Not to be outdone by Apple's $799 iPad Pro, which has an ultra high-resolution screen measuring 12.9 inches diagonally and goes on sale next month, rival Samsung is gearing up to launch a brand new tablet with a huge 18.4-inch screen, the Galaxy View.
Although the View is yet to officially launch, some online retailers are now taking pre-orders for the $599 Android device, 9to5Google reported Monday.
For the first time ever, Apple has dual-sourced the engine that drives the new handsets from more than one supplier. Both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) won contracts to build the Apple-designed 'A9' system-on-a-chip for the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
While these chips offer literally the same compute and graphics power, both synthetic benchmarks and real-life tests have shown small yet notable difference in terms of battery as the TSCM-built A9 appears to be more power efficient than its Samsung counterpart.
The question is, does your brand spanking new iPhone 6s have the TSMC or Samsung-built chip? You can find that out in just a few simple steps, let me show you how.
Does your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus come outfitted with Samsung or TSMC-built A9 processor? The answer to that question could determine how long your device will run before its battery needs recharging.
Your key takeaway is this: while the dual-sourced chips perform identically in synthetic Geekbench tests in terms of sheer CPU compute power and GPU performance, there's a marked difference in observed battery life ranging from six to eleven percent.
You could argue the difference is barely felt in day-to-day use, but I beg to differ: energy efficiency is paramount for mobile devices and the battery-friendlier the main processor is, the longer it will run on a single charge.
An initial analysis of the Apple-designed A9 system-on-a-chip powering the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, conducted by semiconductor experts over at Chipworks, has identified both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company as manufacturers of the package.
What's really interesting is that the A9 comes in two sizes, depending on who manufactured it, with the Samsung-built units being a bit smaller than those manufactured by TSMC. This is the first time an Apple-designed processor for an iPhone came in two different sizes.
As major U.S. carriers have been moving toward killing smartphone subsidy and long-term contracts, the true cost of the iPhone will become more visible than ever before.
That's why Apple's decided to let you choose a carrier and get an unlocked iPhone 6s/6s Plus with the opportunity to get a new iPhone annually and AppleCare+ on the new iPhone Upgrade Program.
Not to be outdone by Apple, Galaxy maker Samsung is now looking to bring out a smartphone leasing program of its own in the United States, reports Forbes.
Say what you will, but there's no denying that Samsung's marketing department has more or less successfully exploited the iPhone's perceived weaknesses in their anti-Apple ads.
As you know, ads for the Galaxy phones typically focus on stuff like the iPhone's non-replaceable batteries, battery life in general, non-curved screens, lack of wireless charging and what not.
But the latest Samsung commercials appears to have found a new anti-iPhone angle: the lack of customization.
The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that Apple is entitled to an injunction that would bar Samsung from using its patented technology in its devices. The decision could force the Korean manufacturer to change certain features on its smartphones and tablets.
At the heart of the matter is 3 software features that Apple has patented: slide-to-unlock on a device's touchscreen, the automatic correction of spelling errors, and quick-linking, which allows a user to do things like tap on a phone number within a body of text to place a call.
Following Apple's action-packed media event yesterday which saw introductions of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones with 3D Display technology, the new iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, the much improved Apple TV and more, both Sony and Samsung took to social media to poke fun of Apple's latest innovation.
As you may have guessed, Samsung especially took swipes at Apple's stylus, which isn't surprising given Steve Jobs' famous “If you see a stylus, they blew it” quote and the fact the Galaxy maker pioneered stylus-enhanced phablets with its Note lineup.
According to a report by Korean newspaper which was relayed Tuesday by Bloomberg, Samsung Electronics is about to lay off ten percent of workers at its headquarters in South Korea “as the world’s biggest smartphone maker loses sales to Apple and Chinese vendors.”
It is no secret that things have been tough for Samsung ever since Apple released its larger-screened iPhones. In addition, strong competition from China's vendors like Huawei and Xiaomi, which build comparable phones that cost half as much as Samsung's high-end devices, has contributed to Samsung's diminishing sales in China.
Two days ago, Samsung officially unveiled its new smartwatch lineup: the Gear S2, Gear S2 classic and the Gear S2 with 3G connectivity.
The new lineup from Samsung appears to stack up surprisingly well against the Apple Watch: both smartwatches are premium built and feature easily changeable bands, sleek software, fitness and heart rate tracking and more.
But whereas the Apple Watch uses the Digital Crown for navigating its user interface, Samsung has opted for a rotating bezel that “gets better with every turn,” a feature seen on some traditional watches.
Coupled with “the revolutionary circular user interface,” as they're calling the Gear S2's Tizen operating system, the rotating bezel appears to be just as precise, novel and interesting as the Apple Watch's rotating crown.
IFA, the world's leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, is running from September 4 to 9 in Berlin. Ahead of the big event, Samsung Electronics has unveiled some rather interesting gadgets, including its own version of CarPlay, a sleep analysis accessory, its first 4K Blu-ray player and more.
More than anything, the company is betting big on so-called Internet of Things, a common moniker denoting software platforms powering smart devices that tap into the power of the cloud to achieve interoperability and rich data sharing.
To this extent, the South Korean giant last year purchased an open-platform smart home company, called SmartThings. Following the acquisition, SmartThings today unveiled its very first new product, a hub for the connected home that connects to cameras to monitor and protect your home.
After teasing its new Gear smartwatch ahead of Apple's upcoming media event, South Korea-based Samsung last evening formally announced a second-generation Gear S family. The Galaxy Gear S2, as it's called, augments the round display of its predecessor with a rotating bezel for navigating the user interface.
The internals have been refreshed, too, so the Gear S2 has NFC. While it has less storage space than the Apple Watch's 8GB, the Gear S2 uses a stronger battery that Samsung claims runs up to three days on a single charge.