Upgrading to Galaxy A51 costs just $10 per month on Verizon

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A51 in December alongside the Galaxy A71, and the phone made it to the US market a few days ago. The mid-range smartphone with a quad-camera setup and Android 10 went on sale through Verizon in the US just last week, and it is already being discounted.

If you decide to upgrade to the LTE variant of the Galaxy A51 on Verizon’s network, you can get the phone for just $10 per month (down from $16.66). The 24-month carrier plan will cost you only $240 over the next two years, which is a saving of $160 from its regular price. This will be added to your Verizon account through monthly bill credits, which means you’ll need to finance the phone through the carrier. However, if you’re not planning to switch to any other carrier, it might not be a big deal.

Galaxy A51 specs: A recap

The Galaxy A51 features a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with Full HD+ resolution and an under-display optical fingerprint reader. The phone runs Android 10, and it is equipped with the Exynos 9611 processor, 4GB/6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. The phone is powered by a 4000mAh battery, and it supports 15W fast wired charging.

The phone has a quad-camera setup at the rear, featuring a 48MP primary camera, 12MP ultrawide camera, 5MP macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor. At the front, the Galaxy A51 features a 32MP selfie camera. Both front-facing and rear-facing cameras can record 4K videos. The phone features LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, the headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port. You can read our review of the Galaxy A51 here.

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Galaxy phones running Android 10 are incompatible with Google Daydream

Samsung debuted its Gear VR platform in 2015, and one year later, Google introduced its own virtual reality platform named Daydream. The South Korean smartphone giant then made its high-end phones compatible with Google’s Daydream VR platform as well. However, the Android 10 update is posing incompatibility problems on Galaxy Phones.

According to reports, Samsung phones running Android 10 with One UI 2.0 are now incompatible with the Daydream platform. Before the Android 10 update arrived, those phones were working fine with Daydream VR headsets. If you are one of those who has a Daydream-compatible VR headset and if you want to continue using the functionality on Samsung phones, you should not upgrade your device to Android 10.

In comparison, Google’s phones running Android 10 continue to work with the Daydream virtual reality platform. It means that something is broken on Samsung phones, and the company could fix it with a software update if it wants to. However, since the VR platform is now dead and has a limited set of users, we think Samsung would not pay much heed to release an update to fix the problem.

The South Korean tech giant has also stopped releasing new Gear VR headsets. The company developed its VR headsets in collaboration with Facebook-owned Oculus, and the latter has killed its apps for the Gear VR. Oculus CTO even called the Gear VR a missed opportunity.

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Samsung reportedly wants to shift focus to QD-OLED TVs

Samsung recently announced its plans to suspend the production of all LCD panels by the end of this year. It was reported that the company took the step due to the falling demand for LCD TVs and the oversupply of LCD panels. Now, a new report claims otherwise. Apparently, the company’s decision also stems from its plans to shift its focus to make QD-OLED TVs.

According to MyDrivers, the South Korean electronics giant wants to shift its focus from making LCD panels to manufacture QD-OLED panels. Samsung wants to compete with LG’s OLED TVs and bring TVs that exceed the picture quality and durability that’s offered by its Korean rival. QD-OLED panels are said to have higher brightness, more color volume, and, more importantly, improved lifespan.

QD-LED screens have a longer lifespan, lower burn-in issues

Samsung’s QD-OLED panels are said to have a lifespan of 1 million hours, which is much longer than the lifespan of usual OLED screens. The new technology mixes OLED with quantum dots to emit only one color before passing through a color filter, thereby reducing production costs. The company will reportedly use iridium phosphide instead of using the toxic cadmium material to make Quantum Dot OLED screen panels.

Samsung also claims that QD-OLED panels will be less susceptible to burn-in problems, something that’s prevalent in current-generation OLED TVs, especially when watching live TV. Even though the new technology sounds promising, it is still a “laboratory product” as of now, and it could be a few years before we see it in actual TVs in stores.

The company had announced last year that it would invest around $11 billion to upgrade its LCD manufacturing plants to make QLED screens. Apparently, QD-OLED screens are cheaper to make when compared to OLED screens, but the pricing of QD-OLED TVs will still be higher, at least initially, due to technical reasons. In the meantime, the company is also investing capital in making microLED TVs.

Over the next few years, we could see Samsung shift to QLED TVs even in the low-end category, and use QD-OLED and microLED technologies for its high-end TVs.

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Samsung officially and quietly unveils Galaxy Tab S6 Lite in Indonesia

Samsung keeps building hype around the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite but the wait is almost over, as the tablet has popped up on an official Samsung portal for the first time (not counting support pages) without much fanfare. The official pages reveal a new color option called Chiffon Pink. All other specs were already known from premature third-party retailer listings, so there’s not much new to learn about this upcoming product from the Samsung Indonesia listing.

The official spec sheet does shed a bit more light on battery life. Samsung claims the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s 7,040mAh battery lasts for up to 12 hours of internet browsing time, up to 13 hours of video playback, and up to 149 hours of audio playback on a single charge.

Specs and a new color option have been confirmed

The previous leaks have once again been confirmed, and the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will be available in two storage options including 64GB and 128GB. Storage is expandable by up to 1TB via microSD and Samsung Indonesia lists both the Wi-Fi and LTE variants.

The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite features a 10.4 inch TFT display with a resolution of 2000 by 1200, an unspecified octa-core chipset, presumably the Exynos 9611, and 4GB of RAM. It carries an 8MP main camera as well as a 5MP front-facing unit. It’s equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack and it ships with an S Pen. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite runs Android 10 with One UI 2.0 out of the box.

Samsung Indonesia has unveiled the tablet from all angles, but it is not yet available for purchase. This should change at any moment. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Wi-Fi is expected to cost €379 in Europe, while the LTE model will likely be available for €439. Customers will have the possibility to pair the tablet with optional accessories including a book cover that has an S Pen holder carved in the hinge.

The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite was officially confirmed to arrive in three color options, namely Oxford Gray, Agora Blue, and Chiffon Pink. Check the gallery below for a closer look.

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Samsung breaks new 5G record, tops 8.5Gbps in mmWave test

Samsung completed a 5G performance test at its Digital City in South Korea and claimed an industry speed record of 8.5Gbps. The test combined the 800MHz mmWave spectrum, MU-MIMO, and carrier aggregation to achieve this record across two mobile devices. Samsung completed the test using its latest 5G Access Unit which combines a baseband, radio, and antenna into a single product.

Following the initial launch of the 3.5GHz 5G network in South Korea, the number of 5G subscribers in the country has increased rapidly and reached 4.6 million last year. And after the success of its mmWave 5G implementation in the USA, Samsung is now gearing up to make the same solution available in its home country.

“This successful demonstration proves mmWave’s potential”

In Samsung’s eyes, this demonstration proves that mmWave 5G opens up new opportunities for mobile operators, such as offering 8K video streaming services, VR (Virtual Reality) teleconferencing solutions, and AR (Augmented Reality) learning platforms. More so, it opens up new doors to ‘use cases that are yet to be imagined.’

The company continues to expand its 5G business and is now making advancements in Japan, Canada, and New Zealand, all the while leading the USA’s and South Korea’s foray into 5G.

At the consumer level, the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra are the company’s first unlocked all-carrier smartphones to support both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks in the USA.

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Samsung donates over $5 million to India in its fight against COVID-19

Samsung’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in India have extended further, and the company announced today a contribution of INR 20 crore ($2.64 million) to the Union and State governments in India.

Furthermore, the company will be donating INR 15 crore ($1.97 million) to the PM Cares Fund that was established on March 28 to help against the coronavirus outbreak and future pandemics. An additional INR 5 crore ($658,000) will be donated by Samsung to the states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Samsung is matching its employees’ donations

Thanks to a recent update to Samsung Pay a couple of weeks ago, every Indian citizen can contribute funds to the PM Cares Fund directly through their Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Samsung India is now widening its contribution. The company will match its employees’ donations, with the total amount being given to the PM Cares Fund in the coming weeks.

Samsung also supported hospitals in Noida with medical equipment including masks and personal preventive equipment (PPE). It has donated public address systems, air purifiers, infra-red thermometers, as well as digital X-ray and digital ultrasound machines to hospitals and other facilities.

As for its end users, Samsung India hopes its Service Vans will soon be operational once again but hasn’t given any specific dates, which is understandable given the COVID-19 situation in the country. For the time being, customers will benefit from an extended warranty.

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New Galaxy A51 firmware update rolls out with April 2020 security patch

A new firmware update containing the April 2020 security patch is rolling out for the Galaxy A51. The update carries version A515FXXS3ATD2 and it’s been deployed in a variety of countries in the Western Hemisphere.

As of now, the list of markets eligible for the update includes Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic. The update has yet to reach any European countries or the United States, where the Galaxy A51 was introduced via Sprint and Verizon last week.

Likewise, Samsung had detailed the April 2020 security patch last week and it’s fairly comprehensive. It includes dozens of fixes for SVE items found in Samsung’s software, as well as over a dozen critical vulnerabilities affecting Android OS.

To download the April update, tap the notification when it arrives on your Galaxy A51, or open the Settings app, navigate to Software update, and tap Download and install. But seeing how Samsung has had major issues with recent updates for both the Galaxy M31 and Galaxy A70, it’s probably safer to acquire the new Galaxy A51 update from our firmware archive (hit the link) and install it on your phone using a Windows PC.

Galaxy A51

• Model: SM-A515F
• Dimensions: 158.5 x 73.6 x 7.9mm
• Display: 6.5" (164mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 9611
• Camera: 48 MP F1.8, 12MP Ultra-wide F2.2, 5MP Depth F2.2 & 5MP Macro F2.4

More specifications

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Samsung vies to expand BSNL’s 4G network, faces strong competition

Samsung is reportedly looking to expand its network business operations in India by partnering with state-run telecommunications company BSNL. The operator’s phase nine 4G expansion plans involve the addition of 57,000 new 4G sites, 7,000 of which will be used by its subsidiary MTNL in New Delhi and Mumbai. BSNL wants to upgrade 43,000 of its existing 2G and 3G sites to 4G.

Samsung is not the only 4G vendor eyeing BSNL

BSNL’s phase nine was put out to tender on March 23. Vendors can bid for the contract until May 8, though the date might be pushed back amid the coronavirus pandemic. Samsung revealed its offer to plan, engineer, supply, test, and maintain BSNL’s growing 4G infrastructure before the country entered the COVID-19 lockdown, but so have ZTE, Nokia, Ericsson, and ITI.

According to ET Telecom citing an industry executive, ‘Samsung’s participation is surprising’ because the company has been working exclusively with Reliance Jio. The latter aims to deliver 5G solutions in India with Samsung’s help. Meanwhile, ZTE and Nokia are already partnered with BSNL and have carried out the telco’s phase eight expansion plans.

In addition, the source claims Samsung lacks 2G/3G technologies and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) solutions. Should BSNL want to implement 2G and 4G solutions in the same cell site, Samsung could only achieve this by overlaying. So whether or not Samsung will win the contract and claim BSNL as its new 4G client remains to be seen.

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Samsung intros FoldStar update for Galaxy Fold MultiStar users

Samsung’s Good Lock module MultiStar got a new update with Galaxy Fold-centric functions bundled in a new menu called FoldStar. It lets Galaxy Fold users set aspect ratios for each app; determine which apps should always open in full screen when the phone is unfolded, and more. Galaxy Fold owners using the new FoldStar functions can also set an app to not show a notice dialog when opened.

The new FoldStar options can be found in the MultiStar Good Lock module by tapping the newly-added tab at the bottom. And yes, Fold Star is a part of MultiStar and not an independent module or a stand-alone app. Samsung has turned a few of its Good Lock modules into stand-alone apps, but the multi-tasking/multi-window monster MultiStar is not one of them. The app requires Good Lock, so it’s not going to be available for Galaxy Fold owners in every region.

If you do happen to own the Galaxy Fold and you’re eligible for Good Lock, you can grab the latest MultiStar update with FoldStar included (as well as the Good Lock app) from the Galaxy Store. Alternatively, you can head over to our APK archive (tap the link) to download and install Good Lock and the latest MultiStar version (3.2.28) directly to your phone.

Galaxy Fold

• Model: SM-F900F
• Dimensions: Unfolded: 160.9 x 117.9 x 6.9 mm Folded: 160.9 x 62.9 x 15.5 mm
• Display: 7,3" (185.4mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
• Camera: 16 MP, CMOS F2.2 & 12MP, CMOS F1.5/F2.4Wide & 12MP, CMOS F2.4 Telephoto

More specifications

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Samsung ponders Galaxy Z Flip evolution with two-sided display

Samsung’s already thinking about ways to evolve the flip form factor utilized by its second foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Flip. A newly filed patent from the company reveals a user interface devised to take advantage of a somewhat similar device, albeit one whose screen extends to cover about half its rear side, consequently covering approximately 75% of its total surface.

When folded, the third of such a handset’s display panel visible from the outside would serve as a secondary display of sorts.

Foldable smartphones may breathe second life into Samsung’s Edge Display

The documentation Samsung filed with its home country’s IP authority, KIPRIS, describes possible methods of providing a seamless software experience when using such a next-generation flip phone. More specifically, the company envisioned something akin to its established Edge Display technology which would allow users to glance notifications and set up shortcuts on the handset’s top edge – the section where its display does a 180-degree curve. In that way, foldables may eventually end up rejuvenating the original selling point of Samsung’s curved-screen devices which hasn’t been a large focus for the company in recent years. Finally, the conceptual interface would also allow seamless switching between folded and unfolded display modes by extending and condensing on-screen content as needed.

Samsung submitted the said patent for approval just two weeks ago, on March 30th, with the discovery hence providing topical insight into the product design direction its engineers are currently exploring. Naturally, that in no way guarantees this type of technology will ever be commercialized. It’s also worth pointing out the KIPRIS filing is solely focused on the UX aspect of such a theoretical device. In most respects, the greatest challenge in delivering this sort of a foldable smartphone experience wouldn’t be related to software, but hardware.

Whether the Galaxy Z Flip 2 ends up happening or not, Samsung’s third foldable Android smartphone isn’t expected to have anything to do with this newly discovered patent. Instead, the upcoming device should be a direct follow-up on last year’s Galaxy Fold.

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Samsung Notes update adds text undo/redo buttons and hashtags

Samsung Notes just got a new update to version 3.3.02.4. It adds a couple of quality of life improvements such as undo and redo buttons in Text mode, the ability to organize your notes using hashtags, and ‘Intelligent search.’

We’re not sure what Intelligent search means in this context. The ability to search through your notes, whether text-based or handwritten, using specific words was already available on older Samsung Notes versions. On the other hand, the addition of hashtags mentioned by the changelog is self-explanatory, and so are the undo/redo buttons in text mode. Indeed, these were missing on older Notes versions. Undo/redo buttons are a most-welcomed quality of life improvement, and they probably should have been there from the beginning.

These Samsung Notes features were first introduced with the Galaxy S20 series. The flagships could take advantage of them out of the box. The company is now pushing them to all of its devices that are compatible with the app, meaning pretty much every Galaxy smartphone and tablet running Android 7 and up. If you happen to own one, you can grab the latest update by opening the Galaxy Store, tapping the hamburger menu and then accessing the Updates section. Do keep in mind that some devices will get the update later than others. As of this writing, the new Samsung Notes update is available for the Galaxy Note 10 but missing on the Note 10 Lite.

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Daily Deal: 70% off a 3-year NordVPN subscription

VPNs have gotten popular over the years and there’s a good reason for that. They make sure to create a safe passage for your internet traffic as it routes that traffic through a VPN server. This means the services you use will be accessed with an encrypted connection and possible hackers will not see your personal IP address. Since you can select the location of the servers, you will be able to access GEO restricted data as well, allowing you to access shopping sites or streaming services otherwise not available.

NordVPN has been rated as a top VPN provider for a long time and they currently have a massive deal. If you choose their 3-year plan you’ll get 70% off and they’ll throw in an additional month for free!

Hit the Buy Now button below to get this deal while still available or read more here about why you should use a VPN .

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Samsung Malaysia extends warranties during pandemic lockdown

Samsung Malaysia is once again extending all product warranties in direct response to a government-issued lockdown meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The local arm of the Korean tech giant first confirmed the move in early April, but has now extended the said period by an additional two weeks. In a Tuesday announcement, the company called the decision “a gesture of goodwill”.

Samsung’s extension covers all warranties expiring during MCO

Like before, the extension covers all product warranties set to expire while the Movement Control Order (MCO) is in force. The Malaysian directive closed all non-essential businesses in the country, including Samsung’s service centers, rendering device repairs impossible for the time being. In practice, if you own a Samsung product whose warranty expired between March 18th and today, or will expire by April 28th, you’re eligible for an automatic 30-day waranty extension, with all other terms and conditions still applying.

Given how it’s likely the MCO itself will get extended, Samsung’s warranty extension will only apply from the day its repair centers resume operations. Likewise, it encompasses smartphones, TVs, AV products, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances. Refer to the official Samsung Malaysia website for more information.

The development is in line with how Samsung branches have been responding to similar anti-pandemic measures in the region. For example, the warranty extension mirrors the one Samsung India announced two weeks ago. Besides its repair centers, Samsung also had to temporarily close all Experience Stores in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur announced the MCO last month.

We’re here to cover you! As a gesture of goodwill, we have extended 30 days warranty for all existing Samsung products to whose warranty expires between MCO period. Stay Home and Stay Safe.

Learn more: https://t.co/jEM2YB4xoD pic.twitter.com/0AcQ4sqhfq

— Samsung Malaysia (@SamsungMalaysia) April 14, 2020

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Samsung improves Galaxy S20 trade-in offer, pays more for older phones

Amid falling smartphone sales and dropped revenue, Samsung is trying to revitalize Galaxy S20 sales by offering more for older phones via its new trade-in offer in the US. The South Korean firm had initially favored those who were looking to upgrade to the Galaxy S20 from 2019 phones like the Galaxy S10, iPhone 11, and the Pixel 4. Now, the company has started paying more phones like the Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 6s which were launched in 2018 (or even earlier).

Samsung is now paying less for newer phones and more for older phones via its Galaxy S20 trade-in program. For example, the company was paying $700 and $600 for the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy S10, respectively. However, the discounts have been reduced to $500 for those phones, which is up to $200 lower. On the other hand, trade-in values for older phones like the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 9 have been increased by $100 each.

Trade-in values for older phones from other brands like Apple and Google have been increased as well. Samsung is also accepting devices with cracked screens or scratched camera lenses. Other offers also include free four-month YouTube Premium and six-month Spotify premium plans.

Here are the new trade-in values for all Apple, Google, and Samsung phones if you are planning to upgrade to the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, or the Galaxy S20 Ultra:

Samsung

• Galaxy Note10/Note10+: $500 (-$200)
• Galaxy S10/S10+: $500 (-$100)
• Galaxy S10e: $400 (+$100)
• Galaxy Note9: $400 (+$100)
• Galaxy S9/S9+: $300 (+$100)
• Galaxy S8/S8+/S8 Active: $300 (+$100)
• Galaxy Note8: $300 (+$100)
• Galaxy S7, S7 Active, S7 Edge: $300 (+$100)

Apple

• iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max: $500 (-$200)
• iPhone 11: $500 (-$100)
• iPhone XS/XS Max: $500 (-$100)
• iPhone X: $400 (+$100)
• iPhone XR: $400 (+$100)
• iPhone 8/8 Plus: $400 (+$100)
• iPhone 7/7 Plus: $300 (+$100)
• iPhone 6S/6S Plus: $300 (+$100)

Google

• Pixel 4/4 XL: $400 (-$200)
• Pixel 3/3 XL: $400 (+$100)
• Pixel 3a/3a XL: $300 (+$100)

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