Samsung announces plans to expand memory chip production capacity in Korea

Samsung is the world leader in memory and storage chip segments, and the company has now announced that it plans to expand its NAND flash memory chip production. It will invest in Line 2 at its Pyeongtaek factory to expand the production to meet the increased demand for computers and servers since the COVID-19 lockdown measures were introduced.

The construction of the new facility began last month, and the company says that the mass production of V-NAND flash memory chips will start from the second half of 2021. Samsung says that demand for memory chips will increase in the future due to increased adoption of 5G, AI (artificial intelligence), and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies.

Analysts say that the company would invest anywhere between KRW 7 trillion and KRW 8 trillion for the new facility. The new production line will address the mid-term and long-term demands for NAND flash memory chips. The company plans to invest even more as digital lifestyle continues to evolve. Samsung’s Pyeongtaek Campus is the home to two of the world’s largest memory production lines.

Samsung has been the leader in the memory chip segment for the past 18 years. The company recently announced that its newest memory chip technology, the 160-layer V-NAND flash design, is the first in the industry. It allows even denser chips for higher memory capacity (256Gb 3-bit).

Cheol Choi, Executive Vice President of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics, said, “The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times. We will continue to serve the market with the most optimized solutions available while contributing to the growth of the overall IT industry and the economy in general.“

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Samsung launches Odyssey G7 gaming monitors in South Korea

Samsung has launched its Odyssey G7 gaming monitors in South Korea. The 27-inch Odyssey G7 monitor is priced at KRW 800,000 (around $651) and the 32-inch Odyssey G7 gaming monitor is priced at KRW 900,000 (around $733). Those who purchase these gaming monitors in South Korea by August 31 would be eligible to get the JBL Quantum 300 gaming headset for free.

Both the monitors in the Odyssey G7 lineup are the industry’s first 1000R curved gaming monitors, and Samsung claims that they offer an ideal curvature for the human eye for greater immersion and better viewing experience. They’re also certified by TUV Rheinland for eye comfort. Both monitors use QLED VA panels and have a QHD resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync 2, and 2500:1 contrast ratio.

The Odyssey G7 gaming monitors support HDR (DisplayHDR 600) to offer a peak brightness of 600 nits and a typical brightness of 350 nits. They also feature RGB LED light spots at the front and the rear, and the colors can be customized as per the gamer’s choice. The monitors have two DisplayPort inputs, two HDMI ports, and three USB ports.

The monitors have height-adjustable stands that also support pivot, swivel, and tilt adjustments. Samsung’s new Odyssey G7 monitors also come color-calibrated from the factory and calibration reports. These monitors were unveiled at CES 2020 and Samsung recently made them the official gaming monitors for the T1 e-sports team.

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Samsung Access program launched in the US, includes Microsoft 365 and Samsung Premium Care

The Samsung Upgrade Program offers you a chance to upgrade your Galaxy smartphones to newer models by paying a low monthly fee. Now, the South Korean smartphone giant has launched a new program that offers even more benefits at a lower cost. Samsung Access can be viewed as an improved version of the Samsung Upgrade Program as it includes smartphone upgrades, Samsung Premium Care, and a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Samsung Access is currently available while buying the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra in the US. The program offers smartphone financing options through fixed monthly payments, and you can even upgrade to new Samsung phones every nine months at no additional cost. Upgrading earlier is also an option, but it attracts a $100 one-time fee.

The program also includes Samsung Premium Care, which is the company’s insurance program that lets you get your accidentally broken phones repaired or replaced for a $99 deductible (for up to three times in 12 months). Samsung Access also offers a subscription to Microsoft 365, which includes access to 1TB OneDrive cloud storage and full access to Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Skype, Teams, and Word).

The 1TB OneDrive storage can be linked to your Samsung account to backup photos (and videos) and phone backups via Samsung Gallery and Samsung Cloud on Galaxy smartphones and tablets. To know more about the Samsung Access program, hit the source link below.

The Samsung Access program is priced at $37 per month for the Galaxy S20, $42 per month for the Galaxy S20+, and $48 per month for the Galaxy S20 Ultra. You can even cancel the program and return the phone after three months. If you want to cancel before three months, you can do that, too, but you would have to pay a $100 fee. This program is excellent for early adopters and those who upgrade their phones often.

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[Poll] Owners of regular Galaxy Note 10: How’s your experience been so far?

Based on recent leaks, it seems Samsung will not be making another ‘small’ Galaxy Note model to succeed the Galaxy Note 10 from last year. Well, the regular Galaxy Note 20 will still be smaller than the Note 20+, but if it does end up having a 6.7-inch screen like the leaks say it will, it won’t exactly be very compact. It will easily dwarf the Galaxy Note 10 at the very least, making last year’s non-Plus Note model a one-of-a-kind device.

If that ends up happening, we here at SamMobile will certainly be disappointed. The Galaxy Note 10, for all its faults (like the lack of microSD expansion or the Full HD+ resolution instead of Quad HD+ like the Note 10+), is an excellent phone that’s great for those who like compact phones and want an S Pen to go along with it. And we feel many Galaxy Note 10 owners probably share our sentiment and like the phone a lot, but we also understand that not everyone may feel that way.

Which brings to our latest poll: We want to know what your experience has been like using the Galaxy Note 10. Do you like the phone and have no complaints? Do you think the device is good but isn’t perfect, or did you buy it and sell it soon after because it failed to live up to all your expectations?

Let us know by voting in the poll below, and also expand on your thoughts down in the comments section after you have cast your vote!

How's your experience been with the regular Galaxy Note 10 so far?

• I love it, no complaints!
• It's good, but not without faults
• It's not a true Note, and I hate it
• Didn't like it, sold it off soon after buying

Results

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Samsung Galaxy M31 gets new update in India

Almost two months ago, we reported that Samsung’s latest update for the Galaxy M31 at the time had bricked some units sold in India. Samsung later pulled that update from the air and recommended that users manually flash firmware on their device to get it working again.

Now, the company has released a new software update for the Galaxy M31 in India, one that will hopefully not cause any trouble for owners of the value-for-money budget smartphone. The update comes carrying firmware version M315FXXU1ATD5. It has already been available in other markets since early May so it should work without issues, though we would still recommend backing up your data using Samsung Smart Switch before installing the update.

The changelog is generic and mentions device stability, performance and feature enhancements, which is to say it doesn’t tell us anything useful. The security patch remains unchanged as well – you get security fixes included in the April security patch, not the May patch that has been released for multiple Galaxy devices in recent days.

You can download the 395 MB update over-the-air by tapping the Download and install button in the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. Our firmware archive will also have the latest Galaxy M31 firmware for India available for download in the near future so you can manually upgrade your phone to the new software.

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Galaxy S20 Ultra camera now has a special ‘close-up zoom’ mode

Thanks to the high-resolution 108MP sensor, the main camera on the Galaxy S20 Ultra is more capable of taking zoomed-in pictures without losing detail compared to the 12MP cameras on the Galaxy S20 and S20+. But the S20 Ultra also has a limitation: Its main camera is less capable than the 12MP Galaxy S20 and S20+ camera when it comes to focusing on close objects, owing to a longer-than-usual focal length.

In layman terms, the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s main camera doesn’t let you get as close to objects as the camera on the smaller Galaxy S20 models without losing focus, which is a hardware limitation that cannot be corrected with software. To get around this, Samsung has added a new camera function to the Galaxy S20 Ultra with the latest update.

Like a macro mode without a macro camera

This new camera function is like a macro mode of sorts: Every time you get too close to an object and the Galaxy S20 Ultra realizes it cannot properly focus, it will now show a toggle called Use close-up zoom. Pressing this toggle sets the zoom level to 1.5x, so you can simply take a close-up shot without having to keep the phone physically close to whatever it is you’re trying to capture.

Check out the video below that shows this new Galaxy S20 Ultra camera feature in action.

This is a trick (zooming in for macro shots) many of you probably using already, and the close-up zoom toggle more or less just makes it an automated process. It also helps those who may not have thought of the trick on their own, and it helps maintain proper focus by suggesting to move farther away from the subject as well. And it’s made possible by the fact that the camera has 108 megapixels to work with, so you can get sharp and clear macro shots at 1.5x zoom without losing image quality.

It’s worth mentioning that the ‘close-up zoom’ function is not available on the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+. That’s probably because the non-Ultra models have better autofocus tech compared to the Ultra model (yes, it’s a messed up world we live in when a $1400 phone doesn’t have the best of everything over its cheaper siblings), and also because the 12-megapixel resolution would result in reduced quality when photos are captured at 1.5x magnification, as mentioned at the beginning of this article.

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Features we’d like to see from the Galaxy Tab S7/S7+ flagship tablets

Samsung should unveil its next high-end tablet by the end of the summer, likely alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and the sequel to the Galaxy Fold. This year, the upcoming Galaxy Tab S7 might not be alone, as evidence suggests that Samsung is planning to release a larger Galaxy Tab S7+ model at the same time.

The Galaxy Tab S6 was without a doubt the best Android tablet of 2019, and we expect the Galaxy Tab S7 lineup to be worthy of carrying the same label. As we’re getting closer to the tablets’ debut with each passing day, we can’t help but think of all the ways in which Samsung could or should improve its high-end tablet formula. The Galaxy Tab S7, or at least the Galaxy Tab S7+, could be perfect, and we think the following features and/or improvements would help the series achieve greatness.

Water resistance (IP67/IP68)

An IP rating that guarantees dust and water resistance has become the norm for the majority of Samsung’s high-end mobile products, and we think it’s time for this philosophy to make its way onto the company’s top-tier tablet lineup.

Water resistance would elevate the Galaxy Tab S7 series to another level and its inclusion would represent a considerable upgrade over all of its predecessors. If there’s one feature every SamMobile team member wants from the upcoming high-end tablet, it’s an IP67/IP68 rating.

Thinner bezels all around

Samsung’s tablets have had increasingly thinner bezels over the years, and we think the company should continue walking this path. Why not borrow a page from the smartphone book and treat the Galaxy Tab S7 series with even thinner bezels than last year’s model?

With proper palm rejection software, we wouldn’t mind seeing the Galaxy Tab S7 lineup adopting a bezel-less design, even to the point where an Infinity-O display with a center punch hole for the selfie camera would become a necessity as a result.

A 90/120Hz high refresh display

Samsung took its first step in the high refresh rate mobile display scene with the Galaxy S20 series. It fitted the flagship trio with 120Hz AMOLED panels, and it’s expected to do the same for the Galaxy Note 20. We think Samsung should fit the Galaxy Tab S7 lineup, or at the very least, the Galaxy Tab S7+ with a high refresh rate panel that can top either 90Hz or 120Hz.

The Galaxy Tab S7+ with its rumored 12.4-inch display seemingly shapes up to be a direct iPad Pro competitor, so in order to succeed in that regard, a high refresh rate display is almost required. The tablet’s rumored rated battery capacity of 10,090 mAh should be able to handle all those extra frames, and having a high refresh rate on such a large display could contribute to a fantastic user experience.

45W fast charging

Speaking of batteries, another feature the Galaxy Tab S7 series could benefit from is 45W fast charging, especially if the Galaxy Tab S7+ has a generous 10,090 mAh battery.

Recharging a large tablet-grade battery of 10,000mAh on 15W fast charging will take a considerably longer time. Samsung should push the limits beyond the existing 15W fast charging rate of the Galaxy Tab S6, and we think 45W fast charging would be a game-changing feature for the Galaxy Tab S7, or at least the Galaxy Tab S7+.

Better speakers and cameras

The Galaxy Tab S6 already has very good speakers tuned by AKG, so improving this area isn’t necessarily a high priority. However, with a high refresh rate display enhancing the multimedia experience, we’d love to see even better speakers on the Galaxy Tab S7 series.

Similarly, even though tablets aren’t always the most convenient devices for taking photos, Samsung did push the bar higher with the Galaxy Tab S6’s dual rear-facing camera combo, and the Galaxy Tab S7 could benefit from an even better camera setup.

Faster software updates and monthly security patches

Samsung’s flagship tablets don’t get the same software support as its flagship phones, and we think it’s time for this to change. Both the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Tab S6 were released in August 2019 running Android 9 out of the box, but while the Galaxy Note 10 series received Android 10 last December, the Galaxy Tab S6 made the jump to the newer OS version less than two months ago at the beginning of April.

We believe Samsung should release major firmware updates for its high-end tablets at a much faster rate. Furthermore, Samsung needs to stop putting new tablets on the quarterly security patch update schedule and it should give the Galaxy Tab S7 series monthly security patches.

Wrapping up the Galaxy Tab S7 series wishlist

We’re aware that adding every one of these features to the Galaxy Tab S7 series or the Galaxy Tab S7+ would lead to higher production costs and a higher price tag at launch. You can’t have one without the other, so we don’t necessarily want Samsung to add every one of these features to its upcoming flagship tablet series if it would result in unreasonable prices. However, at least some of these additions and/or improvements must be included in the Galaxy Tab S7 flagship tablet package.

What features would you like to see being added to the Galaxy Tab S7 lineup? Is there one feature in particular for which you’d be willing to pay extra? Feel free to let us know below.

Galaxy Tab S6 review

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