Tag: samsung

Amazon Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on Samsung TVs

One of the perpetual gripes about Samsung’s newer TVs is that they don’t support Dolby Vision for high dynamic range content, limiting you to basic HDR10 for most video. They do offer the more comparable HDR10+ format, but who’s using it? As of now, Amazon does. Samsung has announced that Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on QLED and ‘standard’ 4K TVs as of December 13th. About 100 TV shows and movies will support the format from the get-go, including Amazon original shows like The Grand Tour and The Tick . Naturally, the intent is to make more of Amazon’s catalog HDR10+ friendly over time. This still isn’t quite as good as Dolby Vision. While HDR10+ shares the same scene-by-scene HDR mastering as Vision, it’s stuck with “just” 10-bit color versus Dolby’s 12-bit palette. For Samsung, the main allure is that HDR10+ is open and royalty-free. The company doesn’t have to give Dolby a cut where competitors like LG do, and the technology could be relatively ubiquitous if Samsung can persuade more partners to support it (Panasonic is already onboard). As it is, Amazon’s support significantly boosts the value of Samsung’s TVs if you insist on watching in HDR whenever possible. And you might not be limited to Amazon for much longer. Netflix recently told TechRadar that there’s a “possibility” it will support HDR10+ in the future, so higher-quality HDR may become relatively commonplace. Via: Korea Herald , SamMobile Source: Samsung Newsroom (translated)

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Amazon Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on Samsung TVs

The iPhone 8 goes up against a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Before you start throwing down cash for new phones like a Grinch post heart-expansion, watch our video to directly compare more factors than just name brand and price on two of the most popular phones. The iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are both less than $1000 (no thanks, iPhone X) but still expensive, beginning at $805 and $737, respectively. Either would make a great gift to yourself or someone else, but it all depends on what you’re going for. The iPhone 8 looks a little ho-hum in terms of standard old design, but acts zippier because of the new A11 bionic chip, which Apple claims makes it 25% faster. Alternatively, maybe you love Samsung or are just now open to one because of Apple’s no headphone jack policy. The S8 and S8 Plus have a slick design that our own phone reviewers absolutely love and its display (a dazzling 2220 x 1080) compared to Apple’s (a meh 1334 x 750) really put it at the top of the visual appearance heap. And then there’s the camera test. While on paper the smartphone’s cameras seem very similar, (Apple with a 7 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel back; Galaxy S8 Plus with 8 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel back), in practice, the selfies from the Galaxy S8 Plus seem far superior. After testing set-up, call quality, video downloading time, playback, visual appearance and cameras on each of the phones, we picked the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus as the winner of this particular head-to-head challenge. Let us know in the comments what we should test next!

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The iPhone 8 goes up against a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Samsung leapfrogs Intel again with 8-nanometer chips

Samsung has qualified its 8-nanometer chip-making process for production three months ahead of schedule. It’s the same “low power plus” (LPP) process used for its current 10-nanometer silicon , not the next-gen extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for its future 7-nanometer tech. That’ll yield chips that are ten percent more energy efficient and ten percent smaller than the 10-nanometer ones it’s making right now. At the same time, since the 8-nanometer chips use the same process, Samsung will be able to “rapidly ramp up, ” it said . Samsung said that the new process will be ideal for “mobile, cryptocurrency and network/server” applications. It notably worked again with Qualcomm, its 10-nanometer chip launch customer, to perfect the new tech. Rumors in Korea had it that Qualcomm would switch its 7-nanometer production to TMSC, which is reportedly slightly ahead of Samsung in developing that tech. However, Samsung confirmed with ZDNet that Qualcomm will be using its 8-nanometer process, without providing any specific details. Given that information, it seems likely that Qualcomm will build its next-gen Snapdragon chips with Samsung, using the tried-and-true LPP process instead of bleeding-edge 7-nanometer tech, which necessitates a switch to extreme ultraviolet lithography. By that time, Samsung should have its own 7-nanometer EUV process up to speed, with 6-nanometer chips set to follow after that. Anyway, Samsung Mobile is probably Qualcomm’s biggest customer with its Galaxy S8 and Note 8 phones, so it would have been pretty awkward to split off to another foundry. Though they don’t compete much in the same markets, the news puts Intel even further behind Samsung, at least in terms of chip trace sizes. Intel has yet to release any 10-nanometer chips, though it has said that when it does ( in 2018 or 2019 ), it will be ” generations ahead ” of Samsung thanks to better feature density. By then, however, Samsung might have closed that gap by being two or three actual generations ahead of Intel in terms of lithography. Samsung is expected to reveal its roadmap for 8- and 7-nanometer chips later today. Source: Samsung

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Samsung leapfrogs Intel again with 8-nanometer chips

Samsung topples Intel as world’s largest chipmaker

Samsung registered a record profit of $12.6 billion in its second quarter earnings report, but hidden in those numbers lies another milestone. Of its $54 billion in revenue, $15 billion came solely from Samsung Semiconductors — pushing it above the $14.8 billion that all of Intel brought in. In short: Samsung just ended Intel’s 24-year-reign and became the largest chipmaker in the world. But Samsung didn’t get there by outselling processors — it’s been diversifying its chip offerings for years. While Intel has focused on CPUs for computers and servers after burying its wearables division last November, Samsung has broadened into making chips for mobile devices, as well as connected chips for IoT and smart vehicles. But the company also got ahead of Intel on the strength of its flash memory with more popular SSD products. Intel isn’t giving up on the rivalry, and claimed its next generation of long-delayed Cannon Lake 10nm chips will feature twice as many transistors as Samsung’s or TMSC’s, putting them “light years” ahead. Via: Sam Mobile Source: Samsung Second Quarter 201 Earnings , Intel Second Quarter Earnings (PDF)

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Samsung topples Intel as world’s largest chipmaker

Samsung made a giant 34-foot LED TV for movie theaters

So you just spent $120, 000 on a 120-inch 4K HDR screen and think you’ve got the biggest, baddest TV around? Nope! Samsung has unveiled the Cinema LED Screen that’s an epic 10.3 meters (33.8 feet, or 406 inches). It runs at full 4K (4, 096 x 2, 160) resolution, features an (unnamed) HDR and peaks out at 146 fL of brighntess, “ten times greater than that offered by standard projector technologies, ” Samsung said in a news release. The set offers a “distortion-free” presentation with deep blacks, accurate whites and bright colors “at a nearly infinite contrast ratio, ” Samsung says. While it didn’t say so, the extra brightness might improve 3D films, which normally look dim with projection systems due to the polarized glasses. To complement the image quality, Samsung worked with JBL by Harman on the sound tech. That system features speakers around the screen, proprietary audio processing tech, and “Sculpted Surround Sound” from JBL to provide dramatic and faithful audio. Samsung Electronics unveiled the model at the Lotte Cinema in Korea, saying it’s the “first ever commercial Cinema LED Screen” it has installed. The average cinema screen size is around 50 feet, but the 33.8-foot Cinema Screen would be a good fit in smallish multiplex rooms. Samsung says it adapts to a wider range of dark and ambient lighting situations, making it work well for corporate events, sports viewing and gaming competitions. For films, it would certainly offer a very different experience than a projector, but might feel too much like you’re watching TV in public for some cinephiles. Samsung is obviously one of the few companies out there, perhaps along with LG, that could even create such a giant LED screen. The model was certified by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), meaning it can showcase films in theaters with unaltered color spectrum accuracy. As for the price, unless you’ve got an 80-foot yacht parked in the harbor, it’s probably best not to ask. Source: Samsung

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Samsung made a giant 34-foot LED TV for movie theaters

Samsung expects its record-breaking profits in 2017 will continue

After stumbling in 2016 Samsung appears to be back on track in 2017, as it just announced projected earnings for the second quarter that would show its highest operating profit ever. The company won’t provide a detailed breakdown for a few more weeks, but it’s estimating an operating profit of 14 trillion Korean won ($12.11 billion US). Analysts cited by Bloomberg and Reuters believe the figures got a boost from the well-received Galaxy S8 , as well as the RAM, processors and display components Samsung makes. This means the company is likely to continue the record-breaking streak from Q1 , and that’s before it launches the Galaxy Note 8 later this year. Plus, it could be in line to build OLED screens for a new iPhone, which could be a lucrative endeavor. If things keep going like this, we may have to pull an old image out of the archives . Source: Samsung

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Samsung expects its record-breaking profits in 2017 will continue

Samsung sold over 5 million Galaxy S8 phones

Samsung was quick to crow about Galaxy S8 pre-orders , but it was easy to be skeptical without real numbers to back up the bragging. Flash forward a few weeks, though, and it’s a different story. The company now reports that it has sold 5 million Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus devices worldwide since its April 21st debut — not bad for less than a month on the market, and only in a limited number of countries. It’s not certain which model was the most popular, though the regular S8’s lower price helps its chances. It’s hard to say how this stacks up to the Galaxy S7, although Samsung had noted that pre-orders were up 30 percent compared to a year ago. And other manufacturers? That’s tricky when most tend not to divulge model-specific data to avoid tipping their hand to competitors. The closest you get is Apple. It reported selling 50.8 million iPhones last quarter (about 16.9 million per month), but it’s not certain how many of those were iPhone 7 and 7 Plus units, let alone how many of them sold in April. Without directly comparable figures, it’d be difficult to declare a sales leader in high-end phones. As it is, Samsung is likely less concerned about raw numbers and more about its bottom line. In that sense, the S8 could easily be a success. Samsung racked up record operating profit in the quarter before the S8 stared shipping (albeit mainly on the back of chip sales), and the phone’s strong early showing is only bound to help. Via: Mashable Source: The Investor , ZDNet

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Samsung sold over 5 million Galaxy S8 phones

Intel: Our next chips will be a ‘generation ahead’ of Samsung

Intel says that when its long-delayed 10-nanometer Cannon Lake chips finally arrive, they’ll be a “full generation ahead” of rivals Samsung and TMSC, thanks to “hyper scaling” that squeezes in twice as many transistors. That will yield CPUs with 25 percent more performance and 45 percent lower power use than its current Kaby Lake chips when they ship towards the end of 2017. Furthermore, Intel thinks the tech will keep Moore’s Law going and give it a 30 percent cost advantage over competitors like AMD. These are bold words, particularly since its chief rival Samsung is already producing 10-nanometer chips like the Snapdragon 835 , the world’s hottest mobile CPU. However, Intel says that while the chip trace sizes are the same, it has better feature density, letting it squeeze in twice as many transistors as chips from Samsung. That in turn produces smaller die sizes, which “allows Intel to continue the economics of Moore’s Law, ” the company explains in a PowerPoint . Down the road, Intel will also release enhanced 10-nanometer tech called 10+ and 10++. To be sure, that’s mostly marketing-speak that will help it keep consumer’s attention until 7-nanometer chips come along. However, the refinements will offer a further 15 percent performance and 30 percent efficiency boost, it says. Intel laid out all this chip info as part of its Technology and Manufacturing Day yesterday, probably to sooth buyers and investors. Not only did Samsung and Qualcomm beat it to the punch for 10-nanometer chips, AMD also unveiled Ryzen processors that could eat into both its high- and low-end PC markets. However, Intel sounds pretty confident about its next-gen chips and beyond. It’s planning on building 10-nanometer chips for three years before moving on to 7-nanometer tech, about the same cycle length as its current 14-nanometer chips. “We are always looking three generations –- seven to nine years — ahead, ” says Intel Executive VP Stacy J. Smith. “Moore’s Law is not ending at any time we can see ahead of us.” Source: Intel (PDF)

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Intel: Our next chips will be a ‘generation ahead’ of Samsung

Samsung loses $26 billion of market value after Note 7 recall

Samsung was having a great year , thanks to the S7 and S7 Edge, enticing investors to toss their money into the pool. Unfortunately, the rest of 2016 hasn’t been going according to Samsung’s forecast. The Korean chaebol has lost a whopping $26 billion (with a B) of its market value since it announced the Galaxy Note 7 recall, according to financial data provider Factset. Its shares apparently dropped 6.9 percent between the Korean Exchange’s close on Friday (September 9th) and Monday, and its stock is currently priced at a bit above $1, 300. That’s the lowest it’s been in months, although as you can see in the graph below the fold, the company has recovered a bit since yesterday. Since around 2.5 million devices were shipped before the recall started, it might have alarmed investors and made them question Samsung’s future in the mobile business. Perhaps in an effort to assuage their fears, the company announced on Monday that Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee will officially take over his father’s role as the company’s chief. Samsung expected to maintain its high-end smartphone sales in the second half of 2016 with the Note 7’s release. And it probably would have succeeded — we called the latest in the series the “best phone Samsung has ever made.” However, the corporation had to issue a recall after reports came out that some units’ batteries were faulty, making them prone to overheating and exploding. There are now over 70 reported cases of Note 7 devices overheating in the US alone. The government even stepped in and asked people to stop using their phones until they get safe replacements scheduled to come out on September 19th. Ordinary consumers have become so wary of the device, tech analyst Rod Enderle told Inquisitr that the company might have to announce the Note 7’s successor ahead of time in order to bounce back. Source: Quartz

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Samsung loses $26 billion of market value after Note 7 recall