Tech News

Counterpoint Research posted its analysis of the global smartphone market for Q1 2020, and the numbers do not look good at all. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shipments fell 13% on a yearly basis, with the total being under 300 million - a number that was last reported in 2014. There were only two major companies that did not suffer a yearly decline in shipments - Xiaomi and Realme. All the others saw a decrease, but the overall picture remained the same - Samsung and Huawei are top sellers, Apple is comfortably third, and then plenty of China-based companies are in a battle for the last...

Samsung has announced that the rollout of Android 10-based One UI 2 update for its Galaxy devices in India has been delayed. The delay has been caused due to the nation-wide lockdown in India imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19. This information comes from Samsung through its Members app, and it's a bit vague since the company says "we're experiencing a slight delay" without revealing how much the update schedule is affected and when the rollout will commence. However, Samsung might resume its full operations and begin the rollout of One UI 2 update in...

With COVID-19 pushing many industries to continue to conduct business online through tele-conferencing platforms, there's a new demand for presentation and business tools online. HTC is announcing a new presentation tool for its VR platform: the Vive. The platform is called Vive Sync, and it lets people conduct presentations in a virtual 3D space. The first aspect of the VR platform that's different from video conferencing is the use of personalized avatars. These avatars are full body and can convey body language in a presentation. Creating your avatar starts with a selfie....

The Galaxy M01, whose presence we confirmed last month, passed through the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification process a few days ago. Yesterday, it appeared in the Google Play Console, revealing some of its specifications. Now, the upcoming entry-level smartphone has appeared in the FCC certification documents.

It appears that the Galaxy M01 is just a variant of the Galaxy A01 with a larger battery. The FCC certification documents clearly mention that the only differences between the Galaxy A01 and the Galaxy M01 are battery capacity, model number, and a few changes in supported network bands. The Galaxy A01 uses a 3000mAh battery, while the Galaxy M01 uses a 4000mAh cell.

Going by Samsung’s declaration, the Galaxy M01 (SM-M015G/DS) should have a 5.7-inch HD+ TFT display with a V-shaped notch for the selfie camera. It runs Android 10 with One UI 2.0 and is equipped with the Snapdragon 439 processor, 2GB/3GB RAM, 16GB storage, and a microSD card slot. It should come with a 13MP+2MP dual-camera on the rear and a 5MP selfie camera.

The dual-SIM smartphone comes with GPS, 4G LTE (Band 1/3/5/8/40/41), single-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, microUSB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The device appears to be lacking a fingerprint sensor, so it would depend on face unlock, PIN, and password for security. We expect Samsung to launch the Galaxy M01 in the next few weeks.

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Xiaomi's gaming-oriented sub-brand Black Shark launched its latest devices in China in March, and now it's finally ready to bring them to Europe. Both the Black Shark 3 and the Black Shark 3 Pro will go on sale in Europe on May 8. Prices haven't been unveiled yet, but given Black Shark's past antics, expect them to be very competitive for the innards you are getting. And those innards are indeed nothing to scoff at. Black Shark 3 (left) and Black Shark 3 Pro (right) The Black Shark 3 has a 6.67" 1080x2400 AMOLED touchscreen with 90Hz refresh rate, the Snapdragon 865 SoC at the...

Intel has taken the wraps off its 10th generation lineup of desktop CPUs. Codenamed 'Comet Lake', these new parts are still technically based on the 14nm 'Skylake' process from a few years ago but with multiple refinements. First, let's get one thing out of the way. Intel today announced 32 new models in its 10th generation lineup, starting with the Celeron chips at the bottom all the way up to the i9 10900K. We are not going to discuss all of them but just a select few. Having said that, as you can probably see from the part list below, most of the chips are just variations of...

We had reported earlier this week that the bean-shaped wireless earphones from Samsung that were leaked last month could be launched as the Galaxy BudsX. Now, the upcoming wireless earphones from the South Korean electronics giant have appeared in a new patent document.

A new patent filed by Samsung with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) confirms the branding of the company’s next wireless earbuds. The document reveals that it could have a built-in MP3 player, which means that it could have local storage to store music files and play them back even without a connected phone.

The Galaxy BudsX could also feature a built-in sensor to check whether they’re worn or not, offering automatic music playback and pause. Similar to the Gear IconX, the upcoming wireless earphones could have a CPU and accompanying software for a smartphone to measure activity data such as calories burned, distance covered, heart rate, speed, and time.

The next-gen true wireless earphones from Samsung are 13mm wide and 28mm long, and the case is just 26mm thick. Previous reports have indicated that the Galaxy BudsX could carry model number SM-R180 and could be priced at $140. They could use Samsung’s custom Bluetooth chipset and have 11-hour battery life on a single charge.

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CyberGhost is one of the most popular VPN providers. They are known for their excellent price/quality ratio. They work with 6300 servers world wide, meaning there’s always one close to you and you’ll get the best speed possible. You can connect 7 devices at the same time so one plan will work for your whole family. CyberGhost VPN works with a dedicated app that’s available for all platforms, including an app for Smartphones running on Android.

They currently have a deal that saves you 76% on a one year plan. On top of that they’ll throw in an additional 6 months for free, meaning you’ll get 18 months while getting the one year plan!

Hit the Buy Now button below to get it while the deal is still valid.

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Following a seemingly endless stream of leaks, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite was officially unveiled by Samsung a couple of weeks ago when the tablet launched on pre-order terms in numerous European countries including the Netherlands. The pre-order window came to an end today, and the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is now officially available in the Netherlands in two color options including Oxford Gray and Angora Blue.

Both the Wi-Fi and LTE variants can now be bought online in the Netherlands. They cost €379 and €439, respectively. The tablet features 64GB of storage and, as yet, the 128GB model is not yet listed online. Samsung’s latest announcement doesn’t mention it, so only time will tell whether or not it will eventually be released in the country.

Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Book Cover is available in three colors

Although the tablet itself is only available in gray and blue, the optional Book Cover sold separately is now listed in the Netherlands in all three colors including gray, blue, and pink. The Book Cover costs €69.99, but customers who have pre-ordered the tablet have gotten this accessory for free. On the other hand, the redesigned S Pen is part of the core Tab S6 Lite experience and it’s included in the retail box.

The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite looks very similar to the full-fledged Tab S6, but it’s undeniably designed for a different, more budget-conscious market segment. We’ve previously detailed all the main differences between the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite versus the Galaxy Tab S6, so hit the link if you want to read more on the topic.

• Buy the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Wi-Fi from Samsung Netherlands
• Buy the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite LTE from Samsung Netherlands
• Buy the optional Book Cover from Samsung Netherlands

Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

• Model: SM-P610
• Dimensions: Tablet: 244.5 x 154.3 x 7.0 mm
  
• Display: 10.4 inch / 264.16 mm TFT
• CPU: Exynos 9611
• Camera: 8MP

More specifications

Galaxy Tab S6 Lite LTE

• Model: SM-P615
• Dimensions: Tablet: 244.5 x 154.3 x 7.0 mm
  
• Display: 10.4 inch / 264.16 mm TFT
• CPU: Exynos 9611
• Camera: 8MP

More specifications

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An unnanounced full-screen smartphone from Samsung had a cameo in a recent ad for the company’s new Wind-Free Air Conditioner series. While the mysterious device was shown running SmartThings, the app’s white interface revealed no display notch or punch-hole to speak of. The main takeaway here is the implied use of under-display camera (UDC) technology, a solution Samsung reportedly been working on for a while now.

The AC ad unsurprisingly prompted some speculation about the look of the upcoming Galaxy Note 20, especially after a similar-looking device render appeared on Samsung’s own website. Be that as it may, don’t take this to mean this is exactly how the next Galaxy flagship — or any other device from Samsung, for that matter — will look like.

Samsung close to figuring out truly bezel-less displays

While the futuristic smartphone shown in the below ad (starting at 0:55) is more likely to be a prop than a product that’s about to hit the market, the timing of its appearance coincides with some past expert forecasts regarding the arrival of such gadgets. For example, a report from late 2019 predicted Samsung’s first full-screen smartphone to arrive in the summer of 2020. Insiders from South Korea specifically mentioned the Galaxy Fold 2 as part of that prediction, expecting the foldable to become Samsung’s first device to utilize under-display camera tech.

Needless to say, there’s probably no way the unnamed smartphone depicted herein resembles anything close to the Galaxy Fold 2. However, both the Galaxy Note 20 and the successor to the Galaxy Fold are confirmed to launch this summer, perhaps even simultaneously. This bezel-free handset cameo hence at the very least underlines how close Samsung is to finally figuring out UDC tech, which should usher in the era of truly full-screen smartphones.

The post Samsung shows mysterious full-screen smartphone in AC ad appeared first on SamMobile.

Today, April 29, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy A31 for Brazil. The mid-range phone will be available for purchase in Brazil starting next week, with color options including black, blue, and white.

As expected, the Galaxy A31 will have a higher-than-normal price tag in Brazil, and prospective buyers will be looking at spending 1,999 brazilian real ($375) for the device. Comparatively, the Galaxy A31 was released in Vietnam earlier this week for the equivalent of $276.

Galaxy A31 in Brazil ships with 4GB RAM, 128GB storage

Spec-wise, the Galaxy A31 in Brazil won’t be any different than the A31 released in other markets. This means the phone is equipped with a Helio P65 chipset, even though the silicon isn’t outright mentioned in Samsung Brazil’s latest announcement. The Helio P65 has two high performance cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz alongside six 1.7GHz cores.

It’s important to note that the spec sheet shared by Samsung Brazil mentions only the variant with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It is possible that the 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants will be released in Brazil later down the line, but the aforementioned $375 price tag seems to correspond to the 4GB/128GB model.

Other specs include a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 by 1080, an under-display fingerprint sensor, a quad camera setup comprising 48MP/8MP/5MP/5MP sensors, a 20MP selfie shooter, and a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging. The Galaxy A31 ships with Android 10 and One UI 2.0 out of the box.

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Xiaomi announced the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and the Redmi Note 9 Pro in India and later brought the latter to other markets at Redmi Note 9S. Today the company is announcing the official global rollout of the series and odds are we will get to see the vanilla Redmi Note 9 for the first time. The announcement is taking place online as is the norm these days and you can follow it in the livestream below. It starts at noon UTC. The Redmi Note 9 is expected to keep the design of its bigger and mightier siblings - four cameras, lined up in a square, while the front will be a bit smaller...

LG posted its Q1 numbers and they paint a great overall picture. The company's consolidated revenue was KRW 14.73 trillion ($12.4b) on which it made KRW 1.09 trillion ($921.4m) in operating profit. This is just the second time in its history that LG has exceeded KRW 1 trillion in the first quarter of a year. LG's Home Appliance & Air Solution and Home Entertainment companies did well, posting KRW 8.39 trillion ($6.95b) in revenue. However LG's Mobile division reported just KRW 998.6 billion ($843.9m) in sales and a resulting operating loss of KRW 237.8 billion ($200.96m). That loss has...

AMD’s first custom Radeon GPU set to power future Samsung flagships will easily beat the current industry-leading options. That’s what can be inferred from several benchmark summaries leaked out of South Korea. Samsung and AMD originally announced their mobile GPU partnership back in mid-2019, but the first fruits of their collaboration won’t make their way to consumers until at least 2021, AMD previously said.

Following nearly a year of no updates, newly emerged information indicates the project is still on course to hit that tentative release window. AMD is now said to be in the process of optimizing the custom GPU which may be integrated into Samsung’s seminal 5nm silicon.

Exynos 1000 likely to use AMD graphics

Additionally, we finally caught a glimpse of what to expect from the said chipset which will be based on AMD’s RDNA architecture. Looking at the leaked synthetic early test scores originating from GFXBench, the AMD GPU for future Samsung flagships scored 181.8 frames in the Manhattan 3.1 test, which is about 13% greater than what the Adreno 650 found inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 is capable of. Additionally, it averaged 138.25 and 58 frames in Aztec Normal and Aztec High testing, respectively. These two results are even more significant as they beat Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile GPU by a factor of three.

The first AMD Radeon GPU for Galaxy smartphones is likely to make its way to the Exynos 1000, or however the 2021 successor to the Exynos 990 ends up being called. In the meantime, Samsung is also said to be working on a revised 7nm offering after reportedly feeling “humiliated” by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. The SoC, possibly called the Exynos 992, could power the upcoming Galaxy Note 20 series expected to launch in August.

It’s still early days, though, and none of these scores have been independently verified, so it would be best to take this with a grain of salt for now.

The post AMD GPU for 2021 Samsung flagships impresses in first leak appeared first on SamMobile.

A few days ago we learned of a Honor 5G-capable mid-range smartphone with plenty of info regarding specs coming straight from TENAA. And now a trustworthy leakster shares a few more specs, saying that the phone will come with a custom Sony IMX600y sensor. The Sony IMX600 sensor has been used in a number of Huawei and Honor phones. Most recently, the 40MP imager was part of the Honor V30 Pro and the Huawei Mate Xs. The IMX600y custom sensor has the same resolution so we still don't know what makes it unique. Anyway, along with the rumor, there's also a brief specs sheet attached...

Samsung is now offering a complimentary pair of Galaxy Buds to everyone who purchases the unlocked version of the Galaxy S10 Lite in the United States. The deal that adds over $100 to the value of the overall package comes less than two weeks after the Galaxy S10 Lite released stateside with a $649.99 price tag. Carrier variants of the Galaxy S10 Lite aren’t encompassed by the new offer, though the proposal is still rather attractive seeing how it allows you to potentially get your hands on a Snapdragon 855 device and a high-end wearable for under $400 in total.

The newly introduced deal is primarily targeting prospective buyers who aren’t eligible for $250 in instant trade-in credit from Samsung. While the two promotions can’t be combined, you can still get the wearable free of charge alongside regular trade-in value for select handsets. For example, parting with your old Galaxy Note 8 would net you both the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Buds for $509.99, or just the former for $399.99. The difference mostly corresponds to the current price tag attached to the Galaxy Buds in the U.S. – $109.99. On the bright side, you’re still eligible for two months of YouTube Premium to go along with your new Galaxy S10 Lite and complimentary Galaxy Buds.

Finally, Samsung’s latest Galaxy S10 Lite promotion applies to all four Galaxy Buds colors: Black, White, Yellow, and Aura Glow Silver. Assuming you place your order today, Samsung estimates your new smartphone and accompanying wearable will ship by Monday, May 4th.

Galaxy S10 Lite Review

• Buy Galaxy S10 Lite from Samsung

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Samsung has posted its quarterly report for the January - March 2020 period and it doesn't look that bad. The company met analysts' expectations and revealed a slight revenue decrease on a quarterly basis due to seasonality, but profits rose compared to Q1 2019. The mobile business reported less revenue than 12 months ago, but operating profit increased. Despite a decline in shipped units, the launch of the Galaxy S20 lineup and expanding its 5G portfolio allowed the Korean company to salvage its profitability. (in KRW/USD) Mobile DivisionRevenue Mobile...

The Cloud White variant of the Galaxy S20 Ultra appeared online once again ahead of its market debut. Speaking of which, its release date also came to light as it appears the new color option will be hitting the Chinese market tomorrow, May 1st. According to previous reports, this particular model sports 256GB of storage and will also come to Europe in the near future.

A combination of a white rear panel and a black quad-camera module gives this iteration of the Galaxy S20 Ultra a unique aesthetic which stands out from the rest of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 lineup.

New Galaxy S20 Ultra color comes with a 5G requirement

Tomorrow’s release of the new Galaxy S20 Ultra color should encompass only a single device configuration. That would be the 5G model with 256GB of flash storage, whereas an otherwise identical device with half as much memory can already be purchased on the Old Continent, priced at €1,349. Newly emerged information suggests the Galaxy S10+ is also on course for a minor refresh that will include both the Ceramic White and Ceramic Black iterations of the 128GB model. Those will be offered alongside the already widely available Prism Black, Prism White, and Prism Green options.

Adding new color options to flagship smartphone lineups is an established strategy of Samsung’s which served it well over the years. This time, however, the company’s in for an uphill battle as the Galaxy S20 range had a rather weak market debut, largely due to reasons outside of the company’s control.

The post Galaxy S20 Ultra in Cloud White sighted again with release date appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung revealed its plan to start the mass production of 5nm EUV chips before the end of Q2 2020 and start the development of the 3nm process this year. The company has reportedly increased its semiconductor output by about 40 percent while maintaining the same wafer input level, which means that Samsung has improved the efficiency of its production.

The South Korean firm’s investment in semiconductors declined from KRW 27.35 trillion in 2017 to KRW 23.72 trillion in 2018 and KRW 22.56 trillion in 2019. Samsung spent KRW 1.66 trillion in 2018, but it had to spend KRW 1.86 trillion in 2019 due to a 12% rise in prices, which means there was no change in the number of wafers the company bought. But, the number of chips produced went up 39 percent from 711 billion gigabits in 2018 to 889 billion gigabits in 2019.

Samsung is also making improvements to its DRAM manufacturing process by converting its first-generation 10nm (1x) process into second-generation (1y) or third-generation (1z). When the company completes this process, it can make 20 to 30 percent more chips with the same number of wafers. Moreover, once Samsung uses EUV to manufacture its DRAM chips, it can make twice the number of chips using the same amount of wafers when compared to the 1x process.

In the NAND flash segment, the company recently announced that it has started developing the industry’s first 160-layer flash memory. Chips manufactured using this technology are smaller than the one built using previous-generation techniques, and the productivity per wafer is 20 percent higher.

Industry experts say that China’s recent massive investment in chip manufacturing will still not be good enough to defeat Samsung. Rival Chinese firm YMTC’s 128-layer NAND flash chip technology is inferior to Samsung’s 160-layer chips that use channel hole etching technology. The company looks well set in the semiconductor space right now.

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After releasing the May security patch for the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Fold a day ago, Samsung is now bringing it to the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. The Note 10 duo is receiving a new update in several European countries, including Germany, France, Romania, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Switzerland.

Only security fixes are included in the latest Galaxy Note 10 update

The update features firmware version N97xFXXS4CTD1 and doesn’t have anything but the new security patch to offer. That’s not surprising after the feature-packed update the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ received just a couple of weeks back. That update brought many Galaxy S20 features — including new camera functionality — to the Note 10 and Note 10+ in addition to version 2.1 of One UI.

If you own a Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+, you will get a notification once the update is available in your region. You can also manually download the update over the air by tapping Download and install in your phone’s Settings » Software update menu. The latest firmware is also available for immediate download from our firmware archive.

Given Samsung’s recent track record with security updates, we can expect it to release the May security patch for more Galaxy devices soon. We should also find out what security vulnerabilities are addressed in the May patch in a few days once Samsung publishes the relevant details on its security bulletin.

The post Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ get May security update appeared first on SamMobile.

While OnePlus successfully launched its 8-series flagships earlier this month, the company's midrange option - the OnePlus Z - is yet to see daylight. We saw recent reports claiming the device is due to launch in July and now we have our first alleged hands-on image thanks to the folks over at True-Tech. As expected, the phone sports a flat display with a single centered punch hole. Judging by the instructions on the display it will come with a built-in fingerprint reader. This also means the OnePlus Z will employ an OLED panel, likely of 90Hz refresh rate as last year the company...

vivo's gaming iQOO Neo3 was unveiled seven days ago and today the company held the first flash sale. In 30 minutes it generated more than CNY100 million in revenue, which means between 30,000 and 37,000 units were moved. The vivo iQOO Neo3 has not only the mighty Qualcomm chipset, but also a screen with 144 Hzrefresh rate, a 48MP main camera, and a 4,500 mAh battery with 44W fast charging. The phone was launched for CNY2,698 for the 6/128 GB option and CNY3,398 for the 8/256 GB version. The next flash sale is set for the next week and we expect a similar outcome. vivo is offering...

We had exclusively revealed the presence of the Galaxy M01 last month, along with its storage space and color variants. A few days later, the phone appeared on the Wi-Fi Alliance database. Now, the entry-level smartphone has appeared on the Google Play Console, revealing some of its specifications.

The Galaxy M01 (SM-M015G) appears to be running Android 10, which means that it would most probably come with One UI 2.0. The device has an HD screen (could be a 6.4-inch panel) with a V-shaped notch for the front-facing camera. The smartphone is equipped with the Snapdragon 439 processor and 3GB of RAM. Four ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores of the chipset are clocked at 2GHz, while the other four cores are clocked at 1.5GHz. The Adreno 505 GPU is set to a clock speed of 560MHz.

Earlier, we had revealed that the phone would come with 32GB of internal storage, and the device will most probably have a microSD card slot for storage space expansion. The dual-SIM smartphone will make it to at least four Asian markets, including India, Nepal. Russia, and Sri Lanka. It will be launched in at least three color variants: black, blue, and red. We expect this budget phone to be unveiled in the next few weeks.

The post Galaxy M01 specs revealed through Google Play Console appeared first on SamMobile.

HMD Global, maker of Nokia branded smartphones, has been on a software update roll recently, sending out Android 10 to devices right and left. The company hasn't forgotten its cheapest and lowest-end smartphones either. Case in point: today it's started rolling out an update to Android 10 (Go Edition) for the Nokia 1 Plus. This phone doesn't have enough oomph in its specs to run the full version of Android, so it launched with the cut-down version called Go Edition. Initially on Pie since its release in February of last year, it's now ready to make the jump to double digits. HMD...

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy M01 was certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance last month, and now it's one step closer to launch, as it's been spotted in the Google Play Console. As usual, the listing gives us some of the phone's specs. So, the M01 has a screen with 720x1520 resolution, 3GB of RAM, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset at the helm. The phone runs Android 10. The small image attached to the spec listing looks incredibly similar to the Galaxy A01, and could thus be a rebranding of that model for some specific markets. We'll have to wait until its official unveiling to be sure,...

Earlier this month Apple released the first public beta of the upcoming iOS 13.4.5, and today the company has made the third beta available for testing by people who enrolled their devices into the Apple Beta program. Here's the thing, though. It isn't called iOS 13.4.5 anymore, from this point on it shall be known as iOS 13.5. That's because this version includes a beta iteration of the new exposure notification API, which should aid health authorities track the spread of COVID-19. This means developers can now start writing apps that take advantage of this API. There's a...

Samsung currently selling the 128GB storage variant of the Galaxy S10+ in various European markets in three colors: Prism Black, Prism Green, and Prism White. If you long for the Ceramic Black or Ceramic White color variants of the phone, you need to shell out around €200 more and get the 512GB variant. However, that could change soon.

According to Roland Quandt, who has an excellent track record when it comes to releasing information about unreleased products, Samsung will soon launch the 128GB storage variant of the Galaxy S10+ in Ceramic Black and Ceramic White colors in European markets. Although we don’t expect Samsung to charge extra for these color variants, there’s always a possibility as the ceramic material is more durable than the glass used in other color variants.

Right now, the 128GB storage variant of the Galaxy S10+ costs €809 in European countries, while the 512GB and 1TB variants cost €999 and €1,599, respectively. The Galaxy S10+ is now more than a year old, and it would be wiser to spend a little extra and get the Galaxy S20+ for €999.

If you want your phone in white, you currently have the option to get the Cloud White version of the 128GB Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G for €1,349 or wait for the 256GB variant that’s expected to reach global markets soon. Otherwise, you can wait for the Ceramic White version of the 128GB Galaxy S10+ and get it for a lower price.

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The Pixel 4a has been leaking like crazy over many weeks, but so far Google has not made it official for whatever reason. In the meantime, Apple has introduced its mid-range contender for this year - the new iPhone SE - so now all eyes are on Google for the moment when it will decide to finally make its move. According to a new rumor out of Germany, the Pixel 4a may go on sale in the country on May 22. The information reportedly is from Vodafone, one of the carriers over there. The Pixel 4a could be priced at €399 in the Eurozone, which would be slightly less than the iPhone SE. In the US...

Imint and Motorola have announced a new partnership, and the Motorola Edge+ is the first smartphone to benefit from the announcement. The Motorola Edge+ comes with four Imint Intelligence Vidhance features: Active OIS, Horizon Correction, Dynamic Blur Reduction, and Field of View Correction. Active OIS is the Vidhance solution that uses both OIS and EIS (which uses the smartphone's internal sensors) to correct unwanted movement in video - which Imint claims can even stabilize in low-light conditions. Horizon Correction sounds quite interesting. It will automatically correct...

An upcoming vivo handset dubbed the G1 5G has appeared in the wild and we have a set of renders and preliminary specs thanks to noted Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station. The phone is largely identical to the vivo S6 5G which was launched earlier this month. vivo G1 details (machine translated from Chinese) We have a 6.44-inch FHD+ OLED display with a waterdrop notch for the 32MP selfie cam. The back features a circular cutout for the quad cameras. The main shooter comes in at 48MP, there's also an 8MP ultrawide snapper and two 2MP modules - one for macro shots and another for depth...

Samsung is offering support to manufacturers of face masks struggling to ramp up their product outputs as South Korea continues its fight against COVID-19. The development is just the latest in a long series of moves Samsung made as part of its contributions to international relief efforts seeking to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus strain.

Just over a month ago, Samsung began closely collaborating with protective gear manufacturers Loesstech, E&W, and Evergreen. Among other things, it shared its vast engineering talent with the firms in question, allowing them to scale their operations with the constantly rising market demands much more efficiently, primarily by helping them with various levels of automation.

Samsung maintains aggressive coronavirus strategy

Naturally, the most immediate goal of the initiative is accelerating the deployment of smart factory solutions, for which Samsung went as far as to completely circumvent the need for certain component imports by swiftly sourcing them from within its vast holdings across South Korea.

The aforementioned partnerships were established following recommendations from various Korean government agencies. This is hardly the first occasion on which Samsung stepped up to the challenge of staving off the ongoing threat of the highly infectious disease that’s been keeping the majority of the planet on lockdown since early March. The company itself has yet to experience the worst effects of the pandemic but massive revenue declines and unprecedentedly low production rates resulting from temporary factory closures did not stop Samsung from aggressively donating its expertise, facilities, and resources to millions in need.

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The LG Premier Pro Plus (L455DL) first leaked in early January, but the company hasn't made it official yet. That can't be far off now as the Google Play Console already lists details about the phone and its User manual has surfaced online. LG Premiere Pro Plus • Phone details from the Google Console This is a basic phone with a 720p+ display and a MediaTek Helio P22 chipset (quad Cortex-A53 processor). It comes with 2GB of RAM and runs Android 9.0 out of the box. The storage is expandable using the microSD slot, the manual helpfully shows you how to put the card in. The phone...

A Galaxy S20 Ultra in white – or at least a dummy unit – popped up in a live photo earlier this week along with reports that the phone should be launching in China soon. Now, it looks like the white model’s launch in China is drawing very near, as official promotional material is popping up on Twitter through unofficial sources.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G in white will ship with 256GB of storage, according to the render at hand. In most countries around the world where the 5G variant was released, Samsung customers could only choose between 128GB and 512GB of memory. In any case, the render’s caption reportedly reads ‘Coming Soon,’ so it’s pretty obvious that Samsung is gearing up for the phone’s release in China.

Samsung is trying to get a bigger piece of the 5G pie

China was the biggest 5G market in the world in Q1 2020. Huawei is leading the pack in its home country, even though Samsung was the largest 5G smartphone vendor globally. 5G is in high demand in China, and the network infrastructure continues to expand.

Samsung doesn’t have much of an influence in China, but the company is seemingly hoping to get a piece of that pie with the emergence of 5G phones. Perhaps this is why the 256GB Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G in white is going to be available in China first. This variant could also be released in other countries, eventually, but there’s no official word on the matter to back this up. We’ll keep you posted.

The post White Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G with 256GB revealed in official press render appeared first on SamMobile.

The latest firmware update for Samsung’s Galaxy Buds may have crippled the very thing it was meant to improve – the wearable’s connectivity performance. Touted as a major upgrade that will allow users to go “completely wireless” by leveraging a number of features introduced with the newer Galaxy Buds+, the software revision wasn’t exactly met with the warmest of responses.

A vocal portion of the Galaxy Buds user base hence took online to complain about issues such as Ambient Sound Mode consistency, frequent disconnections, and, in rare cases, even total failures of the left-hand earbud.

Galaxy Buds users still waiting for Samsung’s response

What’s more, a number of SamMobile readers are also reporting issues with touchpad gestures, claiming the device often fails to recognize them even though it exhibited no such problems beforehand. Meanwhile, others aren’t able to get the Ambient Sound Mode to work, possibly because the update messed with the earbuds’ ability to keep proximity sensor data in sync. If the feature is grayed out on your end, there’s a chance you’re on the receiving end of that particular bug.

So, two days after the firmware build R170XXU0ATD2 began rolling out to the Galaxy Buds, neither social media nor Samsung’s own product forums are lacking in complaints from dissatisfied Galaxy Buds owners. Samsung has yet to acknowledge the complaints in any public capacity beyond approaching some of their authors on social media in order to ask for more details on the issues they’re experiencing.

SamMobile staff wasn’t able to replicate all of the reported bugs and it’s still unclear how widespread these Galaxy Buds performance issues truly are.

The post Latest Galaxy Buds update prompts connectivity complaints appeared first on SamMobile.

Predicting Samsung would release the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 in the second half of 2020 would have hardly been an act of clarvoyance at any point in recent memory. Regardless, that launch window is official as of just a few hours ago. The confirmation arrived as part of Samsung’s mixed Q1 financials, or more specifically, the company’s subsequent earnings call with analysts and investors.

While the conglomerate acknowledged the massive global uncertainties stemming from the ongoing coronavirus crisis, it has zero intentions of significantly altering its remaining annual smartphone roadmap in response to the situation.

Joint Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 launch still on the cards

Furthermore, Samsung said both the new Galaxy Note and its next foldable will turn up the level of competition in the ultra-premium market segment by a sizeable degree. Even more important is how the company’s not framing that forecast as a promise of some remarkable achievement, arguing that’s what its top-of-the-line handsets are doing every year anyway. The prediction is instead meant to illustrate how even perhaps the worst pandemic-related crisis in Samsung’s history isn’t enough to massively impact its overall stability, at least not in the immediate term.

Today’s development also lends more credence to recent reports about the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 both being on course for an August launch. And while Samsung would likely prefer to unveil the devices separately in order to maximize their media momentum, that’s not guaranteed to happen. At this rate, the company may have to settle with a single Unpacked event, online-only or not.

The post Samsung casually confirms Galaxy Note 20, Fold 2 launch windows appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung is seemingly preparing a new Galaxy Buds+ color option for the market, at least judging by a video discovered by XDA-Developers in the SmartThings app. The marketing material showcases a 3D render of a ‘Deep Blue’ Galaxy Buds+ flavor, and the ‘Deep Blue’ moniker is also mentioned in the same app.

As you may know, the Galaxy Buds+ are offered in four color options (sans the Thom Browne Edition) including white, red, Cosmic Black, and Cloud Blue. The latter color option is of a much lighter hue compared to the so-called Deep Blue.

Deep Blue Galaxy Buds+ may or may not become available

While it’s obvious that Samsung has been working on this new color option – at least as far as the marketing material is concerned – there’s no absolute guarantee that the Deep Blue Galaxy Buds+ will see the light of day. The marketing material exists, but Samsung’s current plans for this color option are unknown. Interesting to note is that the flavor does look quite a bit like the Aura Blue shade used for the more exclusive Galaxy Note 10+ variant which was initially released only in the USA through Best Buy.

It would be too late to release this Galaxy Buds+ Deep Blue model in a similar fashion, so perhaps Samsung will quietly add it to the existing range of colors in some markets in the near future. In the meantime, Samsung is developing the so-called Galaxy BudsX, a.k.a. the Galaxy Bean earbuds as the next-gen TWS. the Bean/BudsX are expected to be unveiled along with the Galaxy Note 20 series in August.

The post Deep Blue Galaxy Buds+ leaked in one of Samsung’s apps appeared first on SamMobile.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is getting a new color without straying from its grayscale palette - it will soon be available in White. Cloud White by the looks of it, though these opalescent colors are quite tough to show realistically in a static image. Still, you can see a hint of color at the edge. The official launch is scheduled for May 1 and may be tied to International Workers' Day celebrations. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in Cloud White Anyway, Ice Universe has been teasing this for nearly a month, but note that the famed leakster previously said that this color is heading to...

Samsung confirmed it’s doubling down on 5G smartphones in hope that they’ll help soften the impact of a full-fledged mobile crisis that’s now looming over its business. That’s not exactly a development many expected to witness at this point last year, but it does well to underline how unusual Samsung’s latest financial report was. Especially given how the company’s Q1 numbers are far from horrific.

On the contrary, even as many of its top markets began shutting down in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Samsung managed to marginally improve the profitability of its smartphone business over the first three months of 2020. That achievement is all the more remarkable in the context of a significant revenue hit Samsung would have taken in the first quarter regardless.

Samsung hoping 5G is ready to go mainstream

After all, post-holiday consumer electronics sales have nowhere to go but down, so negating their traditional effects on one’s bottom line is a commendable feat even without the added challenge of a highly contagious disease threatening both their suppliers and customers.

But the COVID-19 lockdowns only started near the end of Samsung’s newly reported quarter, which essentially guarantees the worst is yet to come for still the world’s largest smartphone maker. True to reports from mid-April, company officials today confirmed Samsung will be refocusing on cheap 5G smartphones in the hope of combating the inevitable Q2 sales hit. Well, “cheap” relative to the only 5G-enabled devices Samsung released so far.

Realistically speaking, there’s no doubt whether the likes of the Galaxy A51 5G and Galaxy A71 5G can make up for the many setbacks Samsung faces in the coming months – they can’t. All that remains to be seen is in how bad of a shape will the company’s smartphone business be come July.

The post Samsung confirms affordable 5G focus as mobile crisis looms appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung has been expanding the Galaxy M31’s availability to more countries over the past couple of months, and the latest market to get the mid-range device is Spain. The company has officially announced that the Galaxy M31 will be available for purchase in Spain from May 6 via the company’s online store and Amazon. In fact, customers should be able to pre-order the phone from Amazon Spain starting today.

The Galaxy M series has proven to be hugely popular around the world and our latest addition, Galaxy M31, is poised to continue that success, said Marketing Director, Luis de la Peña. Indeed, the Galaxy M31 is a compelling budget phone equipped with a monstrous 6,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging, and an excellent (at least for its class) 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a pixel count of 2340 by 1080.

Another mid-range phone equipped with a macro camera

The Galaxy M31 improves upon its predecessor in a number of ways. It has a 5MP macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture, and also sports a 64MP wide sensor, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 5MP depth camera. The Infinity-U notch carries a 32MP wide sensor for selfie shots.

Despite it being a budget phone, it ships with 6GB of RAM. The memory is paired with an Exynos 9611 chipset, and the phone has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Samsung Spain will be launching the Galaxy M31 for €279. Customers will get to choose between three color options including red, blue, and black.

Galaxy M31

• Model: SM-M315F
• Dimensions: Bar: 159.2 x 75.1 x 8.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.4 inch / 162.56 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9611
• Camera: 64MP

More specifications

The post Galaxy M31 is releasing in Spain next week, pre-orders go live today appeared first on SamMobile.

Realme launched its 6 series in Europe a few weeks ago, but many were disappointed to learn that only the vanilla Realme 6 and the even cheaper Realme 6i were launched at the Old Continent - there was no Pro version in sight. The brand is finally changing that as the Realme 6 Pro will finally be launched and we even have an official date - May 5. Realme is promising a live stream for the online event that will take place at 10:00 AM (GMT +2). Fans can subscribe to learn more about the broadcast, and new registrations will enter a raffle for some free goodies - 20 pairs of Realme...

External hard drives are a good solution for when you want to store a lot of data like media or documents that you want to backup. Conventional external hard drives are slow, due to their moving parts and way they store data. This SSD drive by Samsung is able to read and write with speeds up to 540 MB/s! This means you’re able to transfer your data fast and reliably. Now available at a massive 33% discount, this is the perfect time to get one in.

Hit the Buy Now button below to get one while still discounted!

The post Daily Deal: 33% off Samsung T5 2TB External SSD appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung has launched the Galaxy A51 5G in South Korea. The phone is on sale through Samsung's own website in three colors - Prism Cube Black, Prism Cube White and Prism Cube Pink. The Samsung Galaxy A51 5G has a few differences, compared to the Galaxy A51. It's powered by an Exynos 980 chipset with a 5G modem, has a bigger 4,500mAh battery with 15W charging, and has 6GB of RAM, not 4GB. Samsung Galaxy A51 Otherwise the Galaxy A51 5G has the same 6.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED and the same set of cameras - a 48MP main, 12MP 12mm ultrawide, 5MP macro and 5MP depth sensor. The...

In December the Xiaomi-owned company Amazfit announced that it's developing a smart band with a curved OLED display called Amazfit X, but gave us little in terms of specs. Now we have all the specs as the wearable went on pre-order through Indiegogo. Its asking price for early backers is $149, but the company says it will cost $329 when it launches in August 2020. The available colors are Eclipse Black and New Moon Gold. The Amazfit X has a 2.07-inch curved AMOLED screen with 206 x 640px resolution and peak brightness of 400 nits. Amazfit is really proud of its design as not...

Samsung took a long time to bring Android 10 to the Galaxy Fold, but the company made up for the delay by updating its first foldable directly to One UI 2.1. As a result, the Galaxy Fold received a number of features that were introduced with the Galaxy S20 when it was updated to Android 10. However, the initial Android 10 release didn’t bring all of the Galaxy S20 features that were promised for the Galaxy Fold. That is changing today thanks to a new update that’s rolling out to the device.

New camera features include Pro video mode, Single Take, and Night Hyperlapse

The update comes with firmware version F900FXXU3BTDD and adds multiple new camera modes to the Galaxy Fold. There’s Single Take, which allows you to take a series of videos and still images with all of the rear cameras with a single tap. Then there’s Night Hyperlapse, which records timelapse videos with long exposure to create a light trail effect that’s beautiful to look at — check out this video sample to see what we’re talking about.

The update also adds the ability to record videos in Pro mode, a feature that Samsung reintroduced to its smartphones with the Galaxy S20 series after taking it away with the Android Pie update back in late 2018. The Galaxy Fold is also getting support for creating custom filters in the Camera app. Called My Filters, the feature lets you create filters based on existing photos in your gallery and then use them for new photos taken with both the rear and front cameras.

Download the update over the air or from our firmware archive

It’s not just new features that are included in the latest Galaxy Fold update – you also get the May 2020 security patch. At the moment, the update is rolling out in France for the LTE variant, but you can expect it to go live in more countries and make it to the 5G variant in the coming days.

To download the update on your Fold, open the Settings app, select Software update, and tap Download and install. We also have the latest firmware available in our archive for manually updating with the help of a Windows computer.

The post New Galaxy Fold update brings Galaxy S20 camera features, May security patch appeared first on SamMobile.

We've already heard about the Huawei P Smart 2020 and it appears its launch is fast approaching. The folks over at WinFuture have brought us a bunch of images along with the detailed specifications of the entry-level phone. The Huawei P Smart 2020 will sport a 6.21-inch LCD with an FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution and a waterdrop notch on top for the 8MP selfie cam. Around the back, we have a 13MP main shooter paired with a 2MP depth sensor and an LED flash. There's also a capacitive fingerprint reader. Under the hood, Huawei is expected to use the Kirin 710F chipset which...

Xiaomi will launch a new phone called Mi Note 10 Lite tomorrow - a more affordable alternative of the Mi Note 10 camera beast. It will have a similar front panel, but only four shooters on the back, lined up vertically, along with two LED flashes. There's not much info about the phone, but previous rumors suggested a 6.47" OLED screen with Full HD+ resolution. We are expecting a Snapdragon 730G chipset, and the same huge 5,260 mAh battery with 30W fast charging as on the Mi Note 10. The camera department is going to be the most interesting bit as it was the Mi Note 10 key selling...