Samsung Galaxy M31 now available for purchase in India

The latest Galaxy M series smartphone, the Galaxy M31, is now available for purchase in India. The M31 is the successor to the Galaxy M30s, which was Samsung’s most value-for-money budget phone last year. The device can be purchased from Amazon.in, Samsung’s official website, and select retail stores for Rs 14,999 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and Rs 15,999 for the 6+128GB configuration. Color options include Ocean Blue and Space Black.

The Rs 14,999 and Rs 15,999 prices are introductory prices, so if you have been looking forward to buying the Galaxy M31, you might want to do it as soon as possible. As we concluded in our review, last year’s Galaxy M30s, which currently costs Rs 12,999, is still the best option for those who are on a tight budget, while the base variant of the Galaxy M31 is an excellent proposition who have Rs 14,999 to spare. Great battery life and a beautiful display are the main attractions, and the phone also has good daylight camera performance and the latest software out of the box.

As far as the spec sheet is concerned, the Galaxy M31 comes with a 6.4-inch Full HD+ Infinity-U Super AMOLED display, an octa-core Exynos 9611 processor, 6GB of RAM, a 64MP primary camera along with 8MP ultra-wide, 5MP depth, and 5MP macro cameras at the back, a 32MP selfie camera, and a 6,000 mAh battery with 15W fast charging (a fast charger is included in the box).

Will you be picking up a Galaxy M31? Let us down in the comments!

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You can now buy a 24K gold-plated Galaxy S20 in the UK

Samsung released its newest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra, last month. If you’re rich and the thought of buying a gold-plated version of the Galaxy S20 ever crossed your mind, you can do so now.

Goldgenie, a luxury gift company based out of the UK, is offering 24K gold-plated versions of the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Every part of these phones, except the camera lenses and the screen, is covered in 24-karat gold. One of these phones would certainly add bling to your style statement.

The LTE variants of the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra from Goldgenie would set you back by £3,397, £3,597, and £3,797, respectively, in the UK. The 5G variants of the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S20+ cost £3,497 and £3,697, respectively. Goldgenie has been offering 24K gold-plated versions of Samsung’s smartphones since the Galaxy S4 days.

You can now pre-order these customized 24K versions of the Galaxy S20 in the UK from Goldgenie’s website. Orders will start shipping by the end of this month. The company will send the phones in special leather packaging and a certificate of authenticity.

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Galaxy S20’s clock app supports Spotify to be your alarm tone

Samsung had announced Spotify integration for the Galaxy Buds+ during the Unpacked 2020 press event last month. Now, it appears that the music streaming service’s integration isn’t just limited to the Galaxy Buds+ (read our review) earphones. The clock app on the Galaxy S20 series supports Spotify to be set as the alarm tone.

The clock app in One UI 2.1, which comes pre-installed on the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Flip, supports Spotify integration. This means that you can play your favorite songs as your alarm tone. You can find this option under the alarm sound section of the clock app’s settings.

For this feature to work, you need to have Spotify installed on your Galaxy S20. If your country doesn’t have access to Spotify, the feature won’t work. If you have a phone that’s running One UI 2.0, you won’t have access to this feature.

Expect the feature to be rolled out to more Samsung phones as a part of the One UI 2.1 update. If you want a similar feature on your older Samsung device right now, you can install Google’s free Clock app from the Play Store. Apart from Spotify, it also supports other music streaming services such as Pandora and YouTube Music.

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Galaxy S20 Ultra teardown offers a detailed look at phone’s internals

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is an impressive engineering marvel, and Samsung has managed to cram in a massive screen, huge camera sensors, the best connectivity features, and a massive 5000mAh battery inside a thin package. Now, iFixit has posted a teardown of the smartphone, offering us a detailed look at the phone’s internal parts and their assembly.

First and foremost, the phone’s glass and metal design are held together by glue, so one would require a heat gun to remove the back. The phone’s wireless charging coil can be seen on top of its truly massive, 5000mAh battery. Samsung has used only one type of Phillips screws inside the phone, which makes things a bit easier. After removing the charging coil, antennas, and speakers of the phone, the mainboard can be seen featuring camera sensors, mmWave hardware, and other essential parts of the phone.

Next up, the 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX camera sensor (1/1.33-inch). It is one of the largest smartphone camera sensors in the market, and it is twice the size of the primary camera sensor used in the iPhone 11 series. This sensor uses a 3×3 pixel binning method, which Samsung calls ‘nona-binning,’ to improve low-light image quality.

The teardown also offers a look at the marvelous periscope 4x optical zoom mechanism sitting. To fit such a complex zoom lens mechanism into a phone that’s just 8.8mm thin, the company has used a prism to bounce the light at a 90-degree angle in front of the 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor. It appears that Samsung has used multiple levels of hardware stabilization to reduce the shakes.

The phone’s mainboard also features the Snapdragon 865 processor with the Samsung 12GB LPDDR5 RAM layered over it. There’s also 128GB of UFS 3.0 storage, Qualcomm’s second-gen 5G modem and 5G amplification modules, a power management IC from Maxim, and a couple of RF front-end modules from Skyworks and Qorvo.

Flipping over the mainboard reveals even more chipsets. There’s a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi module from Murata along with three power management ICs, an RF transceiver, and a front-end module from Qualcomm. There are a lot of Qualcomm chips in there. We wonder if the Exynos variant of the phone also features as many Qualcomm chips.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 5000mAh battery is glued to the phone’s frame and removing reveals a mmWave antenna. Removing the big, 6.9-inch Super AMOLED screen reveals a 3D Sonic fingerprint sensor from Qualcomm and a display driver that makes the 120Hz refresh rate possible. iFixit notes that the phone’s internal parts are laid pretty much the same way as the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.

iFixit has given the Galaxy S20 Ultra a low repairability score of 3 out on a scale of 10 owing to a lot of glue and the display repair requiring a complete teardown of the phone or replacing half the device.

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Samsung creates AI division to improve semiconductor manufacturing

Samsung’s decade-long plans for the semiconductor market are already taking shape in different forms. In recent news, the company has reportedly launched an in-house AI research unit under the Device Solutions division.

According to unnamed sources cited by The Korea Herald, the AI unit’s primary purpose is to research and create AI technologies designed to improve the semiconductor manufacturing process. In other words, it won’t develop AI products for the consumer market, so this has little to do with Samsung’s ‘Age of Experience.’ Instead, the new AI division will contribute to creating a highly-sophisticated smart semiconductor factory.

The new AI division is called ‘Data & Information Technology Center’ and it’s being led by Shim Eun-soo, who used to be the head of AI software research at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). According to the source, Samsung Electronics is now scouting for AI researchers with doctorates from universities including the University of Tokyo and the State University of New York. Having said that, the so-called Data & Information Technology Center is not yet fully operational.

Samsung continues to be one of the biggest players in the semiconductor space and the company’s ambitions to outshine both Intel and Qualcomm haven’t slowed down a bit. Last quarter, Samsung Group made a $6.83 million investment in semiconductor startup IVworks, and the company’s 3nm chip development seems to be going according to plan. Even more recently, Samsung won a contract to manufacture Qualcomm’s X60 5G chipset using a 5nm process.

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Galaxy Buds+ teardown confirms they’re the most repairable TWS

The new Galaxy Buds+ have been featured in a teardown video by iFixit, giving us a much-needed closer look at what makes these earbuds tick. As if we needed any more reasons to consider the Galaxy Buds+ a successful product, the new model has retained iFixit’s title of the most repairable TWS on the market and topped a high score of 7 out of 10; one point higher than last year’s model.

The Galaxy Buds+ only have an IPX2 rating, but this brings advantages in terms of repairability as there’s no need for Samsung to rely on strong adhesives. Therefore, the Galaxy Buds+ aren’t loaded with glue so they are quite easy to disassemble.

The internal structure of the new Buds+ is similar to last year’s model, but the 2020 entry does make better use of all of its internal space. This time, the 0.315Wh battery is supplied by EVE instead of Varta, and it, together with the main printed circuit board (PCB), reside in one half of the earbud. The other half of each earbud contains the charging contacts, an interfacing microphone, a proximity sensor, as well as the upgraded drivers which are reportedly more difficult to remove (and haven’t been in the video).

The charging case for the Galaxy Buds+ hasn’t seen as many changes on the inside as the earbuds themselves. The case looks about the same as last year’s model; it has the same battery, and it holds the PCB in place with screws. Similarly, the 1.03Wh battery is located between the PCB and wireless charging coil.

It may not seem like it at first glance, but a repairability score of 7 out of 10 in the TWS space is surprisingly good. To give you a popular point of reference, all of Apple’s AirPods, with no exception, have scored a 0 out of 10. In contrast, Samsung’s latest earbuds feel like a godsend to any TWS fan who cares about repairability. Check out the Galaxy Buds+ teardown video below for more details.

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Samsung inks deal to bring 5G to New Zealand in partnership with Spark

As Samsung continues to bet big on its 5G network business, the company announced today that it reached an agreement with Spark New Zealand to provide the network operator with scalable 5G New Radio (NR) solutions.

Samsung’s 5G NR portfolio emphasizes lightweight for ease of installation and cost-effective deployment. Its Massive MIMO solution which will be employed by Spark New Zealand has already been proven in South Korea, and it will soon be deployed in Japan.

It’s been said that 2020 will be a decisive year for Samsung’s 5G business. The Korean tech giant is not the only company to supply network operators around the world with 5G equipment, and the competition will ramp up.

So far, however, Samsung appears to be in a favorable position as it managed to secure clients in key markets including the USA where it recently acquired TeleWorld Solutions, Canada where it partnered with Videotron, Japan’s KDDI, and India’s Jio to name a few. The company also entered a partnership with Marvell to help network operators worldwide in building their 5G infrastructures.

As for New Zealand, Samsung and Spark have been performing 5G trials since last year to determine the potential of Samsung’s 5G end-to-end solutions. The tests were successful in showing the benefits of higher speeds and lower latencies, and the GM of Value Management of Spark New Zealand revealed that the company is pleased to have Samsung as a 5G vendor because the company not only has incredible knowledge on 5G infrastructures but can also provide a proven immersive 5G experience for our customers.

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Galaxy Note 9 secures March 2020 security patch in Germany

Samsung continues to bring the March 2020 security patch to more of its devices, and not to be outdone by the Galaxy Note 10 and 10+, the Galaxy Note 9 is now the next device in line for a firmware update. Software version N960FXXS5DTB6 is rolling out in Germany as we speak. It’s a general firmware update that doesn’t introduce any new features or changes to the overall user experience but provides better security for your device.

You can read more about the March 2020 security patch in our report but, in short, it fixes a handful of Android OS vulnerabilities of varying degrees of severity, as well as 25 vulnerabilities that were discovered in Samsung’s own software.

The Galaxy Note 9 made its initial jump to Android 10 and One UI 2.0 a couple of months ago, and with the updated user interface, you should be able to download the latest firmware and March 2020 security patch by opening the Settings app, navigating to the Software update menu, and tapping Download and install. That is, as long as you reside in Germany. The roll-out will gradually expand to cover more markets, so make sure you keep an eye out on new notifications and check for new updates regularly. As always, you can also refer to our firmware archive to download the software for your region and install it manually on your phone using a Windows PC.

Galaxy Note 9

• Model: SM-N960F
• Dimensions: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm
• Display: 6.4" (162.5mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9810
• Camera: 12 CMOS Dual OIS (F1.5/F2.4) & Telephoto: 12MP AF F2.4)

More specifications

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Unannounced AKG N400 wireless earbuds make a surprise appearance

Samsung is launching the 2020 QLED 8K Infinity TV lineup in South Korea, and along with the new smart TV models, the company also appears to have quietly introduced a fresh pair of AKG wireless earbuds called the AKG N400. The earbuds are seemingly a part of a special offer in South Korea, whereby prospective customers can save 50% off the AKG N400’s full price when buying a new QLED 8K Infinity TV.

That is, at least according to a leaked image passed along by TizenHelp. It pertains to the aforementioned offer and reveals the AKG N400 earbuds in black, but design details are lost in the relatively low quality of the screenshot. And since neither Samsung nor AKG have officially announced the AKG N400 yet, there’s no information regarding the product’s full price or its exact specifications.

This isn’t the first time for the unannounced AKG N400 to make a surprise appearance online. Last summer, sketches depicting the N400 earbuds were spotted in the SmartThings app without much of an explanation, but it was evident at that time that Samsung and AKG were developing a new TWS along with a new on-ear solution called the Y600NC. The latter continues to elude the market but the N400 seems to have gotten a head start.

Time will tell if the AKG N400 will remain an incentive for smart TV purchases in South Korea or if the earbuds will see a more widespread release. More importantly, it would be interesting to see how the AKG N400 compares to the Galaxy Buds+. Samsung’s latest TWS impressed us with great battery life and improved audio/call quality among other things, and you can refer to our review for more details. As for the AKG N400, we’ll keep you posted once we find out more about general availability.

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Galaxy A31 employs MediaTek’s Helio P65 chipset, reveals benchmark

The Galaxy A31 (SM-A315F) has been spotted in the Geekbench database earlier today, where the usual set of hardware specifications have been revealed, ranging from the OS version to the chipset and RAM. Interestingly enough, the Galaxy A31, as per the benchmark entry, is powered not by an Exynos chipset but by a solution supplied by MediaTek.

A few months ago we came across reports suggesting that some models in Samsung’s Galaxy A (2020) series could employ MediaTek’s high-end 5G solution. This may or may not become reality to an extent, but either way, this isn’t the case as far as the SM-A315F is concerned. According to Geekbench, the Galaxy A31 does feature a MediaTek chipset, namely the MT6768V/CA, or Helio P65, but this isn’t a 5G-enabled silicon. Its standard connectivity capabilities are limited to LTE.

The MT6768/Helio P65 chipset was manufactured on a 12nm HPM process. It features six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz, two high-performance Cortex-A75 cores operating at the same 2.0GHz frequency, and a Mali-G52 MC2 graphics processor.

Synthetic performance is similar to the Galaxy A51

When it comes to benchmark scores, it’s better to disregard them whenever they represent an unreleased device. In other words, the Geekbench scores for the MediaTek-powered Galaxy A31 are not necessarily indicative of the final product. Nevertheless, we do get a rough idea of where the device is positioned on the performance charts, and the SM-A315F tops a preliminary score that’s right on par with the Galaxy A51 and its Exynos 9611 SoC.

Other details revealed by Geekbench include Android 10, which is to be expected given Samsung’s dedication to launching every one of its new devices with the latest Android OS version out of the box. The Galaxy A31 also appears to have 4GB of RAM, but there’s always the chance that a second variant with more RAM is in development.

In previous news, we’ve discussed how the Galaxy A31 might feature 64GB and 128GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 48-megapixel main camera coupled with a 5-megapixel macro shooter. The Galaxy A31 was recently approved by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and while this is no guarantee of an imminent release, Samsung should be bringing the device to the market relatively soon.

And as a quick reminder, the Galaxy A41 is another upcoming device that’s expected to employ the same MediaTek Helio P65 chipset instead of an in-house Exynos solution.

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Galaxy Note 20 in development with 128GB of base storage

Samsung has got its first big flagship launch of the year out of the way so the company can now focus on what’s due in the second half of 2020. Fans of the company are already looking forward to the Galaxy Note 20, which might be what Samsung ends up calling the device after it shook up its naming strategy with the Galaxy S20. The company already has the Galaxy Note 20 in development, that’s not going to surprise anybody, but it appears that the company might revert to 128GB of base storage on the upcoming device.

We hear that the SM-N981, one of the models of the Galaxy Note 20, will feature 128GB of base storage. For the sake of comparison, the Galaxy Note 10 5G (N971) featured 256GB of internal storage. The Galaxy Note 10 may feature 256GB of internal storage but it doesn’t have a microSD card slot. It’s only the Galaxy Note 10+ that does. So Samsung may have decided to reduce the amount of internal storage offered on the base model of its next flagship smartphone.

There’s a good chance the Galaxy Note 20 will have a microSD card slot

That obviously bodes well for the presence of a microSD card slot on the Galaxy Note 20 since it would be unwise to limit a flagship smartphone to just 128GB of storage in this day and age. It also wouldn’t make sense because many of the camera upgrades that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S20 will undoubtedly make their way to the Galaxy Note 20. The handset is going to need a significant amount of space to store large photos and 8K video from the new cameras.

It’s unclear at this point in time if Samsung is going to launch three separate variants of the Galaxy Note 20, particularly if it wants to accommodate everything that the Galaxy S20 Ultra offers into the Galaxy Note 20 lineup. It’s safe to assume that there will at least be two which will succeed the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+. We expect to have more clarity on the Galaxy Note 20 lineup in the coming days. There will obviously be many leaks before the handset is due to arrive. If history is any indication, the Galaxy Note 20 lineup should be announced around August this year.

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Daily Deal: 63% off 2-pack Fast Charging Wall Charger

If you’re moving around a lot in a day, like visiting your office, home or school, chances are you need to charge your smartphone at some point. The fastest way of doing this is via a wall charger. Unfortunately, you’ll usually receive one when you buy a new smartphone and that one charger might break at some point as well. It’s therefore handy to have a couple of more chargers laying around at places where you stay a lot, or have some as a backup. This deal caters to that need perfectly as they now have a 2-pack of Fast Charging Wall chargers on sale at a whooping 63% off!

Hit the Buy Now button below to order yours before the price goes up again.

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Samsung climbs back into Ipsos’ Top 10 most influential brands in Canada

Samsung Electronics has rejoined Ipsos’ list of Top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada 2019 and ranked 8th in the recent study. The company didn’t make the previous annual Top 10 list for 2018, but since then, Samsung Electronics was able to climb up five ranks and get in the spotlight for Ipsos’ ninth annual event.

The Ipsos Most Influential Brands in Canada study evaluates brands based on trustworthiness, presence, being leading edge, corporate citizenship, and engagement, and every one of the companies who have made the Top 10 list possesses the exceptional ability to connect with Canadian consumers, according to Ipsos COO, Steve Levy.

Samsung was the only brand to bounce back into the Top 10

Regarding Samsung Electronics’ return to the list, Mr. Levy adds that brands that have experienced challenges, like Samsung, can and do bounce back if they focus on addressing the right issues.

It’s unclear what those issues that kept Samsung outside of the Top 10 list were and how the company has addressed them, but whatever it did, it’s difficult to argue with the results. Samsung was the only company on the list to climb up an impressive 5 ranks. In contrast, Facebook climbed up 2 ranks, while Apple lost two ranks and declined to the 5th place.

As reported last year, Samsung’s presence in Canada’s mobile space has diminished in Q3 2019 YoY when the company lost 6.8% of the market. Meanwhile, the brand is becoming stronger on the business side of things, and last quarter, Samsung made its 5G debut in Canada through a new partnership with Videotron.

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Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ receiving March security update

The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ are now receiving an update with the March security patch in some markets, including the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, and Hungary. These markets saw another update roll out for the Note 10 and Note 10+ just a few days back. That update had improvements for facial recognition and navigation gestures while the one that’s rolling out now only includes the latest security patch.

This is just another example of how Samsung has ramped up its efforts to update its flagships with the latest security fixes as quickly as it can each month, even though the company still tends to not release these updates in every country at the same time. Samsung also released the March security update for the Galaxy S10 series a couple of days back. The patch fixes one critical vulnerability in Android OS and 25 vulnerabilities that are limited to Galaxy devices.

The March update carries software version N97xFXXU2BTB5; you will also receive a notification informing you about the update once it becomes available in your country. If you don’t feel like waiting, you can manually download it from the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. Another way to update your phone is by flashing the latest firmware on it using a Windows computer. You can find firmware for the Note 10 and Note 10+ (and many other Galaxy devices) in our firmware archive.

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