Samsung Galaxy Note8
Google Expands Stadia Support to Gaming Phones, Flagship Samsungs
Google is expanding the list of phones supported by its Stadia game-streaming service on February 20th. Initially supported only on its own Pixel phones, Stadia will support Samsung flagship Galaxy S and Note series phones (S8 and newer), as well as gaming phones from Razer and Asus (ROG Phone and ROG Phone II). For a controller, gamers can either connect a Stadia controller via USB, or third-party controllers via Bluetooth. Stadia competes with Microsoft's xCloud and Nvidia's GeForce Now. Like those other game-streaming services, Stadia runs full console-quality games on powerful servers in the cloud, streaming video of the rendered graphics to the user's device. Such services benefit from the higher data rates and lower latency of 5G networks. Forthcoming 5G SA networks will further reduce latency and improve data rates.
Samsung Says Unlocked S8, S8+, Note8 to Get Android 8 Soon
Samsung took to its forums to assure owners of unlocked handsets that Android 8 Oreo is on the way. The company has been updating carrier-branded versions of the Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note8 to Android 8 Oreo over the last few weeks. Samsung says the delay in getting Oreo to its unlocked devices is that the update needs more rigorous testing to ensure it works with the majority of carriers worldwide. "We’re working with our carriers to get Oreo out to all eligible Galaxy S8/+ and Note8 devices within the next 2-3 weeks," said Samsung. The company said final testing is still pending, so it can't guarantee the exact date for the update. The update includes the core Android 8 code in addition to the latest version of Samsung's user interface.
Samsung Partners with uBreakiFix for Same-Day Galaxy Repairs
Owners of Samsung's newer high-end phones will soon be able to score same-day repairs for most problems. Samsung has teamed up with uBreakiFix, which has some 370 locations around the country, in order to provide more timely repairs. uBreakiFix offers authorized repairs with genuine Samsung parts. The company says its technicians are all certified by Samsung and repaired devices are restored to factory conditions. uBreakiFix will fix the Note 5 and Note 8, as well as the Galaxy S6, S7, S8, and S9. The partnership officially kicks off March 15. The move helps Samsung become more competitive with Apple, which offers quick iPhone repairs at its Apple Stores.
Verizon to Discount Bundled Wireless and FiOS By $20
Verizon said it is kicking off several new promotions this week that should save customers some money. Starting February 1, customers who subscribe or upgrade to both Verizon’s unlimited wireless plan and its FiOS Gigabit Connection plan will receive a $20 discount per month ($10 off the wireless and $10 off the FiOS.) Verizon said customers will be able keep this discount as long as they remain on both services. The unlimited and Gigabit Connection plans are Verizon’s most expensive. Verizon also plans to discount several products. New and existing customers can score the Samsung Galaxy Note8 for $200 less than the normal price. Customers can save $50 on the JBL Link 10 speaker, as well as save $30 on the Lifeprint Photo & Video printer. These deals will be available through February.
Samsung Pay Expands to Mexico
Samsung today said its Samsung Pay mobile payment service is now available in Mexico. According to Samsung, its touch-and-go payment tool is accessible in 20 markets around the world, including the U.S. Samsung Pay makes use of both NFC and MST to connect to retail payment terminals. This gives it an advantage over services that use only NFC, such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. In order for Samsung Pay to function in Mexico, the company partnered with a number of card issuers, including American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, and local banks, including Banorte, Banregio, Citibanamex, HSBC, and Santander. Samsung Pay supports credit cards, debit cards, and loyalty cards/programs. It can be secured via iris recognition or fingerprint. Transactions are tokenized in order to maintain security. Samsung Pay is available on many of Samsung's top-tier handsets, such as the Galaxy S8 and Note8.
Samsung Galaxy Note8 Suits Up for the '18 Winter Games
Samsung has announced the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition of the Galaxy Note8. The phone maker often supports the Olympic Games and this year created a special version of the Note8 in honor of the Games being held in its home country of Korea. The core features of the phone are unchanged compared to the normal variants. The Olympic-themed version features a new white glass rear panel, wallpapers created from imagery of PyeongChang, and apps meant to help participants make the most of PyeongChang. Samsung plans to distribute some 4,000 Galaxy Note8 handsets to athletes and staff members. The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games officials begin February 8.
Top Five Flagship Handsets of 2017
The last twelve months have given us some of the most compelling smartphones ever made. New screen shapes, advanced cameras, and waterproof bodies have improved the everyday experience of those willing to fork over lots of cash for high-end handsets. Here are our picks for the top five flagship smartphones of 2017.
Holiday Gift Guide 2017
As the end of the year approaches so too does the season of giving. Holiday gifting lists are often filled with technology, but it isn't always easy to find that perfect item. We're here to help. Allow Phone Scoop's annual Holiday Gift Guide to be your helping hand this season. It's chock full of suggestions from handsets to headphones, in-home assistants, and everything in between.
T-Mobile Rolls Out Buy-One, Get-One Deal On Flagship Phones
T-Mobile today revealed a holiday promotion that can net people a free flagship smartphone. Customers who purchase one new phone at full price will be able to snag a second for free, through monthly rebates. Handsets that qualify for the promotion include the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Note8, and S8 Active, and the LG G6, V20, V30, and V30+. The first phone will need to be financed through T-Mobile's equipment installment plan. T-Mobile will then make the monthly payments on the second device over a 24-month period. T-Mobile said customers interested in the iPhone X can score up to $300 in rebates with an eligible trade-in, though there's no BOGO deal for the iPhone. The promotion kicks off November 17.
T-Mobile Says Gigabit LTE Available to Select Phones
T-Mobile today said more customers around the country should have access to faster wireless speeds. The company has reached several new milestones with respect to its wireless network. First, it has doubled its LTE-Advanced footprint to more than 920 markets. The company has deployed a trio of LTE-A technologies, including carrier aggregation, 4X4 MIMO, and 256 QAM, in 430 of those markets. Gigabit LTE relies on a combination of these three LTE-A technologies along with certain on-device components and proper backhaul. Together, these technologies are able to improve spectral efficiency, reduce congestion, and deliver the highest-possible speeds to handsets. Only a few devices equipped with the Snapdragon 835 processor with X16 LTE modem can access Gigabit LTE, including the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note8, the Motorola Moto Z2 Force Edition, and the LG V30. T-Mobile customers who own these devices and live in the 430 markets with carrier aggregation, 4X4 MIMO, and 256 QAM may be able to tap into Gigatbit LTE download speeds (800 Mbps). Gigabit LTE is a stepping stone to 5G and T-Mobile plans to keep moving forward. The company is prepared to launch LTE-License Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) later this year. LTE-LAA makes better use of unlicensed spectrum on small cells. T-Mobile did not provide a timeline for these network upgrades.
Samsung Makes Deepsea Blue Note8 Available to U.S. Consumers
Samsung today said it will sell the Deepsea Blue color variant of the Galaxy Note8 smartphone in the U.S. Since launch, the device has only be available to U.S. buyers in black or gray. Other than the color, everything about the Deepsee Blue Note8 is identical to the black and gray versions. The phone will be available from Best Buy stores, BestBuy.com, and Samsung.com beginning November 16. Customers will be able to select an AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, or unlocked model. The Note8 has a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, Snapdragon 835 processor, dual camera system, S Pen stylus, 6 GB of RAM, and fast wireless charging. The phone Galaxy Note8 runs Android 7 Nougat and costs $929.
Samsung Says Bixby 2.0 to Be Open and Ubiquitous
Samsung today announced a major update to its Bixby personal assistant service. Samsung calls Bixby 2.0 a "bold reinvention" of the platform that will be available not only on phones, but other smart devices, such as TVs, refrigerators, and speakers. Bixby 2.0 will feature enhanced natural language processing for more natural commands and feedback. The assistant will be able to differentiate between multiple users' voices as well as their individual preferences and settings. Moreover, Samsung is opening Bixby up to third-party app developers. The company has made a private beta of the Bixby SDK available to select developers to test the platform and explore how it can be put to work in sports, food, entertainment, travel, and other apps. Samsung will slowly allow more developers to access Bixby over time and eventually expects to make the Bixby SDK available to all developers. "Bixby 2.0 will ultimately be a marketplace, for intelligence," said Samsung. "A new channel for developers to reach users with their service, not just on mobile devices, but through all devices." Bixby launched on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ earlier this year. It goes beyond the simpler types of requests available to Siri and Google Assistant by allowing Samsung smartphone owners to issue intricate commands that control applications.
Software Update Lets Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 Owners Disable Bixby Home Button
Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note8 smartphones can now modify the behavior of their handset's dedicated Bixby button. The hardware key, located on the left edge of the phone, automatically calls up Bixby Home with a short press or Bixby Voice with a long press. A new software update that recently hit S8, S8+, and Note8 phones adds a toggle for controlling the Bixby button. Owners of these phones can opt to disable the short press function, which launches Bixby Home. This prevents accidental presses from opening the app. A long press still calls up Bixby Voice. The Bixby button has been a point of contention with some S8, S8+, and Note8 owners who'd prefer the button handled other tasks. The update from Samsung also makes a few performance tweaks.
Samsung Working On 'Foldable' Note Smartphone
Samsung is developing a variant of its Galaxy Note line that will have a foldable screen. Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung's mobile business, said the phone will arrive at some point during 2018 and will feature a bendable display. Koh also noted that Samsung is working intently with Harman to bring artificial intelligence to a speaker-style device. The speaker will be able to play music, as well as conduct other tasks. Koh didn't say when the speaker device will reach the market. The comments were made during a press conference concerning the Galaxy Note8 handset, which recently went on sale on Korea. The phone has garnered praise from the press. It goes on sale in the U.S. for $930 starting September 15.
Samsung Note8, Sony Xperia XZ1, LG V30 Earn Netflix HDR
Netflix recently added the Samsung Galaxy Note8, Sony Xperia XZ1, and the LG V30 to the short list of those able to play back high-definition video in HDR. High-dynamic range content offers better contrast than standard content. The only other handsets capable of supporting Netflix HDR are the LG G6 and Xperia XZ Premium, which have the needed HDR displays. In order to view HDR content on these handsets, owners have to subscribe to the $12 premium Netflix plan (streaming on four screens and ultra HD resolution). They'll also have to ensure the latest version of the app is installed on their phone, and select "high definition" for video playback quality.
Hands On with the Samsung Galaxy Note8
Samsung is back with the Note8, a wholly reimagined handset when compared to the disastrous (and fire prone) Note7. This year's Note smartphone takes cues from Samsung's existing Galaxy S8 devices thanks to the Infinity Display with curved edges. The Note8 manages to carve its own path, however, thanks to a twin camera array and new S Pen powers. Here are Phone Scoop's first thoughts about the Galaxy Note8
Samsung Galaxy Note8 Adopts Infinity Display, Dual Camera
Samsung today announced the Galaxy Note8, its top-end flagship smartphone with a huge display and S Pen stylus. The Note8 eschews the blockier design language of previous generations for the svelte look of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The phone has two curved pieces of glass mated to an aluminum frame. The Note8 jumps to Samsung's Super AMOLED Infinity Display. It measures 6.3 inches across the diagonal with quad HD+ resolution. The Note8 is among the first from Samsung to move to a dual-camera configuration. The handset has twin, full-color 12-megapixel sensors with one wide-angle lens (f/1.7) and one telephoto lens (f/2.4). The cameras make use of optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization, with the telephoto lens providing 2x optical zoom and up to 10x digital zoom. Some of the unique shooting modes include Live Focus for selective focus (bokeh) photos that can be adjusted before or after the image is captured, and dual capture, which lets people simultaneously take a zoomed shot through the telephoto lens as well as a wide-angle shot through the main lens. Samsung updated the S Pen stylus: the tip now measures 0.7mm and provides the same feedback as most ballpoint pens. The phone is able to detect 4,096 different levels of pressure to record exactly what the user scribbles on the screen. On the software front, the S Pen can create animated memos through a feature called Live Message. The messages can be transmitted and opened by most platforms/apps that support GIFs. The existing screen-off memo tool now lets people create up to 100 pages of text without waking the screen, and supports dynamic use cases, such as crossing items off a shopping list. The S Pen function can translate entire phrases now, as well as access more templates in the PenUp mode. Most of the phone's other specs mirror those of the S8 devices. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 6 GB of RAM, Gigabit LTE, 3,300 mAh battery with rapid wireless charging, and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Note8 and S Pen are waterproof, and security features include iris/face unlock, as well as Knox 2.9. The phone has a dedicated Bixby key and upgraded DeX software that improves multitasking when used in PC mode. Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Note8 begin August 24 and the device will go on sale September 15. Samsung said an unlocked variant will go on sale when the carrier models do. Carriers will charge $930-960 full retail price. Samsung plans to sell the black and gray versions in the U.S., while blue and gold versions will also be sold overseas.
