uBreakiFix can now repair Galaxy smartphones at your home

Venturing out in public can still be a risky task as COVID-19 cases are still surging in most parts of the world. In this situation, it can be tough to get your broken smartphone fixed. Now, uBreakiFix has come up with a solution in the US that makes it a little easier to get your device repaired right at your home.

Electronics repair firm uBreakiFix has announced that it is going mobile, and it can fix your Galaxy smartphone right at your home or office. If you are in the US, you can call or reach out to uBreakiFix and get your broken Galaxy smartphone fixed within two hours. Under its ‘We Come to You’ repair service, the brand has rolled out 640 mobile repair vehicles across the US, and they’re equipped with “OEM-grade tests, tools, and processes, allowing the mobile technician to properly diagnose, repair, test, and return devices to like-new condition.”

Right now, uBreakiFix service vehicles can replace broken screens and batteries, and the company says that more services are coming in the future. If a Samsung service center isn’t in the vicinity of your area, uBreakiFix’s new doorstep repair service can be pretty handy, and you would be relieved to know that it is a Samsung authorized service firm.

Have you used the company’s repair service earlier? Let us know your experience in the comments section below.

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Galaxy S20 FE absolutely destroys the Galaxy S20+ despite a lower price

When the Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) went official, we opined how it would destroy OnePlus’ market position thanks to the insane value it offers for the asking price, especially for a Galaxy smartphone. And as I use the Galaxy S20 FE more and more, I feel there is a phone in Samsung’s own lineup that is absolutely destroyed by the company’s new ‘affordable’ flagship, and that’s the Galaxy S20+.

When the Galaxy S20 series first launched, we found the Galaxy S20+ to be a more attractive proposition compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra for the majority of customers. While it doesn’t have crazy 100x ‘Space Zoom’ like the Galaxy S20 Ultra or a big 5,000 mAh battery, it has just the right ingredients that make it a solid phone that will give most people no reason to complain nor leave them wanting more.

In fact, the Galaxy S20+ was the most sensible flagship option in Samsung’s kitty until it launched the Galaxy S20 FE this month, and now, I think the company may as well pull the Galaxy S20+ — and the Galaxy S20 — from retail shelves. That’s because the Galaxy S20 FE, despite a considerably lower price tag, isn’t lacking anything substantial enough that you would want to spend an additional $300-$400 on a Galaxy S20 or Galaxy S20+.

Unless you want the S20 Ultra, the Galaxy S20 FE is the best option

The S20 FE has a screen size that sits right between that of the Galaxy S20 and S20+, and you get the same smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The bezels are a little too big, but they aren’t something that will concern when you take the money you’re saving into account (no pun intended). For taking photos, the S20 FE has the same main camera as its non-Ultra siblings and a zoom camera that’s better once you move past 10x magnification in terms of sharpness and detail.

Except for slightly lower RAM on the base variant, performance on all three phones is identical because they all share the same Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets. But the S20 FE has the advantage of being powered by the more efficient Snapdragon 865 on the 5G model in all markets where the 5G model is being sold instead of forcing the inferior Exynos 990 down your throat.

The software package on the S20 FE is similarly unchanged, with none of the features (such as wireless DeX) cut out and with three years of updates guaranteed. Ditto for battery capacity. Both the Galaxy S20 FE and the Galaxy S20+ have a 4,500 mAh battery with 25W super fast charging support, and the S20 FE actually lasts longer in our testing on both the Exynos and Snapdragon models.

Of course, there have been some compromises made to reach the Galaxy S20 FE’s $699/€749 price tag. It’s got a plastic back, its display isn’t as bright and doesn’t feature HDR10+ certification, there’s no 8K video recording, and Samsung isn’t shipping it with a 25W charger or earphones in the box. There are also the complaints about touchscreen issues on the phone, issues that the one and only software update released for it hasn’t fixed on our affected unit.

If the touchscreen problems are hardware-based, then Samsung will likely replace all affected units under warranty, so I don’t think it should be held against just how good of an offering the Galaxy S20 FE is. And how it makes both the Galaxy S20 or Galaxy S20+ so unnecessary. That’s not to say anyone who owns either device should feel bad about their purchase, but if you’re in the market for a new smartphone right now and aren’t interested in the Galaxy S20 Ultra (or the Note 20 Ultra), I’d suggest getting the Galaxy S20 FE and saving yourself a boatload of cash in the process.

Galaxy S20 FE review

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Samsung and UNDP advance Global Goals with new Generation17 initiative

Samsung Electronics and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have advanced their partnership to create a new initiative for promoting Global Goals, called Generation17. The initiative is meant to empower young leaders to inspire communities to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our lifetimes.

More importantly, Samsung and UNDP hope that the initiative will help accelerate the progress of the 17 Global Goals that will hopefully be achieved by 2030. This year, Generation17 is led by four young leaders from Argentina, Bangladesh, Mali, and Zimbabwe.

• Máximo Mazzocco from Argentina is the founder of a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable development, called Eco House.
• Shomy Chowdhury from Bangladesh is a water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activist looking to provide access to clean water and sanitation for all.
• Sadya Touré from Mali is the founder of Mali Musso, an organization meant to empower women to destigmatize gender-based violence through education.
• Tafara Makaza from Zimbabwe is a student of astrophysics with various startups under his belt in areas of transportation, energy, education, and agriculture solutions.

Samsung and UNDP believe that Millennials and Gen Z wield incredible influence in catalyzing change as tech-savvy global citizens in an unprecedently borderless world. Korea’s tech giant and UNDP will support the young leaders broaden their reach and strengthen their organizations through mentorship, networking opportunities, and Galaxy devices. You can check the official landing page to read more about the leaders and Generation17.

Of course, Samsung Global Goals is available on every Galaxy smartphone and anyone can choose to support the cause. UNDP first launched the Global Goals initiative in 2015 and Samsung launched its Global Goals app last year along with the Galaxy Note 10 series. The initiative aims to achieve all 17 goals by 2030. They tackle issues such as climate change, peace and justice, responsible consumption and production, poverty, health and wellbeing, gender equality, clean water and more.

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Galaxy Xcover Pro confirmed to launch in Brazil at a limited-time discount

Samsung’s robust Galaxy XCover Pro will go on sale in Brazil by the end of the month, confirmed the company today. The rugged smartphone will be available at an introductory promotional price during its first month on the market and prospective buyers in Brazil will have the option of buying the Galaxy XCover Pro exclusively online starting October 27. Samsung will begin selling the device in physical retail stores in early November.

The Galaxy XCover Pro will be available at a discount in the first month of availability, with customers looking at a limited-time price tag of 2,799 Brazilian Real ($501). Customers buying the Galaxy XCover Pro after the promotional period ends will have to pay the full price of 3,199 Real ($573).

Equipped to face challenging environments

The Galaxy XCover Pro is designed primarily for customers who require a smartphone in harsh environments. It’s MIL-STD 810G-certified so it can withstand accidental drops from heights of up to 1.5 meters, and it boasts an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Furthermore, because the Galaxy XCover Pro was designed for people who might not have easy access to a power outlet or a rugged power bank, the phone is equipped with a user-removable battery. This is an unusual characteristic in Samsung’s smartphone lineup today, but a removable battery allows customers to carry additional, fully-charged batteries (sold separately) and keep the phone running for as long as they need to.

The phone has a sturdy, rubbery exterior design and it features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as two programmable physical buttons that can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Teams’ walkie talkie feature.

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Mystic Blue Galaxy Buds Live and exclusive deals will launch in Europe soon

The Mystic Blue Galaxy Buds Live will soon be available across Europe. The color option was released in the USA earlier this week but customers in Europe will also have the opportunity to buy the Mystic Blue Galaxy Buds Live beginning October 26.

More specifically, Samsung is preparing to host Samsung Week from October 26 to November 1. This is a new Europe-wide promotion that will give fans of the brand access to various exclusive deals across Samsung’s product portfolio for one week.

Samsung hasn’t revealed any other upcoming deals but you can expect lower prices on select smartphones, tablets, wearables, TVs, and home appliances for a limited time. In fact, the promotional image for Samsung Week suggests that customers will be able to buy the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 at discounted prices. We’ll keep you up to speed as soon as we learn more about these upcoming deals so stay tuned.

Mystic  Blue Galaxy Buds Live coming to Europe with no word of Mystic Red

The Galaxy Buds Live earbuds were released in the majority of countries across Europe in three color options including Mystic Black, Mystic White, and the iconic Mystic Bronze that represents the entire product lineup unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2020.

Mystic Blue will be the fourth color option for the Galaxy Buds Live in Europe, however, there’s no mention of the Mystic Red variant coming to the Old Continent. The Mystic Red Galaxy Buds Live went live in the USA this week along with the Mystic Blue flavor, but the company doesn’t seem to have any plans for this color option and the Europe-centric Samsung Week event. Should this change, we’ll keep you posted.

The Galaxy Buds Live are the same regardless of color option so if you haven’t already bought a pair and you’re considering doing so during Samsung Week, you can check our original review to learn all there is to know about Samsung’s oddly shaped ANC-enabled earbuds.

Galaxy Buds Live review

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Samsung forgets Exynos in its latest bid to promote the Galaxy S20 FE

Samsung has described the Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) as a product that contains only those features that real users value in its latest unboxing advertisement campaign. In other words, it’s a phone designed for fans – reason why it’s called the Fan Edition – and according to Samsung, the Galaxy S20 FE meets the fans’ expectations in four main areas: design, display, cameras, and performance.

As you would expect, the company highlights the rich color palette offered by the Galaxy S20 FE as one of its main selling points, though oddly enough, it omits the Cloud Orange flavor and lists only five color options out of six. But another, more important detail omitted by Samsung in its latest advertisement campaign is the Exynos 990 chipset.

The company claims that the Galaxy S20 FE provides a seamless, smooth and powerful experience, thanks in no small part to its […] Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. It makes no mention of the variant powered by its own Exynos solution developed in house, despite the fact that the 5G/Snapdragon variant is not available in every market.

Samsung is ready to forget all about the Exynos 990

It’s worth noting that the recent unboxing promotional campaign is not meant for a specific market but for the global scene, so availability is not the reason why the Exynos 990 chipset was completely ignored in Samsung’s latest press release.

Furthermore, the Snapdragon 865-powered Galaxy S20 FE variant is not exclusive to a couple of markets like the USA and South Korea. Instead, both the 4G/Exynos and 5G/Snapdragon variants are being sold in parallel in most markets. Most, but not all, and this is why omitting the Exynos SoC solution looks like a bad move on Samsung’s part.

The company is technically promoting the Snapdragon variant for the global market and describes it as the smartphone to get if you’re a fan of the brand, but it doesn’t mention anything about the 5G/Snapdragon model missing in some countries such as India, Turkey, and others.

It almost looks as if Samsung doesn’t even want to acknowledge the Exynos-powered Galaxy S20 FE variant, and that’s saying something given that the Exynos 990 was developed in house by Samsung’s chipset division. In theory, Samsung should have plenty of reasons to promote the Exynos 990 variant over the Snapdragon one, but the reality is that the latter chipset is simply better than the former solution and Samsung is silently admitting it.

Is the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S20 FE available in your market or are you stuck with the Exynos model? Let us know in the comment section below.

Galaxy S20 FE review

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Samsung becomes the 5th most valuable global brand in the COVID-19 era

Samsung has been in the Best Global Brands top 10 list since 2012 when the company climbed up to 9th place from 17th over the course of one year. Samsung continued to win ground over the years and climbed up to 8th place in 2013. The company made the jump to 7th place in 2014 and it secured 6th place in 2017, 2018, and 2019. This year the company won another spot and it finally made the list of top 5 Best Global Brands.

Despite the challenging faced by the company in the current economic climate, Samsung managed to increase its brand value in 2020 by 2%, according to global brand consulting company Interbrand. The Samsung brand was valued at $62.3 billion this year, up from $61.1 billion in 2019. This is the first time for the Korean tech giant to make it in the top 5 list of Best Global Brands, and because the company has been in a constant upwards trajectory, it probably won’t give up its spot anytime soon.

How did Samsung increase its brand value in the COVID-19 era?

COVID-19 and the lockdowns that followed have left a noticeable mark on the mobile market, with global smartphone sales dropping drastically and with Samsung and other OEMs focusing on the mid-range market to make up for lost sales in the flagship segment.

Nevertheless, Samsung was able to increase its brand value precisely because it responded rapidly to the COVID-19 threat. The company donated millions of dollars to support the fight against the virus in various countries and ran numerous campaigns to improve its customer services during lockdowns. The company also launched various education programs for the study/work from home era, such as Solve for Tomorrow, Smart School, and Innovation Campus.

Aside from these efforts, the company’s brand value increased thanks to company-wide activities designed to promote sustainable development. Samsung company was also praised for its consistent investment in advanced technologies including 5G, AI, and IoT.

Last but not least, Samsung improved the value of its brand with the release of innovative products such as The Terrace TV designed for outdoor viewing, and the Galaxy Fold series. These products are unique and have helped Samsung increase its market visibility even in the eyes of consumers who might not be a part of the Galaxy ecosystem.

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Is Samsung’s latest phone design idea ridiculous or genius?

Have you ever wished your seesaw swing could phone home? No? How about one that rocks an integrated surround system to blast that SpongeBob SquarePants theme till early morning? Samsung’s latest smartphone design idea is somehow all of those things, and then some. It’s also so brazenly different that it’s really, really hard to envision it as a commercial product. The device illustrated herein was first detailed in an IP filing with the World Intellectual Property Organization back in February. And as of last Thursday, it’s officially part of Samsung’s patented design portfolio.

If you’re not sure whether your eyes are deceiving you, yes, it’s literally a smartphone swinging inside its metal frame. Besides being quite an extraordinary sight, this curious mechanism even has a practical purpose – exposing a wider array of stereo speakers, according to Samsung’s patent documentation.

A design so brazen you can hear it

Furthermore, thanks to efforts from LetsGoDigital’s talented designer Giuseppe Spinelli, there’s no need to imagine how such a curious gadget might look in practice. Once tilted inside its frame, the concept is meant to operate like a pocket resonance chamber of sorts, Samsung explained. Oh, and the screen itself is somewhat flexible, albeit not fully foldable, so as to enhance the resonance effect.

Genius? Ridiculous? Arguably a bit of both, but hardly much more extravagant than the very real, very foldable smartphones Samsung has been putting out for a while now. How do you like this particular idea, though? Think it could work as a mainstream product, or would it be destined to forever be labeled a gimmick?

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Select Samsung smartphones now work with Verizon’s 5G network

5G networks have slowly started rolling out worldwide. All three major carriers in the US—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—claim that they have started rolling out nationwide 5G networks. Now, Verizon’s “Nationwide 5G” network has started becoming available on select Samsung smartphones.

The Galaxy A51 5G UW, Galaxy A71 5G UW, Galaxy Note 20 5G, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, Galaxy S20 5G UW, Galaxy S20+ 5G, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G can now use Verizon’s low-band 5G network in the US. Although these devices have supported 5G networks from the start, they needed software updates to get access to Verizon’s 5G network. Most of the smartphones mentioned here have now started receiving the required software updates with September 2020 security patch.

Right now, all of Verizon’s monthly and prepaid plans come with access to its 5G network. So, if you have any of the devices mentioned above, you can start using 5G on it after installing the latest update. However, 5G networks don’t automatically mean faster download and upload speeds. Depending on your location, you might experience speeds slower than typical 4G networks. Phones might also consume more power while using 5G networks, so battery life could be shorter.

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Apple’s MagSafe wireless charger works with the Galaxy Z Fold 2

A few days ago, Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 series and a new wireless charging accessory called MagSafe. It magnetically attaches to an iPhone (iPhone 8 and 8 Plus onwards) and charges them wirelessly with up to 15W of power. Now, it appears that the accessory is compatible with Samsung’s newest foldable smartphone.

According to Android Police’s Max Weinbach, Apple’s $39 MagSafe charger works with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Technically, it should charge any Qi-compatible device, but since most smartphones lack magnets on the rear, the accessory won’t attach and line up as it would on iPhones. However, due to the magnets inside the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the MagSafe charger attaches to the phone magnetically and charges it.

The magnets inside Samsung’s phone aren’t as strong as they are on the iPhones, though, as they’re actually placed in the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s hinge and the side to make sure that it closes and folds properly. So, don’t try hanging your Galaxy Z Fold 2 by the MagSafe charger as the phone might fall and break.

It doesn’t look like the MagSafe charger would wirelessly fast charge the Galaxy Z Fold 2 (or any other non-iPhone device) at 15W. It might default to just 5W or 7.5W. Recently, Samsung launched its AirPower-like wireless Qi wireless charger that can charge two smartphones and one Galaxy Watch simultaneously. The South Korean firm also trolled Apple for not bundling a charging adapter with the new iPhones.

MagSafe magnetically connects and charges the Fold2 lol pic.twitter.com/sQ0L9pk4kN

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) October 19, 2020

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