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mercredi 19 octobre 2016

Galaxy Note 7 recall could cause major internal changes at Samsung

samsung galaxy note 7 unboxing aa (14 of 27)

The worldwide recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could lead to major internal changes at the South Korean company. A new report says that many Samsung employees fear there could be layoffs at all levels in the near future.

samsung galaxy note 7 recall fire explosion (1)See also: Galaxy Note 7 recall: what you need to know453

According to Reuters, Samsung's annual employee review will begin in December. Needless to say, the Note 7 recall, which Samsung has already predicted will generate about $3 billion in losses, will cause more than just money issues. One unnamed Samsung insider told Reuters:

There's a lot of talk there could be major turnover in the executive ranks on the hardware side. There's also a lot of concern among the working-level employees about a major restructuring.

The report adds, again via unnamed sources, that there is also mounting frustration inside the company that Samsung has not yet found the reason for the Note 7's exploding batteries. That was, of course, the big problem that lead to the recall and suspension of sales for the smartphone. It has also reportedly caused Samsung to reevaluate its plans for its next flagship device:

A person familiar with the development of the next Galaxy S smartphone, expected to launch early next year, said the process has now slowed as Samsung is anxious to avoid any repeat of the Note 7 problems in its future premium handsets.

Officially, a Samsung spokesperson told Reuters that it was "not considering any management changes or restructuring" due to the Galaxy Note 7 recall. However, it's hard to believe cutting out all sales of a major flagship product won't have long-ranging consequences. Do you think there should be major executive changes at Samsung due to the failure of  the Note 7 launch?



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Watch the LeEco US launch event live at 10am PT/1pm ET

LeEco US launch event

LeEco has been hyping up its big US launch event since last month, and the time is almost here. At 10am PT/1pm ET today, the company will host a live event in San Francisco, and you can stream the whole thing at the link attached below.

What will the company announce? If the latest leak is to be believed, LeEco will likely unveil the Le Max2 and Le S3 smartphones, as well as a number of of connected televisions. While we don't have too many details yet, just about everything the company plans to release in the US will likely be priced aggressively compared to the competition.

Be sure to stay tuned to Android Authority for all the latest coverage from the event.

Le Max 2 Hands On-1See also: LeEco Le 2, Le 2Pro and Le Max 2 hands-on18



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Google Pixel’s Wallpaper app now available for all Android devices

Nexus Launcher wallpaper picker

Google has just launched its own Wallpapers app, which is basically a spin-off from the wallpaper picker that's included in the launcher for the company's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.

pixel colors -Google 2016See also: Download the Google Pixel stock wallpaper here47

The app allows users to pick new wallpapers based on their own stored photos, or ones found on Google Earth, Google+ and more sources. If you pick a favorite category from the app, you can choose to have a new wallpaper image placed on your phone every day.

If you own one of the very few phones that has Android 7.0 Nougat installed, the wallpapers app has an extra feature that will allow users to set up one image for the smartphone's lock screen, and another for the phone's main home screen. While this is not in any way a revolutionary app from Google, it is nice that the company is allowing all Android phones to share in one of the features that was first thought to be a Pixel exclusive.

Get it from Google Play


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The OPPO R9s and R9s Plus are here with 16MP front and rear cameras

OPPO-R9s-112

If you've been eager for 16 million pixel selfies, OPPO has you covered. At an event in China, the Chinese manufacturer lifted the lid on its new R9s and R9s Plus smartphones, both of which feature 16MP front and rear cameras.

The R9s is the smaller of the two metal-clad devices, with a 5.5-inch 1080p display and Snapdragon 625 processor, while the R9s Plus comes with a 6-inch 1080p screen and Snapdragon 653 chipset.

Similar to the OPPO F1s series, the handsets have a particular focus on photography. They feature a Sony IMX398 sensor with f/1.7 aperture on the rear and a 16-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture. The smaller R9s lacks OIS and dual-LED flash, but these are in place on the larger R9s Plus.

OPPO-R9s-2222

Both R9s and R9s Plus make use of a combined fingerprint sensor / home button and benefit from OPPO's proprietary flash-charging system VOOC – said to boost devices by 75 percent in 30 minutes – for their respective 3,010mAh and 4,000mAh batteries.

Rounding off the vital specs is 4GB RAM for the R9s and 6GB RAM for the R9s Plus, in addition to 64GB internal storage space expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB).

OPPO F1s Diwali Limited EditionSee also: OPPO launches F1s Diwali Limited Edition3

The devices will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box with OPPO's ColorOS 3.0 skin on top when they go on sale – the OPPO R9s is launching in China on October 28 and the R9s Plus following in December. There's currently no word on US pricing or availability, but we'll let you know when we learn more.

What are your thoughts on the new OPPO duo? Let us know in the comments.



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The 5 biggest names in the $10 billion chipset industry

Samsung Exynos Processor SoC

The mobile application processor (APU) industry hit a milestone in the first half of 2016: growing three percent to cross the $10 billion threshold. The driving force behind that growth was, surprisingly enough, LTE. As access to LTE networks continues to grow, so too does the need for LTE-equipped smartphone SoCs. But do you know the five biggest names in chipsets?

Qualcomm-1See also: Which phones come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor?44

Considering the, let's say, "rough" year that Qualcomm had in 2015 on the back of the overheating Snapdragon 810, the company bounced back considerably in the first half of 2016. According to new figures from Strategy Analytics, Qualcomm maintained its number one position with 39% market share.

Taking second spot globally was MediaTek, manufacturer of many of the smartphone chipsets found in various rapidly expanding Asian markets. MediaTek grew significantly in the first half of the year, partially on the back of Qualcomm's misfortunes, and hit mid-2016 with a 23% revenue share.

H1 2016 smartphone chipset market shareStrategy Analytics

Apple came next with 15%, which isn't bad at all considering the extremely short list of devices in which Apple's chipsets even appear. Samsung LSI and Spreadtrum rounded out the top five, with Huawei's HiSilicon not far behind. These three manufacturers, as well as MediaTek, all enjoyed double digit shipment growth in the first half of 2016.

Strategy Analytics estimates that two-thirds of the total number of smartphone SoCs shipped in the first half of 2016 were 64-bit chipsets. But considering Samsung LSI's dependance on Samsung device sales, the Note 7 recall might mean trouble for the semiconductor division's revenue in the second half of the year.

Get up to speed on the latest semiconductor news:



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Samsung Gear S3 release date set for mid-November

samsung gear s3 first look aa-20

It seems that the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch isn't just set for a mid-November release in Canada, with The Korea Times reporting that Samsung is also shipping the device in the US and 'major European nations' then too.

A more precise date wasn't disclosed, however the Canadian Best Buy page indicates an expected shipping date of November 18. Both the Classic and Frontier variants of the S3 are available for pre-order there at a price of CAD $469.99 with free shipping, which is equivalent to about US $360. The Korea Times source didn't reveal a fixed price for Korea nor for the US market.

gear-s3-ifaSee also: Samsung Gear S3 hands on25

The Gear S3 is Samsung's latest Tizen-based smartwatch, which we found to have made a number of improvements over the Gear S2, including support for contactless payments via Samsung Pay, in our hands-on time with it (which you can read about at the link above).

Is the Samsung Gear S3 the must-have smartwatch of 2016? Is there such a thing as a must-have smartwatch? Give us your thoughts in the comments.



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Samsung employees and suppliers told not to comment on the Galaxy S8 (and then do)

samsung galaxy note 7 review aa (19 of 20)

Samsung has warned employees not to discuss business operations, especially those related to the Galaxy S8, according to a report from the Korea Herald. In an internal email sent to employees, Samsung spoke of "irreversible ramifications" and "great financial risk" that such comments could cost the company.

Citing an anonymous source, the Korea Herald also said that Samsung had told its suppliers "not to mention a single word on the Galaxy S8." Like that ever works.

Despite the warning mentioned above, however, an "official from one of Samsung's parts suppliers" seemingly disclosed some details regarding the upcoming flagship just after the story above appeared.

samsung galaxy note 7 review aa (16 of 20)See also: How to return a Galaxy Note 7 bought second-hand24

The official said that Samsung is planning to implement a dual-lens camera and an iris scanner, like that seen on the Galaxy Note 7, on the Samsung Galaxy S8, which is expected to be unveiled in February 2017. Other recent S8 rumors include talk of an edge-to-edge screen and the removal of a physical home button.

This news follows the cease in production of the Galaxy Note 7 after problems with it catching fire, a situation that's estimated to cost Samsung billions of dollars.

Based on this information, we might see fewer rumor leaks than normal surrounding the Galaxy S8. But as Samsung is likely to be on a cost-cutting mission, perhaps it will need all the free publicity it can get.



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