Tags - (2017)


Although both phones are yet to be officially confirmed, Samsung has unwittingly (or was it?) established that all those rumors were true and the J5 (2017) and J7 (2017) are indeed coming.


The information was leaked after Samsung mentioned the Galaxy J3 (2017), J5 (2017), J7 (2017), the entire Galaxy A series, the Galaxy S6 series, the Galaxy S7 series and the Galaxy S8 series on their South Korean website. It's basically a page which details Samsung's Kid Mode feature and while listing all the devices that are compatible with the feature, those two unannounced phones were mentioned, confirming their existence unofficially. Unfortunately, now news has yet been revealed as to when the thw latest iteration of the J series will start to hit markets.


If you are not familiar with the Galaxy J-series, it's a low to mid-range series released mostly in certain Asian and African countries until now. However, this year around, you might see the Galaxy J3 (2017) make its way into US and Europe as well.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



After a lot of speculations, leaks and rumors, the Galaxy J5 & J7 2017 are finally out as Samsung made it official yesterday. We have had enough of the rumors, but now it\'s time to take a look at the actual internals.


Display


J5 has a 5.2-inch 720p display, while the J7 has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen as expected. The good news is that both of them are AMOLED panels.


SoC and RAM


Both devices share the same Exyno 7870 14nm chips with Mali-T830 MP2 GPU. The J5 2017 only has 2GB of RAM though, but the J7 2017 has a more respectable 3 gigs of RAM.


Camera


The 13-mp rear camera sensor with f/1.9 aperture is common to both devices but the J7 also has a 13-mp front camera with flash, unlike the J5, which is stuck with a plain 5-mp shooter without any flash aid.


Battery and Price


A healthy 3,600mAh battery will be powering the J7, while the J5 will have to settle with a smaller 3,000mAh cell instead. The price difference between the two devices is basically of £60, so you would probably be much better off opting for the Galaxy J7 2017 for £340 ($440 approximately) than the Galaxy J5 2017 for £280 ($360 approximately).


Other than these, the J7 will come with USB Type-C while the J5 will be sporting the aged but more accessible micro-USB. Fingerprint scanner will be present in the usual place on both devices; i.e. just under the Home button.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



The Galaxy Tab A (2017) was launched just last month and it has now made its way into Indian markets in October. The affordable tablet costs exactly INR 17,999 in the country, which is equivalent to roughly $275. Targeted only towards developing markets like India and Vietnam, the Tab A (2017) will provide a decent alternative to people who do not want to shell out INR 47,999 (roughly $736) for the high end Galaxy Tab S3.


Unfortunately, while the 8.0-inch tablet looks decent enough, the internals are nothing to write home about. Nevertheless, if you are interested in taking a look at the key specs, they are listed below.


8-inch WXGA (1280×800) LCD display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC

2GB RAM

16GB of internal storage

8-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear and front cameras

5,000 mAh battery

USB Type-C port, Android 7.1.1, dedicated Kids Mode, 4G LTE connectivity

Black and Gold color options


As you can see, the spec sheet looks something that would be dated even in 2014! Then again, in countries like India, the brand name sells the product more than the internal spec sheet and Samsung understands that well enough.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



The Galaxy A5 (2017) has just started to receive the latest security patch from Samsung in Europe. As it is the case with all Android smartphones that will be receiving the patch, the May Security Maintenance Release addresses 54 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) on the smartphone. Additionally, 11 more patches from Samsung's end will also be making their way onto the A5 (2017) with the OTA update.


The standard sized 155MB update comes in the form of firmware version A520FXXU1AQE2 and should be released in other regions within the next few weeks. If you are in Europe however, the update could be hitting your device anytime now. You can always check from Settings > About device > Software updates like we always mention, but it's not really necessary, given that the prompts are usually instant and automatic nowadays.


Via: SamMobile


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


 

The latest versions of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 have just started to receive their security patches for the month of June in India. Both updates will fix 23 security vulnerabilities unique to the Samsung phones, in addition to the 96 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) currently shared by all smartphones running on the Android OS. If you are reading this in India and you own either the Galaxy A5 (2017) or the Galaxy A7 (2017), look out for the update because it's about to land on your smartphone, if it hasn't already.

 

The Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) joins the list of Samsung phones that had also started to receive the same security patch recently. In case you are not aware, models reportedly getting the June security patch include the Galaxy J5 (2017), Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note 4.

 

Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.

 

Via: SamMobile


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



Since its already well into the second week of July, one would think that any maintenance update released for a smartphone would contain the Android security patch for the month of July, but that isn't quite the case yet with the Galaxy A5 (2017). While the update is most definitely an OTA package which will fix some vital problems, it doesn't carry the July security patch with it.


This leads us to believe that the 30MB file with the build number A520FXXU2AQF5 must contain fixes for certain problems that are unique to the Galaxy A5 (2017) only. This makes it all the more necessary that you download and install it as soon as it becomes available for your smartphone. As of now, it's rolling out only in the European continent. Hopefully, the July security update will be making its way onto the Galaxy A5 (2017) very soon as well. In fact, we are pretty sure that the security patch of the month will arrive onto the Galaxy A5 (2017) along with the Android Nougat update package together, by the end of this month (hopefully!).


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



Any handset released in 2017 is expected to at least run on Android Nougat v7.0 and above, but that wasn't the case with Samsung's Galaxy A branded smartphones of 2017. Instead, when they came out, they were running on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1; a version of Android that while isn't old enough yet to be called backdated, is still over two years old at this point of time. The good news is that although late, the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) will both be getting their respective versions of the Android Nougat firmware officially from Samsung soon.

 

Both the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) has been spotted running on Nougat 7.0, merely hours earlier at the Wi-Fi Alliance website for certification purposes. This is a clear indication that the updates are just about to be rolled out to the Galaxy A smartphones for 2017. If you own one, keep that Wi-Fi fired up!

 

Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.

 

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



It was both surprising and disappointing to see the Galaxy A3 (2017) being released by Samsung without Android 7.0 Nougat onboard. However, it also meant that the phone would soon be receiving the update from Samsung. Although it can't exactly be called soon anymore, in case you bought the device, you should be glad to hear that Nougat is currently being rolled out to the A3 (2017) SM-A320F in Russia as you read this. Given that the update had started rounds back on the 26th of this month, you probably have already received a notification to update your device to the latest (released) Android OS, provide you are in Russia. If you haven't, don't worry, sometimes it takes a few days before all the batches are rolled out in an area. If you are in any other country however, the same update should be released in your region very soon as well.


It's a massive OTA package of 2.21GB by the way, so you better have a good Wi-Fi connection! It carries the firmware version A320FXXU2BQG5 and brings the July security update for the device from Google and Samsung. Take a look at the screenshot below for more details.
Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Via: SamMobile


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



We know it's not August anymore and we are already at the end of the first week in September, but Samsung has only just started to roll out the August security update to the Galaxy J3 (2017). As per SamMobile, the update was only making rounds in Europe a few hours ago, but if you are seeing the same update for your J3 (2017) in another region, do let us know.


The OTA update has the build number J330FXXU1AQH4 and it should be a decent sized file, given that it also carries some stability patches and general bug fixes which are specific to the Galaxy J3 (2017). Take a look at the two specific points of improvement below, as highlighted by the source.


·      1.   Improved Auto Brightness Control


·      2.  Improved PC Connection Stability


Of course, it carries all of the security patches found in the August security patch released by Samsung for its Android smartphones as well. In case you are wondering, that list includes 28 fixes from Google and 12 from the OEM.


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Source: SamMobile


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



At this point, the Android Nougat 7.0 OS is more than a year old, but thanks to the very botched up update system which most Android smartphone users must deal with, users are just glad to hear about the year-old update finally arriving on their smartphone model. While Samsung has most definitely stepped up their game recently by providing updates that are much more timely than they used to be a few years ago, they still take a long time to release major OS upgrades for all their models. Having said all that, we have good news for you if you live in India and you own a Galaxy A7 (2017); the much awaited Android Nougat 7.0 update is now live via OTA.


Firmware version A720FXXU2BQI2 is rolling out to model number SM-A720F throughout the entire Indian subcontinent. It's a huge update of 1376.35MB, so do not forget to plug in your Wi-Fi or it will drain your mobile data in a flash. Some of the other improvements that come with the firmware (aside from the default ones which will come with all Nougat updates) include the following.


·        improved notifications

·        improved Quick Settings features

·        Dual Messenger

·        Better multi-window

·        Samsung Pass

·        Improved Always-on Display

·        Faster app installation


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Via: SamMobile


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



Sorry for being a bit late to report this one, but it's good news nevertheless. The Galaxy A5 smartphones from both 2016 and 2017 have now started to receive the October security patch from Samsung. It is a bit surprising that Samsung would prefer to release it for its mid rangers before the flagships, but it's good that that the OEM doesn't seem to be discriminating too much in between their handsets when it comes to security.


The October security update comes after Samsung decided to skip the September SMR entirely in favor of patching BlueBorne, so it's the first Android security patch from the company after August. This one comes loaded with patches for a whopping 215 vulnerabilities found within the Android OS in general and a meager 6 fixes for Samsung's own UI. By now, I wouldn't be surprised if some other devices have started to receive the same update from Samsung as well, so do let us know if we missed something.


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



If you own the Galaxy J3 (2017) and you live in the US, we have good news for you. Although it's already November, Samsung has finally managed to release the October security patch for the handset. As long as you own the model SM-J327U, you should be seeing the update arrive anytime now.


Firmware version J327UUEU1AQJ1 will patch about 215 common vulnerabilities and bugs in the base Android OS, in addition to the six that's common to only Samsung handsets. In case you are wondering why you did not receive the September patch, know that no Samsung handset did! The OEM was too busy patching up the infamous BlueBorne threat on all its models to release the September patch. As to why the October patch arrived this late, that's just how Samsung works; they were never known for delivering timely updates every month in the first place!


Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



It's mid-January now so it's natural that even Samsung's low-end handsets will start receiving this month's security update and we are about to report just that. The Galaxy J1 Mini and the Galaxy J3 (2017) are the latest Samsung smartphones to be updated with the January security update via OTA. However, we must admit that it would be very unfair to state that Samsung plays favorites when it comes to security updates because they really don't. For example, Samsung started rolling out the January patch for the Galaxy Tab A (2016) first and the tablet was certainly not a flagship model! Add that to the fact that even these mid-Jan updates have reached these two devices before the Galaxy S8 or the Note 8 and it suddenly starts to seem like Samsung actually focuses on releasing the monthly updates for their low-mid range handsets first.


The Galaxy J3 (2017) is receiving firmware version J330FXXU3ARA3 in Russia and Slovakia, while the Galaxy J1 Mini is receiving firmware version J105FXXU0ARA2 in Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE and Kenya. Both updates will solve and address at least five bugs in the base Android OS and thirteen in Samsung's own UI software.



Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



Among all the confusion regarding Samsung's confusing Android Oreo 8.0 rollout for the Galaxy S8 and S8+, we have good news for owners of the Galaxy A5 (2017); the mid-ranger is getting the February patch in Russia as you read this. Which means that it's only a matter of time before every other region where the Galaxy A5 (2017) was released by Samsung is soon going to be receiving the same patch via OTA.


This makes the Galaxy A5 (2017) among the first devices in Samsung's arsenal to receive the February patch and that is not surprising, given the fact that the Galaxy A-series of smartphones have indeed been the first smartphones to get the monthly security updates from the manufacturer for the last few months. I guess they ae taking the name "A" pretty seriously!


The update comes in as firmware version A520FXXU4BRB1 and alongside patching Meltdown and Spectre, it brings 15 fixes for Samsung's own overlying software and multiple patches for the underlying Android Nougat OS.


Check out our firmware section to find all the latest updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)




The March security update has actually been rolled out by Samsung much faster this month, especially compared to the last few months. This time it is time for the Galaxy J3 (2017) to receive the March security update in Italy, so if you have the phone, do check to see if firmware version J330FNXXU3ARC1 has made its way onto your notification bar. Even if you are not in Italy, there's a good chance that by the time you finish reading this, Samsung has already started rolling the OTA package in some other regions as well. This update should take care of five Samsung UI related issues and all of the multiple vulnerabilities shared by every Android device.


While a lot of people tend to complain when the low and mid-range smartphone models from the company's arsenal receive security updates before the more expensive ones, we think it's actually a good move by Samsung that shows they do care about all their handsets (at least up to an extent anyway!).


Check out our firmware section to find all the latest updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



The Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) had both received a major camera update from Samsung a few months back, but the budget device Galaxy A3 (2017) was left out of the fold. The good news is that the A3 (2017) has also started to receive a similar camera update now and the OTA package comes in packed with last month's security updates from Google and Samsung as well. Although it's technically the middle of April, that's all the more reason for you to download and install it as soon as possible.


As far as the camera improvements are concerned, they can be listed as the following, but there could also be some minor improvements in terms of picture quality and post processing.


·         AR Stickers are now part of the camera on the A3 (2017)


·         Selfie focus mode is now included, which will allow the camera to take a selfie with a blurred background, similar to a bokeh effect


Check out our firmware section to find all the latest updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.


Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)



Now that Samsung has mostly finished upgrading all its recent flagships and some high-end smartphones with the Android Oreo 8.0 update, the company has shifted its focus towards mid-rangers and the Galaxy A5 (2017) is reportedly the first lucky device in the segment to receive the latest (major) version of the Android OS. We know that it isn't most timely of updates but given how many handsets will never even get Oreo, we think the owners of the Galaxy A5 (2017) should be pretty happy. It doesn't really come as a big surprise though as the A5 (2017) was already on Samsung's update list and just a few weeks ago, the handset was seen getting tested with Android 8.0 on Wi-Fi Alliance.


As of now, reports indicate that Russia is where the roll out started, but it should spread to most of the other regions pretty soon as well. Expect the OTA package to weigh in at around 1.2GB, but the firmware version was not mentioned by the source. Nevertheless, if you look closely, you can probably make it out from the screenshots and it looks to be A520FXXU4CRD3.


Source: SamMobile


Saikat Kar



Android 9 Pie might very well be running smoothly on the Google Pixels, but a large number of the Android models have not even received Oreo unfortunately. The good news is that this is about to change for those who own a Galaxy J3 (2017), because Samsung has just started to push out the update to the handsets in Russia and UAE. If you are in any of the two countries, then the updates should arrive on your phone any minute now. In Russia, the firmware will have the version number J330FXXU3BRH1 and in the UAE, J330FXWU3BRG3 will make its way onto the J3 (2017) via OTA.



If you are wondering when the same update will arrive in your region, don't worry about it, because it's only a matter of days or weeks at worst. Seeing that the J3 (2017) is one of the low-tier phones in the J-series, this more or less confirms that all versions of the J5 (2017) and J7 (2017) will also be getting the Oreo upgrade.


Saikat Kar


a5-2017-october-patch


It's rather early for Galaxy devices to be receiving this month's security patch on most months, but not in October, as Samsung has just released the latest security update for the Galaxy A5 (2017) in India. Not that it was the first device in Samsung's arsenal to get October's update though, the Galaxy Note 9 already received the same patch earlier.


12 Critical Vulnerabilities or CVEs will be fixed by the update, alongside bringing in multiple other bug fixes and patches. As always, there are patches exclusive to Samsung devices (11 in total) included as well. In India, the firmware version sent via OTA is A520FXXU7CRID, so that's what you should be seeing if the update has indeed arrived on your phone. If you are reading this in any other region, don't worry, the same update will be released in your area too, and very soon at that.


Via: SamMobile


Saikat Kar


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