Today’s topics include Samsung’s plan to incorporate AI in its future smartphones, LG’s release of its Android 7.0 Nougat OS for G5 smartphone users, AT&T’s increase of data for its GoPhone customers and Google’s updates to Gmail for iOS.
Samsung, fresh from its recalled Galaxy Note7 smartphone disaster, is moving forward on its rumored plans for bringing artificial intelligence capabilities to some of its future products, including its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphones in 2017.
“Samsung is excited to begin integrating initial AI capabilities into its future products and the Galaxy S8 is one of the possibilities,” the company confirmed in an Oct. 7 email reply to an inquiry from eWEEK. “We look forward to sharing further details at a later date.“
For Samsung, moving on to next year’s Galaxy S8 smartphones likely can’t come quickly enough after its failed Note7 phablet fiasco in late summer, when all 2.5 million Note7 devices worldwide were recalled and discontinued after battery fires and explosions in the devices were reported around the world.
LG has started rolling out the latest Android operating system—version 7.0 Nougat—to users of its 7-month-old LG G5 smartphones as the company works to bring new features and capabilities to the handsets. LG is rolling out the Nougat operating system upgrades first to G5 owners in the company’s native South Korea before rolling them out to other countries, including the United States, in the future, LG said in a Nov. 8 announcement. The Nougat OS will replace Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the phones.
AT&T GoPhone customers will now get 33 percent more high-speed data included in their prepaid wireless phone accounts at no extra charge if they use autopay to pay for their service each month. The offer will take effect on Nov. 11 for customers who use AT&T’s $60 or $45 monthly prepaid GoPhone plans and who sign up for autopay, the company said in a Nov. 6 announcement. Using the autopay option, customers also receive a $5-per-month discount on their prepaid phone plans, bringing the monthly rate to $55 and $40. Under the new offer, autopay customers who previously received 6GB of high-speed data with their $60 phone plans ($55 with autopay) will now receive 8GB starting Nov. 11, while customers who previously received 3GB of data on the $45 ($40 with autopay) monthly plans will receive 4GB of data.
Gmail on iOS has become a lot more similar to Gmail on Android, courtesy of several updates to an application that Google announced this week. The new Gmail app for iOS represents, what Google says, is the biggest overhaul of the application in four years. At a high level, the updated application features a new look and better transitions between functions, and is designed to run faster on iPhones and iPads.
Updates in the new Gmail for iOS include an “Undo Send” feature similar to that available on the desktop version of Gmail, which allows users a brief opportunity to recall messages after hitting the “Send” button. Also new is the ability for iPhone and iPad users to delete or archive messages by swiping them out of the inbox. As part of its updates, Google has boosted search speeds so users are served up results and spelling suggestions even as they type.