The year 2020 is bizarre in many ways. This year we have witnessed many out of support Android smartphones receiving updates. The Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, and Galaxy Note 5 are the latest devices to join this elite list. All these four handsets launched five years back in 2015.

The official support for the 2015 Samsung premium smartphones ended in 2018, three years from their release. Despite that, the Galaxy S6 series received January 2019 security patch earlier last year in UAE.

Now, the South Korean tech giant is rolling out another update to this trio along with Galaxy Note 5. This new update neither bumps up the security patch level nor brings new features. The changelog does not say much but according to SamMobile, it includes some security-related stabilization code.

EDITOR’S PICK: The almost 5-year-old HUAWEI Mate 8 is receiving a new system update

In a nutshell, Samsung might have discovered a vulnerability and the company is addressing it by released a new patched build for these 5-year-old phones.

The update comes with the following firmware versions.

• Galaxy S6 – G92xSKSS3ETJ1
• Galaxy S6 Edge / Galaxy S6 Edge+ – G928SKSS3DTJ3
• Galaxy Note 5 – N920SKSS2DTJ2

The surprise update is available in South Korea and some countries in Europe and Latin America. It may roll out in other regions as well. If you still own any of these devices and use it as your daily driver, then do head over to Settings to check for update.

After the installation of the update, these phones will continue to stay on Android Nougat with no new features.

UP NEXT: Galaxy S7/S7 Edge from 2016 are receiving a new system update

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Smartphone manufacturers such as Sony, HTC and Nokia have already started rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo update. Samsung smartphones users are also eagerly waiting for the company to release the latest version of Android. A leaked image showing the list of Samsung phones that will be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo has been leaked on Weibo by a well-known tipster.

The above image shows that the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ flagship smartphones from 2015 will be receiving the Android Oreo update. It is likely that the Oreo would be the last major Android upgrade for Galaxy S6 models that were launched with Android Marshmallow OS.

Around a month ago, Samsung had begun the Android 8.0 Oreo beta program for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphone users in the U.S., the U.K and South Korea. The second beta firmware was released around two weeks ago. There is a possibility that the Galaxy S8 duo may receive the Android 8.0 Oreo update by early 2018. The Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note FE, and Galaxy Note 5 will be also receiving the latest Android version.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)’s Front Panel Leaked; Reveals Dual Selfie Cameras, Infinity Display

The leaked image suggests that the 2015 versions of Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 won’t be receiving the Android Oreo update. As far as Galaxy On series are concerned, only the Galaxy On Max is expected to receive Android 8.0 Oreo update. The South Korean company also seems to be keen on releasing on rolling out Oreo update for a handful of Samsung tablets.

Samsung has been always slow in releasing major Android versions for its devices. Hence, it seems that the company will be gradually rolling out the Oreo update in a bid to release stable builds.

(source|via)

The post Samsung Android 8.0 Oreo Update: List of Oreo Upgradable Devices Confirmed in New Leak appeared first on Gizmochina.

A video of an alleged dummy unit of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has surfaced to showcase its design from all angles. As expected, the phablet can be seen gracing a vertically aligned dual camera setup on the rear panel.

Apart from video, the Chinese source has revealed three images of the purported Galaxy Note 8. Its dummy unit has 3D print unit which is speculated to be also available on the rear Note 8 when it arrives. In another image, it is shown kept beside the Galaxy S6 Edge+ that has a huge screen of 5.7 inches. A render of the Galaxy Note 8 in Coral Blue has also been leaked by the source.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nafkh36R4

The Galaxy Note 8 is heavily speculated to feature rear-facing dual camera setup. However, it won’t be the first Samsung phone to come with twin rear cameras as the rumored Galaxy C10 is expected to feature it and release before Galaxy Note 8. The video shows that the Galaxy Note 8’s twin rear cameras will be assisted by dual-LED flash. A heart rate sensor also appears to be present below the dual camera module.

The Galaxy S8 duo have been well received by the audience and critics, but the placement of rear-mounted fingerprint reader is not user-friendly. Reports have revealed that the reason why Samsung placed it on the backside of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ was that it encountered problems in embedding the biometric recognition feature under the display.

The dummy unit of Note 8 shows that its rear side does not featuring a fingerprint scanner. Also, the feature is not present on the front which indicates that Samsung may embed it under the display of Galaxy Note 8. Speaking of the screen, the image that shows the Note 8 beside the Galaxy S6 Edge + indicates that the former will be arriving with a massive screen. Speculations have it that it will feature a 6.3-inch display that will support Quad HD+ resolution of 2,960 x 1,440 pixels.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Wins SID Display of the Year Award

The top bezel of the phone seems to house a selfie snapper and an iris scanner. It seems that the Galaxy Note 8 would be coming with a dual-edge curved screen that will offer an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. There are two separate buttons on the left edge for controlling volume. Below the volume buttons, there seems to be an exclusive button for launching Bixby AI. The power button is present on the right side of the phablet.

The Coral Blue render of Galaxy Note 8 shows the S-Pen stylus beside it. The phablet appears quite similar to the Galaxy Note 7.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phablet is speculated to come in Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 9810 chipset variants. It is expected to get unveiled either in August or September this year.

(source|via)

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Samsung has changed their design language in the past several years and the company has also brought some premium materials and great build quality to their midrange phones lineup.

Galaxy A5 2016 year edition is a great example of it but is it any good? Learn more in the full Galaxy A5 2016 review. 

The review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

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Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPbxXcge_U[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Let’s start by the design as the Galaxy A5 looks and feels like a flagship phone. It uses a quality metal frame around the device along with metal buttons, which are located on the left and right sides and they have excellent tactile feedback. Also, there is a single SIM card slot and the microSD card slot for storage expansion. It’s worth mentioning that you can also opt in for a dual-SIM card model.

The Gorilla Glass 4 protects the 5.2” 1080p Amoled display, which is just gorgeous. It is sharp, vibrant, bright and it has great viewing angles. Also, you can adjust colour temperature to your liking in the settings menu. 

On the top we have a 5MP selfie shooter with a bright f/1.9 aperture. Unfortunately, the phones does not have a notification LED light. 

On the bottom there are typical Samsung capacitive buttons with a nice backlight. The physical home button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. While it is very accurate and recognises your fingerprint quickly, it does not work straight from the standby mode. For me, it is a huge letdown, because even some cheapest budget phones have this feature. 

The backplate is also covered by the sheet of the Gorilla Glass 4 and it is a fingerprint magnet but at least it is not that visible on the gold colour unit I have. 

As far as optics, we have optically-stabilised 13MP shooter with a single LED flash and a bright f/1.9 aperture.

The usual set of ports along with the loudspeaker and the mic are located on the bottom.

Overall, the phone feels really solid and if you asked me, I would say it could easily rival even the Galaxy S6. By the way, the full comparison review is just around the corner, so stay tuned to the TechLineHD for that. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: USER INTERFACE

When it comes to software, we are looking at the Samsung’s Touchwiz UI, which is built on top of Android 5.1. 

Although it is not as heavy as it used to be in the past, it is still Samsung’s UI after all. We have a briefing app, which is basically a news feed similar to the Blinkfeed we’ve seen on HTC phones for years. Also, we have redesigned icons, different colour schemes and so on. 

Some of the notable features would be the ability to quickly access the camera app straight from the standby mode by simply double tapping the home button. I have to say this is really good feature and it works well. 

A dedicated theme store allows you to choose from a variety of themes and lets you make the device look your own.

Finally, the Touchwiz UI is fast and snappy, and it’s a pleasure to use it as I didn’t have any hiccups or lags. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: BENCHMARKS

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Samsung Galaxy A5 has a mid-range level specs. It uses an octa-core Snapdragon 615 chip with the clock speeds of up to 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and only 11GB of it are available to the user.

While the phone will not be your next benchmarks champion, the hardware is definitely enough to run some graphically intensive games like Asphalt 8 at the highest settings without any lags but with just a few skipped frames.

The Snapdragon 615 chip is infamous for its overheating issues. However, I have to tell you that Samsung optimised it well and the phone does not overheat even after extensive periods of gaming. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: MULTIMEDIA

The sound via earphones is actually very good. However, the volume output could be louder. 

The loudspeaker is pretty good too. While it is not the loudest out there, it has quite a balanced sound with a decent amount of depth.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CAMERA

As far as the camera app, we have a typical Samsung interface. There are some settings and shooting modes to play with but most importantly, the app is fast, responsive, easy to use and the capture speeds are very fast. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The daylight images are near excellent and it is almost on par with most of the flagships. There is a huge amount of details, colours look natural and contrast levels are great. A few flaws that differentiate the Galaxy A5 from the e.g. Galaxy S6 are the dynamic range and exposure adjustment in some shots but these are just minor complaints. Well, the Galaxy A5 is a midrange phone after all. 

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When it comes to indoor and low-light shots, the level of details decreases and more noise kicks in. Still, the phone is capable of producing some good looking images and that is thanks not only to the capable hardware but also to mature post-processing.

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As for selfies, the Galaxy A5 is very good. It produces high-quality images with a good amount of details.

When it comes to the video recording, the phone can shoot up to 1080p videos and they look sharp, have lots of details, and the continuous auto-focus works fine. See a camera video review for various video samples. 

Make sure to check out my dedicated camera review video for more camera samples.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connectivity options that include Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS are working fine. Also, the signal reception is excellent and the call quality is good.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: BATTERY LIFE 

The Galaxy A5 has a 2900mAh battery. In short, it performs really well. I could constantly get over 4.5h or even 5 hours of SOT even if used the phone quite intensively with maximum auto brightness setting. Also, the phone features a fast charging feature and I was able to fully charge the phone in less than 1.5 hours. 

Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 edition. For around $400 you are getting a phone that has a premium design and excellent build quality, great display, fast UI, a fingerprint scanner, great battery life and a very good camera. 

The Snapdragon 615 chip does its job for day-to-day tasks very well and even for some gaming. However, if you are a serious gamer and you love playing the all latest 3D games, the processor along with the GPU will not be powerful enough for you.

Another shortcoming would be a fingerprint scanner. Don’t get me wrong, it is fast and accurate. However, it does not work straight from the standby mode as the majority of even a lot cheaper phones. Cmon Samsung, step up you fingerprint scanner game. 

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy A5 is a great phone despite a few shortcomings and I can definitely recommend it. However, I can’t say there aren’t any other alternatives out there at this price point. E.g. the Galaxy S6, which is still a flagship, can be bought at a similar price right now. It has a much better chipset for gamers but has some other disadvantages like poor battery life. 

At the end of the day, the Galaxy A5 is still an awesome phone and the chipset is the only major shortcoming if you care about gaming.

Buy Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 from Amazon UK 

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