Galaxy S8 series wins environment certificate in US

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus smartphones won a top-level certificate from an environmental evaluation conducted in the United States.

The South Korean tech giant said the smartphones won the Gold rating from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, approved by the Green Electronics Council and Underwriters Laboratories.

(Yonhap)

It marks the first time for smartphones to win a EPEAT certificate.

The test focuses on various environmental aspects of products, such as the use of toxic materials, energy efficiency and corporations' social contributions.

Samsung said the Galaxy S8 smartphones were praised for their high power efficiency while utilizing recycled materials for earphone cases.

The company said the Galaxy S8 stands out for not only its top-notch performance but also for Samsung's efforts to develop environmental-friendly products, saying it will continue efforts to release products while taking nature into consideration. (Yonhap)

Samsung stands as world's top smartphone maker in Q2

Samsung Electronics Co. stood as the leading smartphone maker in terms of shipments in the second quarter of 2017, data showed Wednesday, with Chinese firms narrowing the gap with the traditional leaders.

According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, the South Korean giant accounted for 22.1 percent of the global market in the April-June period, down 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier. This translates into 79.5 million units made by Samsung.

The industry tracker said Samsung was able to keep the lead on the back of high demand for the Galaxy S8 series. The flagship was launched months after the company was forced to suspended production of the Galaxy Note 7 last year due to faulty batteries.

(Yonhap)

Samsung's archrival Apple Inc. accounted for 11.4 percent of the market in the second quarter, down 0.4 percentage point on-year. Its shipment of smartphones was estimated at 41 million units.

Industry watchers said the decreased presence of Apple came as the demand for iPhones fell in China as more consumers sought local brands.

Huawei Technologies Co. took up 10.7 percent of the market to become No. 3 player, rising sharply from 9.4 percent posted last year. Huawei's presence only marks a 0.7-percentage-point gap with Apple.

Other Chinese firms also gathered ground, with OPPO Electronics Corp. taking up 8.2 percent of the global market in the second quarter, compared to 5.3 percent posted a year earlier.

Xiaomi Inc. followed with 6.4 percent, also boasting sharp growth from 4.3 percent posted last year, apparently helped by rising demand in India, the industry tracker added.

"We expect the rumored Galaxy Note 8 upgrade with a bigger screen to further strengthen Samsung in the coming weeks," Strategy Analytics said. (Yonhap)

Samsung Galaxy S8 rated as No. 1 smartphone in early adopter review

Samsung Galaxy S8, the Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co.'s flagship smartphone, has been rated as the No. 1 smartphone in the U.S. market, industry tracker Strategy Analytics said Sunday.

   The industry tracker's analysis of more than 1,500 reviews of the device during the first 40 days following the release of the product on April 21 showed that early adopters have given the Samsung S8 the top rating of 4.57 out of 5.

   The reviews were posted on major online sites, including Amazon, AT&T and Verizon. 

(Yonhap)

   According to the analysis, the Galaxy S8 success was driven by its display and camera. The camera, which received extremely positive feedback, was mentioned in 19 percent of the Galaxy S8 reviews and was one aspect of the device that was most talked about.

   The early adopters, however, were indifferent toward Bixby, an advanced voice recognition system that comes on all Galaxy S8 phones, with the term mentioned infrequently in reviews. (Yonhap)

Samsung to unveil Galaxy Note 8 in late Aug.

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will showcase the presumed Galaxy Note 8 in late August, around a year after the ill-fated predecessors' production was suspended over faulty batteries.

The South Korean tech giant sent invitations for its "Unpacked" event scheduled to be held in New York on Aug. 23.

The invitation shows the slogan "Do bigger things," along with a blue graphic that looks like the Galaxy Note series' exclusive S-Pen. The Galaxy Note models normally come with wider screens compared with the Galaxy S smartphones.

(Yonhap)

The image also indicates the new phablet will adopt a bezel-less design, where the screen curves at both ends like the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus.

The presumed Galaxy Note 8 is expected to come with a Super AMOLED display that's around 6.3-6.4 inches. The size is larger than the 5.7 inches held by the Galaxy Note 7 released last year.

The new devices will also become the first flagship device made by Samsung to boast dual cameras. Other rumors also claim the S-Pen may come with its own speaker. (Yonhap)

SK hynix to invest W9.6tr on DRAM, NAND facilities

SK hyinx Inc. said Wednesday it plans to allocate some 9.6 trillion won ($8.5 billion) this year to expand its production facilities for dynamic random-access memory and NAND chips.

Through a regulatory filing, the South Korean chipmaker said it expanded the amount of investment originally estimated at 7 trillion won this year.

(Yonhap)

SK hynix said the investment is aimed at actively coping with changing market conditions while laying a firm foundation for its future growth. The investment will be used on building new clean rooms as well supporting various research and development projects, the company said.

The increased investment is also expected to help the company meet the rising demand for DRAM chips and expand production capabilities for 3D NAND products, it added. (Yonhap) 

6-inch ‘super phablets’ to become mainstream: report

Upcoming smartphone models are expected to adopt six-inch or larger screens, as more and more users prefer consumption of multimedia content on their handheld gadgets, according to market sources Sunday. 

The “super phablets,” whose screens are larger than six inches, are forecast to account for 4.3 percent of total smartphone sales this year, selling about 66 million units, showed a report by US market researcher Strategy Analytics. 

The phablet is a combination of the phone and tablet, referring to large-size smartphones. 

The low-cost bezel-less smartphone Q6 series launched by LG Electronics on Sunday is displayed. (LG Electronics)

New mobile devices slated for launches in the coming fall -- Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, Apple’ iPhone 8 and LG’s V30 -- are all projected to adopt displays larger than six inches, according to market forecasts, driving the sales of the phablets. 

Given that the phablets claimed a 2.3 percent market share last year, the nearly doubled growth is considered a noticeable trend in the market in accordance with growing consumption of media content on mobile devices.

Samsung introduced a 6.3-inch model called “Galaxy Mega” in 2013 and LG launched 6-inch G Flex, but sales of the bigger-size models were low at the time. 

However, what makes smartphone manufacturers introduce larger devices these days is the bezel-less design that has become the hottest feature this year. 

By reducing the bezel areas, manufacturers are able to adopt bigger display panels and keep the total size of a smartphone similar to previous models. 

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 featured the Infinity Display with an 18.5-to-9 ratio, while LG’s G6 sported the Full Vision Display with an 18-to-9 ratio early this year. 

According to the SA report, sales volume of such super phablets are estimated to be 89.1 million units next year and reach 110 million by 2019, occupying about 6 percent of the smartphone market. 

For the next five years, the annual growth of the 6-inch devices is forecast to be about 20 percent, showing the steepest growth among competitive devices. 

“The bezel-less design will be used for not only premium, but also low-cost smartphones, contributing to expanding the market share,” said an industrial source. 

Reflecting the trend, LG on Sunday launched the budget smartphone model Q6 that also features a bezel-less 5.5-inch Full Vision Display at 419,100 won ($372.50) for the domestic market. 

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com) 

"슈퍼 패블릿이 뜬다"..6인치 넘는 스마트폰 속속 출격 대기

올가을 대기중인 갤노트8·아이폰8·V30 모두 6인치 이상 예상
SA "슈퍼 패블릿 향후 5년 성장률 20.5% 달할 것"

(서울=연합뉴스) 채새롬 기자 = 스마트폰 화면으로 게임이나 영화 등 멀티미디어를 즐기는 이용자들이 증가하면서 스마트폰 화면 크기가 점점 커지고 있다.

올 하반기 출시되는 프리미엄 폰들도 줄줄이 6인치 이상 대화면을 장착할 것으로 보여 패블릿(폰과 태블릿의 합성어)을 넘어 '슈퍼 패블릿'이 새로운 트렌드로 자리 잡을 것이라는 분석이 나온다.

30일 미국 시장조사업체 스트래티지 애널리틱스(SA)에 따르면 화면이 6인치 이상인 '슈퍼 패블릿'은 올해 6천660만대의 판매량을 기록해 전체 시장의 4.3%를 차지할 전망이다.

6인치 이상 '슈퍼 패블릿'은 2015년까지 1%대 이하의 비율을 점했고 작년에도 2.3% 수준에 머물렀다.

그런데 올 하반기 갤럭시노트8, LG V30, 아이폰8 등이 모두 6인치 이상으로 출시될 것으로 보이는 만큼 판매량도 두 배 가까이 늘어나는 것이다.

삼성전자의 6.3인치 갤럭시 메가, LG전자의 6인치 G플렉스 등이 출시된 바 있지만, 화면이 큰 만큼 제품의 크기도 커서 일부 대화면 마니아층에서만 인기를 끈다는 한계가 있었다.

그러나 베젤 두께를 줄이는 베젤리스 디자인이 적용되기 시작하면서 제품 크기는 그대로 두면서 화면만 키우는 것이 가능해져 대화면 폰이 새로운 전기를 맞았다.

특히 올해 상반기 갤럭시S8는 18.5대 9 비율의 '인피니티(Infinity·무한대) 디스플레이'로, G6는 18대 9 비율의 '풀비전 디스플레이'로 호평을 받았다.

슈퍼 패블릿은 내년 8천910만대(5.4%), 2019년 1억1천170만대(6.4%) 등으로 판매량이 증가하는 등 향후 5년간 연평균 성장률이 20.5%에 이르러 4∼6인치대 폰 중 가장 가파른 성장세를 보일 전망이다.

5인치대 화면의 전통 패블릿 스마트폰도 꾸준히 성장해 올해 시장에서 차지하는 비중이 58.3%, 2018년 62.7%에 이르고 2021년에는 70%를 넘길 것으로 전망된다.

올해부터 2022년까지 5인치대 패블릿 연평균 성장률은 9.3%, 4인치대 스마트폰의 연평균 성장률은 -7.7%로 예상된다.

업계 관계자는 "베젤리스 스마트폰은 단순한 디자인의 발전이 아니라 기술의 발전이 뒷받침된 것"이라며 "LG Q6 등 중가 라인업에서도 베젤리스 디자인을 적용한 제품들이 선보이면서 중저가대에서도 화면은 계속 커질 전망"이라고 말했다.

srchae@yna.co.kr

#스마트폰#성장률#아이폰8