Tag: Samsung

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Samsung sitting on 50 million unsold phones: report

LONDON, UK – FEBRUARY 20, 2020: Samsung tech brand leterring logo in Harrods shopping mall.

Samsung reportedly has 50 million unsold smartphones in inventory, comprised mostly of its Galaxy A-series devices.

The report comes from South Korean publication The Elec (via BGR), which noted that Samsung aimed to ship 270 million phones in 2022. The 50 million unsold devices make up about 18 percent of that sales goal.

Typically, companies aim to have unsold inventory make up about 10 percent of total shipments. Samsung’s higher unsold inventory indicates Samsung may be struggling to sell phones and likely overestimated sales.

The Elec also reports that Samsung produced around 20 million phones per month in January and February, but the number dropped to 10 million in May. The drop is likely a response to Samsung’s growing inventory.

Although the news certainly isn’t good for Samsung, it’s worth contextualizing the apparent decrease in phone sales. BGR points to an IDC report from earlier this month that warned of an expected 3.5 percent decline in smartphone shipments in 2022, with research director Nabila Popal pointing to “weakening demand, inflation, continued geo-political tensions, and ongoing supply chain constraints” as potential reasons.

Given ongoing economic turmoil, it makes sense that people would be less inclined to spend money on a new smartphone. Plus, Samsung isn’t the only company impacted — A Nikkei Asia report from March said Apple planned to produce 20 percent fewer iPhone SE units than originally planned for the quarter due to lower demand.

Header image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The Elec Via: BGR

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung’s upcoming Z Flip 4 to be available in Bespoke Edition with several new colours

Samsung’s inevitable Galaxy Z Flip 4 will come in several colourways for customers to pick from, according to 9to5Google.

Samsung’s Bespoke is its home appliance brand, but the sub-brand also offers customization and colour options for Samsung’s other products, including the 2021-released Z Flip 3.

According to 9to5Google, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will also be available in extra ‘Bespoke colourways.” In addition to bringing back the 49 colour combinations available with the Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition, Samsung will introduce “a lot more” colour options with the Z Flip 4. It’s currently unknown what those new colours will be.

The report also suggests that in addition to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Korea, the U.K., and the U.S., the Bespoke Edition would expand to more countries in parts of Europe and Asia.

From what we know so far, Samsung is expected to reveal the Flip 4 alongside the Fold 4 at an Unpacked event in likely August or September. The foldable will likely sport a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The handset is also poised to feature the same camera setup as last year’s model, offering two 12-megapixel rear shooters and a 10-megapixel selfie camera.

Image credit: Samsung

Source: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung’s Smart Tag + 2 Pack is on sale for $50 off

If you live in Samsung’s ecosystem of devices, this could be an offer right up your alley.

The South Korean tech giant’s Galaxy Smart Tag + 2 pack is currently on sale in Canada for $49, a $50 discount off its previous price of $99.99.

If you only need one Galaxy Smart Tag, it’s on sale for $27.50 off its previous price of $54.99.

Similar to Apple’s AirTag, Samsung’s Smart Tag is designed to help you keep track of items like keys, suitcases, backpacks and more while you’re on the go.

You can find all of the offers in Samsung’s Store.

Image Credit: Samsung

Sources: Samsung Via: RedFlagDeals (tekguy26)

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung Pay no longer functioning on smartphones from other manufacturers

Those who own an Android device that isn’t from Samsung but use Samsung Pay to make payments recently found that they were unable to make transactions through the platform’s app.

As first reported by SamMobile, several non-Samsung smartphone users, including those who use the Galaxy Watch, have posted on Reddit and the Samsung Members forum to report issues with the Samsung Pay app.

The most common problem is the appearance of a message that reads “ID is not valid” every time they try to access the app.

Most users received similar responses from Samsung support that say, “About your issue, as per checking, currently, the Samsung Pay usage on other phones has been changed. Thus, only supported Samsung phone models are able to use Samsung Pay, as other Android phones are no longer able to use it as previously.”

Several non-Samsung smartphone users mentioned that there was no announcement confirming changes to the app from the tech giant.

These issues arrived shortly after Samsung Wallet was introduced on June 16th.

Image credit: Samsung

Sources: Reddit, Samsung Community Via: SamMobile

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung might already be shelving the Galaxy FE series

It looks like Samsung might be cancelling the Galaxy S22 FE, according to a new report from SamMobile. The company’s next Fan Edition smartphone was poised to launch later this year or in early 2023.

SamMobile says that it received this report from multiple sources and has done its own independent research to back up its sources. Additionally, the publication indicates that it’s likely we won’t see more Galaxy FE models in the future.

This could be tied to the S21 FE releasing late this year, and having the S21 FE launch only a couple of weeks before the S22 series is probably a significant misstep. My S21 FE headline sums up my feelings on Samsung’s latest FE device — ‘A little too late, a little too costly.’

Samsung’s first Fan Edition smartphone, the S20 FE, launched in 2020.

It’s also possible that the Fan Edition smartphone just doesn’t fit in Samsung’s lineup. If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution, you could purchase one of the company’s ‘A series’ devices. On the other hand, if you’re genuinely a fan and want the best Samsung handset available, you’d likely choose one of the flagship S series devices.

If Samsung really does get rid of the FE lineup, would I miss it? I don’t think so.

Source: SamMobile

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 spotted on Geekbench with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 was spotted on Geekbench with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, Android 12 and 12GB of RAM.

The benchmarks showed that the device would sport a single-core score of 1,351 and a multi-core score of 3,808. To compare, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor on the Samsung Galaxy S22+ featured a single-core score of 1213 and a multi-core score of 3447.

Samsung’s new device will feature the same 12GB of RAM as its predecessor but will offer a better chipset and more storage. The Snapdragon 888 that was in the Galaxy Fold 3 only resulted in a single-core score of 1,109 and a multi-core score of 3,185.

It’s worth noting that benchmarks don’t always translate to real-world experience.

Source: Geekbench Via: GSMArena

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 expected to launch in late 2022, or early 2023

It looks like Samsung is planning on launching more than one set of wearables this year. It’s been a while since the South Korean company released the Galaxy Fit 2, but it looks like the Fit 3 might be on its way.

According to the South Korean Samsung Community forum, it looks like the Fit 3 is launching this year. A user in the forum asked when the Galaxy Fit 3 will come out, and the answer was that the phone would launch either in the second half of this year or the first half of 2023 — depending on a delay.

GSMArena says the phone will cost around 49,000-50,000 KRW (roughly $50 CAD).

We don’t know much in the terms of the Galaxy Fit 2, but back in 2020, it was a gift with purchase alongside the Galaxy S20 FE.

It’s unclear how factual this information is, or if it’s more of a rumour, but like always, take everything with a grain of salt.

Samsung’s next wearable is the upcoming Galaxy Watch 5, that’s expected to launch sometime in August.

Source: Samsung Community Forum, GSMArena

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung promotes its Members app with a banner depicting iPhones

Imagine Nike using Adidas shoes to promote its membership service — that would be abysmal.

Well, that’s exactly what happened when a Samsung employee in South Korea used an image layout of an iPhone to promote its Samsung Members app, as first reported by Android Authority.

An employee responsible for updating the Samsung Members app added a banner promoting Samsung themes, but the phone layout in the banner looks very similar to the iPhone X, including the device’s big bezels and recognizable notch. Users were quick to catch the mistake, with some even sharing screenshots of the error on Samsung’s Community Forum.

Not one, not two, but all three of the phone layouts used in the banner depict an iPhone.

“Android software on Apple phone haha,” read a comment under the thread, whereas a different one said, “It seems that there are some Samsung Electronics employees who do not use Samsung phones.” This, of course, isn’t a good look for Samsung. A representative of the company also commented on the thread saying, “The person in charge made a mistake in the process of modifying the design source file. The banner image will be modified and replaced today. Thank you for your interest in Galaxy service. We will try to provide better service.”

The banner was later redesigned to depict a Samsung device with a hole-punch camera, though the damage had already been done. This obviously won’t alter Samsung’s success going forward, but it would be prudent for such a large a company — arguably the largest smartphone manufacturer — to cross-check Tweets, banners and other promotional material before it goes live, similar to how my editor is about to read this story and tear up laughing.

Image credit: Samsung Community Forum

Via: Android Authority

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Samsung rumoured to launch Galaxy Fold 4, Flip 4 and Watch 5 on August 10

It looks like Samsung’s foldable Galaxy devices are launching in August again. According to the not-always-but-mostly-reliable Jon Prosser, the Galaxy Fold 4, Flip 4 and Watch 5 series will launch on August 10th.

The leaker says that the Unpacked event will happen on August 10th, and that the South Korean company plans to unveil to the Galaxy S22 in lavender, the Fold 4, the Flip 4, the Watch 5 Pro (46mm), Watch 5 (40mm) and the Watch 5 (44mm).

Prosser also says that the smartphones and smartwatches will release on August 26th.

The Watch 5 series will reportedly ditch the Classic variant, which means we might be losing out on the physical rotating bezel that we’re accustomed to.

Additionally, the Fold 4’s and Flip 4’s specs have leaked online, suggesting that the Fold 4 will offer more premium hardware than Samsung’s other foldable.

The Flip 4, on the other hand, will sport the top-of-the-line Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.

We’re expecting to learn more about these upcoming devices in the near future.

Source: @jon_prosser, @heyitsyogesh

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Mobile Syrup

Xbox game streaming coming to Samsung smart TVs and monitors on June 30

Xbox game streaming will officially launch on 2022 Samsung smart TVs and monitors on June 30th.

The service will be available on these devices through a dedicated Xbox app, and you’ll also need a $16.99/month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. From there, you’ll be able to stream hundreds of games from the Game Pass catalogue directly to your display — no console or PC required. As well, Fortnite will be available to stream to anyone with the Xbox TV app — no Game Pass subscription required.

The app will support many Bluetooth controllers, including the Xbox Wireless Controller and PlayStation’s DualShock 4 (PS4) and DualSense (PS5) gamepads.

While Cloud Gaming will only be available on Samsung displays to start, Microsoft says it plans to “explore other TV partnerships” going forward. In any case, this is still a major next step for Microsoft’s game streaming ambitions.

Following initial tests of Cloud Gaming (formerly known as xCloud) in late 2019, the service has rolled out to Android, iOS, PCs and Xbox consoles. It’s part of Microsoft’s platform-agnostic approach, wherein consumers have the option to enter the Xbox ecosystem through a Game Pass membership, rather than specific hardware.

On top of rolling out Cloud Gaming to Samsung displays, Xbox is also working on a Roku-like game streaming stick, although official details have yet to be confirmed.