Samsung will boost production to ease Note 7 supply shortage

Samsung's having a great year and with phones like the Galaxy S7 Edge and the new Note 7 it's easy to see why – despite their high price tags, customers love Samsung's Galaxies.

High demand can create problems however. Samsung has already adjusted its Note 7 launch plans and now the company revealed that it can't manufacture new units as fast as existing ones fly off the shelves.

In a statement today, Samsung said it's facing "supply constraints globally" due to pre-orders volumes that "far exceeded" estimates.

Samsung used a similar language last year when the curved Galaxy S6 Edge sold much better than the Korean giant had anticipated.

The problem this year is not related to the double-curved display of the Note 7, according to an anonymous source cited by Reuters. While the root cause of the supply issues remains unclear, the company said it's trying to boost production. Analysts consulted by Reuters think the supply snag is only temporary and predict sales of up to 15 million Galaxy Note 7 units this year. That's compared to just 9 million for the Note 5, which was released in a limited number of markets.

Cynics could see this talk about "unprecedented demand" as a corporate hype-building exercise. And that might be the case to some extent. But nobody can deny the warm welcome the Note 7 received, especially when you compare it to the muted response to the Note 5.

Have you run into any issues trying to order a Note 7?

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Third Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, Redmi 3S flash sale today at 12 PM

If you've missed your chance at picking up the Xiaomi Redmi 3S or Redmi 3S Prime in the first two flash sales, you will have another opportunity to do so once again, today at 12 PM.

Buy now from mi.com Buy now from Flipkart

You only have to look back at the last two flash sales to see the popularity of these ultra-affordable smartphones from Xiaomi. In the first sale held two weeks ago, the Redmi 3S Prime sold out in just eight minutes, and in the second, which also saw the availability of the Redmi 3S, stocks lasted till only around 5 PM that evening.

If you're wondering about which device is better suited to your needs, it is worth noting that most specifications and features are the same between the two versions, including the huge 4,100 mAh battery that is found with both. As far as differences go, the cheaper Redmi 3S comes with 16 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM, while the Redmi 3S Prime offers 32 GB of internal storage and 3 GB of RAM, and also provides an additional layer of security with a fingerprint scanner.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3S is priced at Rs 6,999 (~$104), while the Redmi 3S Prime is only slightly more expensive, with its price tag of Rs 8,999 (~$134). The two devices will available from both mi.com and Flipkart, with Flipkart also providing consumers with an exchange offer. So if you have an old Android smartphone lying around, you can always trade that in and pick up these affordable smartphones for even cheaper.

Buy now from mi.com Buy now from Flipkart

Let us know if you were able to pick up the Xiaomi Redmi 3S or Redmi 3S Prime during today's sale, and if you already have the phone, do share your thoughts on what your experience has been with it so far in the comments section below!

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Samsung plans to share more tech to lure more semiconductor business

Its devices foothold slipping in the country, Samsung is clawing back into China's mobile market by putting more weight behind its semiconductor arm. Its foundry business is undergoing slow growth, but Samsung is expected to heat up talks with Chinese firms to change that.

The Korean tech firm is set to host what it's calling the Samsung Foundry Forum on August 30, during which its semiconductor chiefs will lobby representatives from roughly 100 Chinese firms. The forum will welcome the likes of ZTE, MediaTek, HiSilicon and others, according to reports.

It isn't the creation of the event that's telling of Samsung's intentions here, as the company regularly engages potential customers in China. It's the effort that's going into this forum and what's expected to be a slight pivot in its strategy. It plans to take on more customers instead of leaning on a handful of them.

During Samsung's upcoming forum, the firm is expected to court new clients by offering them access to its 10nm and 14nm FinFET process designs along with its 28nm fully depleted silicon on insulator processes.

Probably one of the most infamous setbacks in Samsung's semiconductor business was when Apple began to offload some of its orders for iPhone processors to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation) two years ago.

Last year Apple turned backed to Samsung for production of the iPhone's A9 chips. But the company's semiconductor business isn't running as optimally as Samsung's execs would like. And Samsung would probably not have to rely so heavily on its frenemy, Apple.

Samsung's foundries are still growing, as evidenced by its semiconductor group's 8 percent-quarter over-quarter growth and 6 percent year-over-year growth in operating profit last quarter. It's just that its foundries' older lines are stagnating because they aren't suited for the production of newer chips its current clients want.

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Deal: get a refurbished Verizon Gear S2 for just $99.99 (US only)

Thinking about getting a smartwatch? Interested in the Samsung Gear S2? Right now on eBay, Guarantee Cellular is offering a great deal on what is arguably Samsung's most beautifully designed smartwatch. For just $99.99, you can get a black manufacturer refurbished Gear S2 (it seems like the white version is already sold out). Considering the fact that a new Gear S2 from Verizon will set you back $349.99, $99.99 is quite a steal.

• Gear S2 review
• Samsung Pay comes to Gear S2

The Gear S2 Classic will work with Verizon in the US using an electronic SIM card. This means it can work as a standalone 3G device, but only if it's on Verizon. If 3G isn't a concern for you, then you can always use it on Wi-Fi by connecting it to your smartphone. It will work as long as your smartphone is running Android 4.4 or higher and has at least 1.5GB of RAM.

Just to refresh your memory, the Gear S2 is a beautifully-crafted smartwatch that runs on Tizen. It features a 1.2-inch circular display with a resolution of 360 x 360. Around it is the iconic rotating bezel, which you can use to navigate the menu, zoom in or out of a picture, browse through your music, etc. Under the hood is a dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The watch is powered by a 300mAh battery that should last you a day or two. And with the Wi-Fi version getting updated with Samsung Pay, you can reasonably expect the carrier versions to receive the same update in the near future.

Guarantee Cellular boasts 97.5% positive feedback on eBay. It lists that the watch will ship in a generic box with a charger and a charger cradle. Although the Gear S3 is set to be unveiled in just a week's time, the Gear S2 is still a fantastic device. Unfortunately, however, this offer seems to be available only in the US.

If you're looking to buy a smartwatch, this may be a great opportunity for you. But hurry because so far, 684 devices have been sold, and there is a limited quantity available!

Buy from eBay

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Android Nougat offers more PC emojis, plus an avocado

Who needs words when you've got emojis, amirite? Good news: the world of emojis is now richer than ever with the all new Android 7.0 Nougat. Those weird but endearing blobs are now positively human characters, yellow is now just one of the many skin shades available, and the beloved fruit (or is it a vegetable?) that is avocado comes in the form of an emoji.

See also: The official list of Android 7.0 Nougat features299

According to Emojipedia, we will see some significant changes in the emoji department with Android 7.0 Nougat. First is the elimination of the gender neutral look. Unicode recommends a gender-neutral appearance, and Google did exactly that on previous Android versions: we had jelly-bean-looking blobs with facial features, and there was simply no way of telling whether it was male or female.

Emojipedia

As you can see, with Android Nougat, emojis that are supposed to be human characters are more human-looking. For instance, the cute blob with a police hat on previous versions is now a more clearly defined male police officer.

Although some may think it's a shame that Google opted for gendered emojis this time around, it seems like Google has strategic plans for the future: back in July, Google proposed a new set of emojis that would subvert the gender norms associated within various emojis. This means that in the near future, we could see both male or female variants for each emoji.

Emojipedia

Another substantial change brought by Nougat is the ability to change skin tones. This feature has been available on iOS for quite some time now, so it's good to see Google following suit and supporting a more realistic depiction of humanity as well. Other major manufacturers should take note (I'm looking at you, Samsung).

Apart from these, there are quite a few completely new emojis that have been added. In fact, we see every emoji from Unicode 9.0 that was released back in June. These include some of our most cherished expressions, habits, and food: the idek shrug, the shameless selfie pose, and of course, the avocado.

You can see the full scope of changes on Emojipedia, but the rest are pretty standard. Google has streamlined some of the existing emojis to make them more consistent, and it also improved on some to make them look more realistic.

Emojipedia

For instance, the new wine emoji that you see above is now much more wine-like. Cersei would be pleased.

What are your thoughts on these emojis? For those of you who've already received the Android Nougat update, how are these emojis treating you? Let us know by commenting below!

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Android 7.1 Nougat may be on the way already

The news hot off the press this week is that a consumer version of Android 7.0 Nougat is making its way to devices as of yesterday, and part of what makes Nougat special is that Google has committed to more regular quarterly maintenance updates. Now we're seeing some evidence that the first of these updates might just be a bump the OS all the way up to Android 7.1.

Some Android fans with sharp eyes have noticed that the Android Version filter in the developer console offers an option for Android 7.1. For context, Marshmallow never even got beyond 6.0.1, which could indicate that the first update for Nougat might come with an extra helping of Android goodness. It could also be a sign that these "maintenance updates" are more substantial than the security updates we're familiar with.

See also: Android Nougat will have regularly scheduled maintenance updates13

The consumer version of Android Nougat is essentially just the Developers Preview number 5 with some added stability, so those paying close attention to the operating system's features might have some more notable changes to look forward to. Some are speculating that this could even include API level 25, which is rumored but unconfirmed.

What do you think of this possibility that Android 7.1 could be the first maintenance update? Let us know your take in the comments below!

See also: How to flash Android 7.0 Nougat on your Nexus5

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AT&T, T-Mobile closing in on Verizon according to RootMetric survey

Although Verizon maintains a sizeable lead, recent data scoped out by RootMetrics seems to indicate that Death Star and Magenta are narrowing the gap between themselves and Big Red. Verizon's massive userbase of nearly 150 million subscribers has given them the fuel to build and maintain the nation's largest mobile carrier, but scrappy advertising on the part of T-Mobile and AT&T's willingness to engage a changing market are hitting steady paydirt.

RootMetrics based their study on six key performance areas: reliability, speed, data, text, calls, and overall. Their findings have Verizon taking the lead in all six categories with AT&T close behind and T-Mobile right after that.

This study comes on the tail of a separate study by OpenSignal which saw T-mobile eking out the win in four out of six categories.

See also: T-Mobile has the fastest LTE in the U.S.143

According to RootMetric's figures, Verizon takes the first place slot in all categories, and AT&T ranks a narrow second in reliability, speed, data, and text. Sprint beat out AT&T for the silver medal in the call category. T-Mobile came in last for reliability, call, and text, but still secured third place over Sprint in terms of overall experience, probably due to Sprint's brutally poor scores in the speed category.

Verizon still has a clear hold on the market, but their time on the throne may not last forever. In general, higher competition between the big four is good news for consumers, as nobody has been particularly fond of the duopoly that Verizon and AT&T have long been lording over the market.

What are your thoughts regarding the latest data from RootMetric? Are you a Verizon subscriber, or do you prefer a different carrier? Let us know your take in the comments below!

Next: Best Verizon Android phones (July 2016)41

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