Galaxy Watch Active 2 update sets touch bezel setting on by default

A software update has been released for the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in the US today, and it makes an important change: After the update is installed, the touch bezel on the watch will be turned on by default. As we had reported, one of the Galaxy Watch Active 2’s key features, the virtual touch bezel, comes disabled out of the box and requires the user to take a trip into the Galaxy Wearable app on their connected smartphone to manually enable it. Anyone who hasn’t enabled it on their watch yet will find that the touch bezel will be activated on its own once they install the update that’s rolling out for Samsung’s latest smartwatch.

It’s rather unclear how or why Samsung shipped the Galaxy Watch Active 2 out to customers with the touch bezel setting set to be disabled by default, but the company is now making the necessary correction. The update — sporting build number R820XXU1BSI9 for the 44mm Wi-Fi version of the watch — also improves GPS performance and the accuracy of the battery level indicator on watch faces. A similar update is likely to roll out for the 40mm and cellular variants – the update should also be making its way to markets outside the US in the near future, and we will be sure to let you know once that happens.

To check if the update is available for your watch, open the Galaxy Wearable app on your connected phone, select About Watch, followed by Update watch software, and then tap the Update now button. The update will also show up on its own via a notification on your phone if you don’t manually check for it, although that can take a few days.

Thanks for the tip, Jake McCabe!

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Galaxy S10 September update out for Canada, no new features included

Galaxy S10 owners in Canada can now download an update with the September 2019 security patch. However, they will be disappointed to find that the update does not bring any of the Galaxy Note 10 features that the Exynos-powered Galaxy S10 devices received with the September update in other markets. Only the new security patch is included in the update, which bumps the software version up to G97*WVLS2ASI6.

The September update is available on all carriers in Canada and is rolling out over the air. You should be able to download it on your S10e, S10, or S10+ from the Software update menu of the Settings app, though it may not be immediately available for all users as these updates are released in stages. Firmware for the latest software version are available in our firmware archive for those who would like to upgrade their device manually instead of waiting for the OTA update.

When can Canadian users — and those in the US — expect to get the update with those Galaxy Note 10 features? Well, it’s hard to say at this time, as even Exynos Galaxy S10 devices are yet to receive it in every market. Samsung is taking things slower than usual, perhaps because of the sheer number of new features that are included in the latest update, so there may be a long wait in store for Galaxy S10 owners in the US and Canada.

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First Galaxy Fold 5G firmware update adds Link to Windows

Samsung has started rolling out the first firmware update for the Galaxy Fold 5G. It’s a minor update that doesn’t bring much in the way of new features. It’s certainly not like the significant update released for the Galaxy S10 recently which brought over many of the new features introduced with the Galaxy Note 10.

What this update does bring is the Link to Windows feature that debuted on the Galaxy Note 10 as well. No additional features have been ported over to Samsung’s foldable smartphone as yet but many would hope that Samsung does that soon.

Samsung rolls out firmware Galaxy Fold 5G firmware update

Samsung recently brought over camera features like AR Doodle and Night mode for the front camera to the Galaxy S10 from the Galaxy Note 10. A new Live focus effect has been ported over as well. This update does none of that for the Galaxy Fold 5G.

What the first Galaxy Fold 5G firmware update does bring is the Link to Windows feature. As we’ve explained before, this is nothing more than a glorified shortcut for Microsoft’s Your Phone app. You can already use this feature even on older devices.

Samsung is rolling out firmware version F907BXXU1ASHA for the Galaxy Fold 5G. We do have it readily available for download from our firmware section. It will gradually make its way to markets where the 5G version is being sold. There are only a handful of them outside of South Korea. You may recall that Samsung isn’t selling the 5G variant of its foldable smartphone in the United States.

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How to set up and customize Galaxy Note 10 Air Actions

Air Actions is the latest addition to the Galaxy Note family. The feature was introduced along with the new S Pen version paired with the Galaxy Note 10. For the first time in the series, the latest S Pen features an internal gyroscope. The hardware is being put to practical use through what Samsung calls Air Actions; or to be more specific, a sub-section of Air Actions which covers gestures.

Galaxy Note 10 Air Actions allows users to remotely-control certain apps through the S Pen physical button and internal gyroscope. Supported apps allow you to control various aspects by pressing or double-pressing the S Pen button, or through so-called ‘air gestures’ by holding the button pressed and swiping the S Pen left, right, up, and down in the air. (If you’re having trouble with gesture recognition, this story might help).

This guide will explain all you need to know about setting up Air Actions.

How to set up Air Actions

Step 1 – Accessing the Air Actions Menu: Open Settings and access Advanced features. Select S Pen and go to Air actions. Make sure the feature is enabled. If necessary, tap the On/Off toggle.

Step 2 – App actions: This is technically Air Actions implemented at its best. The App actions list contains all the apps that fully support Air Actions and, as you can probably tell, the range is fairly limited. However, supported apps offer a wide range of options for remote-controlling. Samsung will open up the Air Actions SDK to developers so expect third-party apps to support this down the line.

Users can select an app and determine the behavior of all the gestures, including single and double button presses, as well as air gestures. Each app offers its own set of commands for each gesture (but not always for all of them), so there’s a bit of customization to be had here.

Step 3 – General controls: These are similar to App actions but work for unsupported apps; therefore the controls/gestures are generalized instead of having a separate profile for each app. You can change the behavior of all the gestures by tapping the blue text. You can also disable the Single and Double-press gestures, or disable the remote shutter functionality for the Camera app.

Step 4: Holding down the S Pen button has its own practical use that is independent of App actions and General controls. You can assign this command to launch an app or summon an Air command tool even when you’re actively using another app in the foreground. We recommend assigning this command to an app or feature that works well with the S Pen, such as Create note.

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Do you use Air Actions, and if so, how often? What are the use cases in which Air Actions has been the most useful to you? And if you haven’t tried Air Actions yet, are you looking forward to it? Join us in the comment section below and feel free to check out our other Galaxy Note 10 tips covering additional S Pen details, battery life guides, and more.

Galaxy Note 10

• Model: SM-N970F
• Dimensions: 151.0 x71.8x7.9mm
• Display: 6.3"(160.02mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9825
• Camera: 12 MP, CMOS F2.2 Telephoto & 12MP F1.5/F2.4 77° & 16MP F2.2 123° Ultra-wide

More specifications

Galaxy Note 10+

• Model: SM-N975F
• Dimensions: 162.3 x 77,2 x 7.9mm
• Display: 6.8"(172.7mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9825
• Camera: 12 Ultra Wide: 16MP F2.2 (123°) & Wide-angle: 12MP 2PD AF F1.5/F2.4 OIS (77°) & Telephoto: 12MP F2.1 OIS (45°) & DepthVision Camera: VGA

More specifications

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Daily Deal: 60% off Samsung Active InEar Headphones

In-ear headphones are versatile. They’re perfect to use during your commute, in the office or while working out. The design makes sure they stay in your ear so you can move freely. They also have a built-in microphone (compatible with Samsung smartphones) so you can take calls with them too. At 60% off, this is a great opportunity to get a couple of headphones in so you’ll never have to go without them.

Hit the Buy Now button below and order them before they’re out of stock!

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Japan’s KDDI signs contract for Samsung 5G network equipment

Samsung will supply Japan’s second-largest mobile carrier, KDDI, with 5G network equipment. According to a Samsung official cited by The Korea Times, the company “[…] won a contract to supply its 5G network equipment to KDDI,” however, the value of the contract was not disclosed.

KDDI and Samsung have been testing 5G equipment over the past few years. In 2018 the companies showcased the power of 5G by successfully conducting a real-time free-viewpoint video stream test. Therefore, KDDI’s decision to acquire 5G network equipment from Samsung isn’t unexpected, especially since Huawei was banned from official contracts last year by the Japanese government.

Nevertheless, Samsung will not be the only company responsible for building KDDI’s 5G infrastructure. The Korean tech giant will work alongside Ericsson and Nokia to complete the contract over the next five years.

2020 is the year of 5G

Japan is reportedly making a greater effort towards implementing 5G before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Samsung aims to secure 20 percent of the global network equipment market by 2020, and the contract with KDDI brings the company one step closer to its goal. Samsung is, of course, an official Worldwide Olympic Partner and is bound to sponsor the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite the trade tensions between Japan and South Korea.

Samsung Mobile is one of the few OEMs to offer 5G-capable smartphones and has already unveiled its first 5G integrated chipset, the Exynos 980. It’s going to enter mass production by the end of the year and could power devices from the Galaxy A (2020) series.

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Where to find the AR Doodle camera feature on the Galaxy S10

AR Doodle is a camera feature that debuted on the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, but it didn’t stay exclusive to the two Notes for long as Samsung brought it over to the Galaxy S10 lineup with a software update starting September 23. AR Doodle is a fun little video recording feature that allows you to draw on top of whatever it is you’re recording with the phone’s camera. These drawings — doodles, to be more precise — maintain their original position, so if you doodle something on a person’s face, the doodle will follow the face as the camera moves around and will show up every time that’s person’s face is in the frame.

AR Doodle also works for videos without people in them. In such videos, each doodle will stay fixed in the place where you drew them, and the doodle will show up every time the camera is aimed at that place. AR Doodle is loads of fun, and while the S Pen on the Galaxy Note 10/10+ makes for sharper doodles, the feature works pretty well on the Galaxy S10 lineup as well. You can use AR Doodle for both the front and rear cameras (you can only doodle on faces with the front camera) and create doodles in real-time while a video is being recorded or doodle before you start video recording.

Check out the video below for a short glimpse on what AR Doodle is all about. This is from our Galaxy Note 10+ review, and the AR Doodle bit comes up at the 2 minute 20 second mark and goes on until the 2 minute 39 second mark.

The software update that introduces AR Doodle to the Galaxy S10e/S10/S10+ is being released in stages and will take time to reach all countries and all users, but those who have received the update already might be wondering where the AR Doodle feature is located. On the Galaxy Note 10/10+, it can be accessed from the S Pen’s dedicated Air Command menu; on the Galaxy S10, it can be found in the camera’s video recording mode.

AR Doodle is accessed from the camera’s video recording mode

Here’s what you need to do to fire up AR Doodle on the Galaxy S10e, S10, or S10+: Open the Camera app, switch to the Video mode, then hit the AR Doodle icon on the top right corner of the display (see the icon marked in red in the screenshot below). You will be taken to the AR Doodle interface, where you can switch between Face and Everywhere mode depending on whether it’s someone’s face you wish to doodle on or on your general surroundings and also find a variety of pen styles and font colors to choose from.

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Samsung opens a showcase venue for ‘The Wall’ displays in Korea

Samsung has opened a new showcase venue for ‘The Wall’ displays in Korea today. The ‘experience space’ is set up at ODEPort, a high-end audio store in Seoul’s Gangnam district. This is the first such showcase in Korea and the third one globally. The other two venues are the Harrods department store and the Samsung KX experience center – both of which are in London.

The Korean tech giant is displaying the 146-inch ‘The Wall Luxury’ screen at the new outlet. The company has collaborated with the Danish audio brand ODE for the showcase, enabling Visitors to experience ‘The Wall Luxury’ modular display combined with ODE’s high-end Steinway Lyngdorf audio system ‘Model O.’

The Wall showcase will operate on a 1: 1 reservation basis, whereby the company’s representatives will provide visitors with customized concierge services such as consulting, experience, purchasing, installation, etc.

The Wall lineup is currently Samsung’s most premium display offering. Though these high-end screens can be used as TVs, the company prefers not to use that term. These are MicroLED panels that are technologically superior to both QLEDs and OLEDs. First unveiled at CES 2018, the size of these high-end displays can be customized by adding or removing the bezel-less display models.

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Samsung Q3 2019 operating profit may fall by 60%

Samsung has been facing a challenging business environment for the past few quarters. That was reflected in the company’s bottom line. Its profit plunged by 56 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

The primary reason is the supply glut of NAND flash and DRAM chips. Semiconductors account for a significant chunk of the company’s revenues and as prices have declined, so have its profits. Analysts now predict a 60.2 percent decline in Samsung’s Q3 2019 operating profit compared to Q3 2018. The projected figures will actually be an improvement compared to the second quarter of this year.

Samsung Q3 2019 operating profit shows slight improvement

Q3 2018 was a particularly good quarter for Samsung. It posted over $15.5 billion in operating profit on revenues of over $57.5 billion. It actually smashed its own record for the highest profit ever in a single quarter. It was driven to this peak due to the stellar performance of the semiconductor business. Samsung did warn back then that it expected earnings to drop in the following quarters due to weak seasonality for the semiconductor market.

The first and second quarters of this year saw a considerable decline in revenues and profits as demand didn’t pick up in the semiconductor market. Seasonal weakness also led to weak overall market demand for smartphones. Samsung did expect things to look up in the second half of this year with demand for NAND and DRAM increasing. The new Galaxy Note series would provide a much-needed boost to its mobile division as well.

Seoul-based financial data provider FnGuide has compiled analysts’ estimates for Samsung’s Q3 2019 operating profit which come in at $5.83 billion for the July-September period, a slight increase over the $5.6 billion operating profit posted in Q2 2019. Revenues are projected to hit almost $50 billion compared to $48 billion in the previous quarter. This will actually be the first time that revenues will hit this mark after the third quarter of last year.

Analysts attribute the slight improvement in Samsung’s financials to strong demand for its latest premium smartphones, higher demand for semiconductors and a favorable exchange rate environment. Samsung will release its earnings guidance for the third quarter early next month.

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Flipkart India offering huge discount on Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+

As part of its ongoing Big Billion Days sale, Indian retailer Flipkart is selling the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ at a considerable discount. The regular Galaxy S9 is available from Flipkart for Rs. 29,999 (~$425), nearly 52% off its maximum retail price, while the S9+ can be purchased for Rs. 34,999 (~$495), or 50% less than its maximum retail price. It’s worth noting that Flipkart has jacked up the list price to make the discounts seem bigger than they actually are, but both phones are nonetheless available for very attractive prices as part of the promotion.

Samsung India has the same discount for the Galaxy S9 on its official store but is selling the S9+ for Rs. 61,900; combined with faster delivery times, Flipkart is where those interested in either phone should make the purchase. The Galaxy S9+ in particular is a very attractive option here. It may be more than a year old at this point, but its specs are still solid and include many of the same features as the Galaxy S10, like powerful stereo speakers and a 12MP Dual Aperture rear camera with dedicated Night mode. It’s powered by the Exynos 9810 SoC, has 6GB of RAM, and runs Android Pie and will get an update to Android 10.

Head on over to Flipkart.com to buy the Galaxy S9 (link) or S9+ (link). Do hurry, as the deal may not last very long. If you have a more limited budget, you can also look at the Galaxy M30s, which went on sale in the country over the weekend and offers amazing value for money.

Galaxy S9

• Model: SM-G960F
• Dimensions: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm
• Display: 5.8” (146.5mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9810
• Camera: 12 MP, CMOS OIS (F1.5/F2.4)

More specifications

Galaxy S9+

• Model: SM-G965F
• Dimensions: 157.7 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm
• Display: 6.2” (158.1mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9810
• Camera: 12 MP, CMOS Dual OIS (F1.5/F2.4) & Telephoto: 12MP AF F2.4)

More specifications

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Get free Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Fit with Galaxy Note 10+ in the US

As a limited time offer, Samsung is giving away a Galaxy Fit and the Galaxy Buds for free with every Galaxy Note 10+ purchase in the US. Bought separately, the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Fit would set you back by $229.98, making this is a pretty impressive deal for what is Samsung’s most impressive Galaxy Note flagship yet. And the free Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Fit make sense when you consider that the Note 10+ does not have either a 3.5mm headphone jack or a heart rate sensor, two features that were once taken for granted on Samsung’s flagship phones.

Samsung isn’t limiting the deal to any particular storage, color, or carrier variant of the Note 10+. You can go with any carrier of your choice or select the unlocked variant – you can also grab the 5G Galaxy Note 10+ from Verizon if you like. The free Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Fit will be added to your order automatically once you’ve made your storage, carrier, and color choices, but if you don’t want these wearables, you can instead opt for $200 of Samsung.com credit that you can spend on buying a different product from the company’s official website.

In addition to the free wearables (or the $200 credit), customers also get free access to Spotify Premium and YouTube Premium for six and four months respectively, an offer that is also applicable to the regular Galaxy Note 10. If you’ve been looking to buy a Galaxy Note 10+ in the US, this may be the perfect time to pick one up, so go ahead and visit Samsung’s website to make the purchase.

Don’t forget to check out our Galaxy Buds review and Galaxy Fit review to see what these two devices are all about.

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