Samsung

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.

Samsung issues another massive recall: this time it’s washing machines

Cody Lee ∙ November 4, 2016

Samsung on Friday announced that it is recalling 2.8 million top-loading washing machines, reports The Wall Street Journal. The move affects 34 top-loading models sold at various stores dating all the way back to 2011.

The company has received more than 700 reports of incidents and 9 reports of injuries, including a broken jaw. Apparently unbalanced drums can cause parts of the washer to detach and, in some cases, launch out of the machine.

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.

Note 7 is dead: Samsung permanently ceases production of its troubled flagship phone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 11, 2016

After temporarily halting production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone earlier this week, Samsung confirmed in today's statement to TechCrunch that it's permanently discontinued the production of its flagship Galaxy smartphone over multiple incidents of exploding batteries.

This past weekend, major U.S. carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint stopped offering new units as replacements for those affected by Samsung's global recall. U.S. carriers are now offering Note 7 customers replacement devices from other brands, including Apple's latest iPhone.

US Supreme Court to tackle the outcome of monster Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit tomorrow

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 10, 2016

Samsung is on the hook for $399 million in damages owed to Apple for stealing its patented iPhone designs in what's become the first legal battle over design patents in nearly 120 years.

A typical design patent covers the ornamental look of an object rather than any functional aspect.

According to Bloomberg this morning, the United States Supreme Court will determine the outcome of the monster Apple v. Samsung lawsuit on Tuesday, October 11.

Samsung suspends Galaxy Note 7 production

Cody Lee ∙ October 9, 2016

Samsung has temporarily halted production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7, reports Korean news agency Yonhap. The move follows decisions made on Sunday by multiple carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, to stop offering new units as replacements for those affected by the recall.

An anonymous source tells the outlet that the suspension in production is in cooperation with consumer safety regulators from South Korea, and various other countries, and that the measure includes a manufacturing plant in Vietnam that is responsible for global Note 7 shipments.

Appeals Court reinstates Samsung owes Apple $119.6 million in slide-to-unlock lawsuit verdict

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2016

A three-judge panel was actually wrong to toss out of the window the $119.6 million verdict in a longstanding lawsuit that involves Apple's patented slide-to-unlock gesture that the iPhone maker had sued Samsung over a few years back.

As Bloomberg reports, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has now ordered the trial judge to consider whether the judgment should be increased “based on any intentional infringement by Samsung.”