Verizon starts pushing out Lollipop OTA for the Galaxy Core Prime

Verizon is now rolling out the long-awaited Lollipop update to all its carrier-branded variants of the Galaxy Core Prime located in the United States. In addition to bringing the latest version of the open-source operating system to the handset, this upgrade also transports a patch for the Stagefright security vulnerability, too.

Hit the break for the full changelog.

• Material Design: You will quickly notice a whole new colorful look and feel to your device – from fluid animations to new application and system themes, colors and widgets.
• Notifications UI & Priorities: In order to alert you to the mosttimely and relevant information, the format and behavior of notifications have evolved:
  • notifications will appear on the lock screen and are intelligently ranked by type and who sent them.
  • you double-tap to open one, swipe left or right to clear one, or clear all notifications from the bottom of the list.
  • you can set the priority and privacy of notifications for each application.
  • very high priority notifications will pop up briefly over other applications so that you can take action.
  • when you dismiss a notification on one device it will be dismissed on your other Android devices, if they are connected to the Internet.
  • you can further tailor how notifications behave with the new Downtime and Ambient Display settings (see below).
• New Interruptions & Downtime Settings: You can tailor how interruptions behave, choosing to allow all, none, or only priority interruptions.  You can personalize what counts as a priority interruption (reminders, events, calls, messages) and even tailor them to be from only contacts you specify.  The Downtime setting will allow only priority interruptions during the times and days that you specify.  e.g. allow only priority interruptions on the weekend.
• Recent Apps (Multi-tasking): The redesigned Overview space (formerly called Recents) will include both applications and separate activities within those applications.  For instance, each open tab in Chrome will also appear here along with recent applications; both your Gmail Inbox and a draft email message will appear as separate cards.  This provides a consistent way to switch amongst tasks.
• Flashlight: Lollipop includes a new flashlight option as part of Quick settings (swipe down with two fingers from the status bar to see it).
• Pin a view/app: Screen pinning allows you to keep a specific app or screen in view. For example, you can ‘pin’ a game and your child will not be able to navigate anywhere else on your phone.
• Battery: The Battery settings panel now shows an estimated projection for how much time you have left while discharging or charging.  You can also enable a new battery saver mode that will save power by reducing performance and most background data operations to extend your battery life.
• Smarter Internet Connections: With Android Lollipop, your phone will not connect to a Wi-Fi access point unless there is a verified Internet connection. This feature improves hand-offs between Wi-Fi and cellular connections, helping to maintain your video chat or voice-over-IP (VoIP) call as you switch.
• Performance: Your phone now uses the new Android Runtime to help optimize application performance.  After upgrading to Lollipop, your applications will undergo a one-time optimization process.  Note that the optimization for ART requires more space.
• Security: Encryption can now use a stronger 256-bit key to help protect your data.  Note that the stronger key willonly be used after you perform a factory reset on Android Lollipop.  Otherwise encryption will continue to use 128-bit key.  You can turn on encryption in the Security settings menu.

As is the norm, the update is being pushed out in stages. To see if it’s ready for your device head into Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”.

Source: Samsung

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Samsung Gear S2 unboxing and first impressions

Every manufacturer is jumping into the wearable market with both feet in. Needless to say competition is really heating up by the end of 2015, and while most smart watch makers are betting on Android wear, Samsung continues pushing its own Tizen platform. Can they really make the in-house OS mainstream? We are not sure, but their new Samsung Gear S2 sure looks promising.

This device has finally hit my doorstep, so let’s waste no time to give you an unboxing and tell you all about my very first impressions on the Samsung Gear S2.

Buy Now: Available on Best Buy for $299

We already took a look at the Gear S2 during IFA. One of our main points then was that Samsung did do a great job at making this a particularly unique product. It’s nothing like the Android Wear devices we are used to; and it shouldn’t be, as the company is using a whole different operating system.

The box is circular and reminiscent of the watch’s shape, which gives it a very elegant and minimalist nature. This is why it’s no surprise to see that the unboxing process is also very simple. Just pull out the top section of the box and you will be presented with the product.

This is definitely going to be more of a sporty smartwatch, unlike the S2 Classic, which is much more of a formal accessory. I do like that the silicon bands give you more protection against liquids. Not to mention the smooth rotating bezel, as opposed to touting those rivets in the more formal iterations.

The box also includes the wireless charging dock, which you can just rest the watch on top of to juice up. And we can’t forget that glorious literature we always get with all devices (and pretty much never read). What you will enjoy seeing is a set of replacement straps for those of you with smaller wrists.

Removing the straps is a little weird at first, as there is an odd sliding mechanism you have to get used to. It takes a few tries, but you should be fine after that.

Let’s just get back to the device, which is actually very interesting in that it has that rotating bezel. This is no gimmick, and actually works great as a dial – it’s one way of navigating through your watch without having to swipe around.

Furthermore, the stainless steel body is gorgeous, and we also love the fact that it comes with an AMOLED panel. This is no surprise, knowing that it’s a Samsung product, but we are still excited about the battery life improvements this screen technology can offer. AMOLED displays only turn on the pixels that are needed. Pixels displaying the color black are simply turned off, which should spare some precious mAh bits in the process.

Let’s talk about software, which is the part of this watch that we are most unfamiliar with. Tizen is completely different, but it’s definitely intuitive, so you can get the hang of it pretty quickly. As you can see in the video, it’s easy to navigate around, add quick dials, include more widgets, and add more applications through the Gear Manager. Honestly, though – that dial! This new form of input is really the most exciting part of this device.

We took a look at the Gear Manager and found a good list of applications, but we are not sure yet if the platform is mature enough to really say it is well supported. We certainly do wish there was more stuff in there. At least we know the Gear S2 is compatible with a lot of different Android devices, losing the Samsung exclusivity we are so used to seeing. However, going through the set-up does require installing a bevy of apps for everything to work properly.

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That’s it for today’s unboxing and first impressions, guys. Keep it tuned to Android Authority to check out the full review, which is coming soon. We will also be comparing the Samsung Gear S2 with all the hottest smart watches out there, as well as alternate Tizen options.

What do you guys think so far, though? Is this a watch you could see yourself rocking? Hit the comments and share your thoughts!

Buy at Best Buy ($299)

Also read:

• Best Android Watches
• 31 best Android Wear apps

Samsung Galaxy Active Neo coming to Japan

Samsung is known for creating lots of variants and different line-ups of smartphones in order to soothe everyone’s needs. Just this past week, the company announced the Galaxy Active Neo in Japan, aimed for the outdoors man.

The Galaxy Active Neo is a new ruggidized handset running Android Lollipop. It packs a low in class 4.5-inch display with 480 x 800 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 2MP front-facing camera, 16GB of expandable storage, an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, LTE connectivity and a 2200 mAh battery. Buyers of the Galaxy Active Neo handset can additionally claim 100GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for 2 years.

The Galaxy Active Neo will cost you around $168 USD, and will be available in Japan beginning in early November via NTT DoCoMo.

Source: Samsung Japan

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Samsung’s Gear S2 gets its first television ad

The first television advertisement for Samsung’s newest smartwatch, which is available starting today, is starting to air on networks in the United States. The ad for the Gear S2 unsurprisingly highlights its design and how apps look with Circular UX, the software that apps work with to adapt to the circular display.

Hit the break to watch the ad.

Samsung’s slogan is “Get better with every turn.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Samsung to partner with Qualcomm again for Galaxy S7 chipset

When Samsung left Qualcomm behind this year in favor for its house-made Exynos chipset, the move could’ve been seen as the nail in the coffin for the relationship. Fortunately, it appears like next year they’re going to kiss and make up.

According to a report today, Samsung is going to yet again be offering a mix of Galaxy S7’s with either Snapdragon or Exynos SoC. Like usual, which chipset you get will depend on your region. It is expected that phones with Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 820 will be found in the U.S. and China (two of the largest smartphone markets).

The Snapdragon 820 is supposed to be Qualcomm’s redemption to the troubled 810 chipset this year. Off the bat, it faced overheating controversy and continual bad reception. We have yet to see the 820 replace it.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the possibility of the Snapdragon 820 in the upcoming Galaxy S7. But more evidence to any rumor is always a good thing. As for other markets, the latest rumors of the Galaxy S7 peg it with an updated Exynos 8890 SoC (from the current 7420 chip).

How do you feel about Samsung’s decision? Would you prefer to stick with Exynos?

Source: etnews

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Samsung will use the new Snapdragon 820 chip for some Galaxy S7 phones, report says

A new report coming by way of the South Korea Electronic Times‘ says that Samsung will use Qualcomm’s all-new Snapdragon 820 chipset for some Galaxy S7 smartphones. This confirms past rumors, but is also historically accurate, considering that Samsung has produced a couple version of its flagship devices, sporting its own Exynos chip in European and other markets while it supplies the variant with a Qualcomm chip to the US and a few other regions.

The paper’s industry sources says that the Galaxy S7 with the Snapdragon 820 chipset will launch early next year and will be supplied to the United States and China. The paper went onto confirm that the Galaxy S7 will have Samsung’s own Exynos chip in other markets.

Interestingly, the technology giant only used its Exynos chip for the Galaxy S6 this year. But according to industry sources, Samsung will indeed take advantage of the Snapdragon 820 in its next flagship. This could potentially mean that consumers could get their hands on Qualcomm’s insane Quick Charge 3.0 technology in the Galaxy S7.

We’re only a few months out before Samsung is expected to officially unveil the device. What would you like the see in a Galaxy S7?

source: Reuters

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