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If you own a Samsung Galaxy Note8, you may soon have a bit less envy for those who bought the latest-and-greatest Note9. A recent update for last year's Note device brings AR Emoji and Super Slow-Mo video capabilities to the camera, along with the September security patch. It's worth noting that as of now, this update seems to have rolled out to only some Note8 phones running on the Exynos 8895 chipset.
Last-generation phones are expected to depreciate, but Samsung phones typically retain their value better than many of their competitors. It's pretty surprising, then, that Samsung is currently offering the T-Mobile Galaxy S8 for only $350, around $400 off the launch price and $250 off the current MSRP. If you don't mind not having the latest and greatest thing and you're on Team Magenta, you may want to look into this.
The #1 rule when it comes to consumer electronics is this: Nothing holds its value forever. The latest device to see its price hit an all-time low is Samsung's global dual-SIM variant of the S8 (SM-G950FD), which has just hit $430 on eBay, falling a further $45 since two months ago.
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The last time we posted about a deal on a (new) dual-SIM Galaxy S8 was back in December, when it was being offered for $569.99. Half a year has gone by since then, and pricing for this Exynos S8 model has dropped by nearly 0 to 4.99, the lowest price we've seen.
Samsung's Always On Display made its debut on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge over two years ago now. Since then, the company has steadily been adding features here and there, which it's been able to do since the feature itself has its own APK. Always On Display's newest addition is GIF support, which lets you add a little action to the otherwise-dull clock and time.
Hot on the heels of Big Red and John Legere and co, Sprint is now pushing the Android 8.0 Oreo / Samsung Experience 9.0 update to its versions of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. That makes it the third major US carrier to do so, leaving only AT&T (and US Cellular, if you count that).
Verizon models of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ began receiving their Android 8.0 Oreo updates two days ago, and now it's the T-Mobile models' turn. Samsung Experience 9.0 doesn't make any huge changes, at least to the end user, but it does add a few tweaks here and there and smooth the software out a bit.
Less than a week ago, Verizon became the first US carrier to push Android 8.0 Oreo to the LG V30. Defying its stereotype as the slowest carrier for updates yet again, Big Red has become the first one in the US to release 8.0 Oreo to the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
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- Speaking to SamMobile, Samsung has revealed that the update was halted as it investigated a limited number of S8+ units rebooting unexpectedly on Oreo.
Just last week, Samsung began rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ after a roughly three-month beta phase. However, according to SamMobile, it seems like Samsung has suspended the rollout, though the reason behind that decision is unclear.
Android OEMs are required to release the kernel source code every time they push a new Android version to a device. It includes any modifications they've made and its what tinkerers then use to build custom ROMs and other mods. Some OEMs are quick to release the code after an update, whereas some drag their heels. In this instance, Samsung has been impeccably fast.
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- Samsung has stopped the rollout due to some devices experiencing unexpected reboots.
After a few months of beta testing, Samsung has finally begun rolling out the official Android 8.0 Oreo update to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. It's been almost six months since the first public version of Oreo was released to the original Pixel, but then again, it's not like we aren't already used to slow rollouts anyway.
It's been about a month and a half since Samsung announced the first Android 8.0 Oreo beta for its Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones. Since then, there have been a second and a third beta, and now there's a fourth. The latest update, build number ZQL8 for both phones, features a long list of bug fixes.
Samsung is no stranger to rolling out new colors for its phones even months after release. Most recently, the Note8 got an exclusive 'Deepsea Blue' color just for Best Buy. Now the older S8 is getting a unique color of its own: Burgundy Red.
Cyber Monday is living up to its name, delivering some of the lowest prices we've seen for two Samsung devices. The unlocked dual-SIM Galaxy Note8 is just $739.99, and the unlocked dual-SIM Galaxy S8 is a similarly low $569.99. Those prices are even lower than Samsung's prices for the US unlocked models.
BrexLink makes some excellent phone accessories. We've partnered with the company on multiple occasions to give away battery cases and other phone accessories. If you're looking to get a new case for your phone, or stock up on USB Type-C accessories, BrexLink has some fantastic deals for Cyber Monday when you use coupon code BLBFCM30.
Samsung announced an Oreo beta for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ a few weeks ago and has been updating it pretty regularly since. A second beta was released a little over a week ago, and now a third one is out. There's only one truly new feature, but a lot of fixes are present.
Samsung's three flagships, the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note8, are fantastic phones. Unfortunately, they're also pricey, with some variants of the Note8 going over the scary thousand-dollar mark with taxes. If you're on Sprint or Verizon and you're in search of a new phone, Best Buy's latest $350 discount (over 24 months) on these devices may just be what you need.
If you've been on the prowl for a good dual-SIM flagship, there's never been a better chance to buy one. The frequently-discounted dual-SIM Galaxy S8+ has reached just $583.92 with a $50 off coupon code, making this the cheapest price for this phone we've seen thus far.
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At the beginning of the month, Samsung started rolling out its Android 8.0 Oreo beta to its Galaxy S8/S8 Plus devices in the US, UK, and Korea. The company isn't resting on its laurels, it seems, as the second beta build is already making its way to users. The firmware may have the build number G950FXXU1ZQK4 or G955USQU1ZQK6 depending on which region you're in.
The opinion that Samsung's Bixby voice assistant is useless is one that is pretty universal. We've seen an epic war between Samsung and developers who wanted to remap the button (seriously, here are more links), but even after Samsung "disabled" the button in the last battle, Bixby would still activate the screen when pressed. Now though, disabling it will render it virtually nonexistent (which we've all been waiting for).