New Galaxy S21 teaser highlights the history of the series

The Galaxy S series has proven to be a resounding success for Samsung. These devices continue to be among the most sought after Android flagships every year. Samsung has introduced some major innovations with the series over the past few years.

As we approach the launch of the Galaxy S21, the company has put out a new teaser which highlights the history of this series. It builds anticipation for what to expect from the Galaxy S21 lineup.

New Galaxy S21 teaser delivers a memory refresh

It all started with the original Galaxy S in 2010. Major improvements were made with subsequent models with notable upgrades being introduced. The Galaxy S5 had the distinction of being water resistant.

Samsung revamped the look and feel of its flagship phones with the Galaxy S6 lineup by switching to a metal and glass build. The Galaxy S7 brought back water resistance while the Galaxy S8 ditched the home button in favor of larger screens.

The Galaxy S10 took it a step further with the Infinity-O display and further refinements to the design. The 2020 flagship, the Galaxy S20 lineup, brought significant camera upgrades and larger displays.

A new Galaxy awaits, teases Samsung, making no secret of the fact that a new flagship is coming soon. From what we know so far, the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra will receive design upgrades, new internals and camera upgrades.

Reports suggest that Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S21 series at a virtual launch event on January 14, 2021. The handsets will be released before the end of the month.

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Another clue brings the unannounced Galaxy F12 closer to release in India

Samsung’s new and rather unexpected Galaxy F family of smartphones is about to welcome a new member, namely the Galaxy F12. Support pages for the Galaxy F12, or more precisely a device carrying model number SM-F127G/DS, recently went live on the official Samsung India portal.

As usual, the support pages don’t contain any technical details pertaining to the phone, except for its dual-SIM capabilities revealed by the model number, but the fact that the pages exist suggests that Samsung is gearing up for the Galaxy F12’s market launch.

Now, the Galaxy F12 may or may not be the exact same device as the upcoming Galaxy M12, the later of which is reportedly being mass manufactured in India. But there’s no guarantee that both variants will be released in the country at the same time, or at all. It could be that both models are manufactured in India but the Galaxy M12 moniker will be reserved for the variant destined to be shipped out from India into other markets.

The Galaxy F12 will join the Galaxy F41 on the mobile scene as a more budget-oriented solution. The phone could have a 7,000mAh battery, which would be outstanding for a low-end budget phone, and possibly a quad-camera setup.

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New Galaxy Z Fold 2 batch for Vietnam comes in as a Limited Collection

Samsung has introduced a new special edition Galaxy Z Fold 2 for Vietnam. It’s called the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Limited Edition Collection – Spring 2021 and customers have an opportunity to pre-order it before January 7.

Interestingly, Samsung Vietnam isn’t selling the new Limited Edition Collection alongside the standard Galaxy Z Fold 2. Instead, what seems to be happening here is Samsung has replenished the Galaxy Z Fold 2 stocks in Vietnam after the foldable phone’s unexpected success in the country, and the company has decided to make the new batch a little bit more special.

Galaxy Z Elite Privilege cards make a comeback

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 Limited Edition Collection – Spring 2021 includes the standard foldable smartphone-tabled hybrid in Mystic Bronze. It’s the same foldable flagship as before, however, the retail box includes a handful of goodies and incentives.

To begin with, the Galaxy Z Elite Privilege card that was originally reserved for early pre-order customers in Vietnam is now making a comeback and it’s included in the special edition retail box. The card is valid until September 25, 2021, and those who possess it will enjoy preferential treatment and discounts of up to 35% on non-foldable Galaxy smartphones, and up to 45% off consumer electronics with the exception of 8K TVs.

In addition, the Limited Edition Collection includes a Premium Leather Case, Samsung Care+ extended warranty, and it even lets customers choose the color of the hinge. All these goodies are wrapped in a new Limited Edition Collection retail box adorned with Lotus flowers. The Lotus is Vietnam’s national flower and it’s considered a symbol of purity, commitment, serenity and optimism for the future.

You can refer to the links below for more details on this new special edition for Vietnam and/or the Galaxy Z Fold 2 itself. Not much has changed regarding the phone or the foldable scene over the past few months so our review is just as relevant now as it was a few months ago.

Galaxy Z Fold 2 review

• Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Limited Collection – Spring 2021 at Samsung Vietnam.

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Verizon squeezes in a sneaky Galaxy S20 update before year-end

Verizon just sneaked in another monthly firmware update for the Galaxy S20 series. Or tried to, at least, but we’re still hazy on the details. The official changelog from the wireless carrier is pretty generic and appears to be a simple copy-paste job reiterating the contents of the previous over-the-air update that Verizon started rolling out earlier this month.

As it turns out, that was a pretty major release, seeing how it included an upgrade to One UI 3.0 based on Google’s Android 11. Be that as it may, a new firmware package, identified by version number RP1A.200720.012.G988USQU1CTL4, is now making its way to owners of the Galaxy S20-series devices on Verizon’s national network.

Are Verizon’s software update practices finally approaching acceptable levels?

Verizon started deploying the said update last week and no other carrier in the United States or abroad appears to have followed suit with a second Android 11-based update. Meaning we’re most likely looking at something that Verizon cobbled together after identifying at least one crucial defect in its original implementation of Samsung’s software.

Such missteps aren’t anything too out of the ordinary. That’s especially true for stateside mobile service providers who have a tendency to pre-load all sorts of shovelware onto their smartphones. Naturally, the more mandatory apps you have in your OS base, the trickier it is to optimize general-purpose updates in a timely and problem-free manner.

Though we can’t say Verizon hasn’t been improving on the update timeliness front over the last several years. Granted, it’s still difficult to say how much of that progress is directly thanks to the company actively intensifying its efforts. As we might simply be looking at some long-overdue results of Project Treble.

Galaxy S20 5G

• Model: SM-G981U
• Dimensions: Bar: 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.2 inch / 157.48 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 865
• Camera: 12MP

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

Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

• Model: SM-G988U
• Dimensions: Bar: 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8 mm
  
• Display: 6.9 inch / 175.26 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 865
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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[Giveaway] Get a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2!

Would you like to welcome the new year with a new smartwatch? Then don’t miss the chance to participate in our latest contest. One lucky winner will receive the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 from SamMobile!

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is one of the best smartwatches that Samsung has made. It has an elegant design, great health and fitness features in addition to long-lasting battery life. Check out our detailed Galaxy Watch Active 2 review to learn more.

It’s actually very simple to take part in this contest. Just follow our official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts and let us know in the comments why you’d like to win the Galaxy Watch Active 2. Remember, you must follow us on all three platforms, like and share the contest post in order to be eligible to win.

The contest is open to participants in all countries. The winner will be announced on January 11, 2021. Good luck!

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Galaxy S21 might be Samsung’s cheapest addition to the series in years

The Galaxy S21 is still shaping up to be the cheapest addition to Samsung’s Android flagship series in quite a few years. Namely, yet another report out of South Korea pointing toward this likelihood emerged earlier today. Industry sources close to Samsung now estimate the Galaxy S21 series will retail at between 980,000 and 1.18 million won, which amounts to a $900-$1,085 range.

This potential ambit is in line with initial industry rumors about the Galaxy S21 pricing, if only just barely. Yet the implication of such a price level remains quite significant, seeing how the Galaxy S20 debuted at the equivalent of $999 earlier this year.

Has the Galaxy S line reached its absolute price ceiling?

An $899 introductory price would make the Galaxy S21 the cheapest “founding” member of the said premium smartphone family since the Galaxy S7 launched at 836,000 won – which amounted to just over $750 four years ago. So, not accounting for any Lite variants, fan editions, and the like.

But speaking of which, the same report asserts that the uplifting performance of the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition greatly affected the manner in which Samsung decided to price the Galaxy S21 series.

It’s still too early to speculate how a 10% lower pricing point will reflect on Samsung’s bottom line. Assuming it ends up being accurate, of course; though that seems all but confirmed, at this point. Regardless, it would appear the Galaxy S family hit its price ceiling with the 2020 generation. Whether it would have still done so if a global pandemic hasn’t taken hold is difficult to ascertain going off on today’s data – but also pretty much irrelevant.

The Galaxy S21 series is scheduled to become official in mid-January, two weeks ahead of its global release. With that said, it’s likely that Samsung will cut its pre-orders short.

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Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong could face up to 9 years in prison

Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong is currently undergoing a retrial for accounting fraud, bribery, and stock manipulation charges. Due to his father’s death, Lee was absent from the retrial proceedings to attend the funeral of Lee Kun-hee. The prosecution is now demanding a prison sentence of up to nine years for Lee.

According to South Korean publication Yonhap News, prosecutors said that Lee deserves nine years in prison, given Samsung’s position and the severity of his wrongdoings. The prosecution also said that his imprisonment would also set an example in South Korea. The retrial related to the famous bribery scandal, which involved former South Korean President Park Geun-Hye’s close friend Choi Soon-Sil, began three months ago.

It is alleged that Lee bribed Choi Soon-Sil to force the merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T so that he could take control of Samsung Group from his then-ailing father. The case first began a few years ago, and Lee was sentenced to five years in prison. However, his prison sentence was cut short to 2.5 years and he was soon released.

Since the retrial began a few months ago, Lee has been visiting Samsung factories and R&D centers all over the world, meeting top leaders of the company, and drawing up mega plans for the company to succeed in the future. He has also been stressing the importance of Samsung’s semiconductor and foundry businesses.

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