Samsung planning major investment in H1 2021 for memory chip production

Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of memory and storage chips, and the company is trying to further boost its production capacity by making a large-scale investment. According to reports from South Korea, the company is looking to increase its monthly production capacity by an additional 100,000 wafers (12-inch) in the first half of 2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for memory and storage chips increased as most people relied on remote learning and work-from-home. However, memory prices fell as data center companies like Amazon and Google started to manage their inventories in the second half of 2020. Samsung had revealed that DRAM and NAND flash chips’ average selling prices fell by 10% in Q2. It is now being reported that the companies have started using up their inventories and making investments, leading Samsung to believe that demand and pricing will rise next year.

The South Korean tech giant is said to have recently shared its investment plans with semiconductor equipment makers. Samsung plans to evenly split its next major investment into DRAM and NAND flash chip production. Half of the investment will be used in expanding its DRAM production at the Pyeongtaek Line 2 (P2) plant. The remaining capital will be used for NAND flash production expansion in Xi’an and P2 plants.

Samsung Semiconductor’s first plant in Xi’an, which produced 100,000 wafers per month, was built with an investment of $10.8 billion. The P2 plant makes 200,000 12-inch wafers per month, so the investment required by Samsung to increase the production of memory and storage chips by an additional 100,000 wafers will be huge. The company hasn’t yet revealed the exact amount that it is planning to invest, but the picture would get clearer over the next few months.

The South Korean tech giant is also ramping up investment in its foundry business. The company is planning to counter TSMC by accelerating the development of its 3nm process, which uses the Gate All Around technology. According to a recent report, Samsung is planning to invest around $116 billion and start the mass production of 3nm chips in 2022.

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Samsung Pay tops 3M transactions in South Africa and leads the charge

The global pandemic is driving the popularity of mobile payment solutions in countless markets, and Samsung Pay in particular has been enjoying a lot of success this year. Consumers are now more willing to make online purchases using a mobile payment solution, and this year alone, South Africans have used Samsung Pay long enough to push the platform into the lead.

Samsung Pay became available in South Africa two years ago. In February this year, before COVID-19 was labeled a global pandemic, Samsung Pay registered two million transactions in South Africa, and now the company claims that the number of transactions has surpassed 3 million.

Samsung Pay is now the most popular mobile payment solution in the country, and this popularity was also driven by the benefits offered by the platform itself, such as monthly competitions and quick access to prepaid vouchers for electricity bills as well as multimedia streaming services.

Customers in South Africa can link numerous card types to their Samsung Pay digital wallets. Samsung’s list of banking partners includes ABSA, Standard Bank, First National Bank, RMB Private Bank, Discovery Bank, Investec, Nedbank, Virgin Money and British Airways. Meanwhile, Samsung Pay is now compatible with more than 40 Galaxy devices including smartphones and smartwatches.

This increasing trend for smartphone users to gravitate towards mobile payment solutions as opposed to physical payment methods isn’t specific to South Africa. It’s a growing global trend and even in the UK, recent studies have shown that nearly 50% of Brits are more inclined to make mobile payment now than they were before the COVID-19 lockdowns.

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Samsung’s first rugged 5G phone, the Galaxy Xcover 5, is in development

The Galaxy Xcover 4 / Xcover 4s might finally be getting a direct sequel, and a 5G-enabled one at that. Our friends at GalaxyClub have been gathering evidence on this device, or at the very least, a mysterious upcoming phone that carries model number SM-G501B. The handset in question was recently benchmarked in HTML5TEST running Android 11. And although there’s no guarantee of this, the model number should technically belong to the unannounced Galaxy Xcover 5.

Now, regardless of whether the SM-G501B will be hitting the shelves as the Galaxy Xcover 5 or another name, the model number indicates that the phone does take advantage of 5G connectivity. So far we haven’t found any evidence of a 4G-only variant but if it exists, it should carry model number SM-G500F. Then again, 5G will become a lot more popular in 2021 so perhaps the Galaxy Xcover 5 / SM-G501B will have just the one 5G-enabled variant that will be destined for a worldwide release.

No other details aside from the version of Android OS have been revealed so far. The Galaxy Xcover 5 / SM-G501B appears to be in the early stages of development so a lot can change by the time the phone will be ready to hit the shelves. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we find out more about this upcoming rugged device.

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Galaxy A12 is not dead despite its absence and could go on sale very soon

We haven’t heard from the upcoming Galaxy A12 in a while but the device is back in the limelight now that Samsung has officially acknowledged it. To be clear, Samsung hasn’t launched the device just yet but official support pages for a device bearing model number SM-A125F/DS went live recently on the company’s Russian portal.

The model number should belong to the Galaxy A12 and although Samsung has been keeping quiet about it, these recent events indicate that the phone is likely being prepared for release in the coming weeks.

The support page doesn’t reveal anything else about the phone but some specifications are already known. SamMobile exclusively reported back in August that the Galaxy A12 is in development with 64GB of built-in storage for the base model and possibly an LCD display as well as a triple camera setup.

Meanwhile, recent Geekbench entries reveal that the Galaxy A12 runs Android 10 and it’s powered by the MediaTek MT6765V/CB chipset paired with 3GB of RAM.

The Galaxy A12’s exterior design remains a mystery but perhaps its M-labeled counterpart holds the key. Recent Galaxy M12 leaked renders have revealed a few design characteristics including a new paint finish that could be the inspiration for other budget Galaxy phones in 2021.

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Galaxy Z Flip Lite could put foldables within reach for more customers

Foldable display technology is here to stay and you can be certain that Samsung will launch more Galaxy Z Flip / Z Fold models next year. How many exactly, we do not know yet, but a new rumor suggests that Samsung is developing a new foldable model which will greatly contribute to democratizing foldable display technology. It will reportedly be called the Galaxy Z Flip Lite and it might be manufactured in larger quantities compared to the previous models.

The source also mentions that the so-called Galaxy Z Flip Lite might be taking advantage of UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) technology but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that UTG was introduced with the original Galaxy Z Flip and it’s being adopted by newer foldable models. In other words, Samsung is highly unlikely to release a foldable panel without UTG in this day and age. The company is researching and developing for the purpose of lowering the costs of UTG precisely because UTG is now a key component in Samsung’s foldable display technology. The point is, UTG will probably be included in all of Samsung’s foldables moving forward, Lite/budget or not.

Now, as far as the validity of this rumor is concerned, you shouldn’t get your hopes up just yet, or at least not to the extent that you’d be saving money over a rumor of an unconfirmed device. The source behind this latest tidbit of information, @DSCCRoss, hasn’t outright said that the phone is in development but rather that we are hearing about Z Flip Lite with UTG. This could mean that Samsung is thinking about developing this model or that the company is already building it.

Time will tell how this story pans out but hopefully 2021 will be the year when Samsung’s foldable display technology will become even more accessible to more consumers. Would you be interested in buying a Galaxy Z Flip Lite? What would your expectations be for this model and how much would you be willing to pay for a clamshell device in 2021? Leave a comment below.

We don't hear about Z Fold Lite anymore but we are hearing about Z Flip Lite with UTG…

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) November 18, 2020

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Buy the Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB SSD at an incredible 50% off

Solid State Drive (SSD) storage solutions are bound to become more popular now that the new-gen gaming consoles – the Sony PS5 and the Xbox Series S/X – have adopted the technology. Sales figures will be going up, driven by high demand from PC users and console owners who may want to expand their on-board storage. This will hopefully lead to price reductions and attractive deals, but if a good deal is what you’ve been waiting for then you might find Amazon’s latest offer to be exactly that. The online retailer is now selling the Samsung 970 EVO Plus M.2 NVMe SSD at discounts of up to 50%.

The high-end Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD with 2TB of storage normally costs $499 but Amazon has cut 50% off the price, meaning you can now buy the same 2TB solution for only $250. But the latest discount applies to the entire range of 970 EVO Plus SSDs. The 250GB model is now available for $69 instead of $89, whereas the 500GB variant costs $79, down from $129. Meanwhile, customers can pay $149 instead of $249 for the 970 EVO Plus with 1TB of storage.

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus with 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB of storage are already in stock as of this writing, however, if you want to take advantage of this deal to acquire the 2TB model then you’ll have to test your patience. The product is out of stock and Amazon claims that it will return on December 24, but it will ship as late as January 3-5. So, if you’re looking for a new SSD for your console or PC and you can’t wait until next year then the 250GB/500GB/1TB models are your best choices. For the best price-per-GB ratio, you’ll have to wait for the 2TB model to arrive back in stock.

One thing to note is that if you’re looking to buy a new SSD for your Sony PS5 console then you might have to wait until the functionality will be enabled by Sony in order to avoid compatibility issues. As for the Xbox Series X, it should technically be compatible with the 970 EVO Plus but there’s no official documentation to confirm this yet so tread carefully. If you’re a PC user then, obviously, none of these caveats apply to you. Check the link below for more details.

• Buy the 250GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD at Amazon USA
• Buy the 512GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD at Amazon USA
• Buy the 1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD at Amazon USA
• Buy the 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD at Amazon USA

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Samsung to support 18 new startups via its C-Lab Outside program

Samsung’s C-Lab program supports startups in their early stage. Thanks to the C-Lab program, various Samsung employees have successfully turned their ideas into startups and raised funding. Every year, the South Korean tech giant selects a few ideas by its employees and some startup ideas from entrepreneurs outside of Samsung Electronics.

The C-Lab Outside program was started in 2018. This year, the company has decided to support 18 new outside startups. The competition for next year’s startup development program was conducted online due to the whole COVID-19 situation. Over 501 startups had participated in the competition, but only 18 managed to make the cut.

The finalized startups fall into AI (Artificial Intelligence), contents and services, deep tech, health and fitness, tech for good categories.

1. DeepX: South Korea’s first AI-powered hardware solutions company that is improving technology for IoT devices, AR, VR, drones, smart devices, smart cards, and security cameras.
2. mAy’I: A company that works on innovating customer experience in offline space with AI
3. Omnious: Uses AI to enhance online shopping by automatically tag products, present recommendations, and analyzes trends.
4. Select Star: A platform that collects AI-based learning data through crowdsourcing.
5. Bitsensing: It develops radar technology to make smart cars and smart cities. Its technologies can also be used in surveillance, healthcare, rescue support, smart homes, and buildings.
6. MindCafe: It provides ‘Anonymous Mobile Heart Healing Service’ to those who are struggling with mental issues.
7. Litness: A live home training service that features interactive interaction between trainers and users.
8. MultiplEYE: It makes the omnidirectional depth and vision sensing hardware and software for drones and autonomous vehicles.
9. Perseus: The company develops in-car technology that is compatible with major operating systems and connected car hardware vendors. It improves compatibility between various in-car hardware and software solutions using Perseus Hypervisor.
10. DoubleMe: Develops a 3D capture system and the technology to convert 2D videos into dynamic 3D models in real-time for games, 3D animation, AR, VR, 3D printing, and more.
11. Presence: It makes products that help teams and co-workers communicate easily and spontaneously using voice chat and voice transcription.
12. Verses: It creates experiences where everyone can enjoy music through interaction.
13. Platfos: A mobile gift voucher platform that lets anyone buy or redeem gift vouchers at various online or offline shops.
14. Digisonic: The company makes creative and immersive media that combines spatial audio with AR/VR.
15. Waddle: Helps visually impaired people to shop online conveniently.
16. Pet Now: It makes apps for pets and let pet owners store critical information about their pets.
17. Dot: The company aims to make the visually impaired get the necessary information more easily and quickly.
18. Silvia Health: This online service diagnoses and prevents dementia through eyes, voice patterns, and tactile analysis.

These startups can get a dedicated office space with Samsung’s R&D center in Seoul, mentoring from experts within Samsung, participation in local and international exhibitions, business support for up to KRW 100 million for one year.

Samsung will also hold an online demo for these startups on December 2, 2020, so that they can attract more investors. Samsung has supported a total of 500 startups since 2018 (200 startups through C-Lab Inside and 300 startups through C-Lab Outside).

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Another Galaxy S20 One UI 3.0 beta update is rolling out

Samsung is killing it with software updates in general these days, and the company is also making short work of the One UI 3.0 beta for the Galaxy S20 series, having released multiple new beta updates in quick succession in the last couple of weeks. And now, there’s another beta build rolling out for the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, bringing us a step closer to the stable One UI 3.0 release.

In fact, that stable One UI 3.0 update may be on track for a release before the end of the year. Unlike previous beta updates, which had proper changelogs in the Samsung Members app that told us exactly what fixes were included, the latest one has a generic changelog that doesn’t go into any detail. Unless Samsung was just being lazy, it suggests there aren’t too many issues left to address, which means we could see the public rollout of One UI 3.0 and Android 11 for the Galaxy S20 lineup in the near future.

Unfortunately, owners of other Galaxy flagships, especially those released in 2019 and the company’s latest foldables, may have a longer wait in store. Samsung has delayed the One UI 3.0 beta program for the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Galaxy Z Flip because of issues reported in the initial beta build for the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, so these devices may not make it to the stable version of One UI 3.0 before 2021.

In any case, if you own a Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra and have participated in the beta, you can download the latest build over the air from the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. The new update is confirmed to be available in the UK and Germany at this time, but it should soon be available in markets like India and Poland as well.

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