No big surprise. Google, Coca Cola follow at number 2 and 3. And there’s Samsung at number 7. Wondering what impact, if any, the Galaxy Note 7 debacle will have on the Samsung brand value.
[VIDEO]: Yeah, not sure I buy the explosion-proof part. But Samsung has gone to great lengths to try to bring their devices home without further incident. The kits include a thermally-insulated box and safety gloves (“some individuals might be sensitive to the ceramic fiber paper lining the Recovery Box”).
Interestingly, the box itself is marked as “forbidden for transport by aircraft”. Looks like a long boat ride is in store for these returnees. Also interestingly, the UK’s Royal Mail has taken their own stand and won’t ship the Galaxy Note 7.
New York Times:
When several Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones spontaneously exploded in August, the South Korean company went into overdrive. It urged hundreds of employees to quickly diagnose the problem.
None were able to get a phone to explode.
Next step?
Samsung, which announced a recall of the Note 7 devices in September, decided to continue shipping new Galaxy Note 7s containing batteries from a different supplier.
As we now know, that approach did not work.
Reports soon surfaced that some of the replacement devices were blowing up too. Company engineers went back to the drawing board, according to a person briefed on the test process who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the internal workings were confidential. As of this week, Samsung’s testers were still unable to reproduce the explosions.
This is a serious blow to Samsung. Trust is everything to a brand.
An editorial in South Korea’s largest newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo, said: “You cannot really calculate the loss of consumer trust in money.”
Just so.
BBC News:
To find context ahead of Tuesday’s showdown between Apple and Samsung in the US Supreme Court, you need to go back over a century to a row over some rather attractive carpets.
It’s 1885, and John and James Dobson stand accused of nicking designs from other carpet makers and selling them off as their own.
A couple of companies, Hartford Carpet and Bigelow Carpet, were so incensed they took the Dobsons all the way to the highest court in the land.
The firms were quite right to be upset, the Supreme Court agreed, but then it got more complicated. The court hit a stumbling block over the amount of money the firms deserved in damages.
Read on for the details. Interesting.
Bloomberg:
Samsung Electronics Co. is ending production of its problematic Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, taking the drastic step of killing off a smartphone that became a major headache for South Korea’s largest company.
Samsung had already recalled the Note 7 once last month after early models exploded and the latest move comes after customers reported that replacement phones were also catching fire. Samsung will be without its highest-end smartphone that was supposed to compete against Apple Inc.’s iPhones and other premium devices during the holiday shopping season.
This is a remarkable turn of events. Can you think of another major product that went through testing and release and was then completely killed off before it finished its first wave of shipping?
Check out Samsung’s crossed fingers emoji.
Jordan Golson, writing for The Verge:
Federal regulators are moving quickly to investigate the replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that caught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight today, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission “moving expeditiously” to find out what happened.
And this, from yesterday’s post when the story first broke:
Green said that he had powered down the phone as requested by the flight crew and put it in his pocket when it began smoking. He dropped it on the floor of the plane and a “thick grey-green angry smoke” was pouring out of the device. Green’s colleague went back onto the plane to retrieve some personal belongings and said that the phone had burned through the carpet and scorched the subfloor of the plane.
That last bit is terrifying.
What I find remarkable about this is that your old Samsung TV, one that never had ads, will now suddenly sprout ads. Talk about customer hostile behavior. This takes the cake.