Items tagged with galaxy s8
Reports are making the rounds that some Samsung Galaxy smartphone owners who are fed up with Facebook after privacy blunders that leaked pictures and its history of sharing data without permission can't uninstall the app on their device. Some Galaxy S8 owners are unable to delete the Facebook app completely from their devices; all owners can do is select an option to disable the app. Owners fear that by disabling the app rather than uninstalling it, Facebook might still be able to track them and share their data without permission. There is a movement trying to get people to delete Facebook in protest of its privacy and security issues. A Facebook spokesperson told Bloomberg that disabling...
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A woman from Detroit, Michigan was driving her car Friday when she claims that one of her cell phones caught fire. The result of the alleged smartphone explosion is a burned-out husk of a car that is clearly totaled. The woman says she is just glad to have escaped the burning vehicle with her life. ABC News reports that the woman has chosen to remain anonymous, but did speak to a Detroit ABC affiliate Friday after the fire and has said she is considering a lawsuit. The woman had two cellular phones in the car, both Samsung devices. One was a Galaxy S4 and the other a Galaxy S8; both were sitting in cup holders when the fire started. The woman claims that she was driving and saw a spark from...
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If you are a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ owner, we have some good news for you. The company has resumed the rollout of its Android 8.0 Oreo update after running into a pothole last week, although it may still be a few days before U.S. users receive the software. If you recall, the G950/G955-FXXU1CRAP update was pulled because it was causing unexpected reboots on some devices. The problem was discovered after the update had already be pushed over-the-air to customers in Turkey, Norway, the UAE, India, Belgium, Germany, France, and Poland. Once the problems were discovered, Samsung yanked the update from its servers. Today, a new firmware update is rolling out with Android Oreo onboard. The...
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Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners were excited to learn that Samsung’s Android 8.0 Oreo update had exited beta, and was being distributed to regular customers. Samsung initially began the over-the-air (OTA) rollout for users in Germany, and then expanded it to additional global markets. Unfortunately for Samsung (and Galaxy S8/Galaxy S8+ owners), there appears to be a major bug in its Android Oreo update. The update, G950/G955-FXXU1CRAP, was pulled from Samsung's servers yesterday following wide availability for customers in Turkey, Norway, the UAE, India, Belgium, Germany, France, and Poland (along with the aforementioned Germany). Today, we're learning that the reason for pulling the update...
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It's been a long time coming, but the official Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is now rolling out to customers. News of the final build of Android Oreo being delivered over-the-air to customers came from Germany. The first customers to receive the update are testers that have been in Samsung’s beta program for the past few months. However, according to SamMobile, everyone else currently running Android 7.x Nougat will start receiving the update starting tomorrow (at least in the German market). Additional rollout timetables will depend on what region you live in. Rather amusingly, the firmware version is G955XXU1CRAP, although we're glad to say that Android...
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Consumer Reports Ranks iPhone X Behind Galaxy S8, iPhone 8 Over Battery Life And Durability Concerns
The iPhone X might be the flagship of Apple's smartphone family, but that doesn't mean that it comes out on top in Consumer Reports' latest round of testing. In fact, the iPhone X ranked behind two current generation flagship smartphones from Samsung and two of its newer iPhone siblings. First, let's start off with the iPhone X's positives, which include its gorgeous 5.8-inch OLED display (which is manufactured by Samsung). It was praised for its deep black tones and minimal clarity degradation when viewing the display from off angles. Although the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were also deemed to have excellent displays, the iPhone X was shown to have a "significant difference" in quality (in its...
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If you're looking to score a couple of today's hottest flagship smartphones, T-Mobile just might have an offer right up your alley. The company is running a massive Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) campaign, which is kicking off tomorrow, November 17th. The third-place wireless carrier in the United States has some of best, newly-released smartphones available if you don't mind dealing with a rebate. Under T-Mobile's new promotion, you have to purchase both smartphones using an Equipment Installment Plan (you also have to add at least one new line), and you will receive the price of the second smartphone (of equal or lesser value) in the form of a rebate. T-Mobile isn't discriminating against its...
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Many of the juiciest deals on Black Friday are often deeply discounted technology products, making Best Buy a seemingly obviously destination for anyone trying to score a deal. But will the electronics chain live up to expectations? It very well may—Best Buy's Black Friday advertisement lists some enticing deals, including $300 off any of Samsung's flagship Galaxy phones, those being the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8. The discount requires "qualified activation" with a wireless carrier. Best Buy specifically lists Verizon and Sprint on its advertisement, so it looks like AT&T and T-Mobile customers will have to look elsewhere for a deal, though that is not entirely clear...
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We are getting to the part of the year where it is increasingly difficult to stay attached to your money. Tantalizing savings on electronics (and all kinds of other items) are a staple of Black Friday, and before you have a chance to come up for air, Cyber Monday hits. Several retailers have already released Black Friday ads, including Target, Walmart, and Kohl's, to name a few. But it is not just retailers getting in on the shopping frenzy, so are manufacturers. Dell recently tipped its deals, and now Samsung is following suit. Samsung is doing things a bit differently than everyone else. Rather than limit its deals to a couple of shopping days in November, it will be offering discounts throughout...
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Two of the best Android smartphones on the market will be betting an update to Android 8.0 Oreo in the not-too-distant future. We are talking about Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, both of which are still saddled with Nougat, though not for long. For those who want to get an early look at Oreo, Samsung today announced it is part of the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta that is rolling out. The new beta is being made available to select customers participating in Samsung's Galaxy beta program. Initially, Samsung is rolling out the newest beta version what used to be called TouchWiz, and is now called Samsung Experience, to beta program members based in South Korea, the United States, and the...
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If you're a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ owner and have been looking longingly from the sidelines as Google Pixel and Nexus users are chomping down on crunchy Android 8.0 Oreo goodness, your time will soon come. Samsung just recently updated its license agreement and FAQ for the Galaxy Beta Program, both of which reference Android 8.0 Oreo. For U.S. users, in order to participate in the Galaxy Beta Program, you will need to download the Samsung Plus app. You will need to register for or sign-in to your Samsung account in order to complete this process. According to Samsung, both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are supported, but the Galaxy Beta Program is limited to Sprint, T-Mobile and unlocked...
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It appears that Samsung is finally caving to the wishes of its customers and giving Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners to ability to disable the button that summons Bixby, the company's own digital assistant. Now all Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners are seeing seeing the new toggle, however, so it is not clear if Samsung staggering the roll out or if perhaps (less likely) this is an experimental feature that unintentionally went out. Either way, some users are seeing a toggle to disable Bixby after downloading the latest update. The toggle lets users decide whether or not Bixby should be launched when pressing the dedicated the button. Alternately, users can find the same option from within the Bixby...
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For many consumers, choosing a new smartphone is a difficult decision that usually boils down to a few prominent devices. With the current generation of smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S8+ and the new LG V30 are likely to be among the most popular options for consumers looking for a large screen device. The Galaxy S8+ is widely considered one of the best Android-based smartphones on the market. And although it was just announced a few days ago, we have already spent some hands on time with the LG V30 and figure it's lining-up to be a fantastic Android flagship device that is worthy of serious consideration as well. With high-end phones that feature similar processors and have...
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After what seems like endless leaks, Samsung and AT&T have officially confirmed the Galaxy S8 Active along with its availability. The Galaxy S8 Active is being billed as the “toughest Galaxy Smartphone yet”, although we’ll wait for independent verification of those claims given what happened last year with the Galaxy S7 Active. Samsung says that the Galaxy S8 Active is shock-, water-, shatter- and dust-resistant, and according to previous leaks, it should have longer battery life compared to its siblings. The Galaxy S8 also has a massive 4,000 mAh battery compared to 3,000 mAh and 3,500 mAh respectively for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, which should make for some epic runtimes. Thanks to...
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Three weeks ago, Samsung gave us guidance on its Q2 2017 earnings, claiming that it would have a blockbuster second quarter. Well, the official numbers are in and Samsung has made good on its claim. The South Korean company reported revenue of $54.8 billion (KRW 61.00 trillion) during the quarter and operating profit of $12.6 billion (KRW 14.07 trillion). Samsung partially attributed the healthy quarter to strong sales of its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones which launched in April to favorable reviews. According to Samsung, sales of the Galaxy S8 family have been tracking roughly 15 percent higher than the Galaxy S7 family (which launched in 2016). However, profit did dip slightly...
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The Galaxy Note 8 might be the most highly anticipated new smartphone from Samsung, but the newest version of a popular Galaxy model is also about to make its debut. We’re talking of course about the Galaxy S8 Active, which is the beefier, more shock-resistant version of the gorgeous (and delicate) Galaxy S8. Luckily for us, images of the smartphone have leaked once again, this time showing the Galaxy S8 Active in real life (instead of in renders). If you’re familiar with the current Galaxy S8 and previous “Active” variants, the pictures of the Galaxy S8 Active shouldn’t be too surprising. We see the large 5.8-inch display with largish bezels that has tossed aside Infinity Display’s curved edges...
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At long last, Samsung feels comfortable enough its in-house Bixby smart digital assistant to roll out voice control in the United States for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. With voice control in hand, Bixby can finally be taken seriously as a competing digital assistant, a somewhat crowded field that also includes Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, and Amazon Alexa. This was a long time coming for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handset owners, and also a point of contention between users and Samsung. Without voice control, Bixby's functionality could be viewed as half-baked and not ready for prime time. This led some users to seek alternative users for the dedicated Bixby button. Third-party...
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The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ have only been out the for just a few months, but talk is already heating up with regards to its successor. In this case, we’re talking about the Galaxy S9. A new report suggests that the Galaxy S9 will debut early next year with the same display sizes currently found on the Galaxy S8. That revelation isn’t too surprising given that the S8 was a rather thorough remake of the Galaxy design aesthetic with its bezel-free Infinity Display. Available in 5.8- and 6.2-inch sizes, the Infinity Display is incredibly dense, with a resolution of 2960x1440, and is generally regarded as one of the best screens in the mobile business. Where Samsung will change things up...
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Twitter users are debating whether or not a picture posted by Samsung's Exynos processor division depicts the South Korean electronics maker's forthcoming Galaxy Note 8 handset. If that is indeed the case, then pat Samsung on the back for a clever use of social media. And even if that is not the case, it is good publicity for Samsung and its unreleased phablet handset. The picture shows a Exynos 9 system-on-chip (SoC) sitting on top of an unmarked smartphone. It is intended to promote Samsung's Exynos 8895 silicon, though Twitter users seem more interested in figuring out what handset is in the picture than discussing Samsung's flagship mobile processor. Do what you want. #Exynos will get things...
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Much to Samsung's chagrin, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners can once again configure the Bixby button on their handsets to perform alternative actions, such as taking a screenshot, launching the built-in camera app, silencing the phone, or whatever else. The latest app update to bxActions - Bixby Button Remapper (just bxActions from here on out) in Google Play restores the remapping functionality that was recently thwarted through an over-the-air update delivered on T-Mobile's network. Samsung has been taking a stubborn approach to the Bixby button, which is supposed to serve as a shortcut to its new digital personal assistant. However, there are two problems with Samsung's insistence that the...
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If you have a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ smartphone on T-Mobile and have remapped the Bixby button to perform other tasks, we have some bad news to give you. T-Mobile’s latest over-the-air (OTA) update for Samsung’s latest flagships once again disables the ability for users to remap the button. That means that workaround apps like bxActions can’t be used for remapping purposes. bxActions, for example, lets you repurpose the Bixby button to launch the Google Assistant, take a screenshot, toggle the flashlight, launch your camera app, or countless other actions. But what makes this move so infuriating to Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners is that Bixby isn’t even fully functional in its current...
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Samsung has updated its two-year-old Flow app to now support unlocking Windows 10 devices using compatible smartphone devices and Windows Hello, a handy security feature that is baked into Microsoft's latest operating system. For this to work, the Samsung-brand smartphone must have a fingerprint scanner, and of course Samsung Flow needs to be installed (it is a free download from Google Play). While not all smartphones support this feature, there are nearly a dozen that do. They include the following handsets (as listed by Samsung on the app's Google Play listing): Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge+ Samsung...
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