Apple

Bloomberg: Galaxy S8 to beat iPhone 8 to virtual Home button & bezel-free appearance

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Samsung's next-generation Galaxy smartphone appears to be poised to beat Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 to the punch now that Bloomberg has corroborated much of SamMobile's report saying the Galaxy S8 will be a bezel-free device with a wraparound display featuring an in-screen Home button. The phone should be unveiled in February 2018 and launch in March.

That way, the Samsung device should enjoy a six-month lead over the iPhone 8's expected fall arrival. However, the Korean giant is considering scrapping plans for a dual-camera on the Galaxy S8 due to “higher manufacturing costs”, one of the sources told the news gathering organization.

Samsung counters Jet Black iPhone 7 with glossy “Black Pearl” Galaxy S7 Edge colorway

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Confirming recent rumor-mill talk of a glossy black edition of its Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone, Samsung today officially announced a new Black Pearl color option in an attempt to counter what's been reported as high demand for Apple's new Black and Jet Black iPhone 7 models. The new colorway, Samsung said, “radiates quality and luxury” and was designed to be “modern and striking”.

Supreme Court rules for Samsung in dispute with Apple over patent damages

Cody Lee ∙ December 6, 2016

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Samsung in a dispute over damages related to Apple's iPhone design, reports CNBC. The decision means that Samsung won't be held liable for all $399 million awarded to Apple in a previous lower court ruling.

That amount is based on profits of 11 Samsung smartphones that were found guilty of infringing on Apple's designs, but Samsung argued the penalty is disproportionate. It believes it should only be liable for profits from specific components, and the Court agreed.

Samsung to buy Harman for $8 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2016

Galaxy maker Samsung today announced it is purchasing Harman International for $112.00 per share in cash in a deal valued at approximately $8 billion. If the deal goes through, it'll be Samsung's largest acquisition to date. With the purchase of Harman Samsung is essentially buying a competitive advantage as it looks to take on Apple's rumored Project Titan and the CarPlay platform, Android Auto and other automotive systems.

Samsung apologizes to users for Note 7 debacle with full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 8, 2016

Samsung took a full-page ad in three major U.S. newspapers to apologize to its customers for the Note 7 recall. The Korean Herald newspaper is reporting that the company's letter to customers was signed by Gregory Lee, who is president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America.

The ad appeared in Monday editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

“An important tenet of our mission is to offer best-in-class safety and quality. Recently, we fell short on this promise. For this we are truly sorry,” reads the ad.

Samsung Galaxy S8 to integrate Viv personal assistant developed by Siri creators

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

As we reported, Samsung last month bought Viv Labs, a San Jose startup co-founded by former Siri creators who have developed a brand new Viv artificial intelligence assistant. The Galaxy maker has now confirmed to Reuters that it will be integrating Viv technology into an advanced personal digital assistant of its own.

Samsung's Viv-based AI assistant will debut on next year's Galaxy S8. According to The Wall Street Journal, the handset should have a dedicated button to summon the new service though the Galaxy S8 may be delayed until April following the costly Note 7 debacle rather than at the Mobile World Congress trade show in February.

Apple seizes a whopping 104% of smartphone industry profits in Q3

Sébastien Page ∙ November 4, 2016

Apple captured 103.6% of smartphone industry profits in the third quarter of 2016, making it by far the most profitable company in the business, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long. This represents a notable increase from the year-ago quarter where Apple had grabbed 90% of smartphones profits.

Note 7 recall has Apple boosting iPhone 7 orders to snatch market share from Samsung

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2016

Samsung is expected to lose a few billion dollars over the ill-fated Note 7 which got discontinued after numerous reports of spontaneous battery fires. The Note 7 debacle has created an opportunity not just for Apple and Google, but just about every vendor out there that builds high-end smartphones.

According to DigiTimes, Apple has now increased iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus orders for the crucial holiday quarter as it looks to snatch some market share from Samsung.

Explo-Sung case makes your iPhone look like an exploded Galaxy Note 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2016

I wish I thought about this: someone's actually made a case with a decal designed to make your iPhone look like an exploded Galaxy Note 7 from Samsung. Aptly named Explo-Sung iPhone Skin, it's available for all iPhones from the iPhone 5 onward. The $24.95 case is made by a company called UniqFind which happens to sell a range of skins for Mac notebooks and iOS devices on Amazon.

KGI: Apple could add 5-7 million iPhone sales due to Note 7 discontinuation

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 17, 2016

Global Note 7 recall and discontinuation could prove to be a blessing to Apple, helping the Cupertino firm boost iPhone sales by five to seven million units, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a note to clients this morning, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, the analyst speculates that Apple and Chinese Android manufacturer Huawei could be the primary beneficiaries of the Note 7 discontinuation, with Apple potentially seeing an influx of orders for the iPhone 7 Plus due to its dual-camera system.

US government bans Samsung’s Note 7 from all domestic flights

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2016

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and The Department of Transportation (DoT) have banned Samsung's recalled Note 7 smartphones from all domestic airline flights in the United States beginning Saturday, officials announced in an emergency order.

A few days ago, Samsung permanently stopped production of the troubled smartphone following incidents in which replacement devices it deemed safe exhibited the same fire-prone defect, even when powered down.

Samsung “paying extra careful attention” to Galaxy S8 development due to “huge changes”

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 11, 2016

Unperturbed by its ill-fated Note 7 flagship, which Samsung has now permanently stopped building due to ongoing battery woes, development of a next-generation Galaxy smartphone is in full swing. Reportedly, the troubled South Korean company is “paying extra careful attention” towards the development of the Galaxy S8.

That's not just because of quality control issues with the Note 7, but also due to the fact that the Galaxy S8 packs in some “huge” hardware and design changes, according to a new report Tuesday from Korean news site ET News.