The Galaxy S6 is doing worse in South Korea than expected
Samsung has announced that its flagship smartphone of 2015, the Galaxy S6, and its curved sibling, the Galaxy S6 Edge, have been drawing less attention from consumers in South Korea than expected — so it’s quite possible the company won’t reach its regional sales target of over 50 million.
From launch on April 10 till Sunday, April 19, Samsung had sold over 200,000 units of both variants in its hometown heavily falling short of the 300,000 preorders the company initially reported, which leads us to believe that the earlier sales forecasts may have been slightly exaggerated.
Despite this, Samsung doesn’t appear to be worried. It firmly believes that the Galaxy S6’s wireless-charging battery and the Edge’s dual-curved display will draw more attention from locals wishing to upgrade their handsets.
Independent retailers have put they’re tuppence worth in, too, saying that they “expect sales to improve soon as mobile carriers decided to increase subsidies on the Galaxy S6 series.”
Hit the source link below to view the full report.
Source: YonHapNews
Come comment on this article: The Galaxy S6 is doing worse in South Korea than expected
5 reasons you shouldn’t root your new Galaxy S6
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are Samsung’s newest devices and they are definitely packed with power. They feature QHD displays with over 570 ppi, an amazingly powerful Exynos 7420 processor backed by 3 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and a top of the line 16 megapixel camera. Not only are the insides of these devices revamped, but aesthetically, it’s completely a device.
With all that power and prowess, one of the first things that comes to Android users minds is whether to root their device or not. This article is here to give you 5 reasons NOT to root your Galaxy S6. I’ll be sure to follow this up with 5 reasons to root your Galaxy S6, but this is just here to give you both sides.
Disables OTA updates
One of the biggest reasons not to root devices is that it disables OTA updates. That means, once you root your device, whether it is from the Chainfire method or something else, your device will no longer receive incremental updates automatically. This is one of the main reasons not to root, so you’re going to want to think about this ramification.
If you aren’t going to flash a custom ROM on to the device, it is hard to come by the latest Samsung firmware. SamMobile does have a great repository, so all hope is not lost. If you do find the latest firmware for your device, you will have to flash over the top of the existing one, which leads to loss of data, so be sure to back-up if you plan to do so.
Rooting trips the KNOX counter
Tripping KNOX is another big factor on why to not root the Galaxy S6. KNOX is essentially a service employed by Samsung to give after-sale service a better idea if the device has been tampered with. There are also rumors that the counter can keep track of how many times the device has been flashed with different ROMs, although that is unconfirmed.
Since KNOX is capable of detecting changes to the device, once root privileges are enabled, the KNOX counter will be tripped and there will be no way of reversing it (there are some exceptions). This means that if you ever have to warranty your device, they have right to refuse service if they feel that rooting and or flashing was the culprit of the issue.
Lose out on KNOX capabilities
Samsung’s KNOX is a misunderstood service as it brings more to the device than just helping Samsung detect if you tampered with your device. If someone were to find your device or steal it, this said person cannot use it. Without your account, the thief will not be able to factory reset the device or flash a new ROM to it. With a $700+ device, I’d take all the help I could get.
Along with helping deter potential thieves, KNOX also protects your data and information by using technologies that are patented by the National Security Agency (NSA). I had to throw that one in there just for the heck of it. If you are curious about KNOX and its capabilities, here is the actual overview from Samsung.
Disables Samsung Pay
One of the newest features on the Galaxy S6 is Samsung Pay, which is Samsung’s direct competitor to Apple Pay. If you plan on using Samsung Pay, it was just reported by SamMobile that when users root their device, this feature will not work anymore and is disabled.
SamMobile states that “when you root your device, the integrity gets breached, which is necessary for important and sensitive features like mobile payments.” This has been seen on many other apps as well, such as banking apps, media apps such as TiVo, and other apps that have sensitive data.
This may sound like it’s not a big deal, but Samsung has completely revamped their fingerprint sensor to be used on mobile payments, similar to Apple Pay. Gone is the sliding fingerprint sensor, replaced by a touch-based sensor, which is much more accurate and much more convenient.
TouchWiz isn’t the same as years past
The Galaxy S6 is one of the, if not, the top performing device on the market right now. Samsung’s in-house processor blows the competitors away, and scored an insane score of 68,000 on the AnTuTu Benchmark. Couple the amazingly fast octa-core processor with a slimmed down version of TouchWiz and you have yourself a pretty fast device.
One of the strong reasons for rooting a Galaxy device in the past was to de-bloat TouchWiz and speed it up. It has always been knocked for being a performance hog, but the latest version is quite different. Samsung took the complaints about their UI to heart and have drastically improved TouchWiz. They have also made it easier than ever to disable pre-installed apps, but you still can’t completely uninstall them.
Since having the Galaxy S6 for nearly a month, I can say it is one of the best performing devices I’ve ever used… even with TouchWiz. It comes free of any stutters or lags that have been seen in the past, plus Samsung adopted much of Google’s Material Design.
Conclusion
All in all, the Galaxy S6 is not like any Samsung device we have seen in the past. Once you root your device, there is no turning back, so you better be in it for the long haul. Not only will it disable key features on your device, it will also void your warranty.
I advise that if you do decide to modify your device, READ UP on everything, especially if you are new to rooting and flashing. All it takes is one wrong move and your $700 flagship device is a great paperweight.
The post 5 reasons you shouldn’t root your new Galaxy S6 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung starts pushing out Lollipop OTA for the Galaxy Note 4 in Bosnia, Uruguay & Herzegovina
If you own a Galaxy Note 4 and live in Bosnia, Uruguay or Herzegovina, you may want to pin your ears back as Samsung has just started pushing out the long-awaited Android 5.0.1 update to the handset. In terms of added functionality, this upgrade transports the latest build of Lollipop to the handset, in addition to a truckload of bug fixes and stability improvements.
All the changes you’d expect to find are bundled into this upgrade, including support for multiple accounts, improved notifications, a smoother multitasking experience and the recently-announced Material Design guidelines.
As is customary with all manufacturer updates, the upgrade is being rolled out in stages, but if you don’t feel like waiting for a notification confirming that it’s ready for your device, you can search for the update manually. To do so simply follow the four steps below:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”
- Hit “System Updates”
- Tap on “Check for update”
Alternatively, you could sideload the software by downloading from here.
Come comment on this article: Samsung starts pushing out Lollipop OTA for the Galaxy Note 4 in Bosnia, Uruguay & Herzegovina
‘Adventure Time’ may finally be getting the game it deserves
The Adventure Time TV show has been a huge success, but the accompanying video games rarely offer the same level of quality. Developer Vicious Cycle is hoping to change that with Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations, a new 3D puzzler featuring the 12-year-old boy and magical dog. The game is being pitched as an “action-oriented twist” on the graphic adventure genre, which has been enjoying somewhat of a renaissance recently thanks to titles like Broken Age. In the new game, friends Finn and Jake are professional investigators, unravelling disappearances and other strange events in the crazy Land of Ooo. It’s the most visually impressive Adventure Time game to date (which isn’t saying much), and promises a healthy mix of puzzles and combat. If you’re interested, it’ll be landing on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, 3DS and PC this November.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: PlayStation Blog
Researchers find another terrifying iOS flaw
It can’t have escaped your attention that security experts have declared open season on Apple products over the last few weeks. At San Francisco’s RSA conference, an even more terrifying exploit has been revealed that has the power to send your iPhone or iPad into a perpetual restart loop. Mobile security firm Skycure has discovered that iOS 8 has an innate vulnerability to SSL certificates that, when combined with another WiFi exploit, gives malicious types the ability to create “no iOS zones” that can render your smartphones and tablets unusable. Before you read on, grab a roll of tinfoil and start making a new case for your iPhone.
Broadly speaking, any app that uses SSL certificates – which is almost all of them – can be fed a dummy certificate that causes it to crash. If, however, you can feed that same dodgy data into the operating system itself, then the hardware will be thrown into a perpetual loop of failed restarts. That can be easily achieved if you can set up a WiFi network to behave like one of the trusted setups that iOS automatically tries to connect to. So, as Gizmodo says, all it takes is for someone to build a nefarious network, name it “attwifi” and they’ve got a honeytrap.
Skycure has already reported its findings to Apple and won’t give away any more details should it give hackers free reign to brick thousands of devices. Until the problem is fixed, users are advised not to trust free WiFi networks, keep iOS updated and, should they wander into a “no iOS zone,” get out, quickly.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via: The Register, Gizmodo
Source: Skycure
Make sense of your Instagram followers with SocialRank
Use a social network like Instagram long enough and you’ll inevitably amass a slew of followers — but what do you actually know about them? If you’re relying on mere follower counts, probably not much. That’s something the social media analytics company SocialRank is hoping to solve. Following the launch of a free Twitter analytics tool a year ago, the company is today setting its sights on Instagram. After logging in with your Instagram account, SocialRank builds a custom report that lets you do things like sort your followers based on how socially engaged they are, or search their profiles for specific keywords. Not everyone needs to see a statistical breakdown of their followers, but if you’re a struggling artist trying to connect with people in your industry, or a parent wondering who exactly is interacting with your kid, SocialRank’s tools could be supremely useful.
Alex Taub, the company’s co-founder, says it eventually plans to be the place to manage all of your social media followers. Simply making follower data easily available to people could lead to some interesting uses. Taub says the Red Cross, for example, has used SocialRank to corral people through Twitter to nearby blood drives. There are, of course, plenty of complex social media analytics tools aimed at businesses, but SocialRank’s simplicity could make it more appealing to normal folks.
Filed under: Software
UPS Begins Confirming April 24 Apple Watch Pre-Order Delivery for Some Customers
Following a week of constant order status changes and general haziness on when customers would actually receive their Apple Watch orders, a few MacRumors users have confirmed this morning that they have received April 24 delivery estimates for their Apple Watch pre-orders.
In the forums, multiple mentions of an Apple distribution center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee have resulted in numerous users getting confirmed delivery dates for their Apple Watch orders this Friday, April 24. While mostly centered in the southern states like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida, a few outliers, like a few customers in Indiana, have also had the April delivery date confirmed.
The news comes after a few Apple Watch pre-order customers began receiving UPS tracking numbers yesterday, thanks to the service’s “My Choice” opt-in emails, which notify customers whenever a package is on its way to their house. On Monday, many people began being charged for their Apple Watch orders, seeing a shift from “Processing Items” to “Preparing for Shipment” for a majority of users.
Many of the early UPS shipping notifications had delivery estimates for earlier in the week, but these were understood to be inaccurate considering Apple’s efforts to have all deliveries held until the official launch day. Apple’s own order status pages are also still showing a broad “4/24-5/8″ window for the first wave of orders, so tracking information pinpointing delivery for Friday will be a welcome reassurance for many customers.
With the Apple Watch launch stressing some of the company’s customers out, yesterday Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was seen in a video updating Apple retail employees on the different approach for the Watch’s launch, promising a “unique situation” and that the company’s “blockbuster launches”, or in-store launches, will continue in the future. With only two days to go until the official launch of the Apple Watch, many users should begin seeing status and date changes popping up on their accounts over the next few hours.
Deal: Enter for your chance to win your very own Huawei Watch
Back at MWC 2015, Huawei unveiled its first Android Wear-powered smartwatch. The Huawei Watch is arguably the most attractive Android Wear smartwatch to date, featuring a completely round display made of sapphire crystal. We went hands-on with the device a few months ago, and you can check that out by following this link. Although this awesome wearable isn’t available to the general public yet, wouldn’t it be nice to score one for free? Thanks to our friends at StackSocial, you can!
Here’s how to enter: Simply head to the giveaway page and enter your email address in the space provided. That will score you one entry into the contest. If you’d like to enter more than once, you can do that, too. After entering your email address, share on Twitter for additional entries. The more your friends and followers enter, the more entries you receive. Make sure you enter with a valid email address so StackSocial can contact you if you win.
This giveaway is going on for about a month, but you shouldn’t wait! Head to the giveaway page below to get started.
Editor’s Note: This deal is through StackCommerce, in partnership with AA Deals Store and other StackSocial partners — and not an exclusive Android Authority contest.
Head here to enter the giveaway
AT&T’s HTC One M9 receiving a minor camera improving update
HTC’s new One M9 flagship could certainly use some work in the camera department, and it looks like the company is trying its best to fix that problem. HTC began rolling out an update to the One M9 on Sprint and T-Mobile a few days ago, which brought both camera and thermal improvements to the handset. And now the update, which will bring the version number up to 1.32.502.31, is beginning to roll out to the AT&T One M9.
Read more: HTC One M9 review
The update is rolling out to all U.S. models to match the software on the global variants of the handset. Among a few camera improvements, HTC says the update will add some thermal improvements and various bug fixes. The One M9 hasn’t had the best reputation when it comes to thermal issues, and it looks like HTC is trying to address that in this new update.
More on the One M9
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The update is rolling out as we speak, and you can check for it by heading to Settings>About>Software Information. If you have yet to get the update and would like to sideload it, check out the source link below for instructions on how to do so. Anybody with this new update – have you noticed a big difference in the camera’s performance?
The successor to the G3 Stylus is called G Stylo and is coming from Friday
Taking a break from unveiling the G4 in slow motion, LG launched today a new mid-range device called the G Stylo.
The G Stylo is the spiritual successor of last year’s G3 Stylus, though LG seems to be transitioning away from the “G#” naming scheme. Featuring a 5.7-inch display of 720p resolution (258ppi), the G Stylo will look positively ancient aside the Quad HD G4, though the large screen may help it redeem itself in the eyes of its users.
The device is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 processor (1.2GHz) and features 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (expandable), an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front shooter, along a decent 3,000 mAh battery.
The G Stylo, which is rather bulky for today’s standards at 154.3 x 79.2 x 9.6mm and 163 grams, will be available in white or titanium gray.
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The G Stylo’s special feature is of course its rubber-tipped stylus, which works in conjunction with software features that LG baked into the Android 5 Lollipop to give users more control over their devices.
The G Stylo will initially be released on Friday in Korea, with markets in Latin America and elsewhere to follow from May. LG has not announced its official price, but according to Korea Times, the company hinted at a price tag of around 500,000 won or around $460.
Some of you are probably disappointed that LG hasn’t unleashed a high-end stylus-equipped device yet. The good news is LG is rumored to be working on a smartphone that’s “more premium” than the G4, and though there’s no guarantee, it would make sense for the Korean company to try to compete with Samsung’s Note concept. But we’ll probably have to wait for a few months for that.
AIVAnet 