The Galaxy S9 should sport the same shape screen as the Galaxy S8, according to The Bell,which also claims that the firm has already placed an order for the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Infinity Display panels for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, respectively.
Looking to the future, Samsung is also believed to have commissioned its screen-making division, Samsung Display, to start manufacturing the 6.3-inch Infinity Display that’s set to be on board the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 for the Galaxy Note 9.
In addition, the report notes that Samsung is working tirelessly to find a way to feature the on-screen fingerprint recognition technology that was scrapped from the Galaxy S8 at the last minute on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9.
If a recent hands-on image is anything to go by, the company should have the optical scanner ready in time as the only technical hurdle it needs to overcome is matching the brightness of the area containing the sensor to the rest of the screen.
It’s a little too early to speculate about both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9, though we expect them to feature a Snapdragon 845 processor, at least 6GB of RAM and a dual-camera. They should also ship running Android O.
[THE IVESTOR]Samsung Electronics‘ upcoming flagship smartphone Galaxy S9 is expected to use the same size and shape of the display screen as S8, The Bell reported on July 18.
Citing unnamed industry sources, the report said Samsung has recently informed Samsung Display, its display-making unit, of the S9’s display specifications.
The S9 will have a 5.77-inch display screen, while the bigger S9 Plus will come with a 6.22-inch screen. The same size as the S8 lineup launched in April.
The so-called “infinite” shape is also expected to curb the right and left sides with no home button.
The report said Samsung is likely to attempt again to feature on-screen fingerprint scanning that is missing from the S8 due to technical immaturity.
In the meantime, Samsung has also tentatively decided to use the same 6.32-inch display screen for the Galaxy Note 9 as the upcoming Note 8 that is expected to be unveiled on Aug. 23 in New York.
The report said Samsung is playing it safe with its flagship phones next year rather than taking too many risks.
Powerful chip will give new phone, Mate 10, faster performance and longer battery life
Visitors look at the remotely controlled R2-D2 robot from the Star Wars movies at the IFA Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin. Photograph: Getty Images
Huawei aims to use artificial intelligence-powered features such as instant image recognition to take on rivals Samsung and Apple when it launches its new flagship phone next month, a top executive said at the weekend at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.
Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business, on Saturday revealed a powerful new mobile phone chip Huawei is betting on for its upcoming flagship Mate 10 and other high-end phones to deliver faster processing and lower power consumption.
Huawei will launch the Mate 10 and its sister phone, the Mate 10 Pro, in Munich on October 16th, Mr Yu confirmed.
He declined to detail new features, but the phones are expected to boast large, 6-inch-plus full-screen displays, tech blogs predict. Artificial intelligence (AI) built into its new chips can help make phones more personalised, or anticipate the actions and interests of their users, Mr Yu said.
As examples, he said AI can enable real-time language translation, heed voice commands, or take advantage of augmented reality, which overlays text, sounds, graphics and video on real-world images phone users see in front of them.
Compact design
Mr Yu believes the new Kirin 970 chip’s speed and low power can translate into features that will give its phones an edge over the Apple iPhone 8 series, set to be unveiled on September 12th, and Samsung’s range of top-line phones announced this year.
Huawei is the world’s number three smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple. “Compared with Samsung and Apple, we have advantages,” Mr Yu said in an interview during the annual electronics fair in Berlin.
“Users are in for much faster [feature] performance, longer battery life and more compact design.”
The company asserts its newly announced Kirin 970 chip will preserve battery life on phones by up to 50 per cent. Huawei describes the new chip as the first Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for smartphones. It brings together classic computing, graphics, image and digital signal processing power that have typically required separate chips, taking up more space and slowing interaction between features within phones.
Most importantly, Huawei aims to use the Kirin chips to differentiate its phones from a vast sea of competitors, including Samsung, who overwhelming rely on rival Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm, the market leader in mobile chip design. Among major phone makers, only Apple and Huawei now rely on their own core processors.
We confirmed multiple times in the recent months that Samsung will release at least two variants of the Galaxy S7. One variant will feature the company’s own Exynos 8890 chipset, while the other variant will come equipped with Qualcomm’sSnapdragon 820 SoC. The benchmark scores of the Exynos variant were leakedmultiple times recently. Now, the benchmark scores of the Galaxy S7 with Snapdragon 820 have surfaced on the Internet, which shows that both variants have similar performance.
A post found on Weibo by a Chinese tipster supports that fact that a variant of the Galaxy S7 will indeed come with the Snapdragon 820, and that its performance was tested using Geekbench’s benchmarking suite. According to the post, the device scored 2,456 points in the single-core performance test, while the multi-core test score was 5,423 points, which points towards impressive performance. The Snapdragon 820 uses four Kryo CPU cores with two cores clocked at 2.2GHz and the remaining cores clocked at 1.6-1.7GHz.
Geekbench (Single-Core)
Geekbench (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S7 (Snapdragon 820)
2,456
5,423
Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos 8890)
2,294
6,908
Apple iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9)
2,495
4,351
Apple iPad Pro (Apple A9X)
3,222
5,468
Instead of using ARM’s stock CPU designs, Samsung and Qualcomm have used their own custom CPU cores in these chipsets. Samsung recently announced the Exynos 8890 with M1 cores and Mali-T880MP12 GPU. If this information is legit, buyers of the Galaxy S7 in the US, China, and some other markets, where Samsung will release the Snapdragon 820 variant, need not worry about the phone’s performance. The Galaxy S7 will reportedly use a specialised variant of the Snapdragon 820 with thermal heat pipes.
A couple of months back when Qualcomm was yet to fully unveil the Snapdragon 820 it was rumored that the new chipset was also facing overheating issues like its predecessor the Snapdragon 810, Qualcomm was quick to shoot down those rumors and said that the Snapdragon 820 performed well within the parameters. Nevertheless it remains a concern for those who never fully took Qualcomm at its word that the Snapdragon 810 didn’t have any problems with overheating even though there was ample evidence to support the findings.
A new report out of Asia claims that to ensure that the Snapdragon 820 does cause such problems for the Galaxy S7 Samsung is now seeking internal heat pipe suppliers for its next flagship handset. The company is apparently experimenting with several different types and shapes of heat pipes, it will decide based on these experiments whether or not to include a heat pipe in the Galaxy S7 for the purpose of heat dissipation. This method has already been used in devices like the OnePlus 2 and the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium for this exact same purpose, it really won’t be groundbreaking at all if Samsung decides to do the same with the Galaxy S7. We exclusively confirmed a few months back that Samsung is going to release two models of the Galaxy S7 with variants being powered by either the Exynos 8890 or Snapdragon 820 processor based on the market.
Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note smartphones usually get the most fuss, but it’s arguably the Galaxy A series that matters most. These are the affordable phones that you’re more likely to see in some parts of the world, and they’re what keep the company going. It’s a big deal, then, that Samsung just launched 2016 upgrades to the entire Galaxy A line. The 4.7-inch A3, 5.2-inch A5 and 5.5-inch are all sleeker than their ancestors, with narrower bezels and other cues clearly borrowed from the Galaxy S6. However, the real selling point may be shopping. Both the A5 and A7 are the company’s first non-flagships to support Samsung Pay — you no longer need to splurge just to use a Galaxy phone in place of your credit card.
Not that they’re slouches otherwise.
All of them have sharper displays (720p on the A3, 1080p on the A5 and A7), faster processors (1.5GHz quad-core and 1.6GHz octa-core) and higher-capacity batteries. You’ll also find optical image stabilization on the 13-megapixel cameras for the two higher-end models, although little has changed for the 5-megapixel front shooters. And yes, despite the trend among higher-end Samsung handsets, they still have microSD card slots to expand their built-in 16GB of storage.
China gets first crack at the new Galaxy A series in mid-December, and you’ll see the line spread to other countries after that. That’s unfortunate if you want to pick up a Galaxy A before the year is out, but it makes sense given Samsung’s recent troubles. On top of its lackluster high-end sales, it’s being squeezed at the low end by Chinese rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi, which offer feature-packed phones for very little cash. Samsung needs these new budget models if it wants to bounce back in the country.
Has been rumored to be working on a foldable display and a recent patent gives us a whole new concept which is the idea of a scrollable device. Such a device would have two states: a rolled state and an unrolled state. In the first state you would basically have a tube-like device which would give you the ability to pull using a small handle, thus revealing a large display. This would definitely prove pretty useful because you could easily carry the scroll around in your pocket and only pull the screen out when you need it.
An interesting feature
An interesting Feature of this design is the handle that you use to pull the screen out, which is called a tab. The tab is a mobile part of the scroll and it can either be put up or down on the tube, the latter unveiling your notifications in an elegant manner.
Another way of opening this gadget would be to press a certain icon on the side then when you pull the display out, it would open that exact app.
Another notable patent that Samsung submitted recently is the tab style smartphone which is a device resembling a book. This gadget would basically fold in half with a tab attached on the side with various apps so you would quickly open apps similar to what the previous scroll concept used.
With Samsung’s mobile Gear VR headset hitting stores in time for the holidays, a deluge of new VR users is on the way. If you’re among them, here’s three quick warnings you should heed.
1. Never Leave Your Gear VR Face Down or Outside
As a mobile VR headset, Gear VR is easily portable and may find itself resting on the coffee table of a living room, taken to a friend’s house, or even used outside on the patio. In any case, never leave your Gear VR headset face down (lenses up) or outside. If the sun catches the lenses at the wrong angle it can focus the rays onto your phone screen like a magnifying glass, possibly ruining the screen of your precious (and expensive!) phone.
This issue affects other headsets as well. At least one Oculus Rift user accidentally fried their device and shared the warning:
There is now a burn mark in the center of my left part of the screen from where the sunlight was focused into a small fire. I hope this save’s someone else from making the same mistake.
The face down position is especially prominent when using the Gear VR without any straps attached (like a View-Master), so be extra careful when passing it around that someone doesn’t inadvertently rest it face down, putting it in a vulnerable position as the sun sweeps across the sky and its rays across the room.
2. Never Use Gear VR Without a Phone Docked in the Headset
Gear VR is compatible with a number of different phones (depending upon which headset you have). Without a phone locked into the headset, the lenses, which normally focus light from the display into your eye, are exposed. If you are wearing the headset with no phone and accidentally look at a powerful light you can risk damaging your vision as the rays from that light will be focused into your eye. NEVER look at the sun through the bare headset.
3. Gear VR Should Not Be Used by Anyone Younger than 13
Samsung and Oculus’ official stance is that Gear VR should not be used by anyone less than 13 years old. The Gear VR manual reads:
The Gear VR should not be used by children under the age of 13. Watching videos or playing games with the Gear VR may affect the visual development of children.
Although Gear VR is fun and accessible, it may be best to play it safe even if the youngsters are begging for a try. For those older than 13, Samsung still urges caution for extended use:
When children, age 13 or older, use the Gear VR, adults should limit their usage time and ensure they take frequent breaks. Adults should monitor children closely after using the Gear VR if children feel discomfort.
Injong Rhee, Executive Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Team, recently wrote an editorial providing an in-depth explanation of how Samsung KNOX works and the advanced security features it offers. As I was in charge of the development of Samsung KNOX, I would like to continue the discussion by talking about why KNOX is necessary and where it can be applied.
The Optimal Enterprise Solution for Security and Convenience
Do you remember the early cellphones? Back then, mobiles phones weren’t commonly built for business activities. Even when companies provided cellphones for business use, they were mostly used for receiving calls and sending text messages.
However, the situation completely changed with the advent of smartphones—mobile phones started to gain access to the servers that stored company data. So we developed Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to prevent company information from being infected with malignant codes and to keep the access to servers and devices away from hackers. MDM is a tool that manages registered information and oversees the access of smartphones to servers.
Despite the constant risk of hackers, we understood that overly prioritizing security could make smartphone usage for businesses inconvenient, especially for management and employees. We wanted to come up with a platform that would provide tight security and be convenient at the same time. KNOX is the result of a design and development process that took over one year.
For personal devices, Samsung KNOX is a prime security platform that protects against external attacks. As an enterprise solution, however, KNOX truly shines. KNOX is the optimal tool that secures devices while simultaneously providing customized services.
For example, take a look at Samsung Pay, in mobile payment services. Because Samsung Pay is about making financial transactions, security is essential. KNOX constantly monitors devices that use Samsung Pay, guarding against signs of malware and protecting payment information and personal data from hackers. Samsung Pay is a good example of how effective KNOX is when used as an enterprise solution in which both security and usability are critical.
Approved by Governments Around the World and the U.S. Department of Defense
The security of KNOX is widely acknowledged and has been proved in highly regulated organizations around the world, such as U.S Department of Defense. Also, this year at MWC, KNOX won as the Best Security/Anti-Fraud Product or Solution by the GSMA.
But of course, it has not been an easy journey, as you can easily imagine. The enterprise solutions market is very conservative and security is of utmost importance. We tried to figure out how we would be able to build a solution that would not only be accepted, but also revered for its capabilities. That is when Senior Vice President Injong Rhee said, “If we are going to do it, let’s make it the world’s best.”
So we asked ourselves, what is an organization that holds security to the highest importance? Our answer: The military. As a result, we aimed to obtain security approval from one of the most secure organizations of the world: the U.S. Department of Defense. As one could imagine, it was extremely difficult. At first, it was nearly impossible even to schedule a meeting with officials. But we kept explaining the merits of KNOX and overcame all the major hurdles, ultimately obtaining the security approval.
Now, governments around the world have acknowledged KNOX’s security: the U.K., Finland and China have officially approved KNOX for use.
Surpassing 4 Million Users in Just 2 Years
Thanks to the security and usability of KNOX, we have witnessed steady but strong reactions within the enterprise solution market. Just two years since its introduction, the number of users who have adopted KNOX as their enterprise solution has reached four million. Moreover, the rate of adoption has been gaining momentum.
It is estimated that mobile devices for business use will make up at least 30 percent of the global mobile device market. KNOX has products that can satisfy all types of needs, from the heavy-duty power of its Workspace to the smaller and individual scale of My KNOX, while also offering customized solutions for businesses.
In addition, we have started an indirect B2B project called ‘KNOX Enabled Application,’ combining KNOX with banking applications. It supports the core security functions of KNOX while making complex business systems seem easier. KNOX fundamentally prevents other applications or unauthorized parties from accessing personal or banking information, while protecting banking applications, account transfer information and authentication certificates.
The Value of KNOX Grows in the Internet of Things Era
As we continue to work toward making Samsung KNOX the best mobile security platform, we are focused on two goals. Our first goal is to create an ecosystem in which partnering companies can freely create and use their products under the KNOX platform. In order to do so, we have opened up various Software Development Kits (SDKs) so that large enterprises and individual developers can freely build their ideas. Our second objective is to provide KNOX’s level of security and service to other non-Android OS platforms by expanding its compatibility.
The true value of KNOX will grow even more prominent as the Internet of Things (IoT) era arrives. As we reach the moment when all things are connected through the Internet, the importance of strong security to prevent personal information leaks will inevitably increase.
Because personal mobile devices will be a central collecting point for various IoT networks, security on those devices will grow even more vital. Similarly, protecting people’s data will become more important for wearable devices and connected cars. As wearable devices gain more functions each year, they are also collecting ever more sensitive information about us, directly from physical contact. The personal data being collected by connected cars is similarly sensitive since it directly affects people’s lives.
With all these trends and needs in the market, we will continue to invest in Samsung KNOX so that it can protect you and provide security on a wide range of devices.
The modern world is flooded with type; it’s everywhere from the pages of books, on the billboards and signage lining the streets, brochures and flyers, to TV and smartphone displays. It is nearly impossible to find a moment free from the constant barrage of text. It is a fundamental element of design, used for visual appeal in today’s retail-driven culture. Despite how much information is delivered and received through written text, for the most part, little thought is given to the importance of the typeface itself.
Fonts for Mobile Devices
“As a font designer for smart devices, I ‘draw’ text. My main job is to develop new fonts and optimize existing fonts originally designed for print or web pages by paying attention to the appearance of every single letter,” explained JiEun Kim, Senior Designer of UX Innovation, for Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications Business.
The term “digital font” refers to the design of text used for electronic devices, such as computers and smartphones. As web design expands, the number of fonts also grows. There are many fonts that are language-specific. Considering that Galaxy devices support more than 90 languages, the number of fonts available for Galaxy users is nearly inconceivable. The default font for Galaxy devices is the result of optimizing the standard typeface used by Android OS, ensuring that it is best-suited for each Galaxy device.
Many people like to change the fonts on their personal devices, testing various styles to find their favorite. Typeface is so important, some users pay to download additional options. For others, font design may go unnoticed as devices and trends change, sticking to familiar fonts that feel comfortable. Just like seasonal fashion, new fonts can be applied for a different look; however, as with many things, simply following the trend is not always the best way to go.
“In my opinion, a good font should be clearly legible, even after long hours of reading. But that does not mean there is a universal font that is best for all devices; depending on differences in display resolution, screen size, aspect ratio and even background colors, the same font can look quite different on different devices,” Kim explained.
For example, the thickness of a white font on a black background can appear to be different than a black font on a white background. Additionally, wearable devices have smaller screens than smartphones. Samsung had to reduce the width of each character of every font to better fit smaller displays.
Creating a Masterpiece
The font design team also takes a creative approach, attempting to create new font styles that are interesting and different. Some people may initially feel slightly uncomfortable with change, but over time it becomes more familiar and eventually the change is preferred. Samsung believes it is very important to find the right balance between meeting the needs of people who like familiarity and pursuing fresh ideas that consumers will come to love.
“We continue to examine our fonts in extreme detail, even if it is barely noticeable to the majority of users. Imagine a sculptor working on his future masterpiece, hammering and sanding the surface for years. In a similar manner, we fine-tune our fonts little by little, getting closer to perfection each time,” Kim added.
Before launching a new device, Kim carefully checks how each font will look, depending on the length and arrangement of text and font size.
Unique to Galaxy
Galaxy users can customize the faces of their smartphones with several pre-loaded fonts such as Choco Cooky, Cool Jazz, Gothic Bold, Rosemary and Samsung’s default font. In the configuration settings menu, fonts can be previewed to see how it will look as a title or description, before applying the changes.
“It’s difficult when a font has really unique characters. People can grow tired of the font in a short period of time, if the characters are too strong. The most widely used fonts around the world are popular for hundreds of years, even while they continue to be refined. Keeping this in mind, we try to make sure every font on Galaxy devices looks neutral, solid and dignified.”
The newest font, Samsung Sans, was designed exclusively for Samsung mobile devices including Galaxy smartphones. Kim joined the design team that carefully developed the tilt, lines and curves of every character, over the past year.
“Samsung Sans is our first exclusive font for Samsung mobile devices. We focused on making Samsung Sans embody the identity of Samsung mobile, delivering a soft, natural typeface that is polished, but not over-styled. Because Samsung mobile devices are favored by hundreds of millions of users around the globe, we tried to design a font that would be easy and comfortable to read in any language,” said Kim.
Another noteworthy difference of font design that users may easily recognize is number font, which is the same for users globally. Due to changes in approaches and design concepts of Samsung’s flagship smartphones, number fonts differ slightly by device. Numbers change the appearance of the lock screen, the weather forecasting widget, dual clock widget and alarm.
The Difference of Typeface
When thinking about the newest smart devices, most people focus on the latest technologies and features. Typeface is recognized subconsciously; however, there are those who always consider the way information is displayed, such as font designers like Kim. They understand typography is a language itself, and think about what fonts are best for every message, location or device.
“As a font designer for smart devices, my goal is to design a smart device-specialized font that feels comfortable, is easy to read and is attractive across many languages. Of course, I want to achieve ultimate optimization for various smart devices, too. You may feel that the fonts currently used on smart devices are good enough, but I don’t think they are 100 percent perfect yet. I believe fonts are similar to facial expressions in a way; the slightest hint of distortion can change the whole impression,” Kim emphasized.
You probably don’t need someone to tell you to insert the Galaxy Note 5’s pen the right way, but Samsung isn’t about to take any chances. As evidenced in a recent unboxing, at least some newer Note 5 units come with a wrapper advising you against inserting the S Pen backwards lest it “damage the pen and your phone.” Is this one of those obvious “coffee is hot” warnings meant more to avoid frivolous lawsuits than anything else? You bet. However, we can’t exactly fault Samsung for including it. While most of the people who’ve shoved the pen in backwards knew what the consequences would be, there’s bound to be someone, somewhere who’s genuinely caught off guard.
