Blockchain multiplayer game Battle of Elrond is a Galaxy Store exclusive

The Elrond cryptocurrency project has announced a multiplayer mobile game featuring blockchain features, which will launch through the Galaxy Store exclusively for Samsung’s blockchain smartphones including the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 series.

Although it’s not a decentralized app (DApp), Battle of Elrond will contain blockchain components and players will be able to earn ERD tokens by playing the game. Support for ERD tokens was added to Samsung’s Blockchain KeyStore Wallet in November. Battle of Elrond players will be able to earn ERD in-game by defeating enemies, although details are scarce and it’s unclear how exactly the system works.

Judging by the official teaser trailer below, the game has a top-down camera perspective and pits two teams of five players against each other. There seems to be an upgrade component to the game, whereby players can improve their character’s stats by purchasing new equipment. It looks more like a pure arena PVP game rather than a MOBA-style tower defense.

Battle of Elrond is scheduled for launch on the Galaxy Store by the end of the first quarter. The developer claims that blockchain technology reduces costs and delivers better security and privacy. These benefits exist ‘without the intricate blockchain-specific hassle’ and the developer believes that these characteristics ‘will likely catapult adoption.’

The post Blockchain multiplayer game Battle of Elrond is a Galaxy Store exclusive appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/37RNSs5
via IFTTT

Galaxy Note 10 Lite’s older processor could set a bad precedent

For the longest time, Samsung has stuck to its strategy of launching two flagship phones each year. And, while the feature gap between Note and Galaxy S flagships have shrunk considerably in recent years, every Note flagship has built on what Samsung offered with the Galaxy S flagship in the same year. This year was no different, but with the Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite, Samsung seems to be ditching that nearly decade-old strategy.

For the first time, the latest Note isn’t as powerful as the latest Galaxy S phone

While the Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite look the same outside, it’s what’s on the inside that is threatening to make Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note offerings confusing to the end consumer. The S10 Lite is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset, which also powers the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 in some markets, while the Galaxy Note 10 Lite makes do with the Exynos 9810, the SoC that powered the 2018 Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9.

Basically, the latest S Pen-toting Galaxy smartphone has lesser specs than the latest Galaxy S smartphone, and that’s not what people expect. Sure, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite makes up for it with a better camera setup. Its 12MP primary rear camera is a flagship-grade sensor while the S10 Lite’s 48MP camera is a mid-range sensor, and the Note 10 Lite also gets a telephoto camera instead of a more limiting macro camera. But why are any of the specs on the Galaxy Note 10 Lite lesser than what we find on the Lite version of the Galaxy S10?

Of course, the answer may be simple. The Galaxy S10 Lite may have powerful specs on paper, but it doesn’t really serve any purpose in a crowded market where there are plenty of other similarly-specced devices. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite, on the other hand, is unique thanks to the S Pen and has a higher chance of attracting customers. That may be why Samsung has priced it lower than the S10 Lite, and it may also be why the company might have decided to go with an older, less powerful chipset for the device.

A bad precedent for the Galaxy Note lineup, flagship or otherwise

And while that makes sense at a time when Samsung is being cornered by the competition with smartphones that offer considerably higher bang for buck, it’s not going to make sense to the average consumer. The average consumer might decide the Galaxy Note 10 Lite is the device for them based on how Galaxy Notes have always been better specced than Galaxy S smartphones, only to find that is no longer the case.

There’s always the chance they won’t notice or mind, as the Exynos 9810 is still a very capable processor, but if they do, it could even affect their perception of the flagship Galaxy Note lineup. Whether that will hurt Samsung’s sales prospects in the long run is unclear, but it will set a bad precedent and could end up further diluting the Note brand following the launch of the Galaxy Note 10, a Note flagship without a headphone jack and expandable storage.

What do you think?

The post Galaxy Note 10 Lite’s older processor could set a bad precedent appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2FzT5ZC
via IFTTT

Daily Deal: 32% off the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

We’ve recently reviewed the Galaxy Watch Active 2. We’ve concluded it’s the best Samsung smartwatch yet. It comes in a larger size than before, meaning there’s more display and that’s used in a good way. The smartwatch has a 340 mAh battery which will last up to three days. We’re also in love with the design which is just smooth and beautiful. Of course the specs are decent as well. The Exynos 9110 dual-core processor makes sure the watch is fast and responds to everything without lag. At 32% off, there’s no better time to upgrade your smartwatch to the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2!

Hit the Buy Now button below to get the smartwatch before the price changes again.

The post Daily Deal: 32% off the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/39Y8uB5
via IFTTT

Galaxy M30s certified with Android 10 onboard

Samsung currently has six Galaxy M series smartphones on the market in India, and two of them were surprisingly updated to Android 10 soon after the Galaxy S10 and before the stable Android 10 update was released for the Galaxy Note 10 lineup. According to Samsung’s official roadmap, the Galaxy M40 and Galaxy M30s are next in line, with their update scheduled for March and April respectively, and it has now scored Wi-Fi certification for the latter with the latest version of Android onboard.

The Galaxy M30s is not the only device that has recently received blessings from the Wi-Fi Alliance running Android 10. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy A80 were certified with Android 10 onboard just a week ago. And as we have seen in the past, Wi-Fi certification in no way suggests that a device is set to get an update soon. Wi-Fi certifications are simply part of the process of bringing a new version of Android to a smartphone or tablet and can often be granted months before the relevant update makes its way to users.

Still, with Samsung randomly releasing Android 10 to its devices, like sending it out to Galaxy A40s owners in China just yesterday, there’s always a chance the Galaxy M30s’ Android 10 update will roll out before April. However, that solely depends on how quickly Samsung is able to complete work on the new software, and exactly when that will happen is not something anyone can predict.

The post Galaxy M30s certified with Android 10 onboard appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2R77VMD
via IFTTT

Galaxy M31 could have quad camera with macro lens like the Galaxy A51

Samsung has multiple new Galaxy M series smartphones in the works, and we’re bound to see more and more details about those handsets leak out as we get closer to their official launch. The Galaxy M31 is looking like it will be the first of the new M series phones to make it to retail stores, as just two weeks after the device was spotted on an online benchmark, a new leak has revealed information on the phone’s cameras.

91Mobiles has shared an image of what is supposedly the Galaxy M31’s camera module, and it shows an L-shaped camera setup similar to the one on the Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71. We had already speculated that the Galaxy M31 might share its specs with the A51 as it was benchmarked with the Exynos 9611, the same chip that powers the Galaxy A51 and A50s, and the leaked image is lending more credence to that speculation.

For those who haven’t been keeping up, the Galaxy A51 has a 48MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. It also has a 32MP front-facing camera, and we assume the same will be true for the Galaxy M31 as well. Nothing is set in stone, however, as we still don’t have any concrete evidence to go on, so it’s best to take all of the speculation and leaks with the proverbial grain of salt for now.

The post Galaxy M31 could have quad camera with macro lens like the Galaxy A51 appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2uCxpd9
via IFTTT

Galaxy Note 10’s 3D Scanner picks up ‘person mode’ in new update

The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ introduced many new camera features, and perhaps the most disappointing of those was 3D Scanner, which uses the ToF camera on the back to create 3D models of live objects. As we had noted in our Note 10+ review, 3D scanning is a hit-and-miss affair, with the feature often messing up scans of humans and throwing errors when scanning non-human objects. But with the latest update to the 3D Scanner app, Samsung is attempting to improve the former with a dedicated ‘Person’ mode.

With the latest version of 3D Scanner, you can manually switch between ‘Person’ and ‘Thing’ modes depending on what it is you’re scanning. We haven’t been able to test the updated app to see if scanning has improved, but it will hopefully do a better job at human scans than it has done in the past. The changelog does mention that improvements have been made to 3D model quality, so it’s possible the overall experience and quality of scans will be better after the update.

3D Scanner also works on other Galaxy phones with ToF cameras, such as the Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy A80, and you can download the app update from the Galaxy Store. The APK file for the latest version is also available in our APK archive for those who would like to sideload the updated app on their device.

The post Galaxy Note 10’s 3D Scanner picks up ‘person mode’ in new update appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2Tbx0J0
via IFTTT

Exclusive: Samsung could launch 5G-enabled Galaxy A51 in Korea

The recently launched Galaxy A51 could make its way to South Korea equipped with 5G connectivity. According to our sources, a device with model number SM-A516N and 128GB of base storage is in the works. The regular Galaxy A51 sports model number SM-A515F, so the SM-A516N is likely to be its 5G-enabled Korean variant, just like the SM-N976N is the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G for the Korean market while the international LTE variant sports model number SM-N975F.

Just a few months back, we had revealed that China would get a 5G variant of the Galaxy A71, and if the Galaxy A51 5G does come to market, it would become the cheapest 5G smartphone from Samsung. It will be interesting to see how Samsung will go about adding 5G support to the Galaxy A51. The A51’s Exynos 9611 chipset doesn’t officially support 5G connectivity, so Samsung will probably have to choose between using its add-on Exynos 5100 5G modem and changing the Exynos 9611 to something like the Exynos 980 or even MediaTek’s new Dimensity 1000 5G chip.

There have already been rumors that Samsung could employ MediaTek’s 5G solution for some of its 2020 A series phones, so it’s certainly possible the Galaxy A51 5G will be the first of those to use the MediaTek chip. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the company will end up doing, although we believe we can safely rule out the switch to the Exynos 980 as that would considerably increase the asking price for the handset. The Exynos 980 will probably be seen on the Galaxy A71 5G instead, although even that is not set in stone at this time.

The post Exclusive: Samsung could launch 5G-enabled Galaxy A51 in Korea appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2s7nbR0
via IFTTT