Samsung reportedly struggling to improve yield of 5nm chips

Samsung Foundry is trying hard to catch up with TSMC over the past few years. While its Taiwanese chipmaking rival has already started the mass production of 5nm A14 chips for Apple, the South Korean firm is reportedly still struggling to improve the yield of its 5nm process.

According to a new report from DigiTimes, Samsung is facing the issue of low yields with its 5nm EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography process. A recent report had claimed that the company has bagged orders from Qualcomm for the mass production of the Snapdragon 875G and the Snapdragon 735G chipsets. The unsatisfactory yield may end up affecting the launch of Qualcomm’s upcoming processors, which are expected to be released next year.

During Samsung’s Q1 2020 earnings call, the company had announced that it will start the mass production of 5nm chips by the end of Q2 2020. However, there has been no report if the company has managed to do so. There were several reports about the Galaxy Note 20 featuring the first 5nm Exynos processor, the Exynos 992, but it looks like the chipset has been canceled.

Samsung had first announced the development of its 5nm process last year and started investing in production lines earlier this year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created hurdles in the company’s plans. Two months ago, the South Korean firm added a new 5nm foundry line in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, to accelerate production.

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Galaxy A21s goes on pre-order in South Korea

After unveiling the Galaxy A21s two months ago, Samsung has announced that it has opened pre-orders for the smartphone in its home market South Korea. Interested customers can pre-order the smartphone starting today. The company will launch the mid-range device in the country on July 24 in unlocked and carrier-locked variants.

The Galaxy A21s will be available in Korea in three colors: black, red, and white. The phone will be available through 11th Street, 29CM, Coupang, eBay, Interpark, and Samsung’s online store. While Interpark will introduce the smartphone through a live TV show where customers can ask questions about its features, 29CM has planned to promote it through unique content.

Galaxy A21s specifications

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy A21s with the Exynos 850 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. The smartphone runs Android 10 with One UI 2.0. It has a 6.5-inch PLS TFT screen with HD+ resolution (1600×720 pixels) and a corner punch-hole selfie camera. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging.

The Galaxy A21s has a 13MP selfie camera and a 48MP quad-camera setup on the rear. The rear-facing camera setup includes a 48MP primary sensor with a wide-angle lens, an 8MP ultrawide camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. Other features include 4G LTE, GPS, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack.

Galaxy A21s review

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Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip 5G could be priced similar to their predecessors

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 2 alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G on August 5. While some features and specifications of Samsung’s second-generation foldable smartphones have already been leaked, there has been no information on their pricing. Now, a new report claims that Samsung will not change the prices of its upcoming foldable smartphones compared to their predecessors.

According to a new report from South Korean tech publication ETNews, Samsung has temporarily priced the Galaxy Z Fold 2 at KRW 2.4 million (around $1,990) and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G at KRW 1.65 million (around $1,370). Apparently, unlike the Galaxy Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will not come bundled with the company’s truly wireless earphones. The company has reportedly set an internal plan for the pricing of the two phones and will soon work with telecom carriers to finalize additional details.

It is being reported that there were internal discussions at Samsung to reduce the price of its foldable phones in order to popularize such devices. However, the South Korean tech giant couldn’t lower the price due to the use of advanced processes, expensive parts such as Ultra Thin Glass (UTG), and innovative technologies in its foldable devices. The company is aiming to sell over 3 million units of the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

Samsung will reportedly position foldable phones as ultra-premium products until the end of 2020, and then release relatively cheaper models in 2021 when the supply of foldable screens stabilizes. The company is planning to release the Galaxy Z Fold 2 a month after the Galaxy Note 20 so that its sales are not cannibalized. It will first release the Galaxy Z Fold 2 in South Korea.

The report also claims that Samsung is working with various brands like Thom Browne to launch special versions of the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, but the final decision is yet to be made. The Galaxy Fold Lite could be released by the end of 2020 or early 2021, depending on the supply of foldable screens.

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Galaxy M31s features Infinity-O display, 64MP quad-camera, 6000mAh battery

We had exclusively reported two months ago that the South Korean company has been working on two new mid-range smartphones: Galaxy M31s and Galaxy M51. Information about the battery, camera, and processor of the Galaxy M31s was revealed over the past few weeks. Now, Amazon India has revealed the launch date and all the important features of the upcoming smartphone on its website.

The Galaxy M31s is the first Galaxy M series smartphone to feature a Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a center-aligned punch-hole shaped cutout for the selfie camera. The screen has Full HD+ resolution, as revealed in teaser images. The South Korean smartphone giant has powered the Galaxy M31s with a mammoth 6,000mAh battery. The phone also features 25W fast charging and reverse charging.

Single Take camera mode debuts on the Galaxy M series with the Galaxy M31s

It also features a quad-camera setup with a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide camera, a 5MP macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor. The phone also features Single Take mode, something that was earlier available only on Samsung’s high-end phones, and was later released to Galaxy A series devices with a software update. The phone also seems to feature an under-display fingerprint reader.

Previous reports have indicated that the upcoming smartphone will run Android 10 with One UI 2.1. It could also come equipped with the Exynos 9611 processor, 6GB RAM, and 128GB UFS 2.1 internal storage. We can also expect the Galaxy M31s to come with features like 4K video recording, dual-SIM card slot, LTE, GPS, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack.

The Galaxy M31s will be launched in India on July 30 at 12 PM, and it will be available in at least two colors: black and blue. A earlier report claimed that Samsung will start selling the phone early next month with a starting price of around INR 20,000 (around $266). The upcoming phone is quite feature-packed for its price.

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Looks like the Galaxy Note 20 will bring some interesting camera features

Samsung fans are counting down the days till August 5 when the company will finally unveil the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. It’s obviously not going to reveal anything about the new devices until then but there has been a steady stream of leaks over the past few weeks.

More information has now surfaced online, particularly about the new Galaxy Note 20 camera features. Some will be entirely new while several exiting features will be further improved with the upcoming flagship.

Galaxy Note 20 camera features sound promising

The information comes courtesy of @MaxWinebach, who found that Pro Video mode will now allow you to select which microphone you want to use – front, back, both front and back, a Bluetooth or USB mic. This will provide a lot of flexibility to those who stream or vlog with their smartphone. It will also be possible to adjust video resolution in this mode.

Histogram and focal length tools are going to be present as well, allowing for more precise composition when capturing content with the device’s camera. Single Take, the AI-powered feature first introduced with the Galaxy S20, will be improved. It only takes clips of up to 5 seconds currently, users will be allowed to set a duration between 5 – 15 seconds.

Samsung will also allow video recording in 21:9 aspect ratio in up to 8K resolution. This will enable a more cinematic output which will definitely be appreciated by those who would use ultrawide monitors to view that content. A 50x zoom increment will be added on phones that support up to 100x Space Zoom. It currently jumps from 30x to 100x on the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

These features and improvements will go a long way in enabling the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 to offer a well-rounded camera experience. There may be additional functionality as well that Samsung will reveal at its virtual event for the device. The event takes place on August 5, so it won’t be long now before all of that becomes public.

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Galaxy Z Fold 2 cover display will finally do what the Galaxy Fold couldn’t

We’re just a couple of weeks from the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the successor to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold. The company’s recent teaser suggests that the device might just be announced on August 5 alongside the Galaxy Note 20 lineup.

Samsung has kept the device tightly under wraps. However, some new information has surfaced about the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It finally gets a feature that was sorely missed on the Galaxy Fold.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s cover display will be more useful

As highlighted by @MaxWinebach on Twitter, The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s 6.23-inch cover display will be able to act as a viewfinder for the rear camera when the device is unfolded. This will allow users to take selfies with the primary camera system while they see a live preview on the cover display.

We’ve pointed it out multiple times that this was one feature that Samsung should have brought to the Galaxy Fold. It made sense for the device to have it. Samsung did introduce similar functionality with the Galaxy Z Flip but its tiny cover display limited usability. With the Galaxy Z Fold 2, it will be possible to pop open the phone and take selfies, particularly wide-angle selfies, with the rear camera.

Speaking of cameras, Samsung has got rid of the notch so the camera above the internal and cover display will be placed inside a punch hole, much like it is on the Galaxy Z Flip. This will significantly trim the bezels and make the device look more modern. Support for taller 5:4 and 25:9 aspect ratios has been added for the cover and main display, respectively.

Galaxy Z Fold 2 will certainly be launched with One UI 2.5 and that’s going to bring its own set of new features. We might see existing features being improved in addition to new features that take full advantage of the device’s unique form factor.

All will be revealed on August 5 at Samsung’s virtual press event for the Galaxy Z Fold 2. That’s also when we’ll find out when Samsung is planning to release the new foldable device.

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‘A new look unfolds’: Samsung teases August 5 Galaxy Z Fold 2 launch

The first official confirmation that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will be made official alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra on August 5 has been provided by Samsung UK’s Twitter account today, where the company tweeted a video teasing its upcoming foldable along with the tagline “A new look unfolds”. Like the Unpacked teaser for the Galaxy Buds Live, the Z Fold 2 teaser shows a bronze-colored liquid morphing into a particular shape – a butterfly in this instance.

The Galaxy Fold was also loaded with animations of a butterfly opening its wings that plays every time the display is unfolded, so there’s no doubt here that the teaser is for the Fold’s successor. Samsung’s tweet should also put any rumors about the Galaxy Z Fold 2 not making an appearance on August 5 to rest. However, if you’re planning to purchase the device, you might have to wait until early October before you can do so.

Bigger outer display may be the Z Fold 2’s most notable upgrade

The biggest upgrade the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will bring is a larger cover display. At 4.6 inches, the cover display on the Fold is not meant for serious use, which requires one to open the foldable display more frequently. The 6.23-inch cover display on the Z Fold 2 should fix that inconvenience. The foldable display is also going to be larger than the one on the Fold, though there’s some confusion about the actual size, with some reports pointing at 7.59 inches of screen estate and others at 7.7 inches.

Like the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 series, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is expected to have a 120Hz refresh rate, at least on the inner display. The outer display may or may not be a 120Hz panel – we certainly hope there are 120Hz displays on the inside and outside, as it would otherwise be a less than stellar experience. The foldable display should also have an ultra-thin glass covering. It won’t really prevent any damage, however, as the foldable glass Samsung uses is literally so thin that it may as well not exist at all.

Other Galaxy Z Fold 2 specs are expected to include the Snapdragon 865+ processor, 256GB/512GB storage, rear and front camera setups that include the same camera sensors as the regular Galaxy S20, and a 4,365 mAh battery with 25W super fast charging and 15W fast wireless charging. It will only be released in a 5G variant, though the 5G support will probably be artificially disabled in some markets. On the software side, it will run Android 10 with One UI 2.5.

A new look unfolds.
05.08.2020 pic.twitter.com/OHaF4zCy2C

— Samsung UK (@SamsungUK) July 19, 2020

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