Samsung Free UI design and features revealed in video

Samsung is replacing Samsung Daily with a new feature called Samsung Free. The news feed still remains on the leftmost homescreen of Galaxy smartphones, and it has started rolling out to some users. In a notice related to the discontinuation of Samsung Daily, the company had mentioned that it would bring a redesigned and easy-to-use experience with its new feed.

A new video published on Twitter shows how Samsung Free looks and feels. The UI is now divided into three tabs: Watch, Read, and Play. The Watch section is populated with video streams from the company’s linear TV service Samsung TV+, while the Play section has a list of short games that can be played instantly. The Read section can be used to read news from various sources, and it has various filters such as entertainment, health, news, politics, tech news, and world news.

Samsung had partnered with various service and content providers, including Flipboard, Giphy, Netflix, TheScore, and Twitter, for Samsung Daily. However, we are not sure if those partnerships would continue with Samsung Free. Moreover, people appear to be divided over whether Samsung Free looks better than Samsung Daily, but at least the new feed looks easier to scroll and use.

What are your thoughts on Samsung Free? Let us know in the comments section below.

pic.twitter.com/AFleKLlQA2

— Rydah | Samsung Daddy (@SamsungRydah) November 4, 2020

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Galaxy S20 FE gets a 256GB storage variant in the US

Launching the Galaxy S20 FE at a price point of $699 was an excellent move from Samsung, and it allowed the company to compete with the Pixel 5 and the iPhone 12 mini. The Galaxy S20 FE was only available in a 128GB storage variant, though. Two days ago, a 256GB version of the Galaxy S20 FE was introduced in Brazil, and the company is now bringing it to the US.

Starting today, you can buy a 256GB variant of the Galaxy S20 FE in the US. It is priced at $769, which is just $70 higher than the price of the 128GB variant of the phone. For now, the device is available directly through Samsung’s online store in the carrier and unlocked versions, but it will also be available via select carriers and retailers in the near future. There’s one catch, though: it is only available in the Cloud Navy color right now.

If you buy the Galaxy S20 FE 256GB in the US today, it will ship by November 9. Samsung is also offering a trade-in program, where you can get as much as $450 in credit. There’s also an interest-free financing option directly from Samsung. The company is also selling a Samsung Care+ plan for comprehensive coverage of the device.

• Buy Galaxy S20 FE 256GB from Samsung

Galaxy S20 FE Review

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Exclusive: Next high-end Galaxy M series phone could be the Galaxy M62

We’ve learned through our sources that Samsung is planning to expand the Galaxy M series next year with the addition of a new model that could hit the shelves bearing the Galaxy M62 moniker. Once it goes on sale, it should become the most powerful Galaxy M smartphone to ever come out of Samsung’s factories.

To be precise, we’re not entirely certain of the Galaxy M62 moniker but our sources tell us that this upcoming Galaxy M device carries model number SM-M625F. Therefore, it would make sense for it to be known as the Galaxy M62 publicly, not only due to the model number itself but also because of Samsung’s history with the Galaxy M series over the past couple of years.

The company’s most powerful Galaxy M smartphone in 2019 was the Galaxy M40, which was followed by the Galaxy M51 in 2020. Naming the next device in the series the Galaxy M62 seems logical, perhaps more so than some of Samsung’s other naming conventions.

The Galaxy M62 should come with a whopping 256GB of storage

Although there’s not a lot of information to go by regarding the Galaxy M62’s internal hardware, we were able to learn from our sources that the device will feature 256GB of storage. We’re unsure if 256GB will be the only storage option or the most expensive one, but either way, this is the most built-in storage that’s ever been available on a Galaxy M smartphone.

This year, the company’s Galaxy M series pushed the boundaries of battery capacity, particularly with the Galaxy M51 and its monstrous 7,000mAh unit. The Galaxy M62 could have a similar battery configuration all the while elevating the Galaxy M lineup to a new level of storage. Samsung has already brought 256GB of storage to a lower price point with the Galaxy S20 FE so perhaps the company will adopt a similar strategy with some of its budget-oriented Galaxy models next year.

Are you a Galaxy M smartphone enthusiast and do you own the Galaxy M40 or the Galaxy M51? What are your expectations from the so-called Galaxy M62, and are there any particular areas that you would like Samsung to focus on improving with the 2021 lineup? Leave a comment below and stay tuned for more details.

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Samsung India’s festive sales increase YoY but fall short of expectations

Samsung’s strategy to win over customers in India with great discounts during the festive season has worked out; perhaps not to the extent that the company had hoped, but Samsung India did record a significant year-on-year (YoY) sales increase during the 2020 festive season across all product segments, revealed Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President for Consumer Electronics at Samsung India.

Samsung Grand Diwali Fest began on October 28 and ended on November 3. During these seven days of festive deals, customers in India have had the opportunity to buy a wide variety of Samsung products at discounted prices, with some discounts shaving as much as 60% off the full retail price. Samsung’s goal was to increase sales figures and welcome new customers to the ecosystem.

Samsung almost achieved a 40% YoY sales increase. Almost…

Grand Diwali Fest gained traction from the very first day and according to a previous report, Samsung was aiming for a 40% year-on-year increase during the festive season compared to 2019. It turns out that Samsung may have aimed a little bit higher as sales have increased by ‘just’ 32% year-on-year, but this still is a success story especially after the April-June period when demand for consumer electronics in India dropped by 23.9% due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

As many consumers are stuck at home without ways to venture out for entertainment, they are more inclined to make purchases online, said Pullan, adding that sales for large-capacity refrigerators have also increased on account of people wanting to spend less time out shopping for groceries. Interestingly, Raju Pullan claims that the value of sales in larger cities like Mumbai and Delhi was overall higher than everywhere else, but even so, smaller cities saw the highest sales growth during the festive season.

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Tired of waiting, Samsung Display throws numbers at India OLED factory

Even if that old saying about patience being a virtue was true, no piece of folk wisdom really tackles the merits of staying true to a deliberate business strategy amid something as unpredictable as a global pandemic. Maybe Samsung comes up with one such adage once all this coronavirus craziness is over, but for the time being, the South Korean giant decided to seize some extra agency in an effort to deal with one of its stagnating construction projects.

The issue at hand is a new OLED panel factory that Samsung Display has been building in Noida since early this year. And as some of you might recall, “early this year” turned out to be a pretty bad time to start developing anything besides an acute case of agoraphobia. Least of all a mobile display module factory valued at half a billion U.S. dollars.

Samsung’s Noida project is a textbook example of how time equals money

What’s done is done, however, and Samsung still has an OLED plant that it needs to have up and running faster than you can say “government subsidies and other incentives for local manufacturers.” But amid the lockdowns affecting the Gautam Buddh Nagar district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Samsung’s project hasn’t really been making tremendous progress.

So, the longer Samsung takes to get this smartphone screen factory up and running, the more money it loses. At least that’s how any management with some clue of what they are doing would perceive the issue. Especially since the aforementioned investment figure was already greenlit, so Samsung Display’s leadership also has $500 million worth of opportunity costs to answer for.

This is why it has now decided to send some hundred more employees to Noida in an effort to get the project back on track. The group will depart Saturday, undergo COVID-19 testing in New Delhi and proceed to the construction site after a safety quarantine period. Samsung is still hoping to have the plant operational by mid-2021.

The factory should allow it to not just reduce the cost of smartphones it sells locally, but also improve its logistical flexibility to the point that it can iterate more frequently and put out consumer goods even faster. In other words, the Noida plant is likely to eventually pave the way for even more Galaxy smartphones and tablets with a wide array of India-specific selling points being released on a regular basis.

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Samsung is pushing rebranding to ridiculous levels with new Galaxy M21s

Samsung has just released a new budget-friendly Galaxy M smartphone model in Brazil, and by ‘new,’ we mean an existing device that went through a rebranding phase. And not just any device but the Galaxy F41, which is a rebranded smartphone in itself. In other words that will hopefully paint a clearer picture, the new Galaxy M21s that was released in Brazil today is a renamed Galaxy F41, and there’s no mystery that the Galaxy F41 is a rebadged Galaxy M31 with a couple of missing features.

There is one key difference between the Galaxy M21s and the Galaxy F41, and it consists of different memory configurations. The Galaxy F41 was released with 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of built-in storage whereas the ‘new’ Galaxy M21s is available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Other specs pertaining to the Galaxy M21s include a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with a resolution of 2340 by 1080, an Exynos 9611 chipset, and a 6,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging. The back of the phone accommodates a triple camera setup comprising a 64MP main shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 5MP depth camera. The phone also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and it measures 159.2 x 75.1 x 8.9mm while weighing 191 grams.

The Galaxy M21s is now available online at Samsung Brazil in two color options, black and blue, for 1,529 Brazilian Real ($275).

The Galaxy M51 is now available in Brazil as a more powerful option

If you’re looking for a more powerful Galaxy M smartphone in Brazil then the Galaxy M51 should be your next stop. It was released in Brazil today along with the Galaxy M21s but it features better specs and a higher price to match.

As explained in our Galaxy M51 review, the phone is quite similar to the Galaxy A71 but it has a monstrous 7,000mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging. The device carries a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a resolution of 2400 by 1080 and it’s powered by the Snapdragon 730 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

The phone has a quad-camera setup consisting of a 64MP main unit, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 5MP macro lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. The device has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and it’s available in Brazil in black and white for the price of 2,609 Real ($470).

• Buy the Galaxy M21s at Samsung Brazil
• Buy the Galaxy M51 at Samsung Brazil

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Disney Plus will soon be available on Samsung smart TVs in Latin America

It’s been nearly a year since Disney Plus (Disney+) debuted on Samsung’s smart TV range in North America and Europe, and now Samsung is getting ready to make the streaming service available to smart TVs in Latin America. The company confirmed today that Disney Plus will be available in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. The launch dates will differ for each region and Samsung hasn’t reveal any exact release details except for Brazil.

Disney Plus will be available in Brazil from November 17 and we’re guessing that the streaming platform should be released in other Latin American countries by the end of 2020 or early next year. Exact dates are unknown but the official announcement suggests that the release of Disney Plus in Latin America will be staged, with some countries gaining access earlier than others.

Beginning November 17, Samsung smart TV owners in Brazil will be able to download Disney Plus and sign up to the subscription service. The platform offers access to shows and movies with popular titles including Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, and Star Wars. Disney Plus is compatible with Tizen-powered Samsung smart TVs released in 2016 and later. You can read our detailed guide on how to get Disney Plus working on your modern, or even older TV.

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Samsung One goes live in the UK as the ultimate business partner toolset

Samsung UK has launched a new business partner program designed to arm its business retail partners with new tools, training, product information, news, incentives and rewards. Called Samsung One, the program aims to make it easier and faster for Samsung’s partners to connect with and provide services to their own customers.

The new Samsung One platform is available now for business partners in the UK and it comprises five key elements: Commercial, Mobile App, B2B Training, Champion Programme, and Incentives. The Commercial dashboard details partner sales data and analysis, whereas the Mobile App is the place where salespeople can access tools as well as real-time insights and information when speaking to potential customers.

The Champion Programme consists of a community where knowledge, advice, and tips can be shared by partners. And through Incentives, Samsung will be rewarding partners who reach certain targets and have the best practices.

Samsung One has four certification levels for salespeople

Samsung One is also designed to certify Samsung’s business partners according to how successful they are in reaching their targets. The program includes four certification levels: Registered, Authorized, Advanced, and Elite. According to the company, these tiers have been created to ensure that every business partner receives the bespoke necessary tools to achieve their goals.

In addition, Samsung is offering a series of B2B training modules covering various Samsung technologies and topics such as: Why Samsung for Business, Devices, Ecosystem, Enterprise Edition, Rugged Range, Samsung Knows, and Solutions & Partners. The B2B training material is available on the web and through the Android / iOS mobile app.

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Samsung’s popular Galaxy M31 is getting the One UI 2.5 firmware update

Another one of Samsung’s budget oriented smartphones, the Galaxy M31, is now receiving a major firmware update after the Galaxy M21 did the same yesterday. The latest update introduces One UI 2.5 which is essentially the most recent version outside the One UI 3.0 beta program. And as expected, the One UI 2.5 firmware update for the Galaxy M31 is accompanied by the latest security patch for November 2020.

The latest update for the Galaxy M31 carries build number M315FXXU2ATJ9. Samsung is distributing it only in India at present but other markets should follow suit. The update’s debut in India makes sense considering the fact that the Galaxy M31 has a very large following in the country. It was one of Samsung India’s most successful smartphones of the year.

Improved Samsung Keyboard and new Messages functionality

One UI 2.5 is a fairly noticeable step up from the previous version of One UI and it introduces a number of new features and changes, such as new Samsung Keyboard functionalities including Split Keyboard support in landscape mode. In addition, Messages now has an SOS location-sharing option that lets users send automatic SOS messages every 30 minutes for 24 hours.

The changelog also mentions improvements to Camera, and of course, the update will allow Galaxy M31 owners to use Android 10 navigation gestures in third-party app launchers. Meanwhile, the November 2020 security patch included with the One UI 2.5 firmware update for the Galaxy M31 doesn’t change the user experience in any noticeable ways but it addresses numerous vulnerabilities affecting both Android OS and Samsung’s own software.

You can now download the One UI 2.5 update for the Galaxy M31 in India by opening Settings on the phone, navigating to Software update and tapping Download and install. Alternatively, you can skip this process by referring to our firmware archive to download and install the update using a PC.

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Leaked Snapdragon 875 specs bring good news for the Exynos 2100

We’ll be seeing the new chipsets that will power 2021’s flagships being unveiled in the near future. Some Snapdragon 875 specs have now surfaced online and it brings good news for the Exynos 2100. That’s what we expect Samsung to call its Snapdragon 875 counterpart.

Samsung is going to maintain the Exynos and Snapdragon split for its Galaxy S21 series next year. However, its next Exynos chip is going to be much different than its predecessors. It won’t have a custom Mongoose core and that will help bridge the performance gap. If the early Snapdragon 875 specs are any indication, the Exynos 2100 will be a beast as well.

Snapdragon 875 specs drop hints about the Exynos 2100

Earlier reports have suggested that both next-gen Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets will have a 1 + 3 + 4 tri-cluster configuration. ARM’s X1 will be the prime core that provides maximum performance. It will be coupled with three Cortex-A78 high-performance core and four Cortex-A55 efficiency cores.

The leak reiterates a tri-cluster configuration for the Snapdragon 875. Diving into the specifics, it mentions that the X1 core will be clocked at 2.84GHz, the three Cortex-A78 cores at 2.42GHz and the four Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz. The chipset will be built on the 5nm process and reports suggest that Samsung will be making it for Qualcomm.

It may very well be a similar arrangement for the Exynos 2100. ARM claims that the X1 is 23 percent faster than the new Cortex-A78 cores which themselves provide a 30 percent higher peak performance compared to the existing Cortex-A77 cores.

We should expect to see benchmarks surface in the coming weeks but as it stands, there’s hope that customers who get the Exynos variants may not feel that they got the short end of the stick.

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Galaxy Fold November 2020 security update rollout begins

The latest Android security patch level for the original Galaxy Fold, the one dated November 1st, 2020, started rolling out globally several hours ago, having already reached multiple countries across Europe. Designated as version F900FXXS4CTJ4, the over-the-air release targets international Galaxy Fold variants, i.e. SM-F900F models, hence the start of that software build identifier.

Samsung began deploying the OTA release just yesterday, with Bulgaria being the first confirmed country to receive it. Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Nordic countries followed immediately thereafter. As did the Netherlands, France, Greece, and Spain, in that order, all before midnight CET. Given the extent of this initial release wave, it would appear the rollout is very much global in nature.

Reading between the changelog lines

The release of the November 2020 security update for the Galaxy Fold isn’t a particularly consequential affair by itself, especially seeing how there’s nothing else on board of this particular firmware package. But it is a great opportunity to see some firsthand evidence of how small of a niche Samsung’s first foldable smartphone actually filled.

You see, monthly updates for Samsung’s Android smartphones tend to arrive in a much more deliberate, gradual fashion than what is the case here. Take yesterday’s arrival of this very same security patch level to the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, for example. That one will probably take weeks to achieve the level of coverage the Galaxy Fold reached in under 24 hours. But that’s because the Galaxy Note 10 Lite actually sold in meaningful numbers, a more aggressive OTA release strategy poses a legitimate network congestion risk in some markets.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s first foldable smartphone even struggled to clear seven digits after almost a year on the market, according to the company’s own disclosures. While this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is well-positioned to do much better, both are still in the rounding-error territory for an industry leader the size of Samsung.

Anyway, the full system images containing the November 2020 security update for the Galaxy Fold can already be downloaded from our reliable firmware archives. You know, just in case this absolute top level of OTA release urgency isn’t good enough for you and you want to see your foldable companion running the latest security patches immediately.

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Samsung confirms early Galaxy S21 launch in the most roundabout way there is

Samsung today pretty much confirmed the rumored changes to its annual flagship release calendar. As much as something like that was even possible without actually name-dropping the Galaxy S21, of course. The company’s roundabout acknowledgment of multiple recent reports — including our own — claiming the Galaxy S21 series will be announced in January is hence the final piece of evidence anyone should need that this is indeed happening.

Because much like a quick search through our news archives would tell you, Samsung is not one of those businesses that go out of their way not to comment on rumors. Quite the contrary, in fact. Since it must have taken a lot of effort to comment on the aforementioned reports with any substance, but again, without fully leaning into them. Yet that’s precisely what one company official did earlier today in response to a query from a South Korean outlet.

An odd year or a new beginning for the Galaxy S series?

More specifically, when questioned about the veracity of the reports suggesting the Galaxy S21 family will be announced in January, a Samsung spokesperson said the constantly shifting market landscape means none of its established product traditions are ever safe. Not even those that are nowadays a more reliable herald of spring than bird migration trends, such as the widely known fact that February is when Samsung announces the new generation of its Galaxy S flagships.

As things stand right now, it is quite possible that the next Unpacked event marks the beginning of a new tradition – one that sees Samsung revisit its flagship smartphone series every January instead of February. If and when things return to normal in the sense that large gatherings of people are once again safe and widely practiced industry-wide, this would mean future additions to the Galaxy S range would move closer to Las Vegas-based CES than Barcelona-hosted MWC.

But it’s not like Samsung is likely to settle for an event that’s not all about… well, Samsung, when it comes to its most successful smartphone family ever. After all, that’s kind of the main reason why it started doing its now-signature Unpacked shows.

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