Two Samsung Internet features I wish were on Google Chrome

Samsung Internet is the most popular Samsung app on Android, because it’s one of the few Samsung apps that work on non-Galaxy devices and because the Korean giant’s browser app is pretty amazing. However, I stick to Chrome on both phone and desktop thanks to the cross-syncing support enabled by having a Google account, something that you don’t get with Samsung Internet (partly because Samsung Internet doesn’t have a desktop version).

That does mean that I miss out on some of the nice features that you get on Samsung Internet, and there are two in particular — rather simple ones at that — I wish Google would adopt for Chrome on Android.

One-click disabling of autoplaying videos

I’m pretty sure no one out there likes websites that start playing videos on their pages automatically, especially those that also automatically play sound instead of autoplaying videos on mute and leaving it up to the viewer to turn on the sound. Many websites are guilty of this, including some popular gaming websites that I frequent, and it can become quite frustrating after a while.

Samsung Internet, however, has a great solution to this: You can simply go into its settings and toggle the button that says Allow autoplay videos (located inside the Useful features submenu). Chrome has no such provision. It does allow you to mute websites from playing audio, but there’s no setting to disable autoplaying videos. The mute setting is customizable and lets you mute audio on individual sites or disable audio completely, but a separate option for simply preventing all sites from autoplaying videos would be a lot better.

Automatic dark mode on websites that have a dark theme

We here at SamMobile give our readers the option of selecting a dark theme (which looks great, if we may say so ourselves), and there are many websites out there that let you toggle between a light and dark theme. Galaxy devices (and pretty much every smartphone) come with a system-wide dark mode as well, and Samsung Internet automatically switches between light and dark themes for a website based on the dark mode setting for your phone or tablet.

This is something Chrome cannot do, and that can mean you cannot turn on the dark theme on some websites at all, because some websites do not let the reader switch themes on the fly and/or require the user to login before they can do so. With Samsung Internet, that is not the case. Samsung Internet simply loads a website in its light or dark theme based on your device setting, while giving you the option to switch between the two through the browser’s quick access menu.

Considering a dark mode is present on pretty much every Android device out there, it shouldn’t be hard for Google to bake in automatic syncing of a website’s theme with Android’s dark mode. All Chrome has right now is a theme selector for the browser’s user interface, which just isn’t enough.

---

What Samsung Internet features would you like to see on Google Chrome (or one of the many other browsers available on Android)?

The post Two Samsung Internet features I wish were on Google Chrome appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3eKYE9R
via IFTTT

I love the Galaxy S21+, and I’m not sure why (it’s probably the flat screen)

For me, choosing the largest and most top-end model in every Galaxy S lineup has been a no-brainer ever since Samsung got rid of the one-size-fits-all philosophy for its mainstream flagships (which was with the Galaxy S6 series back in 2015). That’s because having the largest screen and battery capacity possible has always been important for me, and since last year, choosing the top-end model has also meant having access to groundbreaking zoom capabilities.

This year was no different: The Galaxy S21 Ultra instantly became my favorite when Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 series in late January, especially since it’s the only model among the three S21 devices that actually offers you meaningful upgrades over last year’s Galaxy S20 smartphones. However, after using both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy S21+ in recent months, I have realized that I like using the Galaxy S21+ more, and I’m not really sure why.

I know for certain that it’s not the camera experience: The Galaxy S21+’s single zoom camera doesn’t hold a candle to the dual zoom lenses on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. I know it’s not the battery life, which, while surprisingly consistent every day of the week, is not as amazing as what I get on the Ultra model. And the rest of the spec sheet on the S21+ is pretty similar to that of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, so I’m unable to pinpoint the exact reason why I feel like I should keep using the former.

The screen might have something to do with it, though. First, I love that it’s flat. I guess not having curves on the display just feels fresh after years of curved displays on Samsung’s flagship phones, plus it doesn’t have the issue of accidental touches that plagues Samsung’s recent flagships with curved screens. The screen’s size also feels a tad more balanced despite being only 0.1 inches smaller than that of the S21+, and the phone’s lower weight makes it feel less cumbersome to use.

And despite the lower weight, the only thing you really miss out on compared to the S21 Ultra are the two zoom cameras. That’s a major disadvantage for sure, but it’s not like the Galaxy S21 and S21+ aren’t pretty good up till 10x magnification. Apart from that, you get almost everything you get on the S21 Ultra, including excellent performance (though the camera app on these phones is surprisingly laggy for me), all-day battery life, the latest software features, adaptive refresh rate tech, and the usual stuff like stereo speakers and IP68 water resistance.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the Galaxy S21+ will feel so great a few months later when the Galaxy S21 FE makes an appearance. If the Galaxy S20 FE is anything to go by, Samsung will not strip too many important features from the original Galaxy S21 trio while offering the package at a compelling price. But, for now, I’m going to continue using the Galaxy S21+ while the Galaxy S21 Ultra sits in my desk drawer, which is something I never expected to say when these phones were first launched.

Galaxy S21 review | Galaxy S21+ review | Galaxy S21 Ultra review

The post I love the Galaxy S21+, and I’m not sure why (it’s probably the flat screen) appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3ogDraW
via IFTTT

The Galaxy M12 is now available for purchase in Russia

The list of regions in which the Galaxy M12 is available for purchase is expanding, with Samsung now bringing the budget phone to Russia. The Galaxy M12 is now available for purchase in two storage configurations and three color options including black, blue, and green.

Unlike the Galaxy M12 that was released in India, the version for Russia — and indeed other markets outside of India — carries a smaller 5,000mAh battery instead of a 6,000mAh unit, but it retains the 15W fast charging capabilities.

Fortunately, other specs have remained unchanged, which means that the Galaxy M12 is now Samsung’s cheapest smartphone in Russia to boast a high-refresh rate display. The panel has an HD+ resolution and a rather outdated Infinity-V display notch, but the PLS TFT LCD panel boasts a 90Hz refresh rate.

Galaxy M12 price in Russia starts at ~$175

The Galaxy M12 is coming to Russia with two memory configuration — 3GB / 32GB and 4GB / 64GB. The variant with 32GB of built-in storage is priced at 12,990 rubles ($175), and customers who may want to purchase the 64GB variant will have to pay 14,990 rubles ($202).

Samsung’s low-cost, high-refresh rate smartphone sport NFC connectivity, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and it’s powered by the Exynos 850 chipset. The Russian model has a 48MP main camera, a 5MP ultrawide shooter, and two 2MP depth and macro sensors.

You can refer to our Galaxy M12 review linked below for more details about the device, though keep in mind that our review addresses the version that was released in India.

Galaxy M12 review

• Buy the Galaxy M12 at Samsung Russia

The post The Galaxy M12 is now available for purchase in Russia appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3tVJGm5
via IFTTT

Samsung’s sole EUV equipment supplier ASML is setting up shop in Korea

Samsung may have lost the race for acquiring EUV equipment to TSMC, but the battle is not over yet. The Korean government has seemingly jumped to Samsung’s rescue earlier this week when the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy told the local media that ASML is looking to invest 240 billion won ($212 million) in South Korea over the next four years with the purpose of building an EUV manufacturing infrastructure.

ASML is the world’s only supplier of EUV lithography equipment that’s required for manufacturing high-end semiconductor solutions. Unfortunately for Samsung, ASML has already sold 70% of its equipment for EUV semiconductor manufacturing to TSMC, leaving the Korean tech giant without many options.

ASML is now coming to Samsung

As part of South Korea’s newfound efforts to remain a key player in the global semiconductor space, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has agreed to bring ASML into the country and help the company establish a remanufacturing plant and a training center for EUV lithography.

ASML will be responsible for refitting existing manufacturing plants in South Korea with the latest EUV equipment, and of course, its presence in Korea is expected to strengthen its collaboration with Samsung even further.

The Dutch EUV lithography equipment manufacturer will reportedly invest the aforementioned 240 billion won over the next four years though, so it’s not as if Samsung’s immediate concerns regarding its current position in the semiconductor market have been alleviated. But it’s a start, and ASML’s arrival in Korea will undeniably have great long-term benefits.

The post Samsung’s sole EUV equipment supplier ASML is setting up shop in Korea appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3eM2M9R
via IFTTT

Samsung and Hyundai join forces to develop semiconductors for cars

Amid the ongoing semiconductor shortage, the Korean government is apparently aiming for the nation to become more self-reliant in the automotive semiconductor space. In recent news, Samsung Electronics has partnered with Hyundai Motor Co. and both companies have signed an agreement with the Korean Electronics Technology Institute, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, as well as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The two tech giants together with the aforementioned institutions share the same goal of tackling the semiconductor shortage across the automotive segment and establishing a stronger local supply chain. Samsung and Hyundai will reportedly cooperate on developing next-gen semiconductors, battery management chips, image sensors, and application processors for car infotainment systems.

This is a long-term plan with little benefits early on

Samsung is reportedly planning to develop high-performance automotive semiconductor products based on 12-inch wafers instead of relying on 8-inch wafers like the rest of the industry does.

Regardless, the automotive semiconductor market is not as profitable as the semiconductor space for mobile products in the short term, so this endeavor is meant to have long-term benefits.

Both Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Co. are aware of the fact that they may not make a huge profit early on, but market watchers believe that their goal is to establish a stronger presence in the local automotive semiconductor supply chain as electric vehicles continue gaining popularity.

In parallel with the tech giant’s semiconductor efforts, Samsung has recently unveiled its new PixCell LED intelligent headlight solution for electric vehicles. It uses ISOCELL-like pixel isolation technology to improve driver safety, and the company confirmed that it is already supplying these modules to car manufacturers.

The post Samsung and Hyundai join forces to develop semiconductors for cars appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3w3ya9w
via IFTTT

There it is: Galaxy J2 Core starts receiving April 2021 security update

The Galaxy J2 Core is the newest Samsung smartphone to receive the April 2021 update. Or rather: the first to start receiving, that is. This particular software bundle is identified by PDA version J260T1UVS8AUD1. That very name already suggests there’s more to be had here than just last month’s security patch level. Either way, the said Galaxy J2 Core firmware release has just been encountered in the United States earlier today.

More countries are expected to follow in the days ahead. As for the right here and now, this appears to be on of the last Samsung devices to receive the security patch level dated April 1st, 2021. But it’s also a 2018 product that cost in the ballpark of $100 when it released. Try finding one entry-level smartphone in that price range that’s still receiving regular security updates and isn’t made by Samsung.

Is the April 2021 security update live in your area by now?

Not too keen on waiting and you’d rather just cut to the chase? Well, you can attempt doing just that if you go to Settings > Software update > Download and install. Alternatively, our firmware archives already offer complete Galaxy J2 Core system images containing the April 2021 security update. You know, just in case you’re ready to get your hands dirty and flash the latest software to your device the good old manual way.

In related news, Samsung’s Chinese rivals are still promising they’ll start keeping their flagship products updated for longer than a few moments. So, keep that in mind whenever someone suggests you might save a couple of bucks by going with a different brand. It’s all factored in, peace of mind included.

The post There it is: Galaxy J2 Core starts receiving April 2021 security update appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2SH4cts
via IFTTT

Galaxy Book Pro boasts ‘gaming performance’ certification

Gaming, you know it? Yeah, but do you have a certificate? The new Galaxy Book Pro does, apparently, as Samsung officials just revealed this week. And what that means is that global certification authority SGS – formerly known as the Société Générale de Surveillance – deemed the Galaxy Book Pro series worthy of its “Gaming Performance” label.

The said certification is said to be reserved only for the most high-end machines and is solely concerned with display performance. Some of the highlights of the testing process preceding the certificate award is a blur length of only 1.4mm and 15.4ms motion image response time.

Are gamers really the ones the Galaxy Book Pro is aimed toward?

For added context, a typical laptop in this price range averages over 26ms in 2021, as per the Switzerland-based certification authority. Of course, a typical notebook does not come equipped with an OLED panel, a display technology Samsung truly mastered over the years.

The South Korean giant honed its OLED production craft on Samsung, but the Galaxy Book Pro line suggests the time has come for larger screens to enter the picture. It’s available for purchase in the West as of today, though some regional Samsung offices still offer a number of attractive pre-order bonuses until next Tuesday. With that said, it’s debatable whether the new Galaxy Book-series notebooks are truly geared toward gamers. Or rather: whether they can compete with more niche offerings from HP, Dell, and the like.

As for display excellence, the Digital Film Association also honored the Galaxy Book Pro family with its own Cinematic Experience label, praising the infinite contrast, perfect blacks, and wide color gamut coverage spanning 120% of the DCI-P3 color space – that would be the only one Hollywood cares about.

The post Galaxy Book Pro boasts ‘gaming performance’ certification appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3uQLhuo
via IFTTT

You can now use hardware wallets with the Samsung Blockchain Wallet

Samsung has the distinction of being one of the first major smartphone manufacturers to offer a cryptocurrency wallet for its smartphones. It did that with the Galaxy S10 back in 2019. Samsung’s blockchain platform has continued to expand after it opened up the SDK.

The company today announced that it’s making it even easier for users to trade their virtual currencies. It has added support for select hardware wallets to the Samsung Blockchain Wallet app.

Select hardware wallets now work with the Blockchain Wallet app

Cryptocurrencies can typically be held in two types of wallets. There are digital wallets which store virtual assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and other token online. Hardware wallets store those assets offline and are more secure.

So if you want to make a cryptocurrency transaction, you’ll first need to move the tokens from the hardware wallet. To make this process easier, Samsung has added support for hardware wallets to its Blockchain Wallet app. The Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X are among the hardware wallets that can now be used with the Blockchain Wallet app.

Samsung has updated the app and added a dedicated newsfeed that will provide users with the latest news from the world of cryptocurrency. Articles from various blockchain news outlets like CoinDesk will be available in the app.

The Samsung Blockchain Wallet app supports some of the most popular cryptocurrencies and tokens. It enables users to access decentralized apps as well. These apps use the blockchain to authenticate the exchange of digital assets. Social media, games, finance and security decentralized apps are available through Samsung’s blockchain solution

The post You can now use hardware wallets with the Samsung Blockchain Wallet appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3flHnDi
via IFTTT

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong is now the richest person in South Korea

South Korea is home to some of the biggest companies on the planet. With immensely successful businesses come immensely wealthy people. Entrepreneurs who make bold business decisions and then reap the benefits.

Samsung is South Korea’s best export. It’s one of the world’s leading technology companies. The conglomerate also has interests in dozens of other industries. So you can expect that the person at the very top will have quite deep pockets.

Lee Jae-yong could actually have been even richer

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index lists the 500 richest people in the world. Samsung Vice Chairman and de facto leader Lee Jae-yong now occupies the 170th spot on the list. He’s estimated to have $12.6 billion in assets.

This makes Lee Jae-yong the richest person in South Korea. This title was previously held by his father, Lee Kun-hee, who passed away in October last year. The junior Lee’s assets have increased significantly after he inherited his father’s shares in various companies of the Samsung Group. The total shares in affiliates including Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS that he inherited are worth around $5.3 billion.

The inheritance did come at a significant cost to the Lee family. South Korea imposes hefty taxes on inheritance. The family was required to settle a massive tax bill before it could inherit Lee Kun-hee’s estate. The total inheritance tax owed to the government is an eye-watering $10.8 billion, the largest-ever in South Korea.

The family is going to pay the full amount in six instalments over a period of five years. It hasn’t been disclosed how the tax bill is going to be distributed among the heirs of Lee Kun-hee.

If South Korea’s inheritance taxes weren’t so high, Lee Jae-yong’s net worth would have been considerably more, not just $12.6 billion.

The post Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong is now the richest person in South Korea appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3y9j1Fu
via IFTTT

2021 Galaxy Book range is here, and it wants to talk value

Samsung’s laptops haven’t really been a big deal in the West yet, but that might finally change with the 2021 Galaxy Book range. Not that it’s been easy to tell, given the surprising lack of almost any promotional activity following today’s official release of the said notebook lineup. We’re still unsure what to make of the measured fashion in which the company dropped these devices, to be quite honest.

But what’s certain is that the 2021 refreshes of the Galaxy Book, Galaxy Book Pro, and the Galaxy Book Pro 360 are all available for purchase in the majority of the Western world as of today.

Can Samsung’s value proposition challenge the likes of Dell and Microsoft?

Apart from Samsung’s home country, the new Galaxy Book family is now also retailing in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. More countries are expected to follow in the coming months. This release follows a short pre-order period which ran from April 29th to May 10th in the Far East, and is still valid until next Tuesday in the West.

Company officials previously said this year’s pre-order figures were approximately three times higher than in 2020. While that phenomenon could be attributed to stronger demand, a wider range of target markets might have also played a part.

The Galaxy Book range is clearly aiming to compete with products such as Dell’s XPS line and Microsoft’s Surface laptops, though it seems to be looking to undercut both. At least on the lower end, seeing how the Galaxy Book Pro starts at under €680, or just over $800.

As for the regular Galaxy Book, how does $499 sound? Courtesy of some absolutely bonkers early adopter deals from Samsung U.S. Yeah, the new Galaxy Book range will probably do great, especially relative to Samsung’s current laptop market share.

The post 2021 Galaxy Book range is here, and it wants to talk value appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3uZFHGt
via IFTTT

Can you spot the difference? Galaxy A22, A22 5G leak

It’s been a few weeks since the Galaxy A22 last showed its face, or faces, though we wouldn’t blame you for not realizing that there are two of them. Namely, as these newly emerged renders barely illustrate, the regular Galaxy A22 will actually be sporting one extra camera module. This leaves no room for the LED flash unit that’s neatly packed away with the rest of the cameras on the Galaxy A22 5G.

Instead, the Galaxy A22’s flash is sitting immediately below the quad-camera setup of the device. Furthermore, the LTE-only smartphone seems to feature a slightly higher screen-to-body ratio, as evidenced by its visibly thinner bezels.

Is the Galaxy A22 really the inferior choice here?

Today’s leak acts as yet another indication that Samsung intends to offer white, black, green, and purple variants of both the Galaxy A22 and Galaxy A22 5G. The latter two colors are on the lighter, pastel-y side, not unlike the shades introduced with the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition last year.

The Galaxy A22 5G will at least feature a side-mounted fingerprint reader, as per the same source. A recent leak revealed both will sport a 5,000mAh battery with fast charging support. As for their cameras, the extra shooter on the back of the Galaxy A22 5G is said to be a 2-megapixel affair, probably added for some extra bokeh effects, meaning it won’t do much. The other three modules are led by a 48-megapixel camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and another 2-megapixel one.

The increased frequency of Galaxy A22-related leaks suggests that both of its variants will be hitting the market sooner rather than later.

The post Can you spot the difference? Galaxy A22, A22 5G leak appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/2RTA39S
via IFTTT

As rivals promise updates, Samsung updates grandma’s first smartphone

When Samsung promised three generations of Android updates and four years of security patches for its devices last year, it started delivering momentarily. When Vivo and OPPO did the same a year later, the only momentary delivery that took place was for their promises. Which is a super smug way of saying that they changed them. “Select models only, does not apply internationally, only if it’s sunny outside, yadda yadda”…

So, while they’re paying attorneys to write disclaimers, Samsung’s paying software engineers to write security updates. For example, the entire 2018 generation of the Galaxy J series is currently receiving the April 2021 patch, including the Galaxy J7 Duo (J730F/DS) and the Galaxy J8. As is the Galaxy J3. You know, the $70 device from 2017?

Yes, you read that correctly. A new security firmware for a four-year-old. Sure, it’s a month-old release, but try counting how many month-old releases come out of BBK Electronics, the parent company of OPPO, VIVO, and OnePlus. Hint: it ain’t (m)any.

You didn’t save $50 on a cheaper smartphone, you gambled with a lot more

The Galaxy J3 is the kind of phone you’d buy at a gas station while being late to grandma’s birthday party. Yet it’s still receiving regular security releases, not to mention the fact it’s been updated to a newer Android version twice. Plus, many of today’s mid-range offerings from Samsung come with a guarantee of three such updates and four years of security patches.

Those $50 you saved on your latest smartphone won’t mean much if you fall victim to identity theft or realize someone’s been listening in on your calls because they found a method for doing so that your manufacturer of choice hasn’t bothered to fix for a year. And if you think this is aimed at Chinese manufacturers, that spying vulnerability is currently being ignored by Google, as well. In fact, Samsung is the only OEM in the entire Android ecosystem that appears to have any urgency when it comes to protecting customer privacy and security, even though there’s no direct money to be made from doing so.

And so, while the promises continue, so do the updates from Samsung. Depending on how big of an issue cybersecurity becomes a few years down the line, Samsung might actually try upping its pledge to five years. The cost of doing so would be trivial compared to the optics, especially given how modular the Android platform already is, allowing for a pretty steep degree of automation during development.

In the meantime, the newly emerged software for those aforementioned J series phones is identified by PDA versions J330GDXS3CUD1, J810YDXS6CUD1, and J720FDDS7CUD2 respectively. As always, you can already download the full system images containing the April 2021 security patch for the Galaxy J series from our firmware archives – if you want to speed things up a bit or just show grandma how to flash her phone manually.

The post As rivals promise updates, Samsung updates grandma’s first smartphone appeared first on SamMobile.

from SamMobile https://ift.tt/3w689GB
via IFTTT