The Samsung Galaxy S9 is about to hit the production line

Good news for fans of finely crafted, exquisitely detailed smartphones - sources in South Korea say production is about to start on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, putting them on course for an official unveiling at the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona at the end of February.

ETNews reports that as soon as the New Year celebrations are ended, the wheels are going to begin to turn in earnest as far as cranking out the Galaxy S9 phones goes. In other words, everything's right on course as Samsung looks to wow us with its 2018 offerings.

One of the upgrades that parts suppliers are hinting at this year is an upgraded, 'stacked' motherboard, similar to the one used in the iPhone X. As well as enabling the usual speed and efficiency improvements we've come to expect each year, the board also means there's more room inside the phone for a bigger battery.

Those rumors in full

With the S9 and S9 Plus reveal now probably less than two months away, we've heard plenty about what to expect from Samsung's next top-end handsets. Apparently the 3.5mm audio headphone jack has again made the cut, while the Snapdragon 845 will be powering the phones (in some countries at least).

We've also seen leaked renders of the Galaxy S9, which may even manage to embed a fingerprint reader under the front display, if the rumor mill is to be believed. As for that 18.5:9 Infinity Display, supply chain sources say the visible bezels are going to be shrunk even further for a screen-to-body ratio of around 90%.

All of which leaves us eagerly awaiting Mobile World Congress, which kicks off with a press day on February 25. Samsung has a history of launching flagships at the event, although the Galaxy S8 was an exception.

• Get a load of these leaked Galaxy S9 schematics

Via SlashGear

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/the-samsung-galaxy-s9-is-about-to-hit-the-production-line

Prior to new year, YouTube app for Fire TV stops working

YouTube could not guarantee it being on Fire TV after January 1. But alas, Google's ongoing spat with Amazon has resulted in an early blockage.

The post Prior to new year, YouTube app for Fire TV stops working appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/30/youtube-app-fire-tv-blocked-early

Samsung and LG say they don't slow down older phones, either

Following Apple’s admission that it deliberately slowed down older phones to allow the battery to continue to power the processor, the list of rival smartphone manufacturers announcing they don’t follow the same practice continues to grow.

Yesterday we saw statements from both Moto and HTC affirming that they don’t throttle their smartphones, and today Samsung and LG Electronics have both chimed in to report that they don’t either, reports PhoneArena.

LG kept it brief, saying, “Never have, never will! We care what our customers think.”

Samsung was more chatty, saying, “Product quality has been and will always be Samsung Mobile's top priority. We ensure extended battery life of Samsung mobile devices through multi-layer safety measures, which include software algorithms that govern the battery charging current and charging duration. We do not reduce CPU performance through software updates over the lifecycles of the phone.”

Revenge of the quick fix

Good to know, but these statements probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that Apple’s practice grew out of a very specific response to the iPhone 6 last January after customers noticed that their devices were shutting down without warning. 

With iOS Patch 10.2.1, Apple announced that it had “improved” the issue, but wasn’t upfront about the nature of that improvement, leading to the current backlash. It was a “quick fix” that unfortunately apparently became standard practice.

Apple has since penned a letter of apology, and also announced that it will start offering battery replacements for the iPhone 6 and above throughout all of 2018 for just $29/£25. That’s a significant drop down from the usual price of $79/£79.

The tech giant has also stated that an iPhone’s batteries drain significantly after 500 charge cycles, and that it plans to introduce more tools to better keep track of your iPhone’s battery life in iOS in 2018.

• Which phones have the best battery performance? Check out our guide!

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/samsung-and-lg-say-they-dont-slow-down-older-phones-either

Leaked list may reveal all the 2018 smartphones with Snapdragon 845

Did Apple tell anyone about iPhone slowdowns earlier?

There was a claim floating around for a short minute saying that Apple had told everyone it was throttling performance on older iPhones in February.

The post Did Apple tell anyone about iPhone slowdowns earlier? appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/29/did-apple-tell-anyone-about-iphone-slowdowns

Pulling back on the iPhone 7 throttle | #PNWeekly 285 (LIVE at 3p ET)

It's good for the iPhone because the battery might screw your life up, the company says. It's sorry, it says. We have our say on what Apple is saying about iPhone processor throttling.

The post Pulling back on the iPhone 7 throttle | #PNWeekly 285 (LIVE at 3p ET) appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/29/pulling-back-on-the-iphone-7-throttle-pnweekly-285

New rules to improve mobile service

Rural mobile users could find it easier to get connected in future, thanks to government reforms that have just come into force.

The changes to the Electronic Communications Code (EEC) were announced in October and will have profound effects on the way that mobile communications infrastructure will be deployed. The new rules will help counter the criticism of the country’s mobile infrastructure that was sent to Ofcom by the National Infrastructure Commission.

Under the new regulations, telecoms operators will pay reduced rents for installation of equipment to landowners. The charges will be more in line with the charged made to utilities providers.

In addition, it will now be easier for operators to share their infrastructure with other providers, helping to increase coverage and reduce costs. Further changes will include a simplified disputes procedure.

Digital revolution

The minister for digital Matt Hancock said: "The laws that we've brought into force today strike another blow to diminish the digital divide. Improving mobile and broadband services for people struggling with poor connections is a top priority for us - we want everyone to benefit from the digital revolution. Removing these outdated restrictions will help promote investment and give mobile operators more freedom to improve their networks in hard-to-reach places."

 

• Best mobile deals in January sales

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/new-rules-to-improve-mobile-service