Samsung AR patent shows a way to ease turn-by-turn navigation experience

Samsung develops various technologies every year, and some of them eventually appear in real-life products. The company has been working on various AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies over the past few years and has filed several patents. A new patent filed by the company was published recently, showing a neat AR feature that could improve the whole turn-by-turn navigation experience while driving.

The patent describes AR glasses that could overlay turn-by-turn navigation information and signs directly in front of a driver’s eyes. While some cars and heads-up displays already have capabilities to show navigation information on the windshield, AR glasses could feel more immersive and closer to reality. The system could include an outward-facing camera to read the road and an inward-facing camera to analyze the driver.

There are several advantages of using AR glasses instead of heads-up displays. Unlike heads-up displays that stay fixed, AR glasses could show navigation information and points of interest even when the driver is looking around while driving. Apart from navigation, Samsung’s AR glasses patent describes overlaying additional information such as exit ramps, fuel stations, points of interest, and more.

For this system to work, Samsung’s AR glasses need to work in sync with a maps app on a smartphone (or a navigation unit inside the car), GPS, multiple cameras, and sensors. Samsung already makes various smart car-related technologies and components such as camera sensors, infotainment units, processors, and it has plans to do more in the future.

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Galaxy A31 to sell for a higher price than A30 in India, but there’s a reason

The Galaxy A31 is planned to go on sale in India online via Flipkart tomorrow, June 4. Pricing details for the new mid-range device haven’t been officially disclosed yet, but the phone should eventually hit physical retail stores for the price of INR 21,999 ($292), according to Pricebaba citing its sources.

It’s unclear exactly when the Galaxy A31 will go on sale through offline channels across India, but the rule of thumb is that offline prices are generally higher than online prices. In other words, the Galaxy A31’s price at Flipkart could be lower than INR 21,999 once the phone goes on sale tomorrow.

More expensive than the Galaxy A30 at launch, but there are reasons

You may be aware that the Galaxy A30 was considerably cheaper than its successor at launch, commanding a price of around INR 17,000. Nevertheless, there are reasons why the Galaxy A31 costs nearly INR 5,000 more than its predecessor. First of all, many components have been upgraded, especially the camera setup. It’s been bumped from a two-camera to a quad-camera combo. The phone also received an under-display fingerprint sensor for better or for worse, and it got a higher-capacity 5,000mAh battery, up from 4,000mAh.

More importantly, and likely the main reason why the Galaxy A31 is more expensive, is that the variant sold in India should be the one that’s better equipped, featuring 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s 2GB extra RAM and twice the storage of the most expensive version of the Galaxy A30.

All things considered, even if the higher price can be justified, only time will tell whether or not Samsung India’s strategy to debut the Galaxy A31 in the best-possible memory configuration pays off. We expect other memory variants to be made available at some point in the future.

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Galaxy Z Flip takes better selfie videos than stills in DxOMark review

The Galaxy Z Flip’s selfie camera is better at recording videos than taking stills, according to the latest review from independent benchmark website DxOMark. On the website’s non-finite scale, the foldable phone’s selfie sensor scored 82 points and 86 points in the photo and video categories, respectively. This averages to a final score of 83 points, same as the Galaxy A71.

Galaxy Z Flip selfies won’t blow your socks off

The big issue with the Galaxy Z Flip’s selfie camera is that anyone looking for a smartphone with a strong selfie shooter can easily find a better solution within the Galaxy Z Flip’s price range. Mobile photography was never this phone’s main selling point, despite the fact that Samsung did make a point in highlighting Flex Mode and Night Hyperlapse in its promos. In practice, the sacrifices Samsung had to make to achieve a beautiful foldable phone with a lower price tag than the original Galaxy Fold can be felt throughout the camera experience.

According to DxOMark experts, selfie stills captured with the Galaxy Z Flip can deliver vivid colors with well-controlled noise outdoors. Exposure is generally accurate, especially when using the screen flash. However, the selfie module’s fixed-focus lens can lead to out-of-focus faces at close range, and among other issues, artifacting and inaccurate blurring can pop up in bokeh shots.

The source concluded that the Galaxy Z Flip is actually a better performer in terms of selfie videos thanks to 4K recording, generally good exposure both indoors and outdoors, well-saturated colors, and decent stabilization. However, selfie videos recorded with the Galaxy Z Flip are not without flaws. Low light conditions can create strong noise and poor detail, and white balance errors can occur when filming indoors. Check DxOMark’s full Galaxy Z Flip selfie camera review for more details, and check our own Galaxy Z Flip review for a closer look at the phone’s overall performance and characteristics.

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COVID-19 drops Samsung’s sales in Europe, boosts them in LATAM in Q1

The COVID-19 pandemic left a big mark on the smartphone market in Q1 2020. Across Europe, the segment shrunk by 7% year-on-year and 23% quarter-on-quarter. Samsung maintained the lead in Europe, but it’s smartphone sales market share dropped 2% year-on-year. Counterpoint Research highlights that Q1 is generally a slower time of the year in terms of smartphone sales, but this phenomenon was further accentuated in 2020 by the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdowns that followed.

Many European countries entered varying stages of lockdown in March, with most offline stores and businesses closing down in an effort to maintain social distancing. Italy was most-impacted in Q1 2020 in terms of smartphone sales, registering a 21% year-on-year decline. Nevertheless, Samsung had a 39% market share in Italy, the largest share in all the European countries mentioned by the market research firm in the recent analysis.

The least affected country was Russia, recording only a 1% year-on-year drop. Huawei maintained the lead in Russia with 33% market share, while Samsung was second with 19%. Across all Europe, Samsung had a 35% market share in Q1 2020 and was followed by Apple (32%) and Huawei (13%).

Samsung boosts smartphone shipment market share in LATAM

Smartphone sales have also dropped considerably in LATAM countries, according to the research firm. In Q1 2020, the smartphone market in Latin America registered a massive quarter-on-quarter decline from 30.1% to 20.8%.

However, Samsung was not only able to maintain its dominant position in LATAM countries, but also boosted its smartphone shipment market share from 35.4% in Q1 2019 to 37.9% a year later. Every other major smartphone brand except for Samsung and Xiaomi have had their shipment market shares drop by the end of the first quarter, in large part due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Samsung is getting close to releasing an update fixing the wallpaper bug

We were able to confirm that Samsung is indeed working on a fix for the bizarre Android bug that can lead to a smartphone being stuck in a bootloop after applying an unsupported wallpaper. In case you’ve missed the original story, images that return a histogram value higher than 255 will exceed the sRGB color space supported by Android OS, resulting in crashing or even bootlooping. This is not a Samsung-specific bug but one that affects any Android smartphone running a recent OS version.

Samsung is preparing to deploy a fix

Although this bug affects Android directly, third-party developers and OEMs including Samsung were already reportedly working on a fix. Our own sources have now confirmed that the company is indeed getting ready to deploy the fix through a firmware update over-the-air. We’ll keep you posted as soon as the rollout commences.

Samsung also advises Galaxy device owners to refrain from downloading arbitrary images from the web and use them as their wallpapers until this issue is resolved. Evidently, even though this bizarre Android bug was found through a single image, the issue can technically be reproduced for other wallpapers. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so if you do want to change your wallpaper before the update arrives, make sure it’s acquired from official and/or trusted sources.

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There’s still a chance for a so-called Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to exist

The industry came to refer to Samsung’s upcoming S Pen flagship series by the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20+ monikers after various leakers pointed out there won’t be a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra model from Samsung later this year. That may still be the case, however, a recent Bluetooth SIG entry for the Galaxy Note 20 variant identified by model number SM-N986U suggests otherwise.

The Bluetooth regulatory body is referring to the SM-N986U as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra instead of the Galaxy Note 20+, throwing a spanner in the works of many leakers who have been vocal on the matter so far. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that an entry in the Bluetooth SIG database under the name of Galaxy Note 20 Ultra doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything. We should remind you that the same regulatory agency had referred to the Galaxy S20 series by the tentative Galaxy S11 moniker. Evidently, the latest Samsung flagship ended up being launched under the Galaxy S20 name, so the Galaxy Note 20/Note 20 Ultra could be subjected to a similar story involving Bluetooth SIG’s unpredictable naming convention.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra would make sense from a purely marketing POV

If anything, the recent entry in the Bluetooth SIG database should be a reminder that many unconfirmed details surrounding a yet-to-be-announced product are subject to change. Perhaps Samsung had no plans for one of its Galaxy Note 20 models to bear the Ultra nametag to begin with, but the company may have changed its mind in the meantime. Or it might be the other way around and the company replaced the Ultra name with the Plus somewhere during development.

Either way, there no evidence of a third Galaxy Note 20 model being in the work, and assuming that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra moniker will stick, this would likely mean that Samsung’s lineup will consist of a base model and the Ultra itself, with no Plus variant in between. In this case, the adoption of the Ultra moniker would largely boil down to a marketing decision, and perhaps Samsung will (attempt to) justify it with the inclusion of a 50x zoom periscope-type lens.

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Galaxy Note 20+ to have 50x zoom, laser autofocus, new ultra-wide sensor

The Galaxy Note 20+ will share some camera specifications with the Galaxy S20 series, but exactly what specs will be common across both smartphone lineups remains to be seen. However, leakster Ice Universe claims to have acquired new information regarding the Galaxy Note 20+ model’s camera in particular. The information shared on Weibo claims that Samsung’s next S Pen flagship will indeed have a periscope-type camera module, but it won’t be capable of achieving 100x zoom.

If this information is correct, the periscope lenses employed by the Galaxy Note 20+ will not be paired with the same 48MP sensor used by the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Instead, the periscope-type system will be accompanied by the 13MP ISOCELL Slim 3M5 1/3″ sensor with WDR (wide dynamic range) support. This combo will apparently achieve a maximum hybrid zoom of 50x.

The ISOCELL Slim 3M5 sensor has 1.0um pixels, PDAF, smart WDR, and it’s capable of 120fps video recordings. It has an operating temperature of -20 to +70 degrees Celsius, and can output images in RAW10 format.

ISOCELL Bright HM1 and Fast 2L3 sensor are also included

Aside from the ISOCELL Slim 3M5 sensor with periscope-style lenses, the Galaxy Note 20+ camera setup could also feature an ISOCELL Bright HM1 108MP sensor – same as the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The source reiterates this module will no longer be assisted by a ToF sensor as Samsung could be ditching this feature for the Galaxy Note 20. In its place, a laser autofocus system will assist the ISOCELL Bright HM1.

The third and final camera module on the back of the Galaxy Note 20+ would be based on an ultra-wide 12MP ISOCELL Fast 2L3 1/2.55″ sensor with 1.4um pixels, Dual Pixel PDAF, and smart WDR support. It can achieve slow-motion recording of up to 1440fps (cropped 720p), and it can output RAW10 and RAW8 (via DPCM/PCM compression) formats.

All in all, Samsung might be pushing its new camera system to a new level and correct the issues marring the Galaxy S20 Ultra with this new setup. For now, 100x zoom is somewhat of a gimmick rather than an actual useful feature, and 50x is probably enough for any practical uses. The inclusion of a new Dual Pixel PDAF ultra-wide sensor and the switch from ToF to laser autofocus should also be welcomed.

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Galaxy S10 series (Exynos) starts receiving June 2020 security update

Samsung has begun deploying the June 2020 Android security update to the Galaxy S10 series. The Snapdragon-powered models have already received the update in the US, and it is now being pushed to the international Exynos models. Identified by build number G97xFXXS6CTE6, the June 2020 security patch has so far only reached the Galaxy S10 lineup in Germany where it started rolling out on Tuesday.

The update has simultaneously reached the Galaxy S10 (SM-G973F), Galaxy S10+ (SM-G975F), and the Galaxy S10e (SM-G970F). Save for the previously detailed security fixes, the new firmware contains no other novelties.

Another gradual update release – starting in Germany

It remains to be seen how long will it take for the June 2020 update to reach Galaxy S10 devices beyond Germany. Gradual OTA releases are standard industry practice devised to both simplify deployment and provide OEMs ample time to patch over any technical issues that might have been missed during development.

Across the Pond, the Galaxy S10 series is pretty much at mercy of the big three carriers when it comes to updates, much like you’d expect. To be fair, it’s not like Verizon and co. have done a bad job following Samsung’s lead. As always, all official images of the June 2020 security update for the Galaxy S10 smartphones are becoming available for download from SamMobile’s firmware archives as soon as they are released. You can also download the update over the air directly on your phone from its Settings » Software update menu.

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Disney Plus app not working on some 2016 Samsung smart TVs

The Disney Plus video streaming service launched a few months ago, and it has been available on various smart TV platforms, including Samsung’s. The app is compatible with all Samsung smart TVs released in 2016 and later. However, there appears to be an issue that is affecting the Disney Plus app on some smart TV models.

Users have been reporting that Disney Plus is failing to load on some 2016 smart TVs from Samsung. Upon launching the app, the TV displays the message “The Disney+ application is temporarily unavailable on 2016 Samsung TV models.” The video streaming giant’s support account replied to affecting users on Twitter, saying that the company has been working on a fix and has advised them to use other devices to stream videos in the meantime.

Thanks for your patience while we worked with the manufacturer on a fix! This issue is now resolved and you can get back to streaming Disney+ on your device. If you continue to run into trouble, please reach out via phone or chat from the options here: https://t.co/KExSsHK0hw.

— Disney+ Help (@DisneyPlusHelp) June 3, 2020

The issue with the app started last week and hasn’t been resolved yet. The inability to fix the problem reflects poorly on both Disney and Samsung. The South Korean TV giant recently claimed that its TVs offer an unmatched library of audio and video streaming apps and named Disney Plus as one of the marquee apps available on its smart TV platform.

Disney Plus combines video content such as documentaries, movies, and TV shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucas Films (Star Wars), and National Geographic.

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