Galaxy Note 7 recall may not hurt Samsung’s profits in Q4 2016

The recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in October was certainly not something that was desired by the leaders at Samsung. However, it looks like the exploding phone may not prove to be a huge hit on the company's profit line.

See also:

Samsung Galaxy S8: all the rumors in one place

2 weeks ago

According to financial analysts in Samsung's home country of South Korea, the company could see its highest profits in the past three years. Korea Times reports that both IBK Securities and HMC Investment Securities are projecting Samsung will see an operating profit of 8.7 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2016. Two more firms, Kium Securities and Hyundai Securities, have predicted a slightly lower profit of 8.5 trillion won, but that's still higher than Samsung's profit of 5.2 trillion won in the third quarter of 2016. It's important to know that these are just predictions from analysts and have not yet been confirmed by Samsung.

Those same analysts believe that Samsung's semiconductor business will help turn around the company, thanks in part to strong prices in memory chips. A previous prediction claimed that Samsung's overall profit could be as high as 36.8 trillion won ($30.95 billion) in 2017.

Samsung is trying to move on from the Galaxy Note 7 debacle and onto its next flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, which may be officially announced by the company in April.

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Exclusive: first LG G6 render appears, but you may not like the design

The LG G5 – what will the LG G6 look like?

2016 is almost over, and our attention is now turning towards the new year and what that may bring in the smartphone world. While Samsung has a lot to prove after the whole Note 7 ordeal, LG arguably has as much riding on the LG G6.

To say that the LG G5 left everyone a little underwhelmed would be an understatement as the LG G5 never really took off. What can we expect from the G6? We can now exclusively reveal the first schematic diagram of the LG G6, thanks to Shai Mizrachi, who has accurately leaked flagships from Samsung and LG in the past.

What does this leak tell us? Looking back to the similar LG G5 diagram from earlier this year (below), we can see the LG G6 will sport a design that's similar to the LG G5, which may be a good (or bad) thing depending on how you feel about the G5. The handset is also expected to be a little slimmer than the G5 (at 72.43mm vs 73.9mm), While we can't confirm exact numbers, it's also expected to be a little thinner.

Unfortunately, there's no info on whether or not LG are keeping the modularity of the LG G5 or going for just a removable battery like with the LG V20. Although there's no clarification on the full feature list, we can expect a display measuring 5.2 to 5.5-inches, likely of QHD resolution, as well as the Snapdragon 821 (or even Snapdragon 830) processor, 4 to 6GB of RAM and a dual camera set up like the one found in the LG V20.

What do you think of this first diagram of the LG G6? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Gionee M2017 officially revealed in China with two 3500mAh batteries

While most of us were still recovering from our holiday dinner and activities, Gionee in China was launching a new smartphone earlier this morning. The Gionee M2017, which was leaked earlier in November, is now official, and its biggest feature is its huge battery.

See also:

Going into 2017, these are the Chinese smartphone makers to look out for

4 weeks ago

The Gionee M2017 actually has two 3,500mAh batteries inside, giving the smartphone a total battery size of 7,000mAh. Gionee claims this will give the phone up to nearly 26 hours of continuous video playback. The 5.7-inch phone has a display resolution of 2560 x 1440, and inside sports 6GB of RAM, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

The Gionee M2017 also has dual rear camera lenses, with one with a 12MP sensor and the other with 13MP. It also has an 8MP front-facing camera and a fingerprint sensor. Two features this phone does not have are a microSD card slot or a 3.5mm headphone jack, but it does include a cool looking leather back panel.

There will be two versions of the Gionee M2017 sold in China. One has 128GB of on-board storage for Yuan 6999 (about $1,007) while the version with 256GB of storage is priced at Yuan 6,999 (about $2,446). Obviously, with those kinds of prices, this phone is being made for a very select crowd of consumers. There's no word on when or if the Gionee M2017 will be released outside of China.

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Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) press renders and specs leaked

Samsung is expected to announce the 2017 Galaxy A lineup soon. We have heard quite a few different rumors regarding the upcoming devices recently, including that they just might come with an IP68 rating.

Now, press renders of one of the devices — the Galaxy A5 — along with the specs have leaked. Based on the renders, it looks like the smartphone will be available in four different colors. In addition to the Black and Gold color option, you'll also be able to get the Galaxy A5 in Blue or Pink.

Specs-wise, the device will feature a 5.2-inch Full HD display and will be powered by the Exynos 7880 processor along with 3 GB of RAM. You'll find a 16 MP camera on the back as well as on the front. The Galaxy A5 is expected to come with 32 GB of storage for your apps, images, and other data, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It will reportedly retail for 2,699 Yuan, which is around $390.

See also:

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) gets Bluetooth certified, launch imminent

November 19, 2016

Samsung hasn't revealed when exactly the device will be officially announced but based on the fact that the renders of the upcoming Galaxy A5 have already leaked and that its predecessor was introduced in December 2015, we expect that the announcement is just around the corner. CES is taking place in Las Vegas in less than two weeks, so we hope and expect to see the device by then at the latest.

What do you think about the Galaxy A5 color options? Which one would you opt for? As always, let us know by posting a comment down below.

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What was your favorite smartphone of 2016? [Poll of the Week]

Last week's poll summary: Out of over 8,300 total votes, 26.7% of our readers said they're most looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge in 2017. 21.6% said they're most looking forward to the Google Pixel / Pixel XL 2, while 18.3% said they can't wait to see what the Galaxy Note 8 has in store for the new year.

2016 was certainly a big year for Android, and we were lucky enough to see a ton of huge improvements come from the major smartphone OEMs this year.

Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge brought a refined design and some killer specs, the HTC 10 impressed with its smooth software and impressive audio features, and the OnePlus 3T brought top-of-the-line features and build quality for well under $500. We also got to see some experimental things happen this year, as LG and Moto finally brought us modular smartphones.

See also:

The best Android phones

4 weeks ago

So as the year winds down, we want to know – what was your favorite Android smartphone of 2016? Was it the Google Pixel, Galaxy S7, HTC 10 or something else? Keep in mind that you're voting for your favorite smartphone of the year, which means it doesn't necessarily have to be the best phone released this year. Be sure to cast your vote in the poll attached below, and speak up in the comments if you'd like to add anything else. We look forward to hearing what you have to say!

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Black Pearl version of Galaxy S7 Edge now available in India

Samsung

If you're thinking of buying the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, you'll be happy to hear that the device is available in a new color in India. You can now get Samsung's flagship device in Black Pearl.

Compared to the other color options available, the Black Pearl version of the device comes with a slightly higher price tag. While you can get the Galaxy S7 Edge in Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium, Blue Coral, and the recently announced Pink Gold for Rs. 50,900, you'll have to fork out Rs. 56,900 in order to get the device in Black Pearl.

See also:

Best Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge cases

September 12, 2016

The reason for the higher price is that the Black Pearl Galaxy S7 Edge comes with more storage. It has 128 GB of space on board while all the other colors mentioned only come with 32 GB.

The device is already available for purchase on Samsung's website, with shipments starting on December 30.  Samsung is also offering a one-time screen replacement for the device, which will set you back Rs 990, as well as the Gear VR headset for Rs 1,990.

In case you're interested in getting the Galaxy S7 Edge in Black Pearl, head over to the company's website by clicking the button below.

Get the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge in Black Pearl

Do you like the Black Pearl version of Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, or do you prefer a different color? Let us know which one down below.

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Some Nexus 6P devices are affected by bootloop issues

Some users on Reddit are reporting bootloop issues on their Nexus 6P devices, and Google says it's a hardware-related problem.

See also:

Nexus 6P review

January 10, 2016

The Huawei Nexus 6P may have been the last Nexus device ever, but it's still a solid device loved by many. Google finally rolled out the Nougat update for the phablet, and it seems like some Nexus 6P units are stuck on a never-ending bootloop after the update. In fact, some Nexus 5X users are reporting similar issues after the Nougat update.

However, a Google representative assures on Reddit that this is not due to the software update but strictly hardware-related:

We understand that a very small number of users are experiencing a bootloop issue on you [sic] device. We are continuing to investigate the situation, but can confirm that this is strictly a hardware related issue. For those of you that are currently experiencing this, please contact your place of purchase for warranty or repair options.

It seems like most users have tried re-flashing factory images or wiping their data to no avail. Once you contact Google, the company will send you a refurbished unit, but as many point out, it's not entirely clear whether Google will extend warranties on these refurbished devices.

However, there is at least one person who's successfully fixed their Nexus. A user by the name of 'DartmouthBG' (Go Big Green!) seems to have bypassed the bootloop by clearing cache and then wiping his data:

Solution was to clear cache, then wipe data. Phone ended up rebooting correctly, but had to restore the phone. It's a pain, but at least it's working again.

Though Google says the bootloop is strictly a hardware issue, it is curious that both Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X devices are suddenly affected by it after the most recent Nougat update. Is your device in a perpetual bootloop after the latest update? Any solution, or did you get your refurbished unit? Let us know in the comments below!

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