Galaxy S7s Are Not Exploding

Isolated reports of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone exploding have not been confirmed, according to the Korean tech giant. As it continues to deal with the aftermath to end production of the Galaxy Note 7 some Galaxy S7 have seemingly exploded as well.

There have been several recent reports in Asia and Canada, according to VentureBeat, raising the possibility that the same issues that plagued the Samsung Galaxy Note7 are also cropping up in the Samsung Galaxy S7. In the US, a construction worker in Ohio and an employee at a smartphone store both claimed that they had seen fire-damaged on the slightly dated flagships, PhoneArena reported.

In a statement, Samsung said there are 10 million Samsung Galaxy S7 devices in the US, and none of them have had internal battery failures, but it has confirmed "a number of instances" caused that are known to have severe external damage.

"Until Samsung is able to obtain and examine any device, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident," the statement said. It is certainly unclear if the company had sought out the devices in the reported explosions to examine them. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Samsung's reputation as a maker of high-end smartphones took a big hit two months back when it recalled and ultimately discontinued the Note 7 following multiple confirmed reports of fires and explosions. The US Department of Transportation classified the next-gen flagship smartphone as dangerous goods and banned passengers from carrying them on commercial flights.

Samsung apologised to consumers and even offered incentives, all of which come in zone-specific variants, to get owners to switch to another Samsung flagship device. At press time, it has so not yet announced the cause of the fires and explosions.

Samsung Gear S3 Arrives November 18

In the market for a new smartwatch? Then do consider the Samsung Gear S3 as it will be available from November 18 2016, starting at US$349.99. Pre-orders in the US start this coming Sunday, November 6 2016.

The watch will be available through retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Macy's, as well as wireless providers and Samsung's website.

Like its predecessor, the timepiece features a rotating bezel and comes in two designs—the rugged Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and the sleek Samsung Gear S3 Classic. An LTE version of the former will be available via AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
The Samsung Gear S3 is water- and dust-resistant, and offers "military-grade durability to protect against extreme temperatures, scratches and impact," Samsung promised. You can, of course, also customise it to match your outfit or mood, thanks to thousands of watch faces and the ability to swap out the band for any 22mm offering.

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The watch features a built-in GPS, letting you monitor your fitness activities, share your location with friends, or use an SOS feature in the event of an emergency. You can use it with Samsung Pay to purchase items from your wrist "virtually anywhere you can tap or swipe a credit or debit card," Samsung said.

The LTE version lets you receive texts and alerts as well as listen to music, track fitness routes, and download apps even when your phone is stowed away. All models have a built-in speaker and microphone, so you can take calls without reaching for your smartphone.

Samsung Shows Off Curved Monitors, Portable SSD

In advance of CES, Samsung last week unveiled a new all-in-one desktop with a curved display and a new ATIV Book 9. But it's back for more with some new display and storage products.

Samsung Portable SSD T1

Samsung is leveraging its storage components for a new consumer product, the Samsung Portable SSD T1. This compact external drive offers capacities of 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB, all in a compact design that's smaller than most smartphones, measuring just 2 by 2.8 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighing less than an ounce.

This pocket-friendly design is possible thanks to the drive inside, one of Samsung's 850 Evo line of laptop drives, which uses 3D V-NAND flash memory to offer a smaller overall size with stacked memory cells, offering higher storage density. This has been shrunk down further by removing the 2.5-inch drive housing used on the commercially available drive, leaving just the smaller circuit board to fit into the small enclosure of the Portable SSD T1.

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In addition to compact size and minimal weight, the drive also offers speedy data transfer with USB 3.0 and transfer rates of up to 450MBps, as well as optional AES 256-bit encryption for securing all of your data. Pricing starts at US$179.99 for the 250GB model, with the larger 500GB model selling for US$299.99, and 1TB for US$599.99, with a standard three-year warranty. Samsung expects the Portable SSD T1 to be available in late January.

Samsung Curved Monitors

We also got a look at Samsung's new line of monitors, a full range of full HD and WQHD+ models. For our briefing we got to see the new Samsung SE790C, a 34-inch monitor with 3,440-by-1,440 resolution and a wicked curved display. The display has an extra-wide 21:9 ratio panel, 3000R curvature, and 3000:1 contrast ratio.

The display comes with a removable stand that offers height and angle adjustment. The stand can be removed, with a VESA mount for attaching the monitor to a wall or other mount. The monitor has a built-in USB hub, letting you run up to four USB devices through the monitor, and DisplayPort input and two HDMI inputs, for connection to your PC and a second HDMI source, like a cable box or gaming console. The extra-wide display is meant to take the place of two or even three monitors in a current multi-monitor setup, and offers extra features to that end, such as Picture-by-Picture mode, which lets you use two inputs simultaneously, sharing the display like two side-by-side monitors.

The 37-inch SE790C (the C is for "Curved") will sell for US$1,199, and will be available to order starting Jan. 6. Though we only had the chance to see the 37-inch model, Samsung will be launching a total of nine curved monitors, with accompanying 29- and 34-inch models featuring WQHD+ resolution, and several full HD models, too, with prices starting at under $400.

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus Refresh

Not everything we were shown by Samsung was completely new. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus, the 2015 update to the Editors' Choice Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus keeps the same look and design of the previous model, but updates the system to Intel's new fifth-generation Broadwell processors.

Note that this is not a switch to the Core M processors that are cropping up in many thin and light systems, but an upgrade to the newer Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs coming from Intel. Other aspects of the Book 9 Plus remain the same, such as the 3,200-by-1,800 Quad HD+ touch screen, the slim aluminum chassis, and an identical port selection. The ultraportable will also see a price drop, with the starting price dropping from US$1,399 to US$1,299. The updated ATIV Book 9 Plus will be available in January.

Last week, Samsung tipped a fully redesigned ATIV Book 9. The new ultrabook has some of the same visual elements of past ATIV Book 9 models, but opts for a flatter, "blade-thin" profile and a smaller overall size thanks to a 12.2-inch display. The company also revealed the Samsung ATIV One 7, a 27-inch all-in-one PC with a curved display.