Samsung launches its phone upgrade program in Korea

After launching an upgrade program in the UK a few days ago, Samsung has it to its home turf as well. The deal sound quite attractive to those who always want to have the latest and greatest from the Galaxy lineup.

As per the official announcement, you can purchase a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge in South Korea and sign up for the 24 month plan, at 7,700 won ($6.35) on top of the cost of the unit. This will apparently allow you to get the latest Galaxy device 12 month later, once it becomes available. That amounts to just roughly $76 for an upgrade.

Factor in the hassle-free upgrade experience and you have a no-brainer. However, we are not entirely sure what happens with the payments during the remaining 12 months of the upgrade plan. Our best guess is that you end up paying them as well, which could mean that you can upgrade only once every two years, or have double payments after the first 12 months.

However, even if this is the case, it still sounds like a pretty good deal. Plus, there was also mention of a Galaxy Note in the source, which could possibly mean that Samsung's productivity phablet series is also eligible for the plan, or perhaps even better, it might suggest a cross-matching scenario, in which you can pick between a few eligible models each year.

Samsung announces own dual-pixel 12MP sensor

One of the greatest new bits about the Galaxy S7/S7 edge is their 12MP camera, with 12 million phase detection agents, as Samsung puts it. That's the essence of the dual-pixel term that we've heard every time the latest top-shelf Galaxies have been mentioned.

The sensor used in the smartphones was so far known to be Sony's IMX260, but apparently Samsung has its own imager in production with the same capabilities. Announced today, the Samsung-made sensor sounds very much the same as the Japanese one - 12MP, dual-pixels for PDAF, 1.4 micron pixel size, the lot. Plus the added ISOCELL tech, that is, which stands for isolated individual pixels to help reduce color cross talk.

Now, there's no word in the press release if the sensor is going to be fitted in the S7, but with it already rolling off the production line, that seems to be a likely scenario. Samsung has been known to source sensors from Sony while also using its own in parallel fashion, and the Galaxy S6 was one such example, so it's no precedent. Forum threads praising one and dissing the other are the natural outcome, we'll just need to wait for a critical mass of devices to accumulate.

AT&T offers 'buy one, get one free' deal on Samsung Galaxy S7

US carriers are doubling down on the Samsung Galaxy S7 - literally! AT&T is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal for new and existing users, even business users are welcome.

You can get the Galaxy S7 edge instead, but the second phone will still be an S7. That's if you want it for free, you can instead use the credit to purchase an S7 edge if you splurge some extra.

Note that the first phone can be a new line or an upgrade, but the second must be a new line on AT&T Next 24. In fact, both phones need to be on a Next plan.

You can get unlimited data if you have DirectTV or U-Verse, otherwise you get a 10GB plan (you have the option to keep your old one).

If you already bought an S7 earlier (starting February 26), don't shake your fist at the sky - your account will be credited for the second phone.

At sale you just pay the taxes on both phones, then after three months you will start receiving up to $695 in credit spread over 30 months. It's a complicated deal, so ask around your local AT& shop.

By the way, T-Mobile will allegedly launch a similar "2-for-1" deal.

Nexus 5X update rolling out today, expect performance improvements

Nexus 5X users have been experiencing a some issues and a few of them are getting squashed today. The big ticket item is "general slow/sluggish performance." It's not clear if the camera sluggishness is included in that.

Additional changes include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi improvements (users report choppy playback after long uptime). The issue of the next DND alarm disappearing has been fixed too. Additionally, there are carrier-specific fixes.

The new update (MHC19J for most Nexus 5X devices out there) is rolling out today, so be on the lookout for the notification.

The security updates for March have been included in this release.

Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge lack Samsung Pay support

Samsung Pay is gaining support in various markets, and the USA has always been one of the biggest opportunities for that kind of mobile payments. All major carriers officially support Samsung Pay, though Verizon was the last one to offer it.

Samsung Galaxy S6 series was the first one to introduce Samsung Pay, and the service is working well for the Verizon's users. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones for Verizon lack this support.

There is no official reason either from Verizon or from Samsung, why the app is missing on the new flagship duo. If you try to install it from the Play Store it still won't work as apparently the S7 lineup for Verizon isn't supported.

Hopefully this gets resolved soon with an update, or at least, Verizon gives a reason for the removal.

Ultra low-end Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini announced

Like many of its major rivals, Samsung is doing its best to capture emerging markets and offer tailored budget-friendly handsets for them. The latest addition to this budget class of devices is the Galaxy J1 Mini. It was announced today for the Philippines and from the looks of things is more or less identical to the Galaxy J1 Nxt, which the Korean giant recently made available for just $88 in Bangladesh

The new name might have actually been necessary to avoid confusion, as the J1 Mini comes with a bump down in RAM from 1GB to just 768MB. We can't really imagine this will net that much of a decrease in cost, but perhaps there are other factors involved that we don't know of.
Other than that, the specs sheets of the two devices is identical. It has a rather modest 4.0-inch TFT display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Inside is a quad-core CPU, clocked at 1.2GHz, which is used to boot Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. The camera setup is nothing special and includes a 5MP rear CMOS sensor camera and a VGA 0.3MP one on the front. The J1 Mini comes with a 1500 mAh battery, which promises up to 8 hours of 3G talk time, 7 hours of browsing and 29 hours of audio playback.

Sadly, there is no 4G compatibility, but the compact device (121.6 x 63.1 x 10.8 mm) still offers Dual SIM support. Other features include USB 2.0, GPS, Glonass, 3.5mm Stereo Earjack, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth 4.0.

Information on pricing and availability is still unknown.

Samsung phones are harder to repair than ever before, iFixIt tears down the Galaxy S7

Ever since Samsung’s days of removable batteries and hyper-glaze plastic, Samsung’s Galaxy phones have gotten more and more difficult to repair. This time around, the Galaxy S7scored a low 3/10 for user repairability.

Compared to Galaxies past, the Galaxy S6 had a score of 4/10, the S5 scored 5/10, and the hyper-glazed Galaxy S4 scored 8/10 as pretty easily repairable. These phones are becoming more and more complex and harder to repair now.

The good news is components are separated better and not stuck together to the midframe as was the case with the Galaxy S6. The bad news is, well, good luck getting into the device. The only way to gain access to the S7’s internals is by removing the rear glass panel, which is a feat all by itself.

Heat is needed to remove the adhesive that keeps the glass on the back. At this point, you’re five hundred times better off buying an insurance plan for your device in case the screen shatters or the components fail (looking at you, Galaxy S4).

Just make sure you all get cases for your new Galaxy phones!

LG launches contest to win an LG G5 in the Philippines

LG quietly launched a contest being held in the Philippines. Using the hashtag #BestLGG5Friend, you can enter to win one of three LG G5 smartphones. All you need to do is post the image below on either Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and finish the following sentence:

“My #BestLGG5Friend is_______”.

You must choose from one of the accessories shown in the image and explain why it you think it’s the best “friend” to the LG G5. These accessories include:

• LG Rolling Bot
• LG 360 CAM
• LG 360 VR
• LG CAM Plus
• LG Action CAM
• LG Hi-Fi Plus
• B&O Play
• LG Tone Platinum

You are allowed to post multiple entries with different “friends” as long as they aren’t the same as another of your entries.

It doesn’t really matter what you say since winners will be chosen at random. Entries are being accepted since March 4 all the way through March 30 until 4:59PM to qualify for the promotion. Entries that are missing either the image, the hashtag, or lacking 3 tagged friends will be automatically disqualified from the contest.

The official winner will be announced via LG’s official Philippines Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Buy two Chromecast Audio units, save $15

Google is currently running a neat promotion for its Chromecast Audio dongle in its online store for hardware in the US. The Chromecast Audio is normally priced at $35, but now you can get it cheaper.

The only thing you need to do is buy two. Yes, Google will sell you a two-pack of Chromecast Audio devices for just $55. So you save $15. That's obviously not much, but then again the Chromecast Audio isn't an expensive gadget in the first place.

The discount is applied automatically as soon as you add two Chromecast Audio units to your cart, so you don't need to copy a promo code or anything like that. It's unclear how long this deal will last, though, so if you're interested you'd better act fast.

The Chromecast Audio exists in order to connect the non-smart speakers you already have lying around the house. It basically has the same capabilities as the 'video' Chromecast, but it's for speakers only. Hi-res playback and multi-room support are a go too, ever since an update hit it in December.

LG G5 lands in Canada on April 8

The LG G5 is going to become available for purchase in Canada in exactly one month from today, namely on April 8. This information has apparently been made official by the Korean company itself, so it's straight from the horse's mouth as they say.

The G5 will be offered by all the major Canadian carriers (Bell, Telus, and Rogers), but also smaller companies such as Eastlink, MTS, SaskTel, Videotron, and Wind Mobile. Rogers' Fido brand will get in on the action too. So you'll pretty much be able to grab a G5 regardless of what your carrier of choice happens to be. As for third-party retailers, expect to see the G5 in stock at Best Buy, The Source, Costco, and Wireless Wave.

If you pre-order a G5 from Rogers or Fido, you'll receive the Cam Plus camera grip accessory for free (while supplies last). Unfortunately pricing information hasn't yet been announced by any of the aforementioned carriers and retailers, but surely that's coming soon.

The LG G5 should be released globally in "early April", with April 8 and Canada being the first confirmed launch date and country. It might just be that April 8 will be the big G5 day in other places too, but we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, make sure you check out our detailed hands-on preview of the phone.

State of Android: Marshmallow and Lollipop keep growing market share

Last month Android 6.0 Marshmallow finally broke past the 1% mark in Google's market share report. It doubled its spread since December, but now its growth is finally picking up. In fact, at the beginning of March Android 6.0 was on 2.3% of devices out there, so it's grown by more than 100% in one month or so. Hopefully this means it will get its market share into the double digits soon.

Lollipop has finally become the most used version of the OS, taking KitKat's place with 36.1% of the market compared to 34.3%. While Lollipop has grown 2% from the previous report, KitKat has lost 1.2% of the pie. And it's bound to go down even more.

Jelly bean now has 22.3% market share, Ice Cream Sandwich is down to 2.3%, while Gingerbread is at 2.6% and Froyo's still holding on to 0.1% of the market.

In the coming months more and more devices should be graced with updates to Marshmallow, so that version will obviously keep on growing. So too should Lollipop, while every other Android release is basically on the way out now - if incredibly slowly.

HTC USA slashes the One A9 price by $100, get it only today for $399

HTC One A9 - the company's premium metal-clad mid-ranger - is now at a discounted price. HTC USA is selling the One A9 for $399 instead of the regular $499.

All One A9 models are available at the lower price - you can choose between the unlocked flavor, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint. The paint job options you can choose from are Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep garnet, and Topaz Gold.

The $100 discount is valid only for today, and it's applied once you add the One A9 to your shopping basket.