Earlier reports had suggested that the Korean giant was entering the field of cryptocurrency with dedicated mining machines and today, that news has been confirmed. A Samsung spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company's foundry business is concentrating on building chips for mining cryptocurrencies specifically. However, the representative was also very secretive about the whole thing and declined to comment any further on the matter. It looks like all those rumors about Samsung making application-specific integrated circuit chips (ASIC) for dedicated mining machines were indeed true.

The decision isn't really surprising, given how popular a business cryptocurrency mining has become nowadays. In fact, it's one of the main reasons as to why graphics card prices have soared sky-high and even when you are willing to pay that price, it's hard to find one! ASIC chips on the other hand are the future of mining bitcoins. They are more efficient in mining than gaming GPUs simply because they are built specifically for one purpose, which is to compute hashes. Given that the ASIC-powered mining rigs are also more power-efficient than a multi-GPU unit, Samsung has a chance to shape the future of cryptocurrency mining here.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We know that the twin cameras on the upcoming Galaxy S9 (or maybe the S9+ only) are going to be pretty amazing, especially if the rumoured f/1.5 aperture turns out to be a reality, but will it sport the rumoured 1,000fps video recording as well? Keep in mind that it's an old rumor that had been circulating for a while now and it just got recent attention after the famous Chinese tipster Ice Universe (@Universeice) stated the same earlier.

As of now, the only smartphone camera that comes even close to producing 1,000fps is on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium (960fps). Not that Samsung cannot do it of course, but we will have to wait a bit longer to get confirmation. In case you do not know already, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be unveiled at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona, on the 25^th of February.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung has just patented technology which is suggesting that the Korean giant might be on the verge of developing a revolutionary form of security measure. Title as ‘Real Time Authentication Based on Blood Flow Parameters,' the patent was filed way back in July, 2016 but it got approved just recently.

This technology will allow users to authenticate themselves on their smartphones and smartwatches on the basis of their blood flow pattern. On smartphones, it would be detected from the fingers, not unlike how it happens when we use fingerprint scanners, but on smartwatches, the wrist on which the smartwatch is worn will be enough.

Apparently, the arterial conduction paths of each human being are unique and therefore, safety is assured alongside the convenience of not having to use a fingerprint scanner on a smartwatch. To be honest, it sounds wonderful, but that doesn't necessarily mean that this technology will ever see the light of day. We will know soon enough I guess.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We all know that Samsung is going to unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in roughly a month's time (February 25), but what we did not know before today's leak is the exact release date for the two upcoming flagship smartphones from Sammy. According to a leak made public by Evan Blass (@evleaks on Twitter), the S9 line-up will start making their way onto public hands from March 16. As far as we can tell, what you see here is very likely a leaked image sheet that Samsung had prepared for the press release. Do check out the accompanying images of the S9 and S9+ as well. Not that we are seeing anything new here mind you.

If you are wondering what this date means exactly, you are in the same boat as us. It doesn't specify any regions in particular, but it does mean that the release date for all the major regions, including the US should be roughly around the same time. Now, the question is, if you already have a Galaxy S8, will you be upgrading or waiting it out till the S110 or S10+ arrives in 2019?

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

It looks as if just like the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the S9 and S9+ will also be launched in silver and grey colors. Take a look at the latest renders leaked by case maker Poetic to understand what we are talking about here. The pictures are obviously concept images mostly, but they are probably quite accurate, given that case makers usually have access to the exact dimensions and dummy units to work with before a big smartphone line-up is released. The reason is obvious; people look to buy cases the second these smartphone become available for purchase, so the case makers would need to have access to inside information a long time before the actual release.

What does this say about the color options which Samsung will offer its upcoming flagship smartphones in? Not much other than the fact that silver and grey are most likely going to be the first colors alongside black to make it onto the market. As always, you can expect other colors such as the much anticipated purple and blue to also be available later in 2018, but Samsung could also be releasing those colors to select regions only.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)