We know that Samsung has been working on transparent OLED displays for some time now and the company is ready to demonstrate its technology at the IFA 2015 consumer electronics show in Berlin this week. The company will show off its big-screen OLED transparent display at the event, the display is meant to be used for commercial displays in stores, it measures 55-inches and is not intended to be used for consumer TVs. Alongside this display the company will also show off a similar product that has a mirror back and has also been developed for retail use.
The company first showed off its transparent and mirror OLED panels earlier this year at the Retail Asia Expo 2015 in Hong Kong, they’re meant to be used for informational browsing and personalized shopping. This was a proof of concept from Samsung at that event to show that the technology can be put to use in commercial operations. Samsung might provide more information about this technology at IFA 2015, and if it’s ready to put it out in the market, we might also hear about the very first retail partners who adopt the transparent OLED displays.
Last week, we reported that Samsung might be testing the Galaxy S7 with Snapdragon 820 chipset. A new report has surfaced on the Internet that proves that Samsung is indeed trying out a Qualcomm chipset after removing it from the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge that were announced earlier this year.
According to information that was leaked on Weibo, Qualcomm has just shipped a newer prototype of Snapdragon 820 to Samsung for testing purposes in the upcoming Galaxy S7. Samsung could release their upcoming flagship smartphone in two variants: a next generation Exynos M1 version and a Snapdragon 820 variant as we reported earlier.
Apparently this is version 3.x of the Snapdragon 820 chipset and the edition that was supplied to Samsung retains four custom Kryo cores, the Adreno 530 GPU and the 14nm FinFET manufacturing process. This chipset is going to deliver a lower power consumption and a better thermal management than the Snapdragon 810, so it should be a high-quality piece of equipment and hopefully all the problems present on the 810 will be a thing of the past.
In any case, the new Snapdragon 820 should be able to reach speeds of up to 3GHz per core, which is absolutely impressive if it’s true. Regardless of that, Samsung’s chipset that would be used in the next-generation Galaxy S flagships is expected to be quite impressive, so the Galaxy S7 should be a fantastic device and we can’t wait to see it. Let us know if you have any speculations about it by leaving a comment.
Samsung has finally unveiled its next-generation smartwatch, the Gear S2, today after teasing it during the announcement of the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+. The Gear S2 is the company’s first smartwatch with a completely circular display, and Samsung has focussed a lot on the appearance of the watch without letting go of hardware and software features. Unlike the past few years when Samsung was one of the few brands to experiment in the smartwatch space, the smartwatch market is quite crowded this year, thanks to the grand entry of brands like Apple and LG.
This year, the Gear S2 will be the company’s weapon to compete with the likes of the Apple Watch, the LG Watch Urbane, the ASUS ZenWatch, and the successor to Motorola’s Moto 360. Samsung’s flagship smartwatch will be offered in two variants, the Gear S2 and the Gear S2 classic, with the only changes between them being design and materials, each targeting different tastes and preferences. The 11.4 mm thin Gear S2 is targeted towards consumers who love minimal and modern design, while the 13.4 mm thin Gear S2 classic is for consumers who like a more traditional watch design approach. The Gear S2 will be offered in a dark gray case with a dark gray band and a silver case with a white band, while the Gear S2 classic will be available in an elegant black case with a matching genuine leather band.
Coming to the display, both the smartwatch variants feature 1.2-inch circular Super AMOLED displays with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. How is Samsung differentiating the Gear S2 from its competitors? Well, the company has invented a brand new way of interaction with the smartwatch: a rotating bezel, which we exclusively reported about earlier this year. Also, there are two additional buttons, home and back, which helps a user in accessing notifications and applications in a quicker, more accurate, and most importantly, a more comfortable manner. The watches are IP68 certified, so they are dust as well as water-resistant.
On the software side of things, these smartwatches run a Tizen-based wearable platform that is customised to be used on wearable devices with circular displays. Users can view at-a-glance notifications for calendar events, emails, messages, news, weather, and notifications from other apps with ease. They can even type or narrate custom replies using the inbuilt keyboard and the voice recognition system. The Gear S2 can receive notifications and can carry out voice calls, thanks to cellular connectivity. NFC can be used for carrying out mobile payments through Samsung Pay, and the watch can also be used as a smart car and room key or a remote control that can manage connected devices and appliances at home.
Pre-installed apps include S Health, Nike+ Running, S Voice, Weather, Calls, Contacts, Notifications, Messages, Email, Maps & Navigation, Music Player, and Gallery. There’s a Healthy Watch Face and a widget that displays your activity throughout the day. Fitness functions on the Gear S2 encourage users to stay healthy and active, and gives them a 24-hour activity log with activity progress and patters. Auto activity recognition system motivates users to be active and fit.
There are a bunch of watch faces that come pre-installed on the Gear S2 that change the information displayed on the screen depending on time, place, and occasion, and Samsung states that it is working with partners to offer a range of apps, watch faces, and bands helping the users in showcasing their style and mood. The apps will include ones for glancing news, sport scores, stocks, trending tweets, and those that show near-by places and restaurants, through a custom circular user interface.
On the inside, the Gear S2 features a “wearable-optimized” 1.0GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. It is equipped with a bunch of sensors including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a heart-rate monitor, an ambient-light sensor, a barometer, and a microphone. Connectivity is taken care of by Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, and NFC. There’s a 250 mAh battery that can be charged wirelessly using the provided charging dock, and the company claims that the Gear S2 can last upto 2-3 days with normal usage. The Gear S2 3G, as the name suggests, also features cellular connectivity, thanks to an Embedded-SIM (e-SIM), and has a day less of battery life. The cellular variant of the smartwatch will be available through carriers in Samsung’s home market, South Korea, and in North America.
The availability or the price of the Gear S2, the Gear S2 classic, and the Gear S2 3G hasn’t been announced yet, but the watches will be displayed on September 3 during IFA 2015 at Berlin. What do you think about the Gear S2? Do you think that it is equipped enough to defeat the Apple Watch and other Android Wear-based smartwatches from other brands? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Samsung Electronics announced the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, the company’s latest offering as a result of many years of progressive innovation in the wearables category.
The Samsung Gear S2 comes in a versatile, circular design with an intuitive, custom UX and advanced features that enable users to enhance, personalize and bring more fun to their mobile experience.
The Gear S2’s unique rotating bezel, along with the Home and Back buttons, ensures users will have a quicker, more precise method to comfortably access notifications and applications.
Samsung Gear S2
Introduced in two different options – the Gear S2 and the Gear S2 classic – Samsung designed the Gear S2 to appeal to two distinct consumer preferences. The Gear S2 classic is made for users who prefer a more timeless watch design, offering an elegant Black finish with a matching genuine leather band. The Gear S2 is ideal for those who are on-the-go and have an admiration for minimal and modern design.
“For the past several years, Samsung has pioneered and advanced the wearables category, bringing brave new concepts to the smart wearables market,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of Samsung’s IT & Mobile Business. “The Samsung Gear S2 reflects Samsung’s most progressive innovation. It is the perfect complement for any occasion, easily taking you from day to night, from work to workout—and ensuring that you get more out of every moment in your day, by making it smarter and ultimately more personal and fun.”
A mere 11.4-millimeter thin, the Samsung Gear S2 brings a light and compact design to your wrist. It offers an incredibly vibrant viewing experience for a smartwatch, thanks to its 1.2-inch circular screen and its 360 x 360 resolution (302 ppi). The applications on the Gear S2 can be viewed with amazing clarity so that users don’t miss notification pop-ups. Also, with the latest Tizen OS and an optimized 1-GHz dual core processor, the Samsung Gear S2 can perform tasks easily and efficiently.
Galaxy Gear S2 Classic
Users can stay connected with at-a-glance notifications to check calendars, e-mails, news and can even send important texts directly from their wrist. Users can choose the Gear S2 with 3G connectivity which incorporates the first-ever e-SIM with voice capability, to perform quick functions without being closely tethered to their phone.
New fitness functions on the Samsung Gear S2 will encourage consumers to stay healthy and active. The 24-hour activity log lets users view daily activity progress and patterns at a glance. It will also send reminder updates to motivate users to stay on track with their fitness goals.
For the ultimate convenience, the Samsung Gear S2 comes with NFC technology which will enable mobile payments without the need for a wallet. Samsung is working with a wide selection of partners across different industries to expand the usability of wearables and streamline consumers’ mobile lives in a variety of ways, including smart car keys, residential room keys, and remote controls to manage a connected home.
All of these connected features will be supported by a battery that can last up to 2-3 days, allowing consumers to stay connected without the hassle of constantly having to recharge. To charge, simply place the Samsung Gear S2 on the wireless charging dock right out of the box.
The Samsung Gear S2 reflects Samsung’s commitment to openly collaborate with developers and partners to bring increased customization and applications to its devices. Samsung is working closely with partners to offer a range of watch faces and watch bands so that users can have a variety of ways to express their personal style and mood. Users can easily change the band with one click, and change the watch face for a more personalized and sophisticated Gear experience depending on the time, place or occasion.
A variety of apps optimized for the Gear S2’s circular user interface will be available at launch. Through open collaboration with developers and partners, Samsung is continuing to enrich its wearable ecosystem and provide users with a more optimized and unique smart wearable experience.
The Samsung Gear S2 will be available in a Dark Gray case with a Dark Gray band and Silver case with a White band. The Samsung Gear S2 classic will be available in a Black case with a Leather band.
The Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic will be showcased for full media hands-on and more applications will be demonstrated with partners at Tempodrum, Berlin on September 3.
Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic Product Specifications:
Pengate has been a widely debated topic these days, and while it is indeed a design issue, it was blown out of proportion with all the media coverage. As you know, inserting the S-Pen backwards breaks your Galaxy Note 5. Samsung has provided a simple and decisive response to this issue a while back, but if you happen to have broken your Galaxy Note 5 by inserting your S-Pen backwards then don’t worry, there’s a way to fix it, although you should be very careful.
How2Tech has recently published a video showing how to fix a wrongly inserted S-Pen in the Galaxy Note 5, and the solution is rather simple: you need to insert a sheet of paper into the hole which you will use to pull the pen out. The video takes you through the whole process in the detail as there’s a catch with the clicking of the pen, but it’s pretty easy.
It goes without saying that this is a pretty major design flaw, but it seems that you can fix it pretty easily, and jamming it there in the first place is pretty difficult. The S-Pen has become iconic in the past few years and it’s what makes the Note series good. Do you think this scandal is no big deal, or is it something that we shouldn’t be seeing in the fifth generation of the Note series?
