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Samsung could make its new Gear S2 watch iPhone-friendly

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Samsung's new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung's new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts. Photo: Samsung
Samsung’s new smartwatch could hit Apple Watch where it really hurts. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new Gear S2 smartwatch is its first to support third-party Android devices, and the South Korean company is reportedly looking extend its reach even further by supporting rival platforms, too.

According to one report, the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic could soon play nicely with iPhone.

Tiny charger taps AA batteries to keep your phone running

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tiny-mobile-phone-charger-uses-aa-batteries-to-keep-you-running-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2015094694c805b2581cea79001de0369de32b_original-jpg
No, that's not a giant hand.
No, that’s not a giant hand. Photo: The Nipper

Modern mobile phones need a lot of power; chances are we’ve all got an external battery pack (or at least a second cable and wall plug) tucked away in a bag somewhere that will charge up our Android and iOS mobile phones while we’re on the run.

The thing is, those things need to be taken along with you when you leave the house. If you’re like me, though, that requires a heck of a lot of cognitive overhead and pre-planning.

The whole point of the Nipper, this tiny new mobile phone charger that uses two AA batteries to give you a bit of juice when needed, is to always be available.

27% of smartphone buyers in Europe swapped Android for iPhone last quarter

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Consumers aren’t bored of the iPhone 6 yet.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Apple’s iPhones might be on the verge of a big refresh this month, but that doesn’t make them any less appealing to those looking to take a break from Android.

In Europe, 27 percent of smartphone shoppers swapped their Android for an iPhone last quarter, while 9 percent of consumers made the same switch in the U.S.

Samsung’s Gear S2 is coming to tackle the Apple Watch

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Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic hope to appeal to traditional watch wearers.
Photo: Samsung
Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic hope to appeal to traditional watch wearers. Photo: Samsung
Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic hope to appeal to traditional watch wearers. Photo: Samsung

After teasing the new Gear S2 smartwatch during its Galaxy Note 5 unveiling earlier this month, Samsung has confirmed all the juicy details we’ve been waiting for.

The new wearable will be available in two flavors — the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic — both of which have round faces and are aimed at consumers who “prefer more timeless watch design.” But will the devices be good enough to trip up the Apple Watch?

Court slaps spy who helped Samsung win Apple chip orders

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chips
The battle to win Apple's chip orders is hotter than ever.
Photo: Apple

Taiwan’s top court ruled in favor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in a lawsuit involving a former employee who allegedly leaked trade secrets to Samsung.

The accused party — TSMC’s former senior director of R&D, Liang Mong-song — allegedly helped Samsung catch up in the chip-fabrication business and win orders for Apple’s A-series processors..

Former Apple and Samsung employee dishes dirt on rivals’ innovation

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Samsung's method of innovation is way different than Apple's.
Samsung's method of innovation is way different than Apple's.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr

Apple and Samsung are bitter rivals in the tech industry that make a lot of the same type of products, but when it comes to innovation, the two are complete opposites.

Arno Lenior is one of the few people on the planet who’s worked at both companies, and while Samsung gets a bad rap for copying Apple’s products, the former Apple marketing director reveals that in many ways, Samsung takes innovation just as seriously as they do in Cupertino, otherwise it would have never been able to go from a company that sold rice nearly 100 years ago, to transforming into one of the world’s top TV and smartphone manufacturers.

Now that Lenior left Samsung back in May, MarketingMag sat down with the Australian marketer to get his viewpoints on innovation and how it’s become part of the mindset at Apple.

HTC ditches its own design language to copy the iPhone

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Cover up the logos and you can hardly tell them apart.
Photo: Steve Hemmerstoffer
Cover up the logos and you can hardly tell them apart. Photo: Steve Hemmerstoffer
Cover up the logos and you can hardly tell them apart. Photo: Steve Hemmerstoffer

HTC appears to have given up on its own design language in an effort to make its next flagship smartphone an iPhone clone. Leaked images of the so-called HTC Aero look almost identical to an iPhone 6, with the same flat form factor and protruding camera.

iPhone owners snap up all of Samsung’s test drive devices

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Samsung has already run out of test drive handsets.
Photo: Samsung
Try Samsung's latest smartphones for free. Photo: Samsung
Samsung has already run out of test drive handsets. Photo: Samsung

Samsung has been forced to postpone its Ultimate Test Drive promotion that gives iPhone owners the opportunity to try out its latest devices free for 30 days. The South Korean company says it ran out of test drive devices in just a few hours after “overwhelming demand.”

Samsung plans to top iPad Pro with even bigger tablet

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Apple's giant iPad could give 2-in-1's a big boost.
Apple's giant iPad could give 2-in-1's a big boost.

Concept of Apple's giant tablet.
Concept of Apple’s giant tablet.

Apple fans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the company’s giant iPad Pro that’s been swimming through the rumor mill for years now, but Samsung is already preparing its answer for the new tablet that will likely be aimed at pros and enterprise use.

Apple vs. Google: Which titan will crumble first?

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Who's your money on?
Who is your money on?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Like every other company, Apple and Google have had their share of highs and lows in the past — but one thing that’s for sure is that neither of them can keep going from strength-to-strength indefinitely; they’ll both stumble at some point in the future.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2But which will be the first to take a tumble?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

Samsung’s answer to Apple Watch is coming Sept. 3

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This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch.
Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung's brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung

After announcing its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ in New York City this morning, Samsung promised the next big thing is right around the corner.

The South Korean company was referring to its new Gear S2 smartwatch — its first with a round display — which will get its full reveal on September 3.

Apple plays hardball to get cheaper chips for iPhones

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Breaking news! Apple's shrewd when it comes to driving a bargain!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is playing off TSMC against Samsung to negotiate better prices for its A9 chips for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, according to a new report.

Competition between TSMC and Samsung to win Apple’s business has been fierce over the past year, with the conflict even going as far as a lawsuit over the alleged leaking of trade secrets.

With both companies having the 14/16nm FinFET process capacity to build A9 chips to Apple’s specifications, Apple is reportedly asking both sides to cut their prices — or potentially lose out on future business.

Are Android security scares really as bad as they seem?

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It's that time of the week again!
It's that time of the week again!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After the discovery of several dangerous flaws in a few short weeks, Android’s security — or lack thereof — has been big news. Google has acted quickly to eliminate the Stagefright flaw that left 95% of Android devices vulnerable to attack, but others have since wormed their way out of the woodwork.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Now fans are asking how these flaws made their way into public Android releases, compromising the security of more than 1 billion users worldwide. Could Google be doing more to prevent it? And are its hardware partners doing all they can to patch holes in their own software?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight it out over these questions and more!

Samsung’s marketing VP does a pretty good Job(s)

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Steve Jobs and a new fake Steve Jobs, aka Samsung marketing VP Georg R. Rötzer.
Steve Jobs and a new fake Steve Jobs, aka Samsung marketing VP Georg R. Rötzer.
Photo of Steve Jobs: Norman Seerff; photo of Georg R. Rötzer: Samsung

Samsung has been mercilessly copying Apple’s software, hardware and marketing for years, but the most unoriginal company in tech has taken its copycat ways to an all new level by ripping off Steve Jobs’ signature look.

In a recent promotional headshot for his upcoming appearance at the DMEXCO conference in Germany, Samsung VP Georg R. Rötzer not only copied Jobs’ dark outfit and round spectacles — he also aped the Apple co-founder’s pose from the cover of Walter Isaacson’s biography.

Apple buys massive development site in San Jose

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Apple hQ
Apple's building a new office in San Jose.
Photo: Apple

Apple signed a lease for 300,000 square feet of office space in San Jose last month, but the company might be eyeing a bigger expansion in the city, according to a new report that Apple just purchased a massive development site in North San Jose.

In a deal worth more than $138 million, Apple has purchased 43 acres of land at 2347 North First St., according to documents obtained by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Apple has yet to announce its plans for the property, but it will be the company’s first significant presence into San Jose in decades.

Here’s a map of the land Apple just bought:

Samsung cruises past Apple in white-hot smartphone market

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Looks like Samsung and Apple pretty much own the smartphone market, though there are some scrappy contenders starting to make headway.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), handset makers shipped a total of 337.2 million smartphones worldwide in the last quarter of 2015 (Q2). This is up 11.6 percent from last year, an amazing bit of growth considering how many smartphones are already on the loose.

Samsung hit with lawsuit for crazy amounts of smartphone bloatware

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Samsung phones have been bogged-down with bloatware for as long as they’ve been around, but a Chinese consumer protection group is doing more than just complain about it — by suing Samsung and another Chinese vendor, Oppo, for loading their phones with literally dozens of pre-installed apps which are impossible to delete.

The consumer protection group wants to make it illegal for the smartphone industry to include bloatware on devices since it fills us phones’ internal memory and gives customers no choice in the matter.

iPad Pro could arrive later this year, with a little help from Sharp and Samsung

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The iPad Pro could delay the iPad Air, cancel the iPad mini.
The iPad Pro is on its way.
Photo: CURVED

Apple is turning to both long-time manufacturing partner Sharp and long-time “frenemy” Samsung to help build the displays for its eagerly-anticipated 12.9-inch giant-sized iPad Pro, according to a new report.

Sharp is said to have provided a small test batch of the enormous 264ppi, 2,732×2,048 displays in June, which met with Apple’s high production standards. However, Cupertino is also said to have given Samsung a back-up role building screen panels — suggesting that Apple is expecting big things with this next-gen device. Pun intended.

Apple wins over more customers than Samsung, report says

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iLove by Lis Ferla
Apple users love their Apple stuff.
Photo: Lis Ferla/Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

You can call it customer loyalty, brand stickiness, or whatever other terms the cool marketing kids are using these days, but it all means the same thing in this case: Apple is doing a better job than Samsung of retaining customers and winning over new ones.

This is according to a report from RBC Capital Markets, which polled Apple and Samsung customers about their current and future purchases.

Samsung wants an even bigger share of iPhone production

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Samsung is after more of Apple's iPhone business.
Samsung is after more of Apple's iPhone business.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Samsung is reportedly making a bid to steal away Toshiba’s job of producing the flash memory chips for the iPhone 6s — something which would help out the South Korean tech giant at a time when its own mobile business is struggling.

The news follows not long after reports that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is looking to add faster TLC-based NAND flash storage for the next-gen handsets, possibly en route to ditching the largely-useless 16GB entry level storage option in current iPhones.