Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are facing problems with supplies

A recent report has pointed out that Samsung is facing an acute shortage of supplies for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The report pointed out that the company failed to predict the popularity of the smartphone and did not get enough stock ready in time. The high demand of the smartphone can be put into perspective after the pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ reached about 1.04 million. The company issued a statement stating that it was facing ‘an imbalance of inventories by colour or model at retail stores’ while extending the deadline.

The company continued in the statement adding that it has extended the registration period of both the models till 30 April 2017 from the initial plan of 24 April 2017. The interesting, yet worrying, part here is that this is not the first time that the company has extended the deadline.

According to the report in Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean publication, smartphone retailers across the country are facing tight supply of the Midnight Black models.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on 19 April in India. The smartphones were announced alongside a long lineup of accessories and will go on sale at Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900 for the S8 and S8+ models respectively.

Both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with Android 7.0 out of the box with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI atop it. The devices are powered by Samsung’s very own Exynos 8895 – Octa-core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHz Quad), 64-bit, 10 nm process. The chipsets make the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, the first phones to come to India with a 10nm framework that is supposed to deliver better battery life along with a 10 percent bump in CPU performance.

The phones will come with 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64 GB of UFS 2.1 storage which is expandable to up to 256 GB using a microSD card.

In terms of camera, both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with a 12 MP dual pixel rear camera with an f/1.7 aperture and a front 8 MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture. The rear camera supports optical image stabilisation.

Publish date: April 25, 2017 11:00 am| Modified date: April 25, 2017 11:00 am

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ found more prone to screen cracks after extensive tests

Samsung’s latest phones feature big wraparound screens and lots of glass. They also appear to break more easily, according to tests run by SquareTrade, a company that sells gadget-repair plans. The nearly all-glass design of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus makes them beautiful, SquareTrade said, but also “extremely susceptible to cracking when dropped from any angle.”

Samsung had no comment. The new phones have received positive reviews from The Associated Press and other outlets. Samsung says advanced orders for the S8 were 30 percent higher than that for the Galaxy S7 phones. The company didn’t release specific figures. The S8 starts at $750, which is about $100 higher than the S7.

SquareTrade said Monday that cracks appeared on screens of both the S8 and S8 Plus after just one face-down drop onto a sidewalk from six feet. The phones had similar problems when dropped on the backs and sides. Unsurprisingly, both models did well in water-drop tests. The phones had some audio distortion, but that is typical and temporary. The S8 has water-resistance features.

SquareTrade didn’t test the phones’ battery, the source of problems that led to a recall of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 phone. This report comes right after we raised our concernaround shattering the Galaxy S8 to Samsung to which Asim Warsi, Chief of Marketing and Product at Samsung Mobile India, said “Don’t drop it.” A sound advice, but not convincing enough.

With inputs from Associated Press

Publish date: April 25, 2017 10:32 am| Modified date: April 25, 2017 10:32 am

Samsung Galaxy S8 Exynos benchmarked: It still can’t defeat the iPhone 7 Plus

We waited a really long time for this one. And the numbers are finally in. While the Samsung Galaxy S8’s Qualcomm variant did not fair too well against the mighty iPhone 7 Plus, we did have our hopes high, that may the Exynos variant (made by Samsung) would fair better, since it’s newer. Turns out the Samsung Galaxy S8’s (SM-G950F) Exynos variant in our testing showed scores that were similar to its Qualcomm-enabled sibling — the Snapdragon 835 — and could not defeat the 6 month-old Apple iPhone 7 Plus, except in one test.

Before we go ahead with the benchmarks comparison, we would like to inform our readers that benchmark comparisons we conduct are only to test the capability of the smartphone’s hardware and are in no way an indicator of everyday performance which will vary as per usage. These numbers should not be taken as the final verdict on any device.

We observed Samsung’s Exynos 8895 chipset inside the Galaxy S8 that we have received for review, shows a minimal performance difference between the Snapdragon 835 model. While the numbers are higher than the previous 2015 iPhone 6s Plus model and the Snapdragon 835 variant of the S8, they just could not keep up with the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, which was launched six months ago.

Benchmark	Samsung Galaxy S8 (SM-G950F)	Apple iPhone 7 Plus	Apple iPhone 6s Plus
AnTuTu 3D	174480	187388	125319
Geekbench 4
Single	2020	3513	2559
Multi	6730	5944	4438
Compute	8074	12052	9944
3D Mark (Ice Storm)
Ice Storm Unlimited	31660	37529	29532
3D Mark (Sling Shot)
Sling Shot Extreme	3212	2000	1510

The above scores are just an indicator of raw performance and not everyday usability. Every handset was benchmarked in our office. Scores marked in bold are the highest on the table.

Looking at the scores above, its easy to conclude that the Apple iPhone 7 Plus with its A10 Fusion chipset (which is 7 months old now) still runs circles around Samsung’s top-of-the-line Exynos 8895 chipset.

One detail to note, is that the Galaxy S8’s Exynos chip did do better when it came to the multi-core Geekbench 4 scores and the Sling Shot Extreme test by delivering higher framerates overall.

Now that both the Exynos and Snapdragon variants of the Samsung Galaxy S8 have been benchmarked, it really got us thinking as to what Apple will have in store in its upcoming iPhones 7s, 7s Plus and the exotic iPhone 8/X in September.

Publish date: April 21, 2017 2:08 pm| Modified date: April 21, 2017 3:21 pm

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 Electronics chip division earnings to take Q1 profit to news highs; Galaxy S8 also expected to shine

Record earnings at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s chip division are set to propel the tech giant’s first-quarter profit to a three-and-a-half-year high, and the quarters ahead could be even better if its newest smartphone, Galaxy S8, is a success.

A boom in memory chips spurred by demand from smartphones and servers has helped Samsung tide over the costly failure last year of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and management turmoil.

Vice Chairman Jay Y Lee is on trial for bribery and other charges linked to a corruption scandal that led to the ouster and arrest of South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Shares of Samsung, Asia’s biggest company by market capitalisation and the world’s largest memory chip maker, are near record highs after gaining nearly 17 percent so far this year, on top of the 43 percent surge in 2016.

A Thomson Reuters survey of 18 analysts has on average estimated Samsung’s January-March operating profit to have risen 41 percent from a year earlier to 9.4 trillion won ($8.44 billion), driven by record chip division profit of 5.8 trillion won. That’s its highest profit since the best-ever 10.2 trillion won profit clocked in the third quarter of 2013. And as Samsung prepares to start selling its revamped Galaxy S8 from 21 April, the average forecast from the same survey tips Samsung to report a record 11.9 trillion won profit in the second quarter.

“Right now it’s about as good as it gets for Samsung,” said Park Jung-hoon, fund manager at Samsung shareholder HDC Asset Management. Samsung will issue its earnings guidance early on Friday.

Analysts expect tight supply conditions for memory chips to continue this year, particularly in NAND flash chips used for long-term data storage, keeping Samsung’s margins padded. That leaves the mobile division as the key earnings variable, they said.

Samsung ceded the smartphone crown to arch-rival Apple Inc for the fourth quarter of 2016 after being forced to pull the fire-prone Note 7 from the market in October. The hope is the S8 will help Samsung regain its lead. The S8, sporting the largest screens to date among all of Samsung’s flagship phones as part of a design revamp, has been praised following the 29 March launch in New York.

Some analysts and Samsung’s head of smartphone business expect the phone’s first-year sales to beat that of predecessor S7, setting a new record for the South Korean company.

“We think the S8 series will definitely be a strong flagship for Samsung and help it gain back market share,” Counterpoint analyst Tom Kang said. “The launch of the fully revamped iPhone 8 will also be threatening. But there is also pent up demand for Samsung devices rolling over from last year due to the disappearance of the Note 7,” he said. “So those 2 factors will balance out.”

Samsung will only provide estimates for January-March revenue and operating profit on Friday and will disclose detailed results in late April.

Reuters

Publish date: April 5, 2017 9:02 am| Modified date: April 5, 2017 9:02 am

Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition: A variant of the device that’s loaded with Microsoft apps

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Microsoft will sell Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ “Microsoft Edition” phones in Microsoft Stores.

The “Microsoft Edition” of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices will come along with all the Microsoft apps like Microsoft Office, OneDrive, Outlook, Cortana, Skype, LinkedIn, Wunderlist, OneNote, Bing, Groove, MSN News and more. Potential buyers can visit any Microsoft Store near them to check or buy a Samsung Galaxy S8 with all the Microsoft apps.

A Microsoft spokesperson detailed the version to Engadget, explaining that “Microsoft Edition arranges those productivity applications on the home screen and provides additional accessibility to other Microsoft-owned applications.”

According to the official statement provided by Microsoft to Thurrott, the consumers who buy Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices will receive a custom Microsoft image after the purchase. This image will not be pre-loaded on the smartphone and instead, Microsoft Store associates will help the customers set up their device in store.

This move by both the companies will help each other as Microsoft wants consumers to install its apps and use its services. On the other hand, Samsung also wants Galaxy S8 to be successful after the debacle that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was for the company. Microsoft’s apps and services are also a great option to use when the S8 is paired with the Dex desktop dock.

After the failure that Microsoft Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile was, this can be seen as Microsoft’s attempt to move past the failure and a move towards its mobile-first services strategy. As part of the strategy, the company partnered with Samsung back in 2015 to bundle Microsoft apps in Samsung smartphones.

But with the launch of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, both the companies have stepped up their partnership to a whole new level. One important thing to note is that Microsoft has opened Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ for pre-orders before the launch on 21 April.

Another thing to note is that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ “Microsoft Edition” smartphones will include Cortana alongside Bixby and Google Assistant.

Publish date: March 31, 2017 11:09 am| Modified date: March 31, 2017 11:09 am

New press images of Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ in ‘Black Sky’, ‘Orchid Grey’ and ‘Arctic Silver’ leak

Image Credit: Reuters

By tech2 News Staff /  20 Mar 2017 , 12:07

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus leaks are coming out at a constant pace with no signs of slowing down. Latest leaks involve new press images posted by prolific tipster Evan Blass on Twitter. The new photos show how Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will look like in the three colour variants, ‘Black Sky’, ‘Orchid Grey, and Arctic Silver. This is not the first time that we have seen the photos of the upcoming flagship but this is the first time we are seeing images of other colour variants in renders.

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Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus (top to bottom) in black sky, orchid grey and arctic silver (left to right)

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According to previous leaks, the standard Galaxy S8 would feature a 5.8-inch screen while the larger smartphone tagged as the Galaxy S8+ would come with a 6.2-inch display. Both displays would feature a WQHD+ resolution of 2,960 x 2,400 pixels and would also come with dual-edge curved displays.

Coming to the batteries, the S8 features a 3,000mAh unit while the bigger S8+ would feature a 3,500mAh unit. Other details are to do with availability. Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed that users in the United States, Japan and China will get the Galaxy S8 smartphones that are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, while the European and Asian markets would get the Exynos 8895 chipset. Higher 6GB RAM versions are expected to only be available in South Korea and China and not in the international variants of the smartphones. The standard versions are to come with 4GB RAM.

Additionally, Samsung is not going in for a dual lens, dual ISP format either. According to Kuo, Samsung thinks that the current day dual-camera ISP design is “immature” so both the S8 and S8+ will arrive with 12MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing unit. As previously reported, the company may add a rear camera with embedded DRAM that can allow slow-mo recording up to 1000 frames per second.

This is not the first time that a smartphone is equipped with embedded DRAM in the rear camera, as Sony has been using this in their cameras and other products. Sony launched its flagship Sony Xperia XZ Premium with the same embedded DRAM technology giving it the ability to shoot slow motion video up to 960 frames per second.

Last but not the least, Kuo also claims that a new Type-C USB port (not present on the current model) will also allow the smartphone to be used in ‘Desktop Mode’. The Dex feature is supposed to offer a Windows Continuum like experience, that will let the user connect the phone to a display and use a mouse a keyboard emulating a desktop experience.