Intel-powered Galaxy Book S could be sold in South Korea by SK Telecom

The Galaxy Book S was unveiled last year alongside the Galaxy Note 10, and it is Samsung’s first Snapdragon-powered laptop running Windows 10 operating system. After going on sale in the US earlier this year and becoming available in Germany and the UK last month, the ultra-thin laptop could soon be available in South Korea.

According to a new report, SK Telecom will sell the Galaxy Book S in South Korea through its network. There’s no information about the actual launch date or pricing of the laptop, but it could go on sale soon as its entry has been found in the network carrier’s inventory list. More importantly, it will reportedly be an Intel variant of the laptop, and it will feature LTE connectivity, similar to the Snapdragon 8cx version.

Galaxy Book S could be the first Intel Lakefield-powered laptop

The Galaxy Book S has a 13.3-inch Full HD TFT touchscreen display and runs a full-fledged version of Windows 10. The laptop features Intel’s Lakefield processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a microSD card slot (up to 1TB). It has a 720p webcam, a backlit keyboard, a fingerprint reader, AKG-tuned stereo speakers, and two USB Type-C ports. Its 42Wh battery is claimed to last 25 hours on a single charge.

The Galaxy Book S is expected to be the first laptop powered by Intel’s hybrid Lakefield SoC, which features one high-performance Ice Lake core, four energy-efficient Tremont cores, and Gen 11 integrated graphics. According to AnandTech, the Lakefield processor has a 10nm Compute die and a 14nm Base die, and both are integrated into a single 12x12mm chip using Intel’s Foveros 3D packaging technology.

In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy Book S features 4G LTE, GPS, dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac with MU-MIMO, and Bluetooth 5.0. It comes with a carrying pouch and a USB Type-C dongle for HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The laptop weighs just 0.96kg and has an 11.8mm-thin aluminum body. The Galaxy Book S comes in two colors: Earthy Gold and Mercury Gray.

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Samsung loses second position in India’s smartphone market to Vivo

Samsung was once the biggest smartphone brand in India, but it lost to Xiaomi sometime in 2017. In the first quarter of 2020, the company dropped to third place, making way for Vivo to become the country’s second-largest smartphone brand. Xiaomi is still comfortably placed in the first position.

According to market research firm Canalys, Samsung’s smartphone shipments in India fell 13.7 percent during Q1 2020 when compared to the same quarter in 2019. The South Korean firm managed to ship 6.3 million units in the quarter and managed to grab 18.9 percent of the Indian smartphone market. In comparison, Xiaomi and Vivo shipped 10.3 million (30.6%) and 6.7 million (19.9%) smartphone units, respectively.

Realme showed a tremendous growth of 200% in Q1 2020 and shipped more smartphones in the country than its parent firm OPPO. It sold 3.9 million smartphones and managed to acquire an 11.7 percent market share, while OPPO shipped 3.5 million units to capture 10.4 percent of India’s smartphone market.

Despite launching various Galaxy A and Galaxy M series smartphones, Samsung’s shipments fell in the first quarter of this year. The company is facing a lot of heat from Chinese firms Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and Realme, all of which are offering smartphones with better hardware at comparatively lower prices. The situation could get even worse in Q2 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.

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Samsung’s new QLED TVs bag eye safety certificates from leading institutes

Samsung unveiled its latest QLED TV lineup at CES 2020, and they are already on sale in some countries. The company’s new QLED TV series consists of 4K as well as 8K models, and feature high brightness, more color volume compared to previous TVs, and HDR10+. Now, the South Korean firm has announced that its new TVs have bagged important eye safety certifications from leading safety science institutes.

According to Samsung, its new 4K and 8K QLED TVs have received “no photobiological LED hazard” verification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and “eye safety” certification from VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker). These certifications mean that various types of light emitted from the TVs pose a no photobiological LED hazard and that they are safe for the eyes despite high brightness.

Samsung’s 2020 QLED TV series are deemed safe for the viewers’ eyes based on classifications under the IEC’s (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards. UL and VDE tested the South Korean TV maker’s 65Q900T 8K TV and 65Q90T 4K TV, both of which are the brightest in Samsung’s lineup, for blue light emission, ultraviolet rays, and infrared rays. They also have a certificate for reduced fire risk.

The latest QLED TVs from Samsung feature an incredibly slim design, thin bezels on all four sides of the screen, no-gap wall mount, and One Invisible Connection. They have a full direct array backlighting, up to 8K AI upscaling (using AI Quantum Processor 8K), adaptive brightness, AI-powered 3D audio, HDR10+, AMD FreeSync, and Samsung TV Plus.

Other features of the new 4K and 8K TVs include Active Voice Amplifier, Q-Symphony, Multi View, OneRemote Control, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay 2, iTunes, Apple TV app, and Apple Music. The TVs also come with AI-powered digital voice assistants Bixby, Google Assistant, and Alexa, and can control smart home products via SmartThings.

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Here’s how much Galaxy A31 costs in South Korea

Samsung confirmed the features and specifications of the Galaxy A31 last month, but it did not reveal the phone’s pricing or availability. Now, the company has started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy A31 in South Korea, and the mid-range smartphone is priced at KRW 374,000 (around $303).

The Galaxy A31 is listed on the South Korean e-commerce website Coupang, but it is currently available in only one color: Prism Crush Black. The smartphone will reach its buyers starting May 6. Pre-order offers include a three-month premium membership to listen to audiobooks and a four-month YouTube Premium membership for free. Customers can also use a Samsung Card to get a 20% discount.

The Galaxy A31 (SM-A315N) features a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with Full HD+ resolution and an under-display optical fingerprint reader. It runs Android 10 with One UI 2.0 and is equipped with the MediaTek Helio P65 processor. It has 4GB/6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot (up to 512GB).

There’s a quad-camera setup at the rear, featuring a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide-angle camera, a 5MP macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor. At the front, there’s a 20MP selfie camera. The Galaxy A31 can record 1080p videos using its front and rear cameras. Other features include Samsung Pay, 5000mAh battery, and 15W fast charging.

The Galaxy A31 comes in four color options: Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush Blue, Prism Crush Red, and Prism Crush White. The phone also has LTE, GPS, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB 2.0 Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

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Galaxy A20 Android 10 and One UI 2.0 update now available

The coronavirus pandemic may have forced Samsung to halt its operations in many countries around the world, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the Korean giant’s plans to bring the Android 10 and One UI 2.0 update to eligible Galaxy devices. Plenty of Galaxy smartphones and some tablets have already received Android 10, and another device is now joining the list.

Samsung has released the anticipated update for the Galaxy A20. The update started rolling out almost a week ago and has made its way to a number of countries since then. It’s available in Russia, Vietnam, Chile, and the Philippines and comes with the April 2020 security patch and all of the basic Android 10 and One UI 2.0 features.

Not One UI 2.1, but that’s not surprising

As expected for a budget device, the Galaxy A20 isn’t directly jumping to One UI 2.1, and it probably won’t see a bump in its One UI version until the Android 11 update comes along. That’s likely going to be the case for most non-flagship Galaxy smartphones and tablets, at least for devices that will be updated to Android 10 in the first half of the year.

The Galaxy A20’s Android 10 update should start going live in more markets in the coming weeks, and once it’s available in your country, you will be able to download it over the air from the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. Alternatively, you can also update your phone by downloading Android 10 firmware for your country from our archive and installing it using a Windows computer.

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