Samsung Galaxy S5 to feature eye- scanning sensor: Report

Samsung is reportedly working on a
new eye-scanning feature which is
expected to be introduced on the
Galaxy S4's successor.

According to a report by AndroidSaS
that cites some sources from Korea,
claims that the South Korean giant
has started working on an eye-
scanning sensor which will be featured
in the rumoured Galaxy S5.
The feature is said to bring the eye-
scanning unlock ability to the
smartphones. Unfortunately, the report
does not reveal many details of the
alleged eye-scanning unlock feature.

The eye-scanning feature has not
been introduced on any smartphone
(from a major manufacturer) as an
unlocking method, and if the rumour is
true, Samsung would become the first
handset maker to debut the feature on
a smartphone. However, there is no
official word from Samsung on the
alleged eye-scanning feature.
Previously, Apple and HTC have
introduced the fingerprint scanner
features to the iPhone 5s and One Max
respectively.

The fingerprint scanner
feature lets users to log-in (and
authorize payments, etc., on the iPhone
5s) with a swipe of the fingertip.
Earlier a report, predicted that
Samsung will refresh its flagship
smartphone
offering sooner than expected. The
report suggested that Samsung has
been preparing to launch the Galaxy S5
smartphone in January due to
disappointing Galaxy S4 sales.
It cited
internal sources and informed that the
Galaxy S5 is likely to be announced as
early as mid-January, with a market
release expected to take place in
February.

The report also shed some light on the
specifications of the alleged Galaxy S5
smartphone. It claimed that the phone
would be powered by a 64-bit Exynos
5430 chip and will sport a 16-megapixel
camera with enhanced low-light
performance and Optical Image
Stabilisation.

The South Korean major has already
revealed that its next smartphone
would be powered
by a 64-bit chip, after Apple unveiled
the iPhone 5s which is powered by a
64-bit processor.

Samsung caught optimising Galaxy S4hardware to rig benchmark scores

Synthetic benchmark scores used by gadget reviewers for gauging smartphone performance are not as reliable as some make them out to be. They are not helpful in determining the phone's day to day performance, which is why our reviews focus on informing our readers the overall experience of the phone, and stay away from any benchmarks. 

While we do run benchmarks on the phones and tablets we receive for review, we like to keep the results to ourselves, as they are indicative at best, and unreliable at worst. We've also heard chatter that manufacturers have been optimising their phones to perform better in benchmarks than real world usage, and now there's evidence that the most high-profile smartphone manufacturer has been indulging in these under-handed tactics. 

Popular website Anandtech has revealed that Samsung has been optimising the Exynos 5 Octa powered Samsung Galaxy S4 for benchmarks. A forum post by @AndreiF on the Beyond3D forums in June, that alleged that Samsung was over-clocking the phone's graphics processor to 533MHz for certain benchmarks, while other apps/ games were limited to 480MHz, inspired the folks over at Anandtech to investigate the issue. 

The website informs that Samsung is over-clocking the Galaxy S4's Cortex A15 cores (the Octa SoC features two Cortex quad core processors) to 1.2GHz while running the GLBenchmark 2.5.1, AnTuTu, Linpack, and Quadrant apps for benchmarking. However, the phone's processor ran at 500MHz while using the GFXBench 2 app, for which Samsung has not optimised its hardware. 

Samsung has also tinkered the GPU (Graphics Processor) of the Galaxy S4's Exynos 5 Octa variant to run at a higher frequency while benchmarks are being run. The GPU is set to run at 533MHz while performing benchmarking tests. It runs at 480MHz, otherwise. The report also mentions that Samsung includes a code referred to as "BenchmarkBooster" that essentially trigger the phone's hardware to run at a higher clock speed when benchmark tests are run. 

The whole expose reveals that benchmarks cannot be relied upon to gauge the everyday performance of a smartphone or a tablet, and hardware makers are tricking reviewers and end users who rely only on benchmarks while recommending or buying a device. Update : Samsung has responded to the report, saying it did not use any specific tools to achieve higher benchmarks. 

However, its statement completely ignores the damning bits Anandtech found in the code. Here's Samsung's response as quoted by The Verge: "[We] did not use a specific tool on purpose to achieve higher benchmark scores." Samsung adds that, "under normal conditions, the Galaxy S4 operates up to 533MHz at its best performance." The Korean manufacturer says certain "full screen apps" (any app in which the status bar isn't present) such as the camera, browser, video player, and benchmarking tools, are classified as requiring the highest performance available. Many games don't require the maximum clock speed to run, the company notes. 

Samsung doesn't address AnandTech's discovery of strings of code that implied specific benchmark apps were being targeted for higher clock speeds, but the site did note that other benchmark apps that are not explicitly mentioned in code were also behaving the same way.

MediaTek unveils first 'true' eight-coremobile processor

MediaTek might not be making too many headlines with its processors for budget segment smartphones, however, the Taiwanese integrated circuit manufacturer seems to be raising the bar for the competition with its newly launched octa-core processors. 

MediaTek has finally forayed into the processors war with its new processors that it claims is the world's first octa-core chip. According to MediaTek , its latest eight-core chip for mobiles allows all the eight cores to run simultaneously unlike existing octa-core solutions in the market, which can only activate half of their CPU cores at once. 

The company might not be naming the existing octa-core processors but it is very evident that MediaTek is taking a pot-shot at Samsung's Exynos Octa 5 processors that the company introduced with its latest flagship model, Galaxy S4. 

Some improvements with the introduction of the MediaTek's new octa-core processors include advanced web browsing that allows faster, more stable browsing experience through allocating individual browser tabs to CPU cores, smoother user interfaces by giving user-inputs to individual cores and rendering the 3D effects that result in enhanced functionality and appearance of user interfaces in both apps and operating system, improved gaming experiences via enhanced video frame-rate processing and low-latency gaming experience and the new octa- processor delivers efficient video playback feature that reduces the battery used for decoding with up to 20 percent more frames while on display mode. 

However, the company has not announced the specifications and the exact launch date for the octa-core processors. Recently, Samsung unveiled the new Exynos 5 Octa processor dubbed as the Exynos 5420. The latest iteration of the Exynos family is based on ARM Mali - T628 MP6 cores and boosts 3D graphics processing two times greater than the previous versions of Exynos 5 Octa processors. The Exynos 5420 processor is powered by four ARM Cortex-A15 processors at 1.8GHz with four additional Cortex-A7 cores at 1.3 GHz in a big.LITTLE configuration.

Android 4.3 leaks online, Galaxy S4test firmware now available fordownload!

Android Authority Friday, June 28, 2013 1:23 PM GMT A juicy tip landed in the mailbox of the folks at Sam Mobile containing no less than a fully functional Android 4.3 Jelly Bean test firmware for the Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505G). According to the site, the build works flawlessly on the regular version of the Galaxy S4, which is, after all, identical to the Google Play Edition in terms of hardware. Sam Mobile claims that absolutely everything works as expected, and that the build wasn’t tampered with in any way. 

Moreover, the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean firmware can now be downloaded, meaning that you can quickly turn your Galaxy S4 into a Play Edition phone running the latest version of stock Android without jumping through any hooks. With the warning that flashing the firmware would void your warranty, and that you shouldn’t try to do it if you don’t have a modicum of experience in flashing custom ROMs, the firmware is available for download on Sam Mobile , along with installation instructions. 

While we caught some glimpses of Android 4.3 running on the Nexus 4 before, this is the first time when a full flashable version leaks. The changes over version 4.2.2 seem to be minimal, and include a redesigned Camera app that is available on the Play Editions of the HTC One and the Galaxy S4. Check out this gallery of screenshots of Android 4.3, courtesy of Sam Mobile. We expect to see a video walkthrough of the new version of Android Jelly Bean and more details about the changes it includes soon, so stay tuned.

Samsung launches multiple offers in a bid to boost Galaxy S4 sales

Samsung Galaxy S4 has been in the
news for wrong reasons recently, with
reports of sales slowing downs and
various analysts revising shipping
estimates in the downward direction.
On the back of these reports comes
the news that Samsung has launched
many schemes to push sales of its
flagship smartphone in India.
According to one offer, the company is
offering a free magnetic cover along
with the purchase of the Samsung
Galaxy S4 . This cover is dubbed S-
View Cover and is worth Rs. 2,499.
The USP of this cover is that it
customises the screen of Samsung
Galaxy S4 as a display window.
This offer is valid for all Samsung
Galaxy S4 smartphones purchased
between June 10 to June 30, 2013. To
avail this offer, users will have to
login to the special offer page by
Samsung and key in the IMEI number
of their Samsung Galaxy S4, their
mobile number and email address.
The website also shares that to
redeem this offers, users should keep
a copy of their invoice in JPG or PDF
form handy.
If the idea of a cover does not sound
appealing, you can opt for a one-time
screen replacement worth Rs. 7,000 at
an additional cost of Rs.500. In
addition to this, Samsung is offering
60+ live TV channels, 250 movies, 25
HD games, 2.5lakhs songs worth
Rs.12,000. To activate this offer, the
users will have to send a text to 56886
with the message 'MYOFFER'.
Samsung had launched its the Galaxy
S4 in India in April for Rs. 41,500.
However, the smartphone is currently
available at the Samsung India online
store for Rs. 40,300. The company is
also running an EMI scheme for this
smartphone, under which the users
can purchase Samsung Galaxy S4 by
paying zero down payment and 12
installments of Rs.3,358 each. The
company claims that purchasing
smartphone via this scheme will help
users in saving Rs. 3,250.
Samsung has also tied up with
Vodafone to offer special 'all-in-one'
tariff plan that allows Galaxy S4 users
to save up to Rs. 12,000 and enjoy 3G
data. This offer is open for both post-
paid and pre-paid subscribers.
The post-paid subscribers of Samsung
Galaxy S4 will have to shell out Rs.
1,199 as the monthly rental and will be
entitled to unlimited Internet (with 3GB
data allowance under fair usage
policy). In addition to this the
subscriber will also get 3000 local
and STD voice minutes and 750 local
and national SMS. The subscribers
will also get Missed Call Intimation for
12 months in this plan.
Pre-paid subscribers on the other
hand have a choice of two recharges.
The first recharge option is of Rs. 677
and offers unlimited Internet (1GB
allowance), 1,000 local and STD voice
minutes and 500 local and national
SMS. This recharge is valid for 30
days. The other option is with
recharge of Rs 345, which offers
unlimited Internet (512MB allowance),
500 local and STD voice minutes and
250 local and national SMS and is
valid 15 days.