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Samsung TV Plus update 5.2 brings new UI, channels and more
Samsung TV Plus rolling out product update 5.2, which enhances content discovery. Thanks to the new home screen and discoverability features, Samsung TV Plus now offers a dedicated kids experience to connect consumers with ‘Best of Kids’ programming.
Kids experience
Additionally, the new destination will feature popular new content like Blippi, Barney and Friends, Baby Einstein, Teletubbies, Caillou, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Users can also enjoy family favorites like PBS KIDS, Strawberry Shortcake, Slugterra, Moonbug, Ryan and Friends, LEGO™ Channel, Kidoodle.TV and more.
Music destination
TV Plus’ new dedicated music destination allows users to easily discover and enjoy songs and artists spanning over 200 playlists and 40+ channels from partners Vevo, XITE and Stingray.
On-demand playlists will cater to a wide range of music tastes in a variety of formats, including decade-based playlists like ‘90s Country; genre-based playlists like Hip-Hop Icons; and artist-centered playlists for top acts.
Blockbuster movies and premium content
Expanded Fan-favorite “Movie Hub”: Following the success of The Movie Hub, Samsung TV Plus has expanded and refreshed its movie channel offering by adding new channels, Movie Hub West, Movie Hub Action, and Movie Hub Holidays. The new Movie Hub channels will continue to deliver thousands of live and on-demand blockbuster movies like Bridget Jones’s Diary, Collateral, Cruel Intentions, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hurt Locker, Titanic, Gladiator, Imitation Game and more to come.
The Most Comprehensive FAST News Offering: Samsung TV Plus now offers one of the most comprehensive global, national and local news offerings, including the news you need to know from major news networks including ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC – as well as top business news networks like Bloomberg TV+, Sky News, Scripps News, Cheddar News, USA TODAY, and Yahoo Finance.
The Holidays Are Here – Seasonal Preview: With winter fast approaching, Samsung TV Plus is the perfect destination for all holiday-themed entertainment. Spanning genres and channels, users will be able to enjoy titles like Christmas Angel starring Tamera Mowry-Housley, Feliz NaviDAD featuring Mario Lopez, and other favorites from Hallmark Movies & More and Holiday Movie Favorites by Lifetime. Samsung TV Plus will also feature seasonal music video playlists perfect for decking the halls, and Samsung TV Plus’ signature Fireplace 4K channel with a display so crystal clear you’ll think it’s real.
Diverse Multicultural Entertainment: Samsung TV Plus offers a fast-growing offering of multilingual and multicultural news and entertainment. The service recently launched 10 new first-to-FAST Spanish-language channels from ViX, TelevisaUnivision’s global streaming service, as well as the Ebony TV by Lionsgate channel featuring shows and movies like The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker; Snitch featuring Dwayne Johnson; Dear White People starring Tessa Thompson; Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself; Are We There Yet?; and Kevin Hart: What the Fit.
The product update 5.2 and new titles will initially be available on Samsung Smart TV models 2019-2023, rolling out later this year through early 2024 to additional Smart TV models and Galaxy mobile devices.
// Samsung
Apple should be unhappy with iPhone 16 sales numbers. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo compiled data from a supply chain survey and pre-order results from official websites. It suggests the new iPhones are not selling as expected.
According to the report, pre-orders for the Apple iPhone 16 series in the first weekend are estimated to be about 37 million units. This is approximately down 12.7% year-on-year compared to the iPhone 15 line’s first-weekend sales.
In addition, the demand for iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max is lower than expected. It comes as quite a surprising move as Apple debuted an even more powerful chipset, expanded the Telephoto camera to the Pro model, and fueled AI capabilities.
Has Apple Intelligence failed?
Apple partnered with OpenAI to bring AI capabilities to the iPhone. The iOS 18 introduces AI features on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Apple Intelligence suite is coming across the iPhone 16 models.
Lower than-expected sales suggest Apple Intelligence made no impact on sales. The non-Pro models also bring AI capabilities and have a dedicated Camera Control button too. However, consumers don’t consider them a reason to upgrade.
It is also possible that the sales may be boosted in the next couple of weeks. The reason is, that AI features won’t be available in the iPhone 16 series when they start to deliver. Rather, Apple planned to roll out in batches starting in October.
In addition, intense competition from Huawei in China is impacting iPhone demand over there. Well, Kuo says the US tech giant would not reduce its production, and it’s expected to go on as previously decided.
One UI 7.0 Beta Program could start soon, suggests new information. The company’s staff in India and the UK started testing the latest software. It suggests that this year’s One UI Beta Program could soon be kicked off.
SamMobile reports that One UI 7.0 Beta Program is being tested by Samsung India and Samsung UK. It’s a major development that came after a long delay in the release. While the release timeframe is still uncertain, we are now slightly near the Beta.
Samsung has been testing the One UI 7 Alpha in South Korea. Now, the internal testing has commenced by local subsidiaries in India and the UK. Both markets are eligible for the Beta Program, as per the previous records.
The company has recently released the One UI 6.1.1 update. It brings new Galaxy AI features and improvements to several Galaxies. However, the real change would be delivered with the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 update.
Initially, Samsung was rumored to start One UI 7 Beta in late July. The company ruined all assumptions of early Beta, and the wait lasted the entire August. Some alleged screenshots floated online but stopped swiftly due to authenticity.
We entered September without One UI 7 Beta in our hands. It’s 17th of the month, and still, the situation is unchanged. With the latest development, the One UI 7 Beta Program hype has revived, but the remaining wait remains uncertain.
One UI 7 Beta could launch in China, Germany, India, Poland, South Korea, the UK, and the US. The software will bring all the security features and privacy enhancements debuted in Android 15 operating system onboard of One UI tweaks.
Huawei is set to launch pure blood HarmonyOS, the HarmonyOS Next later this month. While HarmonyOS supports Android apps, the HarmonyOS Next won’t be the same. The company is setting the stage to rival Android and iOS dominance.
Chen Xinxin, general manager of HarmonyOS industry solutions confirmed (via HC) HarmonyOS Next launching later this month. The self-made operating system will help Huawei compete against Google and Apple in the Chinese market.
Apple’s iOS is limited to iPhone, while Google’s Android is based on many skins. Leading smartphone vendors such as Samsung use Android on their devices. HarmonyOS Next will be promoted as the third leading mobile OS.
Per reports, HarmonyOS Next is “entirely independently developed and autonomous.” It would be a big blow to Apple and Google in the Chinese market. The success rate will decide whether its global arrival will take place.
Back in 2019, Huawei introduced the HarmonyOS operating system. It was accused of being an Android-based skin with radical UI tweaks. Support of Android apps was necessary as Google has a vast application ecosystem.
Huawei gradually expanded its work on the operating system. The company grew its application ecosystem through app developers. Now, we are hearing native apps are developed or under development for the latest iteration.
Following the US ban, Google pulled Android’s access from Huawei. The company has been facing immense challenges since then. However, it didn’t give up, and as a result, a competitive product is ready for a striking debut in the market.
Reports say that HarmonyOS runs on more than 900 million devices with 2.54 million developers. Huawei also plans to invest a massive $987 million to “incentivise” HarmonyOS native apps and technical services and to build out the HarmonyOS ecosystem.