Huawei temporarily edged past Samsung to become largest smartphone brand

Samsung has been the world’s largest smartphone brand in the world for years now, at least in terms of units sold. Huawei has been eyeing the number one position, and it aimed to defeat the South Korean firm in 2020. However, those dreams were killed when the US applied trade sanctions against Huawei. Despite trade sanctions, it is being reported that Huawei temporarily dethroned Samsung and became the world’s largest smartphone maker.

According to the latest data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, Huawei edged past Samsung in April 2020 to grab a 19% share of the global smartphone market. Huawei’s market share rose due to its efforts to increase the market share in China after the US trade ban. Samsung’s market share in the same month dipped to around 17% due to coronavirus lockdown in its key markets such as India, Latin America, parts of Europe, and the US. This also affected the sales of the Galaxy S20 series.

While improved market share is a welcome change for Huawei, the company is still expecting a 20% drop in sales in 2020 due to the US trade ban and the lack of Google Mobile Services on its phones. Although the company has developed its own app store and ecosystem, not many people outside of China would prefer phones that lack the Google Play Store and other Google services such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, and YouTube.

Moreover, the US has also cut off Huawei from TSMC’s chip manufacturing services, so the Chinese smartphone maker will face a lot of trouble in getting high-end chips for its flagship smartphones this year unless Samsung comes to rescue. So, Huawei won’t likely be able to defeat Samsung in the long run unless the US lifts the trade ban. Meanwhile, Samsung improved its smartphone ASP (average selling price) and maintained its number two position in the premium smartphone segment.

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Samsung to launch Intel-powered Galaxy Book S in South Korea on July 3

Samsung had unveiled the Galaxy Book S ten months ago, and it came equipped with the Snapdragon 8cx processor. Two months ago, it was revealed that the South Korean firm has plans to launch an Intel version of the lightweight notebook. Today, the company has confirmed that the Galaxy Book S with Intel’s Lakefield CPU will be launched in South Korea next month.

The Intel version of the Galaxy Book S will be available in Core i3 and Core i5 variants, and people can choose from two colors: Mercury Grey and Earthy Gold. The pricing of the Galaxy Book S starts from KRW 1,130,000 and goes up to KRW 1,465,000, depending on the specifications. The laptop can be purchased from E-Land, E-Mart, Hi-Mart, Samsung Digital Plaza, and Samsung’s online store.

The laptop will be available for pre-order in South Korea from June 23 to June 29 via Samsung’s website. First 200 customers who pre-order the device will get a USB Type-C multi-port adapter and a premium pouch for free. Samsung is also offering educational content from Daesung MyMac and Sky Edu to everyone who buys the Galaxy Book S (and other PC products) by March 31, 2021. Samsung will also offer a three-month subscription to Millie.

The Galaxy Book S features a 13.3-inch LCD touchscreen display with Full HD resolution. It runs Windows 10 and comes in two CPU variants: Intel Core i3 (i3-L13G4) and Intel Core i5 (i5-L16G7). Intel launched these 5-core processors last week. They feature a 7W TDP and a hybrid CPU setup that consists of one Sunny Cove CPU core and four Tremont Atom CPU cores. It has Intel UHD Graphics, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB/512GB eUFS storage, and a microSD card slot. The laptop has a 1MP webcam and Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint reader.

The laptop runs Windows 10 Home. Connectivity features of the laptop include Cat. 16 LTE, Wi-Fi 6 2×2, Bluetooth 5.0, two USB Type-C ports, and a headphone jack. The Galaxy Book S also features AKG-tuned quad stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos audio, ambient light sensor, and hall sensor. It is 11.8mm thin at its thickest point, and it weighs just 950g. Samsung Canada had confirmed this version of the laptop last month.

Chae Won-Chul, Head of Product Planning at Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Division, said, “The way people work is changing, and Samsung Electronics is using multiple devices per day to perform a variety of tasks. Samsung Electronics will provide a more efficient and connected work environment with new computing devices such as the Galaxy Book S.”

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Odyssey G7, G9 gaming monitors are available for pre-order in the USA

Samsung’s Odyssey curved gaming monitors are now available for pre-order in the USA ahead of a July 13 release on store shelves. The Odyssey gaming monitor series was unveiled at CES 2020 and consists of two models called the G7 and G9. The former is available in two sizes and a 16:9 image format, while the Odyssey G9 is a 32:9 ultra-wide monitor with a 49-inch diagonal.

Despite their differences in size and aspect ratios, both the Odyssey G7 and G9 have a screen curvature of 1000R and share other technical similarities such as a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz, a response time (Gray-to-Gray) of 1ms, and technologies like FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync.

A Samsung Odyssey starting at $699.99

$699.99 is the starting price for the Odyssey gaming monitor series. This lump of cash will get you the 27-inch Odyssey G7 featuring a resolution of 2560 by 1440, HDR 600 support, and a brightness of 350cd/m2. The 32-inch Odyssey G7 has the same characteristics aside from the different footprint, and it costs $799.

Meanwhile, the Odyssey G9 is available only with a 49-inch panel boasting a resolution of 5120 by 1440, HDR 1000, and 1000cd/m2 peak brightness. It costs $1,699 and it can be acquired for $141.67 a month with Samsung Financing.

Both the Odyssey G7 and G9 have a unique exterior design with an illuminated back panel, or what Samsung calls Core Lighting for the G7 and Infinity Core Lighting for the Odyssey G9. Check the links below for additional Odyssey pre-order details in the USA.

• Pre-order 27-inch Odyssey G7 gaming monitor from Samsung USA
• Pre-order 32-inch Odyssey G7 gaming monitor from Samsung USA
• Pre-order 49-inch Odyssey G9 gaming monitor from Samsung USA

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Galaxy Tab S7+ leaked renders tell a familiar yet different story

We got our first look at what might be the final design of the Galaxy Tab S7 last week. Now, the Galaxy Tab S7+ has been exposed in similar CAD renders and a 360-degree video showing the tablet from all angles. And, unsurprisingly, it looks almost identical to the standard Galaxy Tab S7 sans the different dimensions.

That’s going to be the common theme of the Galaxy Tab S7 series. Both tablets are expected to follow the same design and share a lot of specifications while differing in a few key areas. Evidently, the Galaxy Tab S7+ will have a larger display and battery, but both variants are said to take advantage of screens capable of a 120Hz refresh rate, and they’re going to ship with an S Pen.

Galaxy Tab S7+ dimensions, specifications

We exclusively brought the Galaxy Tab S7+ to your attention a couple of months ago when we learned it will have a 12.4-inch display. This information has been further corroborated by the CAD renders at hand, passed along by @OnLeaks and Pigtou.

The Galaxy Tab S7+ should reportedly measure roughly 285 x 185 x 5.7mm, meaning it will be taller and wider than the ongoing Galaxy Tab S6 while retaining the same thin profile. The tablet should be equipped with quad speakers and a dual rear-camera setup accompanied by a flash. Time will tell whether or not Samsung’s upcoming flagship tablet will be able to compete with the iPad Pro, but it’s refreshing to see Samsung, and consequently Android OS, continuing to compete against Apple in 2020 for tablet market share. Check the Galaxy Tab S7+ CAD renders below for a closer look at what could very well become a real product in the coming weeks.

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Uh-oh: Samsung and Huawei are getting friendly, likely at your expense

Add a potential Samsung-Huawei partnership to the list of crazy things 2020 has in store for us. Potentially, at least; one would expect Samsung to low-key celebrate Huawei’s ban on using American technologies getting extended for another year. And it might have done so, but with much more complex reasoning in mind. The possibility of China’s crippled conglomerate being dramatically saved by a Samsung lifeline has been on the cards since at least last month, and it’s making more sense by the day.

By now, Samsung has reportedly been experimenting with a smallish manufacturing line for wireless chips which entirely circumvents any notion of a U.S. IP. All of that with the precise purpose of figuring out can it step in to fill a gaping hole in Huawei’s 5G plans. For the uninitiated, the gist of those is: make base stations, and make sure no one’s making more. And while getting cut of from U.S. suppliers was a pretty massive blow to those ambitions, Samsung could save the day here, as some industry watchers are already arguing.

Last call for the 5G hype train

Even though Samsung’s foundry business leverages U.S. tech to a great extent, none of those solutions are without viable alternatives. The only remaining piece of its 5G puzzle that’s still irreplaceable are the actual lithography machines capable of 7nm EUV etching techniques — and those are Dutch, owned by a Philips spin-off called ASML — making them unaffected by the Trump administration’s renewed sanctions on Huawei.

Now, for the worst part: all of this would likely happen at your, i.e. consumers’ direct expense. Because insiders claim the main thing Samsung would hope to gain in this scenario is some breathing room in the smartphone space; a segment in which Huawei has been consistently ramping up the pressure for over half a decade by now.

How exactly would that happen remains unclear, presumably because it’s still being discussed, but no such agreed competitiveness reduction can realistically happen without being to the detriment of consumers. After all, it’s not like smartphone prices haven’t ventured deep inside the “absolutely mental” range a while back, and that’s with a full-strength Huawei keeping Samsung on its toes.

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When, where, and for how much you can get the Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition

To the excitement of countless BTS fans around the world, Samsung introduced the purple-flavored Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition yesterday along with pricing and availability details for South Korea and the USA. The company has now followed up with different announcements for various other markets, so here’s what you need to know if you’re a BTS fan waiting for an opportunity to buy the Galaxy S20+ or Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition.

The purple flagship and earbuds have so far been officially confirmed to launch in Brazil, France, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, the UK, Singapore and Spain. Pre-order and release dates are similar in most of these markets, but pre-order bonuses and pricing details are not, or they’re missing from some regions. This is everything Samsung announced so far, but more details could be coming soon:

• Brazil: a pre-registration page for the Galaxy S20+/Buds+ BTS Edition is live
• France: Galaxy S20+/Buds+ BTS Edition pre-orders live from June 19 to July 8, available from July 9 on fnac.com. Purple wireless charger offered as a pre-order bonus.
• Germany: The products will be available for pre-order from June 19 to July 8. They’ll release on July 9. Pricing details are unclear but pre-ordering the Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition gets you a 50% discount on the purple Buds+.
• Malaysia: pre-orders open from July 19 to June 5. The Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition costs RM 4,399 ($1,028). Galaxy Buds+ cost RM 899 ($210) or RM 449 ($104) when buying them along with a Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition pre-order. Pre-ordering the Buds+ will guarantee a free Wireless Charger Pad BTS Edition.
• Russia: the same pre-order window and 50% Buds+ pre-order discount for Germany applies to Russia as well. The Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition cost 84,990 ($1,213) and 16,990 ($242) rubles, respectively. They will go on sale at Samsung online as well as MVideo and Svyaznoy.
• UK: pre-orders go live on June 19. The Galaxy S20+ and Buds+ BTS Edition will go on sale on July 9 for yet-undisclosed prices.
• Singapore: BTS Edition pre-orders go live on June 19 and end on July 5. The phone and earbuds will ship on July 9. The Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition will sell for SGD 1,598 ($1,146) at Samsung online, Singtel, and StarHub. The Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition will be available for pre-order for SGD 298 ($213) through Samsung’s e-shop. Pre-order promotions include 50% off the Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition when pre-ordering the phone, and a free wireless charger when pre-ordering the purple earbuds.
• Spain: Samsung Spain’s announcement of the Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition was more generic and while it contained launch info for the US and South Korea, it didn’t include any such details for Spain. Therefore, Samsung may plan on releasing the BTS Edition in Spain eventually, but as yet there are no concrete launch and pricing details.

The Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition are not necessarily bound to these markets. Samsung could be releasing these BTS Edition products in more regions at a later date, so stay tuned. Likewise, more pricing details for the markets mentioned above should emerge in the coming days before the pre-order period begins.

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Galaxy Note 20 colors revealed as accessories go up for pre-order

Samsung is gearing up to launch its new Galaxy Note flagship and we’re gradually getting to know more about the device. Several official accessories for the Galaxy Note 20 have now been listed online for pre-order and they have revealed some of the Galaxy Note 20 colors that will be on offer.

The company will definitely offer multiple color options for the Galaxy Note 20 lineup. It’s also going to have a plethora of official accessories for the device. They include some familiar accessories like the Clear View cover and LED View cover.

New Galaxy Note 20 colors are inbound

MobileFun now has the official Galaxy Note 20 cases up for pre-order. It’s not uncommon for these accessories to become available even before the handset itself hasn’t been announced. This usually happens when the launch isn’t that far off.

The accessories for Samsung’s upcoming flagship include a Silicone Cover, Leather Cover, Clear Protective Cover, Protective Standing Cover, Kvadrat Cover in addition to the ones mentioned above. These cases will be available in different colors, including but not limited to Black, White, Silver and Mint.

Since the S Pen can also be purchased separately, the colors that it’s offered in can provide us with a good idea of what the color options for this device will be. As per the latest information, Samsung will sell extra S Pens in Black, White, Gray, Copper Brown and Mint colors. The names for the final color choices will likely be different and the S Pen may be kept in a hue that contrasts with the main color like last time. That being said, there’s reason to believe that these might be among the colors that Samsung offers the Galaxy Note 20 in.

Samsung has obviously not confirmed anything about the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20+ at this point in time. Recent reports suggest that it’s going to launch the new flagships on August 5 with a release scheduled for August 20.

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Samsung was the second-largest premium smartphone vendor in Q1 2020

Samsung was the second-most-successful premium smartphone vendor in most markets around the world throughout Q1 2020. The company’s premium phones took second place in North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe (where the company led the smartphone segment as a whole in Q1, from budget to flagship), the APAC region excluding China, as well as the Middle East and Africa. The company’s premium segment was bested by Apple in every region, and Samsung didn’t make the list of top 5 premium smartphone vendors in China.

This is all according to a new paper from Counterpoint Research that defines the premium smartphone segment by the price range of $400 and up. The source reveals that Samsung had a 19% share of the global premium smartphone market in Q1 2020. Apple led the segment with 57% share, and Huawei followed in Samsung’s footsteps with 12% of the market, securing a bronze podium finish. The top-5 best-selling premium phones were mostly Apple’s, and Samsung didn’t make the cut.

According to a recent analysis, the premium smartphone segment sell-through experienced a 13% year-on-year drop in the first quarter of the year, mostly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic affected not only the premium segment but the smartphone market as a whole. Therefore, the premium segment continued to account for roughly 22% of all smartphone sales worldwide in Q1 2020 and generated 57% of global revenues.

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Galaxy A71 5G is coming to the USA this week via two major carriers

Samsung announced the Galaxy A71 5G for the USA market a couple of months ago when the company revealed it will release the 5G upper mid-range device stateside by the end of the summer. Now, it looks like buyers won’t have to wait much longer, as the Galaxy A71 5G launch date has been officially set in stone for June 19.

Beginning later this week, the Galaxy A71 5G will be available in the USA via T-Mobile, Sprint, and Samsung’s own e-shop for the starting price of $599. Samsung confirmed that the phone will also be launching through AT&T at a later date. Likewise, a factory-unlocked model and a variant for Verizon will be released later this summer.

Samsung has been working on developing the 5G infrastructure in the USA along with domestic carriers for the past few years. Now, the Galaxy A71 5G aims to bring users the benefits of the next-gen network for a sub-flagship price.

Galaxy A71 5G, same as the LTE model but different

The Galaxy A71 5G is nearly identical to the LTE Galaxy A71 we’ve reviewed earlier this year. It has the same display and internal specifications, but it is a bit smaller than the LTE model and boasts slightly thinner bezels.

The main difference between the LTE variant and the Galaxy A71 5G is that the latter has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765/G 5G SoC. Otherwise, it has the same camera setup, storage configuration, sensors, and 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging capabilities.

Is the Galaxy A71 5G going to be your first 5G-enabled smartphone in the USA? Do you plan on buying one from T-Mobile/Sprint, or will you be waiting until the phone releases unlocked by Samsung and via other carriers later this summer?

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Daily Deal: 36% off Samsung 25W Super Fast Wall Charger

If you’re in the market for a new Samsung wall charger then you’re in luck. Amazon is now selling Samsung’s 25W Super Fast Wall Charger at a discounted price for 36% down, as long as you’re getting the black variant. The white 25W fast charger is available for 25% off, and similar discounts also apply to Samsung’s 15W and 45W chargers. Whether you’re looking to replace your existing charger or you want a backup unit, this might be your best chance to buy a Samsung wall charger at a considerably lower price.

Hit the Buy Now button below to secure a new Samsung Super Fast Wall Charger at a discount while the offer lasts.

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Galaxy A21s will go on sale in the Netherlands near the end of the week

Smartphone users in the Netherlands will be able to buy Samsung’s latest budget-oriented phone, the Galaxy A21s, by the end of the week. The company officially announced the phone’s launch details in the Netherlands, where the phone will be hitting the shelves from June 19 for the price of 209 euros.

The 209 euros price tag corresponds to the Galaxy A21s variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. However, prospective buyers in the Netherlands will also be able to buy the Galaxy A21s model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for the suggested retail price of 229 euros.

Immersive screen, macro camera, long-lasting battery life

The Galaxy A21s follows Samsung’s mid-range design philosophy to the letter. It has a large 6.5-inch Infinity-O display with a corner cutout for the 13MP selfie camera, and it also has a quad-camera setup on the back panel featuring a 2MP macro camera next to a 48MP wide, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP depth sensor.

The device relies on an Exynos 850 chipset and storage is expandable via microSD by up to 512GB. The Galaxy A21s runs Android 10 with One UI 2.1 out of the box, and it conceals a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging capabilities.

Will you be buying the Galaxy A21s in the Netherlands later this week? Which memory configuration will it be? And if not then what is your Galaxy budget smartphone of choice this year? Let us know in the comment section below.

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BTS fans shatter Samsung’s all-time Twitter records

No one can deny the power of the K-Pop phenomenon – not even the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphones, TVs, and many other types of consumer electronics. It’s been almost a full decade since Samsung Mobile joined Twitter, but a couple of weeks is all it took for K-Pop fans to completely overshadow everything else it achieved on the microblogging platform since 2011. Case in point: the promo from the “Believe in your Galaxy” campaign featuring BTS that you can see below. Namely, this is now both Samsung’s most reshared and favorited tweet ever.

Following closely behind — by likes and retweets alike — is another BTS post… and then another. In fact, the top 37 most successful (i.e. viral) tweets from @SamsungMobile are all BTS-themed, stemming from the company’s continued collaboration with the mega-popular boy band, according to several third-party social media trackers.

It’s time to believe. #SamsungGalaxy #BTS @BTS_twt @BTS_bighit pic.twitter.com/chaI8ETVMr

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) May 30, 2020

K-Pop fandom humbling even the world’s top advertisers

Putting this already impressive success into added perspective is the fact that Samsung is the kind of company that spends in the ballpark of $5 billion on marketing every single year. Not to mention how it’s unlikely the BTS campaigns it’s been running in recent months have been anywhere near the top of its most expensive ones. After all, Samsung places Hollywood A-listers on the task of promoting its products on the regular – even amid a historic pandemic. And that’s without even accounting its less conventional marketing stunts with celebrities which it does nearly as frequently. The point being that Samsung’s partnership with BTS likely yielded some of the best returns on advertising investments in the chaebol’s 82-year history.

The best may be yet to come for the world’s leading smartphone maker whose K-Pop interest is now moving toward luxurious products and away from traditional advertising. Look no further than today for an example of that shift seeing how Samsung launched a BTS-themed Galaxy S20+ and an accompanying pair of limited-edition Galaxy Buds+ just a few hours back.

This series of social media hits is bound to see Samsung double down on all things K-Pop and is a far cry from where the company was just several years ago. In plainer terms: teenage pop idols beat hiring Oscar winners; especially if the latter are wasted on products that result in a month’s worth of PR nightmares culminating with unprecedented recalls.

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Average selling price of Samsung’s smartphones reaches highest in six years

The ASP (average selling price) of Samsung’s smartphones improved in the first quarter of 2020, reaching the highest in the past six years. This improvement is due to the robust demand for high-end devices such as the Galaxy S20 Ultra, Galaxy Fold, and the Galaxy Z Flip.

According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, the South Korean smartphone giant’s ASP stool at $292 during Q1 2020 (January – March 2020). The average selling price saw an 8.5 percent jump from Q1 2019 and a 20.7 percent rise compared to Q4 2019. The company’s ASP is the highest since Q2 2014, when it was $297.

Samsung’s ASP for smartphones was $243 in 2017, $251 in 2018, and $247 in 2019. The company’s foldable smartphones—Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip—have contributed to the increased average selling price. The South Korean smartphone giant is planning to launch even more foldable smartphones, including the Galaxy Fold 2, later this year.

In terms of revenue, Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market rose to 22.1 percent in Q1 2020, up from 21.7 percent in Q1 2019 and 14.4 percent higher compared to Q4 2019. In comparison, Apple’s global smartphone revenue market share was the highest in the industry, at 37.5 percent.

Samsung is also reportedly planning to launch a cheaper version of the Galaxy Fold. However, even at its rumored price tag of under $1,100, it would still end up being a high-end phone, and that would help move the company’s smartphone ASP even higher.

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Galaxy S9 and S9+ One UI 2.1 update starts rolling out

The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are now getting what should be their last major update – One UI 2.1 has started rolling out to Samsung’s 2018 flagships in Korea and Germany today. This comes almost a week after the Galaxy Note 9 received the One UI 2.1 update in Germany. The Galaxy S9 One UI 2.1 update carries firmware version G96xNKSU3ETF4 in Korea and G96xFXXU9ETF5 in Germany. It includes the June 2020 security patch.

One UI 2.1 feature list is a pretty big one

One UI 2.1, as mentioned earlier, is likely to be the last major OS upgrade for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ (and the Galaxy Note 9) – there’s no Android 11 in the pipeline, as dictated by Samsung’s policy to only release two major Android updates for all of its devices. Still, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will go out with a bang as One UI 2.1 brings a number of new features.

The features include new sharing options. There’s Quick Share, a one-tap solution for sharing files and media between Galaxy devices (similar to Apple’s AirDrop), along with Music Share, which allows you to share your phone’s Bluetooth audio connection with other devices (allowing your friends, for example, to play music from their phone on a Bluetooth speaker connected to your Galaxy smartphone).

The camera gets a number of new shooting modes. Single Take captures a series of photos and video clips for 10 seconds when you tap the shutter button, while My Filters allows you to replicate the colors and styles of your favorite photos and create custom filters for future shots. Pro video recording is back as well, after being axed from the Galaxy S9 series with the Android Pie update. It’s got all the tricks you expect, including the ability to control shutter speed.

The One UI 2.1 update also adds a new AR Zone app that puts all augmented reality features, such as AR Emoji and AR Doodle, in one place. AR Emoji also gets enhanced facial recognition and new manual editing tools. Samsung Keyboard has been updated with a multilingual translation feature and text undo/redo shortcuts, and the Gallery app gets new quick crop functionality and can now group similar images together.

Update rolling out over the air; also available from our firmware archive

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ should be getting One UI 2.1 in more countries in the coming days. It could take a few weeks before the update is widely available, as Samsung will probably want to make sure there are no issues. Once the update is out in your country, you will be able to download it over the air from the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. You can also download the latest firmware for your S9 or S9+ from our firmware archive.

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Entry-level Galaxy M41 to mark a major OLED milestone for Samsung

It’s been three months since the rumor mill first churned out an unusual Galaxy M41 render, and there’s finally an update on Samsung’s upcoming budget smartphone. Despite being an otherwise pretty blanket entry-level product, it now appears the device will mark a major milestone for the South Korean tech giant. Namely, the Galaxy M41 should become the first Samsung handset with an OLED panel from someone other than Samsung (Display) itself.

That someone would be TCL’s China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT). Industry insiders from the Far East claim Samsung already decided on utilizing the said screens, though it’s also still in the process of sampling alternative modules made by BOE, another major panel manufacturer from the same country.

An end of an era for Samsung Display

The display earmarked for the Galaxy M41 reportedly features a 6.67-inch diagonal with support for FHD+ resolutions up to 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, which amounts to Samsung’s well-established 19.5:9 aspect ratio. For added context, that would be the same CSOT-made OLED panels already adopted by the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Motorola Edge earlier this year.

Assuming everything goes well, the Galaxy M41 will mark the beginning of the end of Samsung’s utter dominance in this mobile display niche. While one would assume Samsung Display won’t be too happy about that, Samsung Electronics certainly won’t mind the inevitable decrease in smartphone manufacturing costs. That’s because it’s still bidding on its sister firm’s components like any other OEM, so some added competition from China is bound to improve its profit margins – if only to a minor degree. Yet every little bit helps in the entry-level price range for Android smartphones, a fiercely contested segment in virtually all parts of the world whose profitability is debatable at best.

The Galaxy M41 should be official in a matter of months. Industry sources previously claimed the Galaxy S21 line will use BOE OLEDs, though it was recently reported that wouldn’t be the case as BOE’s displays didn’t pass Samsung’s testing process.

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Galaxy Note 10 Lite now receiving June 2020 security update

The June 2020 security update started reaching select Galaxy Note 10 Lite models on Sunday. Identified by firmware version N770FXXU3BTF1, the very latest software revision for Samsung’s stylus-equipped smartphone debuted in Spain. It has yet to reach any other country, but the wait hopefully won’t be too long. In the meantime, you can always attempt triggering the update manually by launching your Settings app, tapping Software update near the bottom, and finally hitting the Download and install option on the following screen.

It appears some other additions or changes have been bundled along with the new security patch level, as indicated by the very name of the software package. But it remains to be seen what those are, exactly, since they have yet to be followed by an official changelog from Samsung. Naturally, please do send us a screenshot of the update prompt which reveals those details on the off chance you’re an owner of the international variant of the Galaxy Note 10 Lite (SM-N770F) based in Spain.

A big quarter ahead for the Galaxy Note family

While Galaxy Note 10 Lite owners in Spain are now getting to download the very latest security patch from Samsung, some other parts of the world are still in the process of receiving last month’s update. For example, the May 2020 firmware for the same device only started rolling out in Panama, Colombia, and Bolivia yesterday. As always, the latest official software images for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite are available for download from SamMobile’s firmware archive.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Note family has a big quarter ahead of it, since the Galaxy Note 20 series is expected to launch in early August. Its unveiling should be followed by a short pre-order period lasting about three weeks, as indicated by Samsung’s established track record with this flagship lineup.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, Galaxy Buds Live colors leak

Samsung is planning to launch new smartphones, including the Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Fold 2, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, during its August 2020 event. However, most of the specifications of these devices have been leaked over the past few weeks. Now, color variants of the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G have been leaked.

Noted tipsters Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) and Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) have revealed on Twitter that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 20 series in five colors and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G in three colors. The Galaxy Note 20 will reportedly be available in three colors: Copper, Grey, and Mint Green. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, on the other hand, could be launched in Black, White, and Copper.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5G is rumored to come in three colors: Black, Copper (or Brown?), and Grey. The LTE variant of the foldable phone is currently being sold in Mirror Black, Mirror Gold, and Mirror Purple colors. It is also possible that the company will launch more color variants of the Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G a few months after their launch.

The South Korean tech giant is will also launch Galaxy Watch 3 and the bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live wireless earphones with active noise cancellation in July. The earphones will reportedly launch in three colors: Black, Copper, and White. The 11-inch Galaxy Tab S7 and the 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S7+ could also debut in July or August.

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