Samsung shuts down its research lab after case of COVID-19 infection

Samsung said earlier today that it had to temporarily shut down one of its research centers due to a case of COVID-19 infection. The company has ordered all the employees who work at the research center to work from home until the end of this week to contain the virus’s spread. Even the company’s rival firm LG reported a positive case of coronavirus at its research center in Seoul.

A case of COVID-19 infection was found in its research center in Suwon, South Korea. One of the workers at the research center was tested positive for the deadly virus on Tuesday. The company said that it is following all the procedures to contain the virus, including getting everything sanitized and testing workers who were in contact with the infected employee. This is the second case of a COVID-19 infection at the Suwon research facility, and the first case was found five months ago.

Earlier, COVID-19 cases were found in Samsung’s research center in Seoul and manufacturing plants in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The South Korean tech giant was the first company to have a private COVID-19 testing lab at its plant. There was also a COVID-19 positive case at Samsung’s factory in Poland.

While Samsung had to shutter its offices, stores, and factories in various countries worldwide in Q2 and Q3 of this year, the company still came back strongly. It defeated Apple in smartphone sales in the US and Xiaomi in India. It reported the highest-ever quarterly earnings during Q3 2020, thanks to a boom in memory and storage chip sales, smartphones, and tablets.

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This infographic explains everything you can do with Samsung’s Smart Monitor

Samsung unveiled its first Smart Monitor two days ago. What is smart about it, and how is it different from other monitors from its lineup? Well, apart from acting as a monitor for your laptop or PC, it can also run Tizen-based smart TV apps, mirror your smartphone’s or computer’s screen wirelessly, let you create documents without a PC, and features an AI voice assistant.

The new monitor comes in two variants: M5 and M7. The M5 is available in 27-inch and 32-inch versions with Full HD resolution. The M7 has a 4K resolution and a 32-inch screen. Both monitors run Tizen, have two HDMI ports, 250 nits of peak brightness, HDR10+ video playback, and 10W stereo speakers.

Smart Monitor has Wi-Fi 5, AirPlay 2, Wireless DeX, Bluetooth 4.2, USB Type-C port

To explain all the features and use cases of its Smart Monitor, Samsung has published an infographic. The monitor features Wi-Fi 5 and Wireless DeX so that you can use your compatible Galaxy smartphone or tablet in desktop mode, and it works in both wired and wireless modes. You can even tap your smartphone to the monitor to instantly start mirroring your smartphone’s screen, be it apps, games, images, or videos.

The Smart Monitor features AirPlay 2, too, so even if you are an iPad, iPhone, or Mac user, you can cast audio, video, and the device’s screen contents to the monitor. The USB Type-C port on the monitor can be used to connect to compatible laptops, PCs, and smartphones. It also features USB PD to charge smartphones or laptops with up to 65W of power.

Stream music and videos using apps like Disney+, Netflix, YouTube

Since the Smart Monitor runs Tizen, it is compatible with all the smart apps and features that you usually see on Samsung’s smart TVs. You can install and run apps like Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube TV, and more to stream music and videos. The AI-based Adaptive Picture mode adjusts the monitor’s brightness and colors based on ambient light to offer the best possible picture quality. It even has built-in stereo speakers, so you don’t have to buy additional speakers.

Work remotely using Smart Monitor’s Remote Access, Office 365 features

You can use the bundled One Remote controller to navigate around the UI and operate the Smart Monitor. Thanks to its Remote Access and Office 365 features, you can stream your PC’s content even when you are working from home. You can even create, edit, and save Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files without a PC. It can be a great tool for remote learning, especially in these COVID-19 times when most schools are closed.

The monitor also features Bixby, Samsung’s AI-powered digital voice assistant, to get information from the web, know answers to questions, and launch apps with your voice. You can either use the S Health app or use services like YouTube to cast fitness videos and do workouts from your home using the Smart Monitor. You can view the infographic below.

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Spigen outs first single-piece Galaxy Z Fold 2 case with hinge protection

Case manufacturer Spigen has released the world’s first protective case for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that’s built from a single piece and covers the hinge. This is true at least as far as third-party cases go given that Samsung already offers a single-piece Leather Flip Cover case that covers the hinge, however, Spigen’s so-called Slim Armor Pro offers a much higher level of protection against drops.

The Spigen Slim Armor Pro case for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 offers dual-layered protection and supports Wireless PowerShare. The tough outer layer is resistant to impact while the inner soft layer offers extra shock-absorption for the phone’s internal components. But the most unique characteristic of the Spigen Slim Armor Pro case must be the hinge cover. It connects the two halves of the case together and it protects Samsung’s intricate mechanical hinge, albeit at the cost of covering its colorful design.

Another interesting characteristic of this case is that it closes the gap between the two halves of the phone when closed shut. This makes it more difficult for foreign objects to find their way in-between the two folding halves of the inner display, thus lowering the chances of damage.

Available in one color option for $89.99

Spigen has released the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Slim Armor Pro case in only one color option, black, and the case is available for $89.99. It’s $10 more expensive than the official Leather Cover but then again, it’s in a different class.

The Spigen Slim Armor Pro case not only offers better protection but it also has a fairly intricate hinge design which probably raised production costs. The case’s hinge has a mechanical component much like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 hinge itself, albeit not to the same level of complexity. You can refer to Spigen’s online store for more product details.

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You can save hundreds of dollars on Samsung flagships with new deals

The end of the year is drawing near and so are the countless deals and discounts that you can expect from major brands and retailers. It’s one of the best times of the year to be making a new investment in tech products, and if you’ve been looking for an opportunity to buy one of the new Galaxy Note 20 flagship models at a discount then Microsoft’s got you covered.

Microsoft is now selling the base Galaxy Note 20 model for a price closer to that of the Galaxy S20 FE. Whether you’d want to buy the Galaxy Note 20 over the Galaxy S20 FE is another matter, but if you’re in the market for the latest S Pen flagship then you can now acquire it unlocked from Microsoft for $749 instead of $999.

Meanwhile, the 128GB Galaxy Note 20 Ultra model costs $999 down from $1,299, whereas the top-tier 512GB model will set you back $1,149 instead of $1,449. Microsoft is also offering discounts on various accessories when bundling them with the new phone. Check the links below for more details.

Galaxy Note 20 review | Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review

• Buy the Galaxy Note 20 / Note 20 Ultra at Microsoft USA

Looking for a Galaxy S20+ instead? Check out this Amazon deal

Perhaps the Galaxy Note series isn’t your cup of tea and you’d rather own a device from the Galaxy S lineup. One that could preferably be purchased at a discount? Well, the factory unlocked Galaxy S20+ 5G with 128GB of storage is now offered by Amazon for 21% off.

This Galaxy S20+ 5G variant would usually set you back $1,199 but Amazon has dropped $250 off the full retail price and the phone is now available for $949. The offer applies to the Galaxy S20+ in Cosmic Black, Cosmic Gray, and Cloud Blue.

Galaxy S20+ review

• Buy the Galaxy S20+ at Amazon USA

Galaxy Note 20 5G

• Model: SM-N981U
• Dimensions: Bar: 161.6 x 75.2 x 8.3 mm
  
• Display: 6.7 inch / 170.18 mm Super AMOLED Plus
• CPU: Snapdragon 865+
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G

• Model: SM-N986U
• Dimensions: Bar: 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm
  
• Display: 6.9 inch / 175.26 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 865+
• Camera: 108MP

More specifications

Galaxy S20+ 5G

• Model: SM-G986U
• Dimensions: Bar: 161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8 mm
  
• Display: 6.7 inch / 170.18 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 865
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 series receive surprise firmware update

Samsung officially dropped support for the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 series more than two years ago. The two lineups have enjoyed a couple of Android OS updates and numerous security patches throughout their lifetime, but surprisingly enough, their legacy is not entirely over. In a totally unexpected move, Samsung is now rolling out a new firmware update for the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 series.

The rollout began in South Korea where the Galaxy Note 5 had received firmware version N920SKSS2DTJ2. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, and Galaxy S6 edge+ have also been updated with firmware versions G92xSKSS3ETJ1 and G928SKSS3DTJ3, respectively. But although this surprise firmware release took place in South Korea initially, the firmware package is now becoming available in numerous other regions including Europe and LATAM.

Obviously the latest firmware update doesn’t change the version of Android OS. The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 series continue to run Android 7.0 Nougat, and interestingly enough, they also retain the September 2018 security patch that was last released over two years ago. In other words, the latest firmware update claims to add security-related stabilization code but the security patch level remains unchanged.

The changelog is scarce so it remains unclear exactly why Samsung has decided to release this new firmware update for two flagship series that have been abandoned more than two years ago. Perhaps Samsung has found a vulnerability that affects the 2015 flagship models in particular and fixing it didn’t require much effort from the firmware team.

Do you still own a Galaxy Note 5 or a model from the Galaxy S6 lineup? How are these phones treating you in 2020? Have you already received the latest firmware update and have you noticed any changes after applying it? Let us know in the comment section, and as always, you can refer to our firmware archive and browse for your particular smartphone model if you’re looking to acquire the new updates with ease.

Galaxy Note 5

• Model: SM-N920F
• Dimensions: Bar: 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm
  
• Display: 5.7 inch / 144.78 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 7420
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

Galaxy S6

• Model: SM-G920F
• Dimensions: Bar: 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm
  
• Display: 5.1 inch / 129.54 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 7420
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

Galaxy S6 edge

• Model: SM-G925F
• Dimensions: Bar: 142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0 mm
  
• Display: 5.1 inch / 129.54 mm Dual Edge Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 7420
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

Galaxy S6 edge+

• Model: SM-G928F
• Dimensions: Bar: 154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9 mm
  
• Display: 5.7 inch / 144.78 mm Dual Edge Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 7420
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

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Latest update adds Galaxy A50s to the growing list of One UI 2.5 phones

Only four weeks have passed since Samsung brought One UI 2.5 to the Galaxy A51 and the company has now turned its attention to one of its older smartphone models that were cut from the same cloth, namely the Galaxy A50s. Samsung has just released the One UI 2.5 update carrying firmware version A507FNXXU5CTK3 for the Galaxy A50s in Vietnam.

One UI 2.5 is Samsung’s latest One UI version, or at least it’s the latest version that’s publicly available. One UI 3.0 is in the beta stages of development but it’s part of the Android 11 firmware update so it’s going to take a while before it will be available for the Galaxy A50s. Until then, Galaxy A50s owners can enjoy One UI 2.5 and all its new features such as Bitmoji functionality for Always On Display, an improved camera experience, new Samsung Keyboard features, SOS functionalities for Messages, Google’s navigation gestures for third-party apps and more.

November 2020 security patch is included

Samsung had released One UI 2.5 for the Galaxy A51 a few weeks ago together with the October 2020 security patch, and you’d think that the company would do the same for the older model. But because the Galaxy A50s is being updated one month after its successor, the phone is also enjoying the newer November 2020 security patch along with the new One UI 2.5 features.

From what we can tell the One UI 2.5 firmware update for the Galaxy A50s is presently available only in Vietnam, but as always, the rollout should expand to additional markets soon enough. You can download the latest firmware by tapping the update notification once it arrives or by opening Settings on the phone, navigating to Software update, and tapping Download and install.

Alternatively, you can always refer to our firmware archive where you can find the latest firmware updates for a wide variety of Galaxy devices. Head over to the Galaxy A50s firmware section for the model released in Vietnam, download the package, and install it on your phone using a Windows PC.

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Samsung is absolutely killing it with Android updates now

Samsung hasn’t always been the best at sending out Android updates for its devices. Those of us who have been using its mobile devices for a while now remember just how frustrating the wait would get. We’d see devices from other manufacturers being updated while our Galaxy phones and tablets kept running outdated software.

Those who owned unlocked units in the United States were particularly irritated by this. Mobile carriers in the United States have a lengthy process for sending out updates. So many would buy unlocked units in hopes of receiving updates faster. That didn’t really work.

There were quite a few instances where users with unlocked units had to wait even after all carrier-locked units had been updated. Samsung tried to explain why it took so long even to upgrade the unlocked devices but that didn’t really do much to make users understand.

Even in markets outside the United States, Samsung’s track record with updates left a lot to be desired. This became really evident ever since monthly security patches became a thing. It would often be weeks into a new month before a patch for the previous month would arrive.

One has to realize that managing updates is a tough task for the company. It releases dozens of models every year with different variants. Older models are also supported for security updates up to three years after they’re launched. There are literally hundreds of devices that need to be updated.

That’s aside from the fact that all Samsung phones were supported for Android OS updates up to two years. Sending out a major update for all eligible devices was a massive task in itself. That’s no excuse, though. Samsung’s customers expected it to be on top of things. It didn’t make sense that a company like Samsung wasn’t able to streamline the software update processes for its devices.

We wrote in November 2018 that Samsung needed to show some seriousness about the Android Pie update. Several manufacturers had already released the update while Samsung hadn’t even started the beta program. By then, we had also pointed out that Samsung had significantly improved the frequency of its security updates. It was a sign that Samsung was listening and perhaps things would get better eventually.

2019 was the first time we saw Samsung really address the concerns that many of us had for a long time. Security updates were sent out quickly across all markets. Unlocked device owners in the United States saw their wait times being reduced significantly. The Android 10 beta was launched sooner and made available to more devices.

For example, it took two months for the Android Pie update to be released for unlocked units after the update was first released to the public. On the other hand, unlocked Galaxy S9 owners got the Android 10 update this year in record time, even before some major carriers had released it. This was a major change from what we had previously been used to but certainly a very welcome change.

With One UI, the company has also improved the quality of its custom software. It developed One UI from the ground up to make it easier and simpler to use taller devices. Samsung was no longer stuffing its custom skin with features just for the heck if it. The user interface was cleaned up, made more intuitive and meaningful features were added.

Samsung has gone into overdrive for security updates this year. It’s common now to see the updates for the following month be sent out almost two weeks into the ongoing month. Even the latest One UI 3.0 beta builds its sending out come with the December 2020 patch. Users in all regions are also receiving these updates much faster than before.

The beta for the next major Android OS update was started sooner this year. Samsung opened up the One UI 3.0 Android 11 public beta in the first week of October. It had already seeded betas to developers a couple of months before. The One UI 3.0 beta is offered for even more devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

Samsung has also made a commitment to release One UI 3.0 for the Galaxy S20 series to the public before the end of December. Given how it’s sending out a couple of new beta builds almost every week there’s no reason to believe it won’t be able to meet that deadline. We can confidently expect most of its flagship and premium mid-range devices to get the One UI 3.0 update by early next year.

Let’s not forget another major commitment that Samsung has made this year. It will now be supporting select devices for three Android OS upgrades. Samsung is now among the very few Android manufacturers that provide this level of support for their devices. The company has done an excellent job by not limiting this just to flagships. Even the Galaxy A51 is on the list of Samsung devices that get three Android OS upgrades.

Customers will greatly benefit from this decision. They can hold on to their Samsung devices for longer, knowing that they will get access to the latest Android features for an additional year. With security updates already guaranteed for at least three years and being sent out diligently, Samsung has done exactly what it needed to do in order to make up for the shortcomings of the past.

This is something that Samsung fans can take great pride in. The company has made noticeable improvements here. These sincere efforts that it has made will go a long way in keeping customers loyal to its brand. It may not be entirely perfect and some users may still not be happy but we have to give credit where it’s due.

Samsung has come a long way since the days we waited for months just for the latest security patch. If this is any indication, we’ll only see Samsung going from strength to strength. That leaves me very hopeful for the future. I’d like nothing more than to see Samsung keep crushing it with updates.

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One UI 3.0 beta delayed for Galaxy S10 and more over high battery drain

Samsung suspended the One UI 3.0 open beta program for more than half a dozen of its 2019 and 2020 Galaxy flagships due to some rather alarming technical issues that came to light. More specifically, it would appear the current experimental builds of the company’s first mobile operating system based on Android 11 have a tendency to absolutely wreck the battery life of any poor device caught running them.

To be more specific, the issue was first reported by a number of Galaxy Note 10 owners participating in Samsung’s ongoing testing, but the manufacturer’s decision to indefinitely postpone every planned testing program shortly after reviewing the said claims seems to indicate these problems go beyond the 2019 stylus-equipped smartphone range. Unfortunately, all of this is happening just several days after the One UI 3.0 beta program finally started expanding to the Galaxy Note 10 lineup following much anticipation.

One UI 3.0 roadmap growing more suspect by the day

The affected devices whose One UI 3.0 betas were delayed or suspended as a result of this development include the entire Galaxy S10 family, both Galaxy Note 10-series devices, every iteration of the Galaxy Z Flip, and the Galaxy Z Fold 2. The decision on the indefinite delay was confirmed by a Samsung community manager on the company’s official product forums.

Apart from horrendously bad battery life, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ users running the recent One UI 3.0 beta build also complained about persistent app crashes, minor S Pen inconsistencies, and other such usual suspects commonly encountered while running experimental software. Overall, there’s not much to do at this point but keep our fingers crossed in hopes that Samsung gets to the bottom of these technical difficulties in a timely manner and promptly resumes the One UI 3.0 beta program, which wasn’t exactly on course to win any speedy deployment awards even before getting quarantined like this.

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Exynos 1080 vs Exynos 980 vs Exynos 990: Just how good is the 1080?

The Exynos 1080 was announced last week, and it is Samsung’s first 5nm mobile chipset. Usually, the South Korean tech giant debuts its latest fabrication process with its flagship processor, but this time the company decided to debut the 5nm process with its mid-range chipset. And this step alone could mean a drastic change in Samsung’s strategy. The Exynos 1080 could very well mark Samsung’s return to competitiveness in the mobile chipset game.

The Exynos 1080 brings various improvements over the Exynos 980 that was announced last year. The new SoC uses four Cortex-A78 CPU cores, four Cortex-A55 CPU cores, the Mali-G78 MP10 GPU, and an integrated NPU for AI processing.

Exynos 1080’s 5nm process & A78 cores mean huge CPU performance bump

Compared to just two high-performance Cortex-A77 CPU cores in the Exynos 980, the Exynos 1080 uses four high-performance cores, and ARM claims that Cortex-A78 cores offer 20% higher performance under sustained workloads. So, the Exynos 1080’s peak and sustained performance should be substantially higher than that of the Exynos 980.

Combining a newer architecture with the 5nm process, Samsung is claiming a performance improvement of 50% in single-core workloads and a 2x jump in multi-core performance. The Exynos 1080’s performance would most likely be even better than the Exynos 990 due to its newer architecture and slightly higher frequencies.

The Exynos 1080 also supports LPDDR5 RAM and ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage compared to Exynos 980’s support for older LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage.

Mali-G78 GPU theoretically features better performance, efficiency

Going by ARM’s claims, the Mali-G78 GPU has a 15% higher performance and 10% better power efficiency compared to the Mali-G77 GPU. Huawei’s Kirin 9000 chipset, which features the same Mali-G78 GPU, has shown promising performance in test results, beating the Snapdragon 865’s Adreno 650 GPU. However, Huawei uses a 24-core version of the Mali-G78, but the Exynos 1080 uses an 11-core configuration. So, we can only know its graphics performance after some real-life tests.

The GPU, combined with the new display driver, offers support for high refresh rate displays. It could mean that we can finally see mid-range Galaxy devices with high refresh rate screens. The Exynos 1080 supports QHD+ displays with a 90Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ displays with up to a whopping 144Hz refresh rate. That’s even better than the Exynos 990’s 120Hz refresh rate support. The Exynos 1080 lacks support for 4K screens, though, but do we really need 4K screens on smartphones? We don’t think so. This is where Samsung appears to have cut meaningful corners.

The new dedicated NPU and DSP inside the Exynos 1080 offer up to 5.7 tera operations per second (TOPS), but it’s not as good as the Exynos 990’s dual-core NPU.

First mid-range Exynos SoC to feature support for 200MP cameras, HDR10+ video recording

The Exynos 1080 is Samsung’s first mid-range processor to feature support for 200MP camera sensors. It supports up to six cameras and can obtain simultaneous image streams from two 32MP cameras. That’s even better than the Exynos 990’s ISP. Samsung has downgraded the Exynos 1080’s MFC, though, which can go only as high as 4K/60fps video recording and decoding. The Exynos 980 was capable of encoding and decoding up to 4K/120fps videos.

Samsung’s first chipset with an integrated modem that supports mmWave 5G

The Exynos 1080 comes with a fully-integrated modem that supports both sub-6GHz 5G and mmWave 5G, and can reach theoretical download and upload speeds of up to 3.67Gbps. In comparison, the Exynos 980 only supports sub-6GHz 5G and the Exynos 990 needs a separate modem to connect to 5G networks.

The Exynos 1080 also supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, BDS, Galileo, and GLONASS. The new chipset’s connectivity suite is better than any other Exynos chipset that Samsung has ever launched.

On paper, the Exynos 1080 looks like a huge upgrade over the Exynos 980 in almost all aspects, including CPU, GPU, AI, and memory performance. It’s ISP is better and its connectivity is faster. Thanks to its 5nm process, its power efficiency should be much better, too. It even supports up to 144Hz displays and has an integrated 5G modem. Except for the downgraded video encoding and decoding chops, Exynos 1080 is even better than the Exynos 990 processor.

The first smartphone to use the Exynos 1080 will be from Vivo, and its review should give us a better idea about its performance, power efficiency, and connectivity. Even Samsung’s own premium mid-range smartphones from the Galaxy A series are expected to use the Exynos 1080, and they could offer much better performance than the Exynos 980-equipped Galaxy A51 5G and Galaxy A71 5G.

	Exynos 1080	Exynos 980	Exynos 990
Process	5nm LPE EUV	8nm LPP	7nm LPP EUV
CPU	1x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.6GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2GHz	2x Cortex-A77 @ 2.2GHz 6x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz	2x Mongoose M5 @ 2.73GHz 2x Cortex-A76 @ 2.5GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2GHz
GPU	Mali-G78 MP10	Mali-G76 MP5	Mali-G77 MP11
Display	WQHD+ @ 90Hz Full HD+ @ 144Hz HDR10+	WQHD+ @ 60Hz	4K @ 60Hz QHD+ @ 120Hz HDR10+
AI Processor	NPU + DSP = 5.7 TOPS	NPU + DSP = ? TOPS	Dual-Core NPU + DSP = 15 TOPS
Memory	LPDDR5 LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X	LPDDR5
Storage	UFS 3.1	UFS 2.1, eMMC 5.1	UFS 3.0, UFS 2.1
Camera	Single: 200MP Dual: 32MP+32MP Up To 6 Cameras	Single: 108MP Dual: 20MP+20MP	Single: 108MP Dual: 24.8MP+24.8MP Up To 3 Cameras At Once Up To 6 Cameras
Video Capture	4K/60fps 10-Bit HDR10+	4K/120fps 10-Bit HDR10+	8K/30fps 4K/120fps Bokeh Mode HDR10+
Video Playback	Up To 4K/60fps 10-Bit HDR10+	4K/120fps 10-Bit HDR10+	8K/30fps 4K/120fps 10-Bit HDR10+
5G Modem	Integrated 5G Modem mmWave, sub-6GHz	Integrated 5G Modem sub-6GHz	Not Integrated (Needs Separate Exynos 5123 Modem)
GPS	BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS	BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS	BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.0

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Samsung has a $116 billion plan to not let TSMC get away

Samsung is already one of the largest chip makers in the world but that’s mostly due to its sheer dominance in the memory market. The company also operates a foundry business, in that it manufactures chips for companies like NVIDIA and Qualcomm that don’t have their own production lines.

Over the past few years, the company has made a significant investment in catching up to TSMC. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world. It accounted for more than half of the contract chipmaking market last year. Samsung only accounted for 18 percent. The company wants to change that and it now has a $116 billion plan to do just that.

Samsung wants to capture more of the $250 billion market

Samsung has decided to invest $116 billion in its next-gen chip manufacturing business so that it can catch up and possibly overtake TSMC. According to Bloomberg, a senior company executive told attendees at an invite-only event last month that Samsung will start to mass product 3nm chips in 2022. This is the first time that Samsung has revealed its 3nm mass production target.

Park Jae-hong, Samsung’s executive vice president of foundry design platform development, told attendees that the company is already developing initial design tools with its partners. This goes to show that Samsung wants to ensure that its 3nm process is ready for clients around the same time that TSMC expects its 3nm process to be ready in 2022.

TSMC expects to offer volume production of 3nm chips to its clients by the second half of 2022. Samsung has a similar timeline but it’s taking a different technological approach in hopes of outperforming TSMC. Samsung’s 3nm process will utilize Gate-All-Around tech which many in the industry believe to be game-changing. It allows for more precise current flows across channels, reduces power consumption and chip areas. TSMC will be using the more established FinFET tech for its 3nm lines. TSMC is expected to utilize the GAA technology for its 2nm process in 2024 but some analysts expect that it could be moved up to the second half of 2023.

Samsung certainly wants to become the chip manufacturer of choice for leading companies like Apple and AMD that currently get the majority of their chips made from TSMC. That’s why it’s ramping up investments and pushing ahead with new technologies to gain a competitive edge for 3nm chips. The contract chip manufacturing market is worth $250 billion so there’s a lot of potential for Samsung to grow. That’s one of the reasons why vice chairman and heir Lee Jae-yong is said to be taking such a close interest in the matter.

This intense focus on expanding the foundry business has already started paying dividends. A company official confirmed to the scribe that Samsung has increased its roster of foundry clients by 30 percent in 2019. NVIDIA and IBM are among a handful of major companies that are getting advanced logic chips made by Samsung. Qualcomm is believed to have awarded its entire Snapdragon 875 production contract to Samsung. It was also confirmed that Samsung has won enough orders from major companies to keep its most advanced 5nm lines occupied for the next few years.

Despite its gains, TSMC continues to maintain a dominant position. The demand for its 5nm process is so high that it can’t ramp up production capacity enough to meet it. Analysts expect this is why Samsung might win some orders for Apple’s new 5nm M1 chip for Macs. For foundry customers, this intense competition between TSMC and Samsung has an obvious benefit. Competition helps bring prices down. They also won’t have to put all of their proverbial eggs in one basket by splitting production between two manufacturers as a hedge against any unforeseen supply issues.

It remains to be seen whether the yields on Samsung’s 3nm GAA process are sufficient to meet demand. That’s one concern that some analysts have. The company is confident that it has a competitive edge as it makes both chips and the devices that they’re used for, such as its Galaxy smartphones. This puts it in a better position to foresee the engineering requirements of its customers. Samsung’s ability to package memory and logic chips in a single module is also a major plus.

Evidently, Samsung is very serious about taking the fight to TSMC. It has the deep pockets needed to do that and over the past few years, it has shown an intense desire to take away more market share from its rival. With a $116 billion war chest at its disposal, this is perhaps its best shot at achieving that goal.

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Galaxy S20 FE display issues are almost as horrible as the Galaxy Note 7

It’s been a long time since Samsung last tackled the budget flagship market with a device built specifically for the task, and this is the reason why the company took the mobile world by surprise with the release of the Galaxy S20 FE. At first glance the Galaxy S20 FE is a recipe for success. It’s a budget phone done by the book, at least on paper, and it’s especially threatening to similarly-priced rivals. But the harsh reality is that the Galaxy S20 FE now serves to highlight Samsung’s inexperience with building devices for the competitively-priced flagship segment.

We love the Galaxy S20 FE for numerous reasons, such as its IP rating, the snappy performance, the excellent camera, the 120Hz refresh rate and the fact that you can use 120Hz without having to worry too much about battery life. It’s not perfect and it lacks some basic features such as a 3.5mm headphone jack, but at the end of the day it was good enough to earn praise in our review.

Samsung’s budget flagship efforts squandered by this one problem

We were lucky – or rather unlucky – enough to come across a perfectly-functioning Galaxy S20 FE unit for our review. Other people who have purchased the Galaxy S20 FE weren’t as fortunate, as weeks after release they began voicing their complaints on public forums. And this is when it all came to light: some Galaxy S20 FE units have a major touchscreen issue wherein touch inputs are erratic and the display can become unresponsive.

Below is a sample video showing how pinch-to-zoom misbehaves on an affected Galaxy S20 FE unit, courtesy of one of SamMobile’s friends.

Smartphones are complex engineering marvels but this complexity can lead to bugs and unwanted behaviors. They’re not uncommon and many problems faced by smartphone users can usually be fixed through firmware updates.

By now we were hoping for Samsung to address the touchscreen issues chipping away at the near-perfect Galaxy S20 FE experience but none of the firmware updates rolled out so far have solved the problem. The November 2020 security patch came and went but the issues persist.

Giving the FE / budget flagship series a bad reputation

To be precise, we’re not suggesting that the Galaxy S20 FE is inherently a bad device. On the contrary; the fact that it’s near perfect is the most infuriating thing about it. In the eyes of many unfortunate owners, these touchscreen issues make the Galaxy S20 FE look almost as bad as the Galaxy Note 7. The latter was the reason for the creation of the extremely scarce FE (Fan Edition) lineup in the first place. The FE series is meant to reward fans of the Galaxy brand for their loyalty, so perhaps Samsung should’ve paid extra attention to its latest model.

And that’s the biggest takeaway here regardless of whether this touchscreen problem is rooted in a hardware or software issue. The underlying problem lies with Samsung’s inexperience with budget flagship phones and the fact that these mishaps are giving the FE series a bad reputation. These devices have to strike a great cost-value balance and, granted, some corners have to be cut in order to achieve the perfect combo. But sadly, Samsung appears to have cut the wrong corner with the Galaxy S20 FE and it’s really disappointing, especially given the inclusion of 120Hz support for such a low price point.

It’s unclear whether this major touchscreen issue had slipped by Samsung’s Q&A team because of the strange working conditions we face in the age of social distancing or due to other factors. After all, the entire world is going through difficult times and businesses have had to quickly adjust to the new normal. Regardless, this was Samsung’s second FE-labeled device in three years and although the initial comeback was stronger than expected, the aftertaste leaves something to be desired.

We can only hope that the issues surrounding the Galaxy S20 FE won’t resonate much further into the future and that this won’t be the end of Samsung’s budget flagship series for the time being. Samsung, please get your budget flagship priorities straight and save this legacy before it’s too late. Fix the Galaxy S20 FE touchscreen issue via firmware updates if possible or otherwise compensate affected users, and ensure that the next budget flagship hits it out of the park.

The post Galaxy S20 FE display issues are almost as horrible as the Galaxy Note 7 appeared first on SamMobile.

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