It seems smartphones and virtual reality is an emerging trend this year at Mobile World Congress (well, at least for Korean phone makers). Earlier this week, LG has announced the G5 along with a number of accessories including a 360 degree camera and a head-mounted display. 
Samsung, the other Korean phone maker at MWC is doing the same thing by announcing an accessory that will help users to create VR content with the help of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. This is the Samsung Gear 360, which is equivalent to LG’s 360 Cam.

The camera is just a tad smaller than a typical golf ball and sports two 15MP camera sensors that are located at the back and front of the device. There’s a 0.5-inch PMOLED panel on the top of the device which displays basic information about the device including its battery as well as its current shooting mode. The Gear 360 also sports a 1350mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB cards and an accelerometer.

As far as performance is concerned, the Gear 360 is able to churn out close to 4K quality 360-degree videos – 3840 x 1920 clips (at 30 fps) to be more specific. Using only one camera, the Gear 360 is still able to capture 180-degree videos at a resolution of 2560 x 1440 (30 fps). If you’re planning to capture still images, the Gear 360 is also able to snap up to 30M photos on dual cam setup and 5MP shots on a single cam setup.
Samsung has also taken the liberty to add different video modes when using either single lens mode or dual lens mode. These include time-lapse video as well as looping video. Moreover, the camera is IP58 certified which means it has some sort of waterproofing, though it shouldn’t be treated as a full-fledged action camera.

The Samsung Gear 360 will work on PCs via an ActionDirector software and on some of Samsung’s smartphones including the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5 and of course the newly announced Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. 
There’s no word on pricing yet, but Samsung promises to ship the device by Q2 2016 in select countries.

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Three interesting new products were showcased this week at Samsung’s booth at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The first two devices are part of the company’s Series 9 laptops which both sports the latest generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, Intel HD520 graphics card and chassis made from magnesium alloy.

The smaller 13-inch model comes with a USB Type-C port with two additional USB 3.0 ports while the larger 15-inch model ads in a micro HDMI port, a mini Ethernet and mini VGA port.

The third device to be featured by Samsung during the event was the Galaxy Tab Pro S – a convertible with an ultra-portable design that runs Windows 10. Unlike the Android-packing Galaxy Tab S, this model sports the same magnesium alloy construction as the two earlier Series 9 models.

The device boasts Intel’s 6^th generation Core M chips with a 2.2GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. It also has a 12-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, a USB Type-C port, a 5200mAh battery and a 5MP+5MP camera combo.

Samsung has also thrown in a detachable keyboard which should up the tablet’s productivity capabilities. The keyboard attaches to the device through powerful magnets and comes with NFC which allow it to pair with other Samsung devices.

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Samsung has recently announced the latest addition to its premium A-series in China – the 6-inch Galaxy A9. The handset has been in rumor land for quite some time now, and now the Korean tech giant has decided to finally clear things up.

The device’s display is of the AMOLED variety with Full HD resolution. Under the hood, there’s a Snapdragon 652 chipset with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

There’s also a 32MP camera at the back with optical image stabilization and an f/1.9 aperture lens. On the other hand, the front of the device is graced by an 8MP snapper with the same f/1.9 aperture lens.

At the back, the Galaxy A9 sports a large 4000mAh battery that supports QuickCharge. Other notable features of the device include a fingerprint sensor that supports Samsung Pay, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, NFC and Android 5.1 out of the box.

There’s no word yet on pricing and availability. 

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Samsung’s upper tier smartphone line – the A-series has just received a major refresh today with the announcement of the new A7, A5 and A3. By the looks of it, the Korean tech firm is finally embracing the metal and glass design language it has employed in its flagship models and bringing it to the A-series.

The largest of the trio is of course the Galaxy A7 sporting a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED 1080p screen. The A7 has 3GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable internal storage and a 3300mAh battery.

There’s a 13MP camera at the back with f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization. The front camera also has an f/1.9 aperture though it has 8MP less than the one at the front. A fingerprint sensor is also on the A7’s specs sheet.

Connectivity-wise, the A7 has room for two SIM cards in some markets and comes with Cat 6 LTE connectivity.

A notch down, we have the Galaxy A5. Like the A7, it also has Full HD resolution though the screen size is slightly smaller at 5 inches. There’s 2GB of RAM, 16B of internal storage, an octa-core processor and a 2900mAh battery.

Samsung has used the same 13MP+5MP camera combo as in the A7 as well as the fingerprint reader that supports Samsung Pay.

Finally, there’s the Galaxy A3. It’s the smallest of the bunch with its 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display with HD resolution. It has a quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

It uses the same 13MP+5MP camera combo as in the earlier models and also comes with LTE connectivity (though not as fast as the other two). Its power source is a 2300mAh battery and unlike the A7 and A5, this one doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor.

Pricing and shipping dates are not available yet.

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Another Galaxy J phone has been introduced in China – the Galaxy J3, which was earlier spotted in TENAA.

The handset will have a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. It will also have a 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED panel, a 2600mAh battery, an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie snapper.

In the software department, it is likely that the handset will run on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Other software installed on the phone include Samsung’s Milk Music app and a Smart Manager tool that includes a virus scanning and battery monitoring feature.

There’s no word yet on pricing and availability.

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Samsung’s love affair with the flip phone continues up to this day in some parts of the world. In fact, a new flip phone just passed TENAA, the telecomm equipment center in China.

The phone which currently runs by the name SM-W2106 is quite a powerhouse with an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. According to the paperwork, the phone will have two 3.9-inch screens (1280 x 768 pixels in terms of resolution) on both sides of the flip segment.

In the camera department, the phone has an 8MP sensor at the back and a front-facing 5MP snapper. As a flip phone, the device will of course sport a T9 keypad.

We don’t have much information yet with regards to other features of the phone but we’ll likely see the device announce initially in China or Korea.

UPDATE:

The W2016 just got official after the phone appeared on Samsung China's official website. The innards will be composed of an Exynos 7420 chip with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. In contrast to earlier reports, the phone will have a 16MP camera at the back and a 5MP selfie snapper.

Battery is rated at 2000mAh battery and is expected to sell for a jaw-dropping $1,565. The phone will be offered in two color options: grey and gold, and will only be offered (at least initially in China via China Mobile).

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