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Samsung Galaxy S8 isn't dead yet, receives November 2021 security patch
Samsung is now rolling out the November 2021 security patches to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, according to a report.
Samsung released the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus all the way back in 2017, packed with Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 chipsets (depending on where you bought it) and Android 7.0 Nougat. The phones were removed from Samsung's security update schedule in May of this year, bu the phones don't appear to be completely abandoned yet.
These smartphones will support Fortnite Mobile on Android
Fortnite Mobile on Android launches soon. Epic Games' website confirms that 40 devices will be supported at launch. Here are the devices it'll support.
Fortnite Mobile on Android is a long-awaited upcoming release of an already massively popular game. Since launching on Apple iOS, users of Android smartphones and tablets have been wondering when Fortnite would launch on their devices too. The Android release has apparently been delayed as we recently reported that it will be launching as an exclusive with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. This exclusivity will supposedly last 30 days. After 30 days, Fortnite Mobile on Android will become available for all supported Android devices. If you're wondering if your device will be supported, we've got the list of supported Android devices taken straight from Epic Games' own website.
Samsung Good Lock addon brings swipe gestures to the Galaxy S9/Note 8/S8
A Samsung Good Lock addon called "One Hand Operation +" has been updated with swipe gestures on the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy S8.
Just a month ago, Samsung released Good Lock for Android Oreo. Since then they have updated the apps that comprise Good Lock 2018 for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ with new features. The "One Hand Operation +" addon was updated a few days ago with new edge gesture features to help make life easier when using the phone with one hand.
Samsung's budget Galaxy Grand Prime Plus (2018) may have an Iris Scanner
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus 2018 may be Samsung's first budget smartphone with an iris scanner like the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy S9.
Biometric authentication has taken on new forms in modern smartphones thanks to advancements in imaging and display technology. We now have smartphones capable of precise facial recognition like the Xiaomi Mi 8 and Apple iPhone X. We are also getting smartphones with in-display fingerprint sensors like the Vivo NEX and Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS. Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly dropping their iris recognition technology in favor of a 3D facial recognition sensor and an in-display fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S10. But even if the Samsung Galaxy S10 marks the company's departure from iris scanners on their flagship phones, it's possible that they may include the feature on one or more of their budget Galaxy offerings this year—possibly a 2018 refresh of the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus.
Samsung Calendar update brings stickers to the Samsung Galaxy S8/Galaxy Note 8
A recent Samsung Calendar update has brought stickers to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to make it easier to keep track of your events.
The Samsung Calendar application on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is receiving an update which brings stickers. This is useful for a number of different use cases, including simply being able to glance at your calendar and know what's going on. Want to mark a birthday? Simply set a birthday balloon emoji. An anniversary? Set a heart on the date of your anniversary and you'll see it whenever you open your calendar. On older Samsung devices, the S Planner application allowed you to set a sticker for a particular day, exactly in the same manner that the Samsung Calendar application lets you.
How to fix the missing OEM Unlock button on the Samsung Galaxy S9/S8/Note 8
If you're missing the OEM Unlock button on your Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, or Samsung Galaxy S8, here's a tutorial on how to get it.
On any smartphone running Android 5.0 Lollipop and higher, you may find an option called 'OEM unlocking' in developer options. By toggling this option, you'll get the ability to unlock the bootloader on your device. Unlocking the bootloader lets you install a custom recovery such as TWRP, root your device to access system files, flash custom ROMs, modify the kernel, and much more. If you own the international/Exynos version of the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, or Samsung Galaxy S9 and you're missing the OEM unlock toggle, then there's a fix available.
Here's What's New in Samsung Experience 9.0 Beta: Android Oreo and Much More
Samsung is testing Samsung Experience 9.0 on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Here's a list of every major change and feature in the beta release.
In late October, we wrote about the beta rollout of Android 8.0 Oreo and Samsung Experience 9.0 on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus phones throughout the U.S., the UK, and South Korea. Since last year, Samsung has used the Samsung Plus application's beta channel to test platform updates and changes in its proprietary fork of Android, TouchWiz, and this year is no different. While there aren't many user-facing tweaks this time around, there are quite some changes under the hood. To make tracking those changes a little easier, we put together a guide to Samsung Experience 9.0 Beta.
Update to TouchWiz Home Addresses Lag on Galaxy S8/S8+
TouchWiz Home Launcher just received an update to address some lag when swiping up the app drawer in the home screen. Check it out!
We're just about halfway through 2017, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 still remains as one of the most attractive smartphones that money can buy. The S8's Infinity Display truly is something to behold, but while Samsung may have knocked it out of the park with the S8's screen, the company's latest flagship still suffers from something that Samsung has struggled with for years - software lag and stutters.
How to Automatically Toggle Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging while at Home
A tutorial on how to automatically disable Samsung's Adaptive Fast Charging while at home, but enable it otherwise. May prolong battery longevity.
While we haven’t seen a breakthrough in battery technology, many companies have instead opted to focus on innovations in charging technology. Qualcomm offers their Quick Charge technology, Huawei offers what they call SuperCharge, Motorola has their TurboPower, Oppo offers its VOOC, and Samsung has Adaptive Fast Charging. (Our personal favorite charging technology is OnePlus’s DashCharge, which is a modified version of Oppo’s VOOC.)
Automatically Toggle Samsung's Always On Display When Charging [App]
A tutorial on how to make Samsung's Always on Display feature trigger based on custom contexts such as charging, device orientation, or location.
Samsung gets a lot of flak for its performance optimization with regards to its software (though how much of that criticism is legitimate and/or accurate is a debate for another time), but it’s hard to deny just how much added value their software brings. I could go on and on about all of the features you can find on the Samsung Experience (formerly known as TouchWiz), but today I’m going to focus on how to make one feature slightly better: Always On Display. Specifically, how to automatically enable Always on Display when charging, but disable it when not charging.
How to Add Custom Buttons to the Nav Bar on the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+
A tutorial on how to add custom button to the nav bar on the Samsung Galaxy S8 or Samsung Galaxy S8+. Does not require root access.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are two of the hottest smartphones on the market, largely thanks to the great strides Samsung made with their display technology. Since Samsung aimed to reduce bezels as much as possible with their new flagship devices, the company has finally gotten rid of the capacitive keys that were once staples of Samsung hardware. In its place are software navigation keys, which can be modified to some extent within the Samsung Experience UI.
This video is for new Galaxy S8 users looking for some cool mods for their device. Miles put together four mods that you can check out in this XDA TV video.
[Update: Samsung Confirms] Samsung has Removed the Ability to Remap the Bixby Button on the Galaxy S8/S8+
Samsung has apparently sent out an OTA update which removes the ability to remap the Bixby button on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
Though the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ has yet to reach the hands of the vast majority of users, some users have gotten their models a few days early. As is typical with new smartphone releases, there are often minor OTA updates available to fix some bugs that weren't caught in the Q&A process. However, it seems that this time an OTA update is being used to rework how a certain feature on the device works - the Bixby Button. Apparently, this update is removing the ability to remap the Bixby Button. We knew this was possible, but we didn't expect Samsung to actually go ahead and do it.
How to Remap the Bixby Button on the Galaxy S8/S8+ to Launch Google Assistant
A tutorial on remapping the dedicated Bixby Button on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ to launch Google Assistant using a free app named All in one Gestures.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ were just announced last week and it indeed comes with a dedicated Bixby button as previous rumors suggested. For those of you who haven't been keeping up to date with the news, Bixby is the name of Samsung's Virtual Assistant software which is supposed to provide similar functionality to Google Assistant (though we have yet to evaluate that claim for ourselves). Although the Samsung Galaxy S8 has yet to reach the hands of consumers, some early reviewers who have had some hands-on time with the device would rather have the dedicated Bixby button launch Google Assistant.