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STARZ video streaming app is now available for Samsung’s Smart TVs

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STARZ has announced that its video streaming app is now available on select smart TVs from Samsung. STARZ’s premium subscribers can now watch a huge collection of video content from the channel, including the its original TV shows like American Gods, Black Sails, Outlander, and Power. Subscribers can also watch hundreds of movies and first-run films on a compatible smart TV from Samsung using the new app. Interested users can subscribe to STARZ for $8.99 per month through their website or the Samsung App Store within the Smart Hub. The company says that it has designed the smart TV app with content discovery and navigation in mind. Subscribers will have access to a collection of over 4300 videos. The app is already available for competing smart TV platforms, including Amazon AppStore, Apple TV, Google Play, and Roku.

Thoughts on the Galaxy S8′s fingerprint sensor: What’s the fuss all about?

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Many Samsung fans were up in arms when it was confirmed that the Galaxy S8′s fingerprint sensor is placed at the back, alongside the camera. Some of us here at SamMobile were extremely critical of this , too, but I don’t personally agree with all of the flak that Samsung is having to take because of this decision. This is the first time that Samsung has placed the sensor here, and it had no other option. Optical fingerprint sensors aren’t ready for primetime, and it had to free up space for that gorgeous Infinity Display. The company hasn’t done anything unusual. Rivals like LG and Huawei placed the fingerprint sensor on some of their smartphones at the back a long time ago. The only difference is that none of them positioned the sensor as close to the rear camera as Samsung has. This is what concerns most potential customers. They feel that they will end up smudging the camera lens every time they want to unlock their phone. Galaxy S8 owners might find it relatively easier to us

Galaxy S8 Tip: Use fingerprint sensor gestures to access the notification shade

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We’ve already brought you a long list of Galaxy S8 Tips & Tricks to help you get the most out of your new Samsung flagship smartphone. Today, we have another one. You must already know that the Galaxy S8′s fingerprint sensor is placed at the back, alongside the camera. The difference of opinion regarding the new placement notwithstanding, the Galaxy S8′s fingerprint sensor has another trick up its sleeve besides controlling access to the device. The fingerprint sensor supports gestures which can be used to open and close the notification shade. You swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to open the shade and up to close it. This feature can be located inside the Settings menu and is disabled by default. Here’s how you can enable it on your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+: Step 1: Open the Settings app from the app drawer or by tapping on the gear icon in the notification shade. Step 2: Tap on Advanced Features followed by Finger sensor gestures Step 3: Turn the toggle ON. That’s

Samsung Invites Student Programmers to Enter Third Samsung Collegiate Programming Cup

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  Calling all collegiate coders! Samsung Electronics is cordially inviting all university students interested in programming to test their skills against their peers in the third annual Samsung Collegiate Programming Cup (SCPC).   Korea’s largest collegiate programming competition, SCPC began in 2015 as a means to nurture growth in the field and discover the talented young programmers of tomorrow. This year, the competition and festival is expanding its scope and welcoming, for the first time, undergraduate and graduate entrants from institutions around the world.   SCPC 2017 is open to students majoring in any discipline and of any age. Each entrants’ success will depend on their ability to solve a series of algorithmic problems using C, C++ and Java and submit their source codes within an allotted amount of time.   The competition will kick off with preliminary rounds on June 30 and July 15 on the event’s official website . A grand finale will be held on August 17 at Samsung

[Editorial] A New Mobile Life with Samsung DeX

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I always get a kick out of brainstorming (sometimes far out ideas, I admit) with my colleagues, constantly questioning what it will take to make our smartphones groundbreaking, yet more valuable and easier for everyone to use. Back in August 2014 one of those brainstorming sessions begged the question; “Can a smartphone really replace a desktop?” After spirited discussion, one of the engineers in the room handed me a piece of paper, on which he drew the following.     The idea he suggested was one where we placed a smartphone on a docking station connected to a monitor. In doing so, we could run all Android apps on the monitor as well as Windows apps using a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)* while conveniently interacting with a keyboard and mouse.   The idea was great, but unfortunately, we couldn’t fully realize it back in 2014 due to many obstacles that couldn’t be negotiated easily, such as the limited processing power on the device.  However, we kept building on it, re

Galaxy S9 reportedly codenamed ‘Star’ as development begins early

According to Korean publication  The Bell,  Samsung has chosen ‘Star’ as the codename for the Galaxy S9 (and ‘Star 2′ for the larger model). Development of the device has reportedly begun 3 to 4 months ahead of schedule, but as expected, there is no information available on what the S9 will offer (other than a more refined Infinity Display) or the reason behind why Star has been chosen as its codename. As usual, we can only do a bit of guesswork, and it could be that the S9 will be a shining example of Samsung’s technical prowess and be similar to the kind of upgrade the Galaxy S7 edge was over the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. The Galaxy S8 was codenamed Project Dream, and as we had exclusively reported, the Galaxy Note 8 is internally dubbed ‘Great’ , which is one of the most straightforward codenames to be associated with a Samsung flagship. Early rumors did point the Galaxy Note 8 as having a much different codename, so it’s entirely possible the Galaxy S9 might be called something else

SK Telecom and Samsung Win “Infrastructure Innovation Award” at Global Telecoms Business(GTB) Telecoms Innovation Summit

SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics jointly won the “Infrastructure Innovation Award” at the Global Telecoms Business (GTB) Telecoms Innovation Summit 2017 for their successful verification of 5G mobile handover in an urban outdoor environment – a world first.   SK Telecom and Samsung teamed up to research and verify technical feasibilities of using mmWave frequency (28GHz) for super-fast and real-time 5G mobility services. In September 2016, the companies announced they successfully completed the 5G mmWave handover by connecting base stations to operators’ fiber optic networks . Besides 5G handover, the companies successfully tested 3D (Dimension) beam forming and confirmed the accuracy of the ray tracing RF design solution, which are considered to be the key enablers to make 5G mmWave commercially ready.   “SK Telecom is delighted to receive these global prestigious awards as they recognize our relentless efforts to introduce innovative network technologies,” said Jin-hyo Park, Se

SamMobile Daily Recap: May 23, 2017 — DeX, Gear S3, Galaxy S8 and more!

We publish  a lot  of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up. However, we think we’ve come up with a fantastic solution — a  daily recap . Here’s what we wrote today today. Deals Daily Deal: Pick up a 128GB Pro Plus microSD card for 33% off Display Samsung may supply OLED displays to Hyundai Firmware News T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note 5 starts receiving May 2017 security patch Opinion Samsung’s phone cameras continue to be the best at what the general consumer wants Phones Samsung DeX reportedly works with the Microsoft Lumia 950 SK Telecom unveils the Samsung Galaxy Wide 2 in South Korea The CCC finds a way to trick the Galaxy S8′s iris scanner Samsung Pay Samsung Pay comes to the Gear S2 and the Gear S3 in the UK TV You can now watch endless drone footage on your Samsung Smart TV

Here’s what we keep on our Galaxy S8′s home screen

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Last year, we ran a weekly segment where we featured some of our reader’s home screen setups — but most of us have never shown off ours. Up until now, that is. Since pretty much the entire  SamMobile team decided to upgrade to either the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ , we thought we’d show you our home screens. Abhijeet Mishra I’m not really into home screen customization anymore, but I have all my frequently used apps arranged in folders on the primary home screen. Everything else that I need is accessed from the app drawer. I only use a single home screen, and I keep exporting the same setup to every new phone that I use. Samsung’s default wallpapers on the Galaxy S8 are great (that, and I’m more about functionality than looks), so I’m using one of the default wallpapers. Adnan Farooqui I like to keep the homescreen of my smartphone clean, so I don’t clutter it with a lot of widgets or apps. The reason behind this is that I want quick access to the apps that I use frequently. I

Samsung could launch the T5 portable SSD next month

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Samsung is currently the largest SSD maker in the world , and after launching the impressive Portable SSD T3 last year , the company is geared up to launch the successor sometime next month. According to an exclusive report from The Korea Herald , Samsung will start the production of its next-generation portable SSD solution next week. Dubbed Samsung Portable SSD T5, the storage solution is reportedly based on the company’s fourth-generation 64-layer V NAND flash memory. The production of this storage device is expected to start next week, and it could be launched sometime next month. Even though it has higher storage capacity, it is expected to be lighter, stronger, and faster than last year’s T3. Thanks to 64 layers of stacked cell-arrays (with a storage density of 512Gb per die), the Portable SSD T5′s data transfer speed is expected to be somewhere around 800Mbps, up from 450Mbps in last year’s model. Samsung could launch the upcoming variant in Black, Coral Blue, and Silver, ma

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3: How To Master Lectures

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Maximize your productivity to stay ahead of the game. Master your lectures with the all-new Galaxy Tab S3. For more information: http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-tab-s3/ From: Samsung Mobile

Daily Deal: Pick up a 128GB Pro Plus microSD card for 33% off

Amazon has slashed the price of Samsung’s top-of-the-line 128GB Pro Plus microSD card down to $100.88 (33% off). What’s neat about this specific card is that it’s been built specifically for 4K content — so it’s capable of reading and writing data at an impressive 95MB/s and 90 MB/s, respectively. If you like the sound of 128GB Pro Plus microSD card and want to bag yourself one, simply hit the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a very limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Samsung’s phone cameras continue to be the best at what the general consumer wants

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Every time a new flagship smartphone comes out, its camera is pitched against other flagship phones on the market. Experts take a look at a wide variety of situations before coming to a conclusion on what phone takes the best pictures. This year, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been outranked by devices like the HTC U11 and the six-month-old Google Pixel on DxOMark . But as a blind test carried out by the folks over at Android Central  proves yet again, Samsung’s smartphone cameras continue to take the most pleasing images as far as the general consumer is concerned. Samsung has been accused of dialing up the colors on the images produced by its smartphone cameras, and while the company has taken things down a notch, it continues to tune its cameras to take pictures with enhanced contrast. Experts can discuss all day about things like details in the shadows in images with high dynamic range or the color accuracy of subjects in an image, but at the end of the day, what’s pleasing to

Samsung DeX reportedly works with the Microsoft Lumia 950

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Samsung DeX , an accessory that turns the Galaxy S8 or the  S8+ into desktop-like computers when connected to an external monitor, reportedly also works with the Microsoft Lumia 950. A new video posted on YouTube shows how the Lumia 950 works perfectly with Samsung’s DeX station. It loads up Microsoft’s version of smartphone-powered desktop UI based on Windows 10 when connected to an external monitor. The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ are equipped with powerful 64-bit octa-core processors that are powerful enough to drive a 4K external monitor when connected using the DeX station. All the processing actually happens on the smartphones, and DeX just offers multiple ports to connect things like keyboard, mice, storage device, an ethernet cable, and an HDMI port. So, is the DeX just a glorified, overpriced USB-C hub from Samsung? What are your thoughts about Samsung DeX? Have a look at the video below.

The CCC finds a way to trick the Galaxy S8′s iris scanner

The iris recognition system on board the recently-released Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ was reportedly defeated by the Chaos Computer Club (CCC). Using a printed infrared image of a human eye with a contact lens attached, the hackers were able to trick the system into thinking it was looking at the eye of the registered owner. “Iris recognition may protect a phone against complete strangers unlocking it, but whoever has a photo of the legitimate owner can trivially unlock the phone,” says Dirk Engling, a spokesperson for the CCC. “If you value the data on your phone – and possibly want to even use it for payment – using a traditional PIN is a safer approach.” While this news may frustrate and potentially worry many Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners, it’s unlikely prying eyes (no pun intended) will have access to a high-resolution, close-up image of your iris and unless they’re armed with the picture, they can’t gain access to your device.

New video proves Galaxy S8 iris recognition can be spoofed

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Folks over at Chaos Computer Club (CCC) have published a video spoofing Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+’s iris recognition feature. Apparently, it needs a photo and a contact lens to create a “dummy-eye” for the phone’s iris scanner to believe it as a real iris and unlock the phone. The report says a picture shot with a […] The post New video proves Galaxy S8 iris recognition can be spoofed appeared first on Sammy Hub .

Samsung Pay comes to the Gear S2 and the Gear S3 in the UK

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Samsung Pay arrived in the UK last week after a long wait. The South Korean smartphone giant partnered with American Express, HSBC and Nationwide for the rollout of its mobile payment service in the country. Samsung has now extended the mobile payment service to its smartwatches. The update seems to be rolling out slowly in the country. Customers in the UK can now use the Gear S2 and the Gear S3  to make transactions through Samsung Pay. The Gear S3 features both MST and NFC, while the Gear S2 comes equipped with NFC. However, MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) doesn’t work in the UK, so you’ll be able to use both these smartwatches for transacting through Samsung Pay just fine. Via

You can now watch endless drone footage on your Samsung Smart TV

DJI, one of the most popular consumer drone manufacturers, has released an application for Samsung’s Tizen-powered Smart TVs , giving creators a new way to share their work with the world. Rather suitably named DJI Smart TV, the application provides users with access to a huge library of footage recorded using the firm’s high-end drones, which start at a little under $1,000. According to DJI, the purpose of the application isn’t (only) to sell more drones, but is to provide people with a platform to “travel to places they would have never imagined and see the world in a whole new way.” “The DJI Smart TV App is now available on Apple TV and Samsung Tizen TV platforms, explains the company. “Once their Smart TV is connected to the internet, users can browse for the DJI Smart TV App” on Galaxy Apps.

SK Telecom unveils the Samsung Galaxy Wide 2 in South Korea

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Samsung and SK Telecom have unveiled a new budget-friendly smartphone, the Galaxy Wide 2 , in South Korea. The phone succeeds last year’s Galaxy Wide , and comes with a newer version of Android as well as a slightly larger capacity battery. The device can be purchased through SK Telecom for KRW 297,000 (approx. $266). However, local users can get it for as low as KRW 100,000 (approx. $89) after discounts. The phone hasn’t been listed on Samsung’s website yet. The Galaxy Wide 2 ( SM-J727S ) features a 5.5-inch HD LCD display with 2.5D curved glass protection, a 13-megapixel primary camera with F1.9 aperture, a 5-megapixel secondary camera, a 1.6GHz 64-bit octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot. The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat and comes packed with a 3,300 mAh battery. The Galaxy Wide was reportedly the best-selling budget smartphone last year on SK Telecom’s network.

Samsung may supply OLED displays to Hyundai

According to a new report out of South Korea, Samsung’s display-making affiliate Samsung Display is in talks with one of the largest car manufacturers in the country to supply OLED panels. It’s reportedly in talks with Hyundai to supply OLED panels for its luxury Genesis sedan. This will be the first time that Hyundai uses OLED panels in its car so it will be a big achievement for Samsung Display if it bags this contract. A source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald that “Samsung is in talks with Hyundai to supply its OLED display for Genesis’ instrument cluster and center information display.” Talks between the two companies reportedly began last year and are said to be ongoing. Hyundai has some doubts about the technology as OLED displays haven’t really been proven as a viable option for in-car screens even though they rule the roost in mobile devices. The reason why OLED panels haven’t really been used for in-car displays is because they are known to be relatively we

Galaxy S8+ battery life with two SIM cards and Always On Display enabled has me impressed

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I wasn’t too hopeful of the Galaxy S8+ giving me good battery life when I started using the phone. I knew the 3,500 mAh battery inside the Galaxy S8+ was capable of lasting a day , but for the first time, I decided to use a Samsung flagship with two SIM cards, and that was something that hadn’t worked out great when I had tried it with the Galaxy S7 edge last year. But I have to say the Galaxy S8+ has me impressed with its battery life figures, especially with Always On Display enabled along with two SIM cards. The other day, my S8+ managed to offer a screen time of nearly 3 hours and a total running time of 1 day and 4 hours, with 7 percent charge remaining. That screen time might not sound like much, and I hadn’t used the phone too heavily over the day. But when you take into consideration that the phone had to stay connected to two mobile networks and keep Always On Display running, that kind of endurance manages to impress. Whether it’s the new dedicated chip for AOD , the 10 nm

Gear S3 classic with LTE will be available from AT&T starting May 26

Samsung first launched a cellular version of the Gear S3 in South Korea a few months back. It later confirmed that the Gear S3 classic with LTE will be available from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States. Pricing and availability were to be confirmed by the carrier partners themselves. AT&T has confirmed today when it’s going to start selling the Gear S3 classic with LTE. The Gear S3 classic is going to have support for AT&T’s NumberSync feature . NumberSync enables users to access one number on their smartphone and smartwatch which means they can continue to make and receive phone calls or text messages using the smartwatch even when their phone is at home. The carrier is offering both the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier for $49.99 when purchased with a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+. This offer is valid until June 30. Those who don’t available this offer will pay $17.50 per month for 20 months on AT&T’s Installment Plan. They can also pay $249.99 for

Hancom details its DeX-compatible Office Mobile suite apps for Galaxy S8

South Korean software developer Hancom today announced that a light-weight version of its Office Mobile suite comes installed on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ straight out of the box. These apps have support for Samsung DeX, the desktop environment that’s built into Samsung’s new flagship smartphone , and thus enable users to be productive on the go. Hancom’s product replaces Microsoft Office as the primary mobile office suite for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Hancom’s Office Mobile apps can be used for word processing, presentation graphics and spreadsheet calculation. They’re known outside South Korea as Thinkfree Office Mobile. These apps are compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. They enable Galaxy S8 owners to view, create and edit documents on the move. They can also be used to view and annotate PDF documents. Those who want to have more features can download the full-featured versions of the Office Mobile suite from Galaxy Apps. The full-featured apps have been

SamMobile Daily Recap: May 22, 2017 — Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 Active and more!

We publish quite a few stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up. However, we think we’ve come up with a fantastic solution — a  daily recap . Here’s what happened today. Business Samsung elected to 5G Automotive Association board Samsung will keep searching for companies to buy Display World’s first stretchable display will be showcased by Samsung at SID 2017 General Samsung working with South Korean government to increase protection against WannaCry Phones Could this be our first look at the Galaxy S8 Active? Galaxy J7 (2017) breaks cover in leaked press render Is this Samsung’s new flip phone for China? New Galaxy J5 (2017) and Galaxy J7 (2017) renders reveal all color options This Galaxy Note 8 dummy shows a vertical dual-camera arrangement What we think of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ after a few weeks of use

Samsung is now offering its own Buy One, Get One Free deal on the Galaxy S8

T-Mobile recently launched its Buy One, Get One Free offer for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ . However, some people tend to shy away from such carrier offers as they don’t want to switch lines or don’t want to wait for a long time for the monthly credits to actually waive the cost of the second device. They are going to love Samsung’s new offer. The company is offering a Buy One, Get One Free deal on its new flagship smartphones and will straight up return the cost of the second device to the customer. They don’t have to jump through any hoops or wait for a long time. All customers have to do is purchase two new Galaxy S8 units from Samsung.com and activate a new line on T-Mobile. The activation can also be done on an existing T-Mobile line. Once that’s done, Samsung will issue customers a rebate of up to $750 to the original method of purchase just 7-10 days after activation. That’s not all. Samsung will even throw in an “Entertainment Kit” for the Galaxy S8 which includes a 64GB

Samsung Newsroom Russia launched

Samsung today announced that it has launched a news and information hub called Samsung Newsroom Russia. It’s going to feature content in the Russian language. All news and announcements shared via the newsroom will be targeted towards local media and consumers in Russia. It’s now the official Samsung Russian-language information portal that has a convenient search tool so visitors can easily find whatever it is they’re looking for on the site. It’s not surprising that Samsung has done this. Russia is a big market for Samsung. The company has been operating there for more than 25 years. It has frequently been named the “favorite brand of Russians” by Online Market Intelligence. The company has been launching these dedicated information hubs for its key markets over the past few months. Samsung Newsroom Russia is the company’s eighth newsroom. As it stands, the list of newsrooms includes Global, United States, Korea, Vietnam , Brazil, India and Germany . Samsung is going to launch m

[Sponsored] How To Backup And Restore Your Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

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Do you want to backup data on your Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+Phone and later restore them effortlessly?  This article provides a detailed guide on how to backup data on your Samsung phone and how to restore them. Why Backup Android Data? You may have heard that it is important to backup your data always, but have you ever asked yourself the importance of doing a backup of data?  Well, your answer is as good as mine. The data on our phones are precious ranging from messages, documents photos to movies. If today your Android phones crash, attacked by virus or you may lose it what will happen to the data in it? You will lose them. Therefore it is important that you always backup your Android data. In a situation where you have lost your old phone, and you have now purchased the latest Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+you may wish to get the phone to this waterproof phone. If you had done a backup of files, then it will be easier for you to restore data from your old Android phone to the new Samsu

Samsung Launches Samsung Newsroom Russia

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  Samsung Electronics today launched Samsung Newsroom Russia , the new Russian-language news and information hub that will provide contents targeting local media and consumers. It is an official Samsung Russian-language information portal with a convenient search tool.   Samsung Newsroom Russia seeks to keep media and consumers up-to-date with the latest company news and cover other interesting topics including the company’s latest activities in the country, complemented by video and photo content as well.   The launching of Samsung Newsroom Russia marks Samsung’s eighth newsroom, adding to the Global , United States , Korea , Vietnam , Brazil , India and Germany  editions. Samsung Electronics plans to continue rolling out additional local newsrooms this year to share its latest news with more regions in their own language.   Samsung Electronics has been operating in Russia for over 25 years. The company was honored to be named ‘favorite brand of Russians’ by Online Market Int

Is this Samsung’s new flip phone for China?

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A new smartphone from Samsung, the SM-G9298 , passed the FCC certification a couple of days ago. The device also passed through Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification process. Now, a purported image of the device has appeared in the Internet, showing us its design for the first time. As you can see in the image below, there doesn’t seem to any sensor above to display. So, it is possible that it’s a flip phone, and meant for the Chinese market. The device reportedly comes equipped with a Snapdragon 821 processor and a wireless charging mechanism. We think that it’s a slightly upgraded version of the SM-W2017 , which was launched in China last year .

New Galaxy J5 (2017) and Galaxy J7 (2017) renders reveal all color options

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We have been seeing a lot of leaks and reports concerning the Galaxy J (2017) series over the past few weeks. There’s enough circumstantial evidence to support the theory that Samsung will be launching the new series in the near future. New renders of the Galaxy J5 (2017) and Galaxy J7 (2017) have been leaked online today and they reveal all four color options the handsets will be offered in. Both the Galaxy J7 (2017) model number SM-J730 and the Galaxy J5 (2017) model number SM-J530 will be sold in black, gold, blue and pink colors. You can see how both handsets look in these colors by checking out the photos embedded below. As far as the look and feel of the handsets goes, reports suggest that they will have a metal unibody with a new U-shaped pattern at the back which will help set it apart from some of Samsung’s other smartphones like the Galaxy C7 Pro. Both handsets are also expected to feature 13-megapixel front-facing cameras with LED flash, Android 7.0 Nougat and fingerpri