The Gear S2, will be available in the UK starting from the 12th of November. You can pick up the standard variant of the Gear S2, which comes with a dark grey or silver case, for £249. You can also pick up the more traditional looking Gear S2 classic for £299.
It runs Tizen-based software, and features a 1.2-inch circular Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC, a fingerprint sensor, and a 250 mAh battery.
The Gear S2 is most intuitive smartwatch in the market right now, thanks to its rotatable bezel that can be used to operate the device. Unlike earlier Tizen-based smartwatches, the Gear S2 is also compatible with non-Samsung Android smartphones.
Earlier this week, iOS and Mac users rejoiced at the arrival of the taco emoji, just one of a number of new emoji that were added to the operating systems via a software update. Unfortunately, Android users don’t yet have access to these emoji, something that’s an undeniable bummer. The good news is that the senior VP of Android says more emoji will be coming soon, the bad news is we don’t know when. Last night, Hiroshi Lockheimer tweeted that he’s heard the feedback and that Google is working on it — but when that change might happen is up in the air. Still, it’s good news — every day that goes by without a taco emoji is a day that isn’t lived quite to its fullest.
Facebook users on iOS have had a sneaking suspicion that the app was starting to misbehave, to the detriment of their phone’s battery life. After saying it was looking into the issue, Facebook has now confirmed the problem and pushed out an update to the iOS app to help offer some relief. Facebook engineering manager Ari Grant said as much in a post today on (where else) Facebook, saying that the company “found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements, some of which are in the version of the app that was released today.” While there’s more Facebook says it can do to lessen battery draing, updating the app today should provide some immediate relief.
So far, Facebook has identified and fixed two issues. One was what Grant called a “CPU spin” that kept the app pushing out network queries without any response; Grant compared it to a child asking “are we there yet?” repeatedly in the car, something that doesn’t do any good in getting you closer to the destination. The other problem occured when users watched a video and then left the app: sometimes an “audio session” would stay open and use background processing power even though nothing was actually playing.
Both of those issues have been corrected, and Grant was quick to point out that none of the issues Facebook identified were related to location services or the optional location history feature in the app. As for when more improvements might roll out, Facebook has kept to a pretty strict biweekly app update schedule, so hopefully things will get even better in a few more weeks.
With iOS 9, Apple introduced a handful of new multitasking features for the iPad, like the ability to run two apps side by side. Now Google’s Chrome browser is ready to take advantage of these, thanks to an refreshed version of its universal iOS application. Aside from being able to use the Split View mode mentioned earlier, Chrome on iPad also supports Slide Over, as shown above; and Picture-in-Picture, which lets you browse websites and watch a pop-up video simultaneously. That said, Split View only works on iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and the soon-to-be-released iPad Pro, but the other tidbits are compatible with any tablet running Apple’s latest mobile OS.
Update: According to Google’s Chrome blog, the iOS version has another treat for both iPhones and iPads with the addition of Autofill, just like you see on the desktop version.
Samsung and Marvel have a history of working together, most recently the two joined forces to create the exclusive Galaxy S6 Iron Man Edition. Such partnerships have also provided Samsung with screen time in Marvel’s big budget superhero movies, clearly it’s an arrangement that works for both companies. According to a new rumor out of China the two might be collaborating once again, this time on an Ant-Man edition of the Galaxy S6 edge+.
There aren’t a lot of details available as yet about the Galaxy S6 edge+ × Ant-Man, but the rumor out of China claims that it’s going to happen, apparently it’s going to have Ant-Man’s helmet on the back of the Galaxy S6 edge+ and a unique color scheme to go along with it. If it does see the light of day it’s most likely going to be a limited run device like the Galaxy S6 Iron Man Edition, expect it to cost a bit more than what you’d normally pay for this handset. There’s no confirmation as yet from either Samsung or Marvel that they’re working on an Ant-Man edition of the Galaxy S6 edge+ so all fans can do at this point is keep their fingers crossed.
Apple wanted to make data gathering easier for medical researchers with ResearchKit. According to the company, since the launch of the open-source platform earlier this year, over 100,000 participants have already shared their health data with a host of apps that study asthma, diabetes, breast cancer and more. The Kit’s ever-increasing list of studies will now include autism, epilepsy and melanoma.
Duke University has introduced “Autism & Beyond”, an app that uses an emotion detection algorithm to track visible signs of autism in children. The team wants to use the front-facing iPhone camera to see if a user’s reactions to videos can be used to make an early diagnosis. Another app, from Oregon Health & Science University, will look at iPhone images to study moles and melanoma. Participants from all parts of the world will be able to contribute to the research by documenting their mole growth with pictures over time. Based on these collections of photographs, the goal is to build an algorithm that will potentially detect and screen melanoma.
Johns Hopkins, on the other hand, has moved away from the iPhone. Their app, the EpiWatch, will use and test the wearable sensors on the Apple Watch to see if they can predict and detect seizures. The first leg of this epilepsy study will allow users quick, one-touch access to the app that will collect data from both the accelerometer and heart rate sensors in the watch, while it simultaneously alerts a designated contact or caregiver. EpiWatch will maintain a log of the epileptic episodes and will also allow patients to compare notes with other participants. For millions of epilepsy patients across the country, this app hopes to find a way to monitor seizures.
If you want to prepare your new Gear S2 for Halloween, check out this brand new watch face for Samsung’s latest smartwatch. The Trick or Treat watch face from Gear O’Clock shows Halloween themed watch face along with the date indicator. It is compatible with the Gear S2, the Gear S2 classic, and the Gear S2 3G.
It also shows animated spiders and bats on while showing the time, and there’s a new notifications indicator as well. It displays a vampire whenever you lift up your wrist to check out the time. You can download this watch face from the Gear Apps store by searching for Gear O’Clock or Belvek.
Samsung Z3, the company’s second Tizen-based smartphone was officially announced last week in India, and the device is now available for purchase in the country for INR 8,399 (~ $130) exclusively from Snapdeal. Now, the South Korean smartphone giant has released a promotional video that touches all the important features of the Z3.
The promotional video showcases the Z3′s sleek design with curved back panel with matte finish and metallic-finised sides, a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, Tizen UI, My Galaxy and MixRadio apps, Ultra Data Saving mode, an 8-megapixel primary camera, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Go ahead and check out the video that’s embedded below.
Samsung Electronics announced the Samsung Z3, an advanced Tizen-based smartphone that offers powerful performance and easy customization via exclusive, localized features including “My Galaxy” for easy access to nearby rewards and benefits.
Built with a crisp 5-inch HD resolution display, the Samsung Z3 delivers the ultimate viewing experience with its Super AMOLED technology for clearer and deeper images, along with an advanced 8 megapixel Bright Lens camera to capture more detailed and higher quality images. In addition, the Samsung Z3 features an ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode’ that minimizes mobile data usage as well as ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode’ for continuous performance with low battery life.
“As a pioneer of Tizen platform, we have continuously introduced Tizen-based mobile devices, including Samsung Z1 and Samsung Gear S2, in our commitment to develop the Tizen ecosystem”, said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business at Samsung Electronics. “We developed the Samsung Z3 to provide the features that will help consumers capitalize on the growing Tizen ecosystem and make the most out of their personal mobile experience.”
Advanced Viewing and Camera Capabilities
The Samsung Z3 features a superior 5-inch HD screen, made with Samsung’s advanced Super AMOLED technology that delivers clear images and excellent contrast ratio for true-to-life colors. The device is also equipped with an 8 megapixel Bright Lens F2.2 rear-facing camera that captures more light for visibly clearer and more detailed images, as well as a 5 megapixel front-facing camera for advanced selfie capabilities. The Samsung Z3 camera offers ‘Automatic Selfie’ for seamless selfies with facial recognition, ‘Beauty Face Mode’ that automatically retouches images for flawless skin and ‘Wide Selfie’ to capture up to 120 degrees of the users’ surroundings for the perfect group selfie shot.
Long Battery Life and Optimized Data Usage for Indian Consumers
The Samsung Z3 supports a long-lasting 2,600mAh battery complemented by ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode,’ which allows users to operate on standby for up to 33 hours with less than 10 percent of battery life. The device also features ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode,’ providing data compression and management capabilities for up to 40 percent less mobile data usage.
Designed specifically for the Indian market, Samsung Z3 comes preloaded with ‘My Galaxy’ app that offer consumers various exclusive services, local deals, entertainment content, continuous value on extensively used categories like recharge, travel, movies, fashion etc and post purchase assistance. The Samsung Z3 additionally features the ‘Mix Radio’ app, available exclusively for Samsung consumers. Mix Radio is the world’s most personalized free music streaming service with over 35 million songs to choose from, including extensive local catalogue of over 10 genres of Indian music.
The Samsung Z3 is priced at INR 8490 and will be available in India from October in Gold, Black and Silver.
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® 4.0 BLE, USB 2.0, GPS, GLONASS
Sensor
Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor
Memory
1GB(RAM) + 8GB
microSD slot (up to 128GB)
Dimension
70 x 141.6 x 7.9mm, 137g
Battery
2,600 mAh
*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation..
Improved battery life is the most notable part of the changelog – the Note 5 already has respectable battery life despite the not-so-large battery inside, and this update should make things better. It’s currently rolling out in Singapore with build number N920IDVU2AOJ4, and it shouldn’t be long before we see it making its way to the device in other markets (which is a short list since the phone hasn’t been launched in quite a few major markets around the world.) This doesn’t seem to be the major update that our insiders said the Note 5 and other recent Samsung devices will be getting, but it’s still an important one nonetheless.
If you own a Galaxy Note 5, watch out for the notification that signals the update’s arrival. We have the entire firmware available in our firmware database for a manual upgrade, and you can mash the Update now button in the Settings » About device » Software updatemenu if you don’t wish to take the manual route.