Samsung may begin rolling out Android 5.0 to devices starting next month
According to a leaked email from a Samsung employee, the company is looking at starting their Android Lollipop rollout as early as next month. So far there have only been a few very specific models that have gotten the update, so this wave of updates should be pretty widespread.
The email suggests that the Galaxy S 5 will be first on the list, with the Note 4 and Note Edge right behind it. The Galaxy S4 and Note 3 shouldn’t be far behind that. No info on what other phones will be getting the update, but Samsung will supposedly begin working on their tablets after their current crop of phones is updated.
As a side note, this email mentions that Samsung is planning on updating its demo devices in the Samsung Experience Shops you can find in Best Buy with a date of January 4th, so you might be able to check out the Lollipop update on a display device as early as next week.
source: Reddit
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Samsung beats Apple in consumer satisfaction smartphone study
For years now, the press and consumers alike have been on Samsung’s case about plastic parts on its flagship phones. While things are changing dramatically these days, it seems that when push-comes-to-shove, the presence of plastic has little effect on consumer satisfaction, at least according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Michigan.
The American Consumer Satisfaction Index looked at 230 different brands in the country, and interviewed approximately 70,000 individuals. With respect to smartphones, it concluded that Samsung has a “satisfaction score” of 81, a 6.6% increase from last year’s rating of 76. While one could argue about the relevance of these results and their ability to account for the population at large (something that could be said of any survey), the fact that Samsung not only has an above average score, but actually managed to increase its standing in the past year might offer a bit of pleasant news for a change these days. Likewise, the score would also serve to indicate that American consumers on the whole, are pleased with the service and products Samsung provides.
Perhaps the more interesting finding this study revealed, is that Samsung managed to overtake Apple, which actually dropped from 81 (in 2013) to 79 this year. Given that Apple faced “bendgate” shortly after the release of its Plus-sized hardware earlier this year, there is a chance that the decline was a result of a perception of diminished product quality. On the other hand, it is also likely that the consumers polled simply had different answers, experiences, or even allegiances this year.
While one might take any survey with a few sprinklings of salt, at the very least this one suggests that Samsung has had a favorable year among Americans buying its products, something that it needs for momentum as 2015 approaches and the market becomes even more competitive.
Android hardware profits estimated to have halved in 2014
2014 has certainly been an interesting year for Android, but hardware manufacturers have been having a tougher time over the past twelve months, especially when it comes to turning a profit.
According to analyst Chetan Sharma, global profits within the Android hardware market are estimated to have dropped by approximately 50 percent compared to 2013. Despite the continued growth in Android’s market share and record smartphone shipments, a worse than expected year for some of Android’s largest manufacturers and the growth in nibble low-cost competitors has eaten into manufacturing profit margins.
Samsung’s substantial market presence and poor financial year is one of the largest factors in this decline in averaged profitability. In Q3 2014, Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications division saw a 74 percent decline in profitability compared with the previous year and has averaged a 35 percent quarterly decline in mobile profits this year.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=546b614dc9a61d340d999f8a&t=8d5a273b4d8afcfHTC and Sony are two other big smartphone brands that have seen profits squeezed lately. LG’s slightly lower cost hardware has seen its smartphone shipments improve, but profits are still hard to come by. The real winners this year have been low cost Chinese manufacturers, which have managed to substantially undercut the big brands with considerably cheaper, high-end hardware. Xiaomi has risen to become one of the global market’s largest players in a very short space of time due to its competitively priced hardware. This business model is proving profitable and has begun to spread to other Android manufacturers, but lower retail prices are resulting in smaller profits.
It is important for Google that the ecosystem stays healthy and balanced. Without profitability, some of these players will eventually disappear and it will primarily become a Samsung + Chinese OEMs ecosystem. – Chetan Sharma
Cheaper prices for the same hardware is clearly beneficial to consumers, at least in the short term, but Google will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the profitability of its essential partners. The risk is that the rise of cheaper Chinese OEMs will start hurting Google’s own profit margins, as these companies tend to ship their own customized versions of Android and often don’t include Google’s own services with their devices.
Others have a slightly less pessimistic view of this power shift in the Android ecosystem, seeing the rise of cheaper OEMs as a market efficiency. Samsung’s decline in profitability is no accident, other OEMs in the Android space may simply be doing a better job at providing the hardware consumers want at a price they are more willing to pay. Many have said that low cost manufacturers can’t sustain profits in the long term, but they are the fastest growing Android OEMs at the moment.
Android momentum in the broader startup ecosystem continues despite some of the near term profitability questions of the manufacturers, – Rich Wong, Accel Partners
The next twelve months will reveal whether or not this shift towards lower cost manufacturers will result in a changing of the guard, or if some of the traditional brands can rejuvenate their profits with superior products.
Samsung squeezed past Apple in consumer satisfaction for smartphones
Apple may have owned Christmas, but Samsung won the year when it came to satisfying shoppers with its phones. The latest stats from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, which surveys 70,000 consumers every year, show Samsung slightly beating out Apple by two points with a satisfaction score of 81. Sure, it’s not a huge lead, but it’s a big jump for the company from last year’s score of 76. Apple, meanwhile, saw its score fall more than two points since last year. It’s always tough to read much into these numbers (was it the Galaxy S5 that helped, or just Android improvements?), but it’s still a decent win for Samsung. Don’t be surprised if Samsung ends up marketing the heck out of this during the Superbowl.
It’s not as if we didn’t see this coming, either. Samsung also trounced Apple in smartphone consumer satisfaction in the middle of last year (before the release of the iPhone 5S). ACSI’s overall satisfaction stats for 2013 still showed Apple leading Samsung by five points, but the two were neck-and-neck for much of the year. J.D. Power’s satisfaction survey for 2014 ranked Apple as the leading smartphone brand for all major carriers, but even then Samsung wasn’t far behind.
So what does all of this really mean? Some shoppers might not have been happy with Apple’s move into the big phone arena with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. For buyers who were used to the svelte iPhone 5 and 5S, Apple’s new devices might have been tough to get used to. Samsung, meanwhile, delivered its most feature-rich entry yet with the Galaxy S5. Its water-resistant case was ideal for the accident-prone, and it offered one of the first great cameras on an Android device. The battle for our affection from both companies will only be a good thing for consumers. It’ll make them both focus on delivering devices that are actually useful, rather than just meaningless spec upgrades.
Filed under: Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Via: BGR
Source: ACSI
Samsung edges Apple in customer satisfaction measure
In general, 2014 is probably not going to go down as a year that Samsung wants to remember. Although the company is still the proverbial 800-lb. gorilla in the room amongst Android mobile device manufacturers, the hold on the top has loosened some with accompanying negative impacts. Probably most disturbing for Samsung have been the missed sales and financial targets for their mobile device lines of business and products. As the year comes to a close though, new customer satisfaction data shows the company has managed to jump past their biggest rival in the larger smartphone market, besting Apple by a couple points on the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
The data shows Samsung’s reception by consumers has been an up and down affair since 2004, although recent years have seen consistent improvement year to year. For 2014 Samsung achieved a score of 81 on the index, a 6.6% increase compared to the prior year. Meanwhile, Apple, which only started getting measured in 2012, has been on a slow downward trend, falling to a score of 79 this year, a 2.5% decrease compared to 2013.
Most of the other manufacturers in the survey of satisfaction with cellular telephones are only trailing by a few points with Nokia and Motorola/Google sitting at a score of 77, HTC at 75, BlackBerry at 74 and LG at 73. However, only Samsung and Apple managed to perform better than the industry as a whole where customers scored satisfaction at 78 on the ACSI.
Do you think this is a major victory for Samsung?
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Alleged images of Galaxy S6 surface, poses next to the S4 and S5
The beginning of each year usually presents a slew of new device announcements, and 2015 will be no exception. Following our coverage of CES 2015, we should begin to start seeing new flagship devices from all of the top device manufacturers. In the past, Samsung has grown accustomed to releasing their flagship device towards the start of the new year, given the Galaxy S5 launched in February 2014 and the S4 launched in March 2013. We’re expecting a similar timeframe for the launch of the Galaxy S6, so it’s normal to see leaked photos a few months ahead of time.
Earlier today, Iranian tech site Toranji leaked alleged photos of the upcoming Galaxy S6. Though the photos aren’t the best quality, we see the alleged Samsung flagship posing next to S4 and S5, as well as shots of the back and front of the device.
Taking a look at the photos, we see the supposed Galaxy S6 with the screen turned on next to both the Galaxy S4 and S5, which gives us a pretty good look at the device’s potential size. Additionally, though the photos aren’t the most clear, the S6 looks to be sporting an aluminum or metal chassis, as well as multiple different color options. We’ve heard rumors of the company bringing a metallic design to the phone, so these images seem to fit right in with previous claims. It also looks to be slightly bigger, but to be honest, this device is very similar to both other flagships in the photos.
The fact that the devices look so similar to one another warrants question, though. Not too long ago, we heard reports of Samsung supposedly “starting over” with the Galaxy S6 due to poor sales of the S5. So if these photos are legitimate, it seems as though the company isn’t really starting over with their newest handset — they are just adding a metal jacket and a few other refinements to the mix.
Of course we can’t vouch for the legitimacy of these images, so be sure to take these photos with a grain of salt. We’ll be on the lookout for more information regarding the Galaxy S6, and we’ll keep you updated if we hear anything. Are you looking for more Galaxy S6 rumors? Take a look at our big Galaxy S6 rumor roundup.
What are your thoughts on the alleged S6 photos? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Samsung announces a curved-screen all-in-one and its thinnest laptop yet
We hope you like super skinny laptops, because you’re going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of them in 2015. Samsung just took the veil off its new ATIV Book 9 Ultrabook, which comes in at just 0.45 inch thick and 2.09 pounds. That’s insanely compact for a 12.2-inch machine and indeed, it’s the thinnest and lightest notebook Samsung has released yet. (Given Sammy’s history with razor-thin laptops, that’s saying a lot.) Like so many other slim machines that have come out lately, the Book 9 uses one of Intel’s new Core M processors, which were designed specifically to allow for skinnier designs.
Even more than its svelte profile, though, the real star of the show might actually be the display. Not only is the 2,560 x 1,440 resolution high for a machine this size, but Samsung also included an “outdoor mode” that takes the brightness from an already-impressive 350 nits all the way up to 700. The only concession seems to be that it’s a non-touch panel — kind of a necessity, though, if you wanna build a machine this thin.
Assuming you do in fact keep the brightness at a more moderate level most of the time, the battery life should be pretty long — up to 10.5 hours, according to Samsung. In addition, the Book 9 has an Ultra Power Saving Mode similar to Samsung’s smartphones, which allows desperate users to squeeze out an extra hour of runtime by automatically shutting down all non-essential services running on the machine. Also, like many other Core M laptops, the Book 9 is fanless, which should mean it runs pretty quietly. Does that also mean it runs cool? We’ll see, but if our early impressions of Core M are any indication, it’s unlikely to overheat. The Book 9 will go on sale sometime in Q1 of 2015, and will be available in two configurations: a $1,200 model with 4GB of memory and a 128GB solid-state drive, and a $1,400 unit with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
Additionally, Samsung unveiled the ATIV One 7, the company’s first curved-screen all-in-one. Heck, and as far as we know, it’s the first curved all-in-one, period. Despite being somewhat of an oddity, though, it actually looks quite a bit like Samsung’s monitor and TV range, just with enough heft around the body to accommodate all the computer components that lie within. Those include an Core i5-processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB 5,400RPM hard drive. As for the screen itself, it’s actually of fairly middling quality, that impressive curvature aside. What we have here is a 27-inch display, with full HD resolution (not quad HD or some such). It’s also a TN panel, which means the viewing angles might not be quite as wide as competing machines with IPS screens. Then again, one of the purported advantages of a curved display is that viewing angles from the side are inherently better, so perhaps we’re taking an overly pessimistic tone here. In any case, if this is just the sort of thing you’ve been waiting for, you can scoop one up later this quarter, to the tune of $1,300.
Samsung adds Milk VR to app portfolio for Gear VR
Earlier this month Samsung finally started selling the Gear VR, marketing it as an “Innovator’s Edition.” The idea behind that seems to be similar to the path Google took with Glass in getting devices into the hands of developers and end users alike. This gives developers an opportunity to start figuring out the hardware and how it can be made useful and it gives consumers a chance to provide feedback on what they wish they could do with the new hardware. To help the garden grow, Samsung announced a new seed they are planting today, Milk VR, a free subscription service for viewing 360-degree videos on Gear VR.
Samsung’s Nick DiCarlo, in charge of the VR business, says “video is like the wild west in VR” in describing all the ways content producers can go about generating immersive video for end users. The new service will help serve as a model for artists who may be interested in creating VR content. Of course, this will also help Samsung entice developers and producers in joining the ranks of those developing for VR and the Gear VR specifically.
One of the keys to success for Samsung will be production of content at a frequent pace, even if that means getting into the game themselves. That is why they are not only launching the Milk VR service for VR devices, but have also rolled out Milk Video and Milk Radio services for similar purposes on the rest of their platforms. To make it all work, Samsung is also eating the cost of the videos on Milk VR to make content available during this initial launch stage so that consumers can benefit from a free service.
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Samsung refreshes Galaxy Note 4 with Tri-Band LTE Advanced support
Samsung on Monday debuted a modified version of its plus-sized Galaxy Note 4 which amps up the overall capabilities. The refreshed Note 4 features LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Tri-Band Carrier Aggregation (CA), which means peak download speeds of 300Mbps. That is, of course, once those sort of networks are available.
Users can download a 700MB video in about 19 seconds or 10 songs with 40MB in about one second.
Samsung indicates the tri-band CA configuration can support LTE Category 9, or theoretical max download speeds of 450Mbps. As you likely know, current network setups are nowhere near those speeds.
Looking ahead, South Korea will be among the markets to offer the much faster LTE service in the coming year. None of the U.S. players have announced anything in regards to improving LTE networks to this end.
Samsung has not announced where or when the new Galaxy Note 4 will be sold; pricing will be outlined in the future.
The post Samsung refreshes Galaxy Note 4 with Tri-Band LTE Advanced support appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung just added a 360-degree video store to its VR headset
Since launch in early December, the virtual reality headset released by Samsung and Oculus VR has received a steady drip of new content. Each Tuesday, a handful of new apps launches for Gear VR — new games (Temple Run!), new experiences (a Paul McCartney performance!). Thus far, nothing’s been spectacular enough to remark about; the overall selection of content, gaming or otherwise, is still on the light side. This week changes that, with the release of “Milk VR.”
The free app from Samsung contains a healthy dose of new 360-degree video content, in both streaming and downloadable format. The actual selection of videos is available on a Samsung website of the same name, right here. It’s not exactly a flood of videos, but it’s a hell of a lot more than the small sample packed in at launch.
What’s most interesting about the app is how it works: you slide your finger forward or backward on Gear VR’s touchpad, always keeping your finger attached to the headset. The video choices swirl around you on a cycle, and you can look up to select specific categories (“Fresh”, “Trending”, “Planet VR”, etc.). I’d love to point you to a demo, but there’s still no way to capture footage inside of Gear VR (not that we’ve figured out, anyway). That said, if you’ve got a Gear VR headset and the required Note 4 smartphone, downloading the (free, small) Milk VR app is a no-brainer. You’ll be jumping out of a plane in no time!
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Peripherals, Wearables, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Facebook
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