Founded in 1938, Samsung is the largest chaebol in South Korea. The myriad of companies under its brand are some of the biggest in their respective industries, but Samsung Electronics is the most notable. It makes some of the most popular phones in use today, and its flagship portfolio includes the Galaxy S-series and foldable Z-series devices. It also makes televisions, tablets, computers, headphones, and many of the displays, chips, and batteries found in devices from Apple, Sony, and others.
Yes, in a few days, says German tech site WinFuture, citing unnamed sources (and Samsung’s site). That includes a 16-inch Galaxy Book 4 Edge Pro that’s equipped with the highest-end version of the Snapdragon X ARM chip that’s meant to take on Apple’s custom M-series chips.
Expect other Snapdragon X laptops soon, including from Microsoft, Dell, and Asus.
The WSJ’s Joanna Stern wanted to find out just how it survived the fall — by dropping phones from a drone, of course.
The two companies say their partnership “has never been stronger,” possibly calming any fears after Google merged its Android and hardware teams. It sure looks like we’re going to see more AI in both Samsung and Google devices soon beyond Circle to Search, which is something to watch for as more AI-powered devices like the Rabbit R1 come to market.
TSMC says it’ll start production of 1.6-nm chips by 2026 in a move that should “greatly improve logic [chip] density and performance,” according to Nikkei. Meanwhile Intel is targeting 2-nm and 1.8-nm technologies by 2025, with Samsung targeting 1.4-nm in 2027.
Rumors suggest that Google’s midrange Pixel is getting a price bump this year. Samsung, on the other hand, is only bringing its lower priced Galaxy A35 midrange phone to the US this year — not the A55.
The A35 goes on sale in the states today with a hardy IP67 rating, stabilized main camera, and a 120Hz OLED for $399 — sounds like it could be a decent deal.
According to IDC, iPhone sales fell by nearly 10 percent globally compared to the same Q1 last year as Chinese companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, and budget maker Transsion surged.
While Samsung won the quarter (after Apple took the lead for all of 2023), it’s still down slightly YoY and not keeping up with the 7.8 percent increase in smartphone demand.
Samsung is adding three new languages to Galaxy AI this spring: Arabic, Indonesian, and Russian. That’s a total of 16 languages supported across AI features like live translation and interpreter.
Samsung’s adding a few new dialects too: Cantonese, Canadian French, and Australian English. That’s really going to clear up some confusion when I tell the S24 Ultra I want to “throw a shrimp on the barbie.”
[Samsung US Newsroom]
Its initial $17 billion investment in Taylor, Texas will swell to about $44 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, as Samsung plans to build a second chip factory and a new facility for advanced packaging and R&D.
An official announcement is expected on April 15th. Samsung’s first Texas-based factory was expected to start production this year, though this has reportedly been delayed till 2025.
The company is expecting its first-quarter operating profit to increase by 931 percent compared to the same period last year according to its latest preliminary earnings report.
After 2023 shaped up to be Samsung’s worst financial year in over a decade, its chip division is now set to report its first profit in five quarters as memory chip prices rebound from last year’s severe downturn.
That’s because rumor has it the thing will pack a 600mAh battery. On the one hand, that probably means multiday battery life. We love that! But it also means the Pro will likely be a behemoth. Don’t love that. I get the design challenge, but on behalf of petite-wristed folks, smartwatches can’t keep getting bigger to solve the battery issue.
Are you’re using an older Samsung device and jealously eying up the Galaxy AI features available with this year’s phones? Well good news; Samsung has started rolling out its AI-equipped One UI 6.1 update to the Galaxy S23, S23 FE, Z Flip 5, and Z Fold 5, starting today. SamMobile reports that the update has arrived for Verizon devices in the US, and unlocked devices will follow next month.
Samsung’s One UI 6.1 update arrives this Thursday, bringing AI features to last year’s devices including the S23 series, S23 FE, Z Flip 5, Z Fold 5, and the Tab S9 series. They’ll get the full suite of AI features announced with the Galaxy S24 series, including Circle to Search and live language translation for phone calls.
It’s all free of charge — at least for now.
I’m at Samsung’s “Unbox and Discover” event, where the company formally launches all the new TVs it announced back at CES — yes, including that anti-glare OLED.
To sweeten the pot this year, Samsung will throw in a free 65-inch TV with select 2024 TV preorders. It’s the lower-end TU690T, so it’s not going to blow anyone away. But... free is free.
And no, you don’t need to spring for an 8K model to get the freebie.
It’s a little early to be taking iPhone 17 rumors seriously. But per MacRumors, a Weibo account with a “mixed” track record claims Apple’s 2025 smartphones will have a display that’s better at avoiding both reflections and scratches — just like Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Corning runs the game when it comes to display glass, so this seems inevitable. I’m just surprised Apple (allegedly) couldn’t make it happen this fall instead.
