Samsung’s voice assistant Bixby could be delayed due to performance issues

With the announcement of its latest flagship duo, the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung also revealed its very own voice assistant ‘Bixby‘. The new AI assistant was touted to work just like Google Assistant. It’s supposed to recommend context-aware information in the form of cards, allow voice control of apps and even allow for control of various smart Samsung devices.

At the time of its announcement, it was said that Bixby will only be available in English and Korean languages, but now there is a report that suggests that the AI assistant is not ready for the former language.

The new flagships are expected to go on sale this month in a variety of markets globally, but it might be missing the new voice assistant. According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung will not launch the Galaxy S8 and S8+ with Bixby due to certain performance issues discovered in the past few weeks. While the English-language version of Bixby is expected to be delayed until the end of May, a Samsung spokesperson has confirmed that it won’t be available until spring in the US.

Apparently, the performance of the English version of Bixby lagged behind that of the Korean version. Company executives are said to be discussing as to when exactly they want to launch the English version.

This could be a big setback for Samsung as the S8 series has received a good initial response thanks to its amazing design. Then again, if, as we suspect, Bixby won’t be such a big deal, it shouldn’t matter that the S8’s flagship feature is missing.

Publish date: April 12, 2017 11:33 am| Modified date: April 12, 2017 11:33 am

Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ gets FCC certfication, will feature facial recognition; also live images leaked

By tech2 News Staff /  10 Mar 2017 , 11:08

It’s a new day and we have more scoop on the Galaxy S8. This one comes from Korea Economic Daily that says the upcoming flagship smartphone from Samsung will feature facial recognition. This will be an extra security option in addition to the fingerprint sensor, and possibly an iris recognition which made its appearance on the Note 7. This could make unlocking the smartphone easier as one would just have to look into the device.

Apparently it will be faster too as it could take less than 0.01 seconds to unlock your phone as said by a Samsung official. So more security and faster unlocking, that’s a big thumbs up.

The smartphone has also said to have got official FCC certification which has revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be manufactured in Vietnam and will have models SM-G950U, SM-G950U1 and SM-G950W. Same is the case with the S8 Plus which has three model numbers, SM-G955U, SM-G955U1 and SM-G955W

 

Apart from that we are seeing more alleged images of the smartphone doing rounds on the internet and they do match the one Evan Blass released a week back.

Image: BGR

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And then we have these hands-on videos that yet again show the curvy handset.

The Galaxy S8 will be officially unveiled at the Unpacked event on 29 March and is expected to hit shelves on 28 April.

Samsung working on a full screen OLED display for the Galaxy S8: Report

Image Credit: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff /  01 Nov 2016 , 13:06

Both Apple and Samsung are gearing up to bring a complete overhaul with their next respective flagships, but it’s Samsung that will need to be even more cautious since the Note 7 blunder.

The S8 is believed to be delayed by two weeks as Samsung engineers were busy getting to the root of the Note 7 fiasco. A new rumour suggests that the S8 will get some major hardware changes. A Sammobile report hints at a nearly bezel-less or edge-to-edge display that is being developed for the smartphone.

Citing a Samsung Display researcher, the report adds that there is no confirmation on this yet, but the company is said to be ‘putting in considerable resources’ into building the panel. Park Won-sang, engineer at Samsung Display reportedly told the news site, “Samsung Display would roll out a full-screen display whose display area ratio (a scale that measures space taken up by a display on the front part of a handset) reaches more than 90 percent next year.”

The average display area is 80 percent currently. It is believed that Samsung may have to take off the home button. Furthermore, the Galaxy S8 is also believed to be the first world’s first smartphone to come equipped with optical fingerprint recognition technology.

Previous leaks reveal that the Samsung Galaxy S8 may launch on Feb 26. It is likely to sport a 5.5-inch 4K Super AMOLED Display with 806-ppi pixel density while being powered by Exynos 8895 processor. We can expect to see the second variant with Snapdragon 830. The device will be equipped with 6GB RAM along with a 16MP and 8MP dual camera setup on the back. Reports also suggest that the next big smartphone to ditch the port might be coming from Samsung, particularly the Galaxy S8.

50 percent Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners may switch to iPhone 7: IDC

Image: Hui Renjie

By tech2 News Staff /  01 Nov 2016 , 10:42

Who will gain from Samsung’s loss? This has been on everyone’s mind ever since Samsung Note 7 fiasco hit headlines compelling the company to recall Note 7 completely (in a fireproof box) and offer refund to users. It has paved way to other Android premium device, but the most obvious answer has been the iPhone 7. There have been reports claiming 5-7 million users may switch to iPhone 7. Now, a new IDC report about those who owned the exploding Galaxy Note 7 states that half of these users may switch to the iPhone 7.

IDC has surveyed 1,082 US consumers via an online survey on 17 and 18 October, which was mere four days after Samsung pulled the plug on Note 7. It was conducted on  507 current Samsung users, 347 who have owned the device and 228 who have never owned Samsung device. It included 24 Note 7 users. However, out of these 24 users, half said they have or will choose an iPhone to replace the recalled Samsung device, while 17 percent said they would choose another Samsung device.

Apple iPhone sales during the quarter is 45.5 million units, but it is down from 48 million in the same quarter last year. However, in Q4 earnings call Apple had already reported a record number of Android switchers. The Note 7 fiasco might just help further increase the numbers for Apple.

It was just recently that prolific analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI (via 9To5Mac) said Apple will be eating into Samsung’s share with at least 5-7 million ex-Note 7 users will switch to the iPhone 7, and majorly to the larger iPhone 7 Plus.

The Galaxy Note 7 was Samsung’s big bet to take on the Google Pixel and iPhone 7. Unfortunately, it never really went on sale in India. Samsung is now trying to appease users with the older Galaxy S7 and S7 edge models. However, a Galaxy S8 is said to be in the making and the company is trying to push it out as soon as it can to make up for the losses. However, we hope Samsung takes the extra time for a thorough security check, this time.

Samsung engineers still working to find Note 7 fault; to delay Galaxy S8 by two weeks: Report

Image: Hui Renjie

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Oct 2016 , 17:10

The Note 7, once destined to be the top selling high-end device from Samsung, will definitely go down go into the company’s history as the most talked about device, but for all the wrong reasons . The company probably rushed into decisions without concrete evidence about what had gone wrong with the device. A WSJ report points out how the Galaxy S8 could be delayed by two weeks, citing a person from the S8 development team, as its engineers still scramble to get to the bottom of the whole Note 7 fiasco.

According to the report, the newly appointed mobile chief DJ Koh thought the company knew enough to recall and replace 2.5 million units, and was backed by Lee Jae-yong. Probably, it’s this decision, without getting into the depth of the matter that is causing the company all this grief. It was only weeks after the recall and the replaced batch bursting into flames that Samsung realised it hadn’t reached the root cause of the problem.

A Samsung spokesperson told the news site, “The company worked quickly with regulators and took immediate action when problems arose with the phone. We recognised that we did not correctly identify the issue the first time and remain committed to finding the root cause. Our top priority remains the safety of our customers and retrieving 100 percent of the Galaxy Note 7 devices in the market.”

The flammable Note 7, the big recall and then the decision to kill the device, has put the other high-end devices from the company to the forefront. For instance, Samsung is wooing audiences with alternatives like the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, while trying to combat competitor such as Pixel and iPhone 7, among others. This may not go on for long as the  company will have to dish out something new and is said to be working on the flagship that is most likely to be launched in February dubbed Galaxy S8, which is also delayed due to the Note 7 issues. Now, all we can say is a slight delay is better than shipping devices with safety issues.

Meanwhile, the recall is believed to cost Samsung $5 billion or even more, which including the lost sales.

Samsung Galaxy S8 rumoured to skip the 3.5mm headphone jack

Shown above is the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

By Kunal Khullar /  06 Oct 2016 , 14:37

The legacy audio jack is disappearing. Well at least from smartphones. New reports are suggesting that the next big smartphone to ditch the port might be coming from Samsung, particularly the Galaxy S8. The smartphone is due next year and it is possible that the company will take the step to keep up with the modern design trends. And well the company doesn’t want be left behind.

Apple took the big step of removing the 3.5mm audio jack from its new iPhones this year as a move to progress into the future. The Android world started saying goodbye to the age-old port before Apple, for instance LeEco announced two smartphones earlier this year that utilise USB-C for audio. Lenovo’s new Moto Z is another example that ditches the audio jack allowing it go as thin as 5.2mm.

Samsung recently started adopting the new USB-C port on the Galaxy Note 7. Speaking of which, the smartphone has been a huge fiasco due to