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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Last week, we published an opinion piece on how a 2020 version of the Pixel 2 is the perfect device to take on the iPhone SE 2020. However, there are other Android devices that can be relaunched and will have a good shot at challenging the new iPhone.

For this week’s poll, we want to know which of these phones we have narrowed down should be relaunched with a newer, and of course, more powerful processor (or largely modern specs while keeping the same design) and an affordable price tag.

It took a while but we were able to narrow the list of devices to just five. So do vote and let us know which of them you would love to see get a relaunch. Also, drop a comment telling us the reason(s) that influenced your choice.

UP NEXT: OnePlus 8 vs Red Magic 5G: which one should you buy?

The post Poll of The Week: Which of these phones should be relaunched? appeared first on Gizmochina.

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)

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Recent reports about the Galaxy S8’s sales shows Samsung has gotten past its Galaxy Note 7 woes. Latest sales figure were shared by a Samsung official to Korean media, The Investor.

As at Sunday, May 28, Samsung says it has sold 1 million Galaxy S8 units in its home country since it went on sale on April 21. That’s about thirty-seven days, which is a huge improvement over the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7. It took the S6 and the S7 seventy-five and seventy-four days respectively to hit the 1 million mark. That means the S8 is selling twice as fast as its predecessors.

Samsung isn’t usually open about its sales this early. However an industry source says it may be using it as a marketing strategy. It had started with pre-order sales, announcing that pre-orders had crossed half a million within two days. A little over a week later, it confirmed that pre-orders had reached the one million mark.

When its Bixby assistant became available on May 1, Samsung again revealed that the number of adopters on the first day was 160,000. It also stressed that shipments of the phone were over 10 million units when global sales was announced to have reached 5 million.

READ MORE: Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017), Galaxy J5 (2017) Reviews Appear Before Official Launch

The Galaxy S8 is a fantastic device and it is good to see Samsung recover from the Note 7 mess. Samsung’s targets for the S8 is 60 million units by year’s end. Let’s see if it achieves it.

(Source, via)

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Several smartphone manufacturers have started rolling out Nougat update. Apart from Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, none of the Samsung smartphones have receive Android Nougat. Sam Mobile has compiled a list of Samsung smartphones that would be getting the latest Android software.

Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active

Users of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in the U.S., the U.K and China are now able to update to Android 7.0. The update is gradually reaching other users of the world. Samsung is also expected to release Android N update for Galaxy S7 Active.

Samsung Galaxy A (2017)

The South Korean company announced new Galaxy A series smartphones at the start of this year. The Galaxy A3 (2017), Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) have arrived with Marshmallow OS pre-installed. However, these devices will be soon getting the Android N upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 5, S6 Edge+, S6 Active

The Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy Note 5 were all found being tested with Android Nougat in the last quarter of 2016. Speculations suggest all the five devices will get Android N by the end of Q1 or in Q2 after the launch of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus in April.

Related: Samsung Galaxy S8/S8 Plus Dimensions and Model Numbers Leaked

Samsung Galaxy A (2016)

In December 2016, rumors had started swirling that the 2016 versions of Galaxy A smartphones would be getting the Android 7.0 Nougat update.  Hence, smartphones like Galaxy A3 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2016), Galaxy A7 (2016), Galaxy A8 (2016), Galaxy A9 (2016) and Galaxy A9 Pro (2016) are eligible to get Android N upgrade. These devices are expected the latest Android version after 2017 Galaxy A smartphones receives it.

Samsung Galaxy J (2016)

The Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016) are the only two Galaxy J series smartphones to get Android N. It seems that the update for these smartphones would be arriving after all the above-mentioned devices get Android N.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Tab A

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Galaxy Tab A are the only tablets that are rumored to receive Android Nougat update.

(Source)

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Huawei announced its Mate S flagship on Wednesday. The phone came with powerful specs, enough to compete with market leaders such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the LG G4. The company has repeatedly stressed that the Mate lineup is targeted at the premium segment where a handful of manufacturers have been successful, like Apple and Samsung. So, we decided to compare the specs of Mate S and Galaxy S6 to see if the former is really worth paying $730. On the other hand, if you can find good deals, the S6 can be bought for around $600.

MATE S VS GALAXY S6

So, this really makes us wonder if the Mate S is worth paying so much. Check out this comparison to see if it is…

DISPLAY:

We start off with the display on both the devices. The new generation Huawei Mate S features a 5.5-inch full HD 1080p AMOLED display with curved edges to give you bezelless look. This kind of distinguishes itself from the 5.1-inch Galaxy S6 which features a much better 2K resolution display. Of course, this means more pixels per inch on the S6 (577ppi) instead of the Mate S (401 ppi). However what makes the Mate S unique is its Force Touch. Its the first smartphone to be available in the market with this technology which definitely gives it an edge.

So, its actually not easy to determine which one has a better display. On one hand, we have the S6 with a better resolution display, but on the other side is the Mate S with a lower resolution screen but with Force Touch. Here, we would leave it up to you to decide which one’s better. But in my personal opinion, I would prefer the Mate S’s display given that 1080p resolution is more than enough for me and the Force Touch is something I would want to experiment with.

CPU, MEMORY & STORAGE:

Here, its not hard to decide which one comes out as the winner. The Galaxy S6 features the powerful Exynos 7420 octa-core chip clocked at 2.1GHz with Mali-760 MP8 GPU. On the other hand, the Huawei Mate S comes with a less powerful octa-core Kirin 935 chipset clocked at 2.2GHz. The Kirin chipset is noway near the Exynos 7420 in terms of performance, so we will have to give this category to S6 without doubt.

Both feature 3GB RAM on board with 32GB storage (base variant). However, the S6 lacks a MicroSD card slot, which is a big drawback for many. If you are using the 32GB version, you might fall short of storage, which is why Mate S triumphs this category with MicroSD support.

CAMERA:

This is where things get hard. On paper, the Galaxy S6 has the better camera with a 16MP rear sensor as compared to the 13MP shooter on the Mate S. Both feature OIS, Auto-Focus, & LED Flash (Mate S has dual tone flash). However, from our experience we know that specs aren’t the only thing that decides which one has the better camera. While S6 may have a larger resolution sensor, the Mate S could take better shots. So, we will have to wait for our review to decide which ones the best in this category.

When it comes to the front camera department, the Huawei Mate S triumphs. Because, the phone not only features the better resolution 8MP shooter as compared to the 5MP one on the Galaxy S6, but it also features a soft lighting flash besides the front camera. Selfie lovers will be happy to get the Mate S, thanks to its soft flash on the front as well as beauty mode which improves skin tone, eyes and your overall face in real time.

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT:

Both have fairly decent dimensions according to their display sizes. The Galaxy S6 is a bit more compact measuring 143.4x 70.5x 6.8mm while the Mate S featuers a 149.8 x 75.3 x 7.2mm body. As you can see, Galaxy S6 is thinner than the Mate S, but the latter compensates that by a slightly larger battery.

Even in the weights department, both are quite lightweight for their categories. The S6 weighs just 138 grams while the Mate S weighs 156 grams. So, you can’t really judge based on this information. Even design wise, both are fairly good looking smartphones. However, the new slightly curved back on the Mate S along with the curved edges on the display might please most smartphone lovers.

In case you are wondering about the screen to body ratio, here also there’s not much difference. The Mate S fetures a slightly better ratio with the screen covering 73.9% of the body while the S6’s display screen covers just 70.7%.

So, we leave it up to you to decide which one you prefer in terms of size, screen to body ratio and weight.

BATTERY:

The S6 features a 2550mAh battery while the Mate S comes with a slightly better 2700mAh battery. Both should provide up to a day’s battery life. While the Cortex-A53 powered Kirin 935 should definitely be less power consuming, the Exynos 7420 is built using the 14nm FinFET process making it efficient. So, we expect both to feature decent battery life. Both feature fast charge!

SOFTWARE & OTHER FEATURES:

Huawei is not really known for its EMUI, but then, even Samsung’s TouchWiz isn’t the best. Both run on Android 5.1.1 OS with their respective skins on top. Both the models feature a fingerprint sensor, Mate S has it at the back, while the S6 has it incorporated into the home button.

What we like about the Mate S is that it comes with Knuckle Control 2.0, which provides new features in addition to the ones we saw on the Huawei P8. Its a handy feature to speed up things like taking screenshots, opening up apps etc improving the overall user experience.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S6 does come with its own set of additional features. First of all, it supports Wireless Charging. Secondly, it features additional sensors like heart rate and SpO2. And finally, if you love giving Voice Commands, the S-Voice on the S6 is at your disposal.

CONCLUSION:

Well, we have covered most aspects of the Galaxy S6 vs Mate S comparison. As you can see from the comparison, its really hard to decide which one comes out as the winner. With a better resolution display, faster CPU and better resolution rear camera, the S6 does look like the winner here, but then, the Mate S has its own set of features which makes it unique.

It really depends on what you are looking in your smartphone to decide which ones better. However, in terms of pricing, the Galaxy S6 does have an edge. Retailers like Amazon are selling the device for as low as $600. On the other hand, right now, you will have to spend as much as $750 for a Mate S.

To justify such a big difference in the price, we would have wanted a faster CPU (Kirin 950 where are you?) and probably larger battery.

At least, this is what we think. We would like to know which one would you choose between the two devices? Do you think its really worth buying the Mate S for such a premium price tag?

The post Huawei Mate S vs Samsung Galaxy S6: Detailed Specs Comparison appeared first on Gizmochina.

Samsung has done a pretty good job with its newest flagship model – Galaxy S6. It is indeed a beautiful phone with a metal frame and Gorilla Glass 4 sandwich construction on the front and the back of the device. It is indeed the most major overhaul of the whole Galaxy series and finally we can say that Samsung can produce a flagship grade premium design. However, there is one thing that you may not want to buy it. It is the price.

The cost of 700 EUR is a ridiculous price, but as usual we have some Chinese manufacturers, which are quick enough to produce the clones. Well, the clones as far as design goes, of course. One of those manufacturers is the No.1.

You may be familiar with this manufacturer, which specialises in producing clones. This time around they decided to make a Galaxy S6 clone, which definitely looks identical to the original as far as aesthetics go.

It spots a metal frame along with the metal buttons. Also, it features the glass on the front and the back. Moreover, it has a home button, which, however, does not have a finger print scanner.

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The rest of the design elements are identical to the ones found on the Galaxy S6 as well.

As far as the specs go, the device features a 5.0 Inch 720p HD Screen, MTK6582 1.3GHz Quad Core chip, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (expandable via micro SD slot up to 32GB). Also, it has a 5/13MP combo on the front and the back respectively.

All in all, it shapes up to be a decent offering if you want to have a Galaxy S6 look-a-like, but not willing to pay a ridiculous price.

Usually, the No.1 S6I costs $119.99, but Gizmochina readers can get $12 off with the coupon code s6ioff at vifocal.com!

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