One reason the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 must get One UI 2.1

The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 have already received two platform updates. The two flagships launched with Android Oreo and made the jump to Android Pie and Android 10 later and, in the process, were also updated to One UI 1.0 and One UI 2.0 respectively. As per Samsung’s usual software update policy, the Galaxy S9, S9+, and Galaxy Note 9 are only eligible for security updates going forward.

However, owners of the Galaxy S9, S9+, and the Note 9 are hoping the One UI 2.1 update will be the last hurrah for their phone. Will Samsung oblige? There are indications that it will, and I feel there’s at least one reason why the latest version of One UI simply has to be made available to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9.

Pro mode for videos is why the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 must get One UI 2.1

Some of you might have saw this coming, and the reason I think the Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 must get One UI 2.1 has to do with the Pro video camera mode. For the longest time, Samsung’s flagship phones have allowed the user to take total control over the shooting process by offering an excellent Pro mode in the Camera app. And Samsung was also one of the few manufacturers offering the ability to record videos using the camera’s Pro mode, until it decided to take the feature away from unsuspecting customers.

The option to record videos in Pro mode was removed in the Android Pie and One UI 1.0 update, which didn’t sit well with a lot of people. Samsung never gave any explanation as to why it removed Pro mode video recording, though a possible explanation finally came this year when the Galaxy S20 series was launched. Samsung’s latest flagship boasts a lot of new camera features, and one of them is Pro video mode, which the company proudly touts on its official website.

Whether or not this was something Samsung planned from the beginning — to remove excellent camera functionality from its flagships only to then bring it back a couple of years later as a talking point for a new flagship — is unclear. But to Galaxy S9 and Note 9 users, it probably felt like a slap in the face. As well it should: No one pays as much as $1000 for a smartphone and expects its maker to strip some features that were available on the device out of the box.

Galaxy S9 and Note 9 owners deserve better

Pro video mode is not exclusive to the Galaxy S20. It’s a part and parcel of One UI 2.1 and arrived on the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite as well, albeit in a less functional form – there’s no option to control the shutter speed in Pro video mode on the two Lite phones. That’s probably down to the mid-range/old camera sensors used on the S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, a problem that doesn’t exist on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9, both of which use the same main camera sensor as the Galaxy S10.

And if Samsung wants some of its more loyal and technically inclined customers to stay loyal and not feel shortchanged, the least it could do is bring One UI 2.1 to the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy Note 9. That’s the only way the company can apologize for the antagonistic move it made of removing the Pro mode video recording capability from its 2018 flagships more than a year ago.

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Want a Snapdragon-powered high-end Galaxy phone? Try the Galaxy S10 Lite

The Snapdragon vs Exynos debate has been going on for a long time, and it pops right back into the limelight every time Samsung launches a new Galaxy flagship. The Exynos 990 inside the Galaxy S20 series has received plenty of flak, though Samsung doesn’t believe there is anything to worry about whether you’re buying the Snapdragon or the Exynos version of the Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra.

More and more customers — at least the tech savvy folk — are now asking for the Snapdragon variant of Samsung’s flagship phones. With the launch of the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S20 lineup in Samsung’s home country, it’s possible we will see wider availability of the Snapdragon variants with the Galaxy Note 20 or the Galaxy S21.

But until that happens, we suggest taking a look at the Galaxy S10 Lite if you really must have a Galaxy smartphone with one of Qualcomm’s flagship processors.

Most widely available Galaxy phone with a high-end Snapdragon chip inside

The Galaxy S10 Lite is not a flagship phone. The Snapdragon 855 beating at its heart is a year old, the cameras aren’t as good as the ones on the Galaxy S10 or Galaxy S20, and it also lacks many of the staples that Galaxy flagships are now known for, such as stereo speakers, wireless charging, and water and dust resistance. However, if the kind of processor inside a phone is at the top of your list of priorities, the Galaxy S10 Lite is an excellent device that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

I’ve already talked about how the Galaxy S10 Lite does everything you expect in your day-to-day life with aplomb. The Snapdragon 855 gives it powerful performance despite not being the latest Snapdragon chip, the 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display is as good as they come, the 4,500 mAh battery can last all day long and charges quickly thanks to support for up to 45W super fast charging, the 48MP rear camera takes pretty good pictures, and the software is at par with what you get on Samsung’s top-of-the-line phones, especially now that it runs One UI 2.1.

The Galaxy S10 Lite is also widely available, which is perhaps the best thing one can say in its favor. It launched in the US this week and has been on sale in most European and Asian markets for some time. Its $649/€649 price tag is its Achilles heel, but if you want a Galaxy smartphone with one of Qualcomm’s recent high-end Snapdragon processors, the Galaxy S10 Lite comes highly recommended.

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How to take 108MP photos on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has an unprecedented camera system boasting a 108MP main shooter with OIS and an f/1.8 aperture, paired with 48MP telephoto and 12MP ultra-wide sensors. But as we’ve explained in our review, the Galaxy S20 Ultra doesn’t take high-res 108MP pictures out of the box. By default, the 108MP camera uses 9-to-1 pixel binning to create 12MP pictures.

However, if you do want to capture true 108MP pictures with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, you can, as long as you tap a few options in the viewfinder to enable the mode.

How to capture 108MP photos with the Galaxy S20 Ultra

Before you enable the 108MP camera mode, you need to consider one caveat. The sensor has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so you will only be able to capture 4:3 shots if you want to use the highest resolution possible.

To enable true 108MP mode, launch the Camera and make sure you have Photo selected from the menu near the shutter button. Next, tap the aspect ratio icon at the top of the viewfinder.

You’ll have several options to choose from, but you need to select 3:4 108MP (when in portrait mode) or 4:3 108MP (when in landscape). They are essentially the same option, but for obvious physical reasons, the orientation changes depending on how you hold the phone.

You’re all set to capture your first 108MP photos. Just tap the shutter button and your shots will be sent to your Gallery where you can edit it further using Quick Crop. Remember, My Filters – a new feature introduced with the Galaxy S20 series that lets you create custom filters from existing photos – don’t work in 108MP resolution.

To learn more about the 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor’s underlying technologies, check our report dating back to the official announcement.

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Weekly SamMobile Quiz 22 – Come test your Samsung knowledge!

Consider yourself a superfan of Samsung? Take our quiz and see how many answers you can get right! This is a fun activity that we do with our readers every week to test their knowledge of our favorite company. The quiz has a mix of easy and difficult questions that most fans should be able to answer without turning to Google.

We intend to make a new quiz for you every weekend so we hope that you’ll participate and learn a thing or two about Samsung in the process! Don’t forget to share the results of the quiz with your friends and see if you can outscore them. A little competition never hurt anybody!

Remember, if the quiz isn’t loading properly, please access the non-AMP version of this webpage.

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Charged in 60 minutes? My Galaxy S20 Ultra doesn’t do that anymore

Just three weeks ago, I wrote about how I am impressed by the short time the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 5,000 mAh battery needs to charge using the bundled 25W charger. Well, it seems like my awe wasn’t meant to last. The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s battery no longer goes from 0 to 100 percent charge in an hour, and it looks like the most recent update is to blame.

Charging time went from a mere 60 minutes to around 80 minutes

Right now, my S20 Ultra takes around an hour and 20 minutes to charge from a fully depleted battery. That’s a considerable increase from the speed I was getting before the last international update (there’s been another one that’s only available in China) messed things up. Yes, that update also introduced the annoying green tint on the phone’s display that has somewhat ruined the awesomeness of the 120Hz refresh rate.

We’ve heard that Samsung is preparing a software update with a fix for the green tint, but we haven’t heard that it will do anything to fix the slower charging. In fact, the slower charging doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue. However, I notice complaints in the Samsung Members app that the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy Note 10+ are charging slower after the One UI 2.1 update, so while it might not be a problem for everyone, it does seem like Samsung is mucking up a lot of things with its updates these days.

These updates need more testing before they hit the air

The coronavirus pandemic and the resultant work-from-home measures are probably to blame, at least partly, and it makes me wonder if Samsung should stop releasing updates at this time and wait for things to start getting back to normal. Or, you know, keep these updates in the oven for longer before rolling them out. After all, there’s no use pushing out updates with multiple problems to your $1400 flagship, or even the $899 Galaxy S20 ($999 if you’re getting the 5G variant).

Unless, of course, the reduction in charging speed is a “feature”. After all, the Galaxy S20 series also heats up easily, at least on the Exynos variants, and the slower charging could be one way Samsung wants to mitigate the heating issues. I don’t know, and we can only wait and hope that Samsung will be fixing everything with the next software update for the Galaxy S20 lineup while not letting any new problems slip through.

Have you noticed a drop in charging speed on your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra after the last update? Noticed any other issues? Sound off in the comments!

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