الغريب: 08/04/21

الأربعاء، 4 أغسطس 2021

Samsung is testing virtual money transfers on Galaxy phones with no Internet

Samsung Electronics has reportedly joined forces with the Bank of Korea (BOK) to participate in a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program kickstarted by BOK late last month. Samsung and other interested parties “will research the practicalities of the CBDC in a test environment,” according to an executive statement cited by The Korea Times.

In essence, Samsung Electronics wants to test the central bank digital currency (CBDC) and usability of blockchain-based systems on its Galaxy smartphones. Through its pilot tests, the company aims to determine if it will be possible for mobile payments to be completed using the digital currency when there’s no internet available.

Furthermore, Samsung Electronics is trying to determine whether or not it will be possible to “send CBDC remittances to other mobile phones or to other connected bank accounts.” According to an unnamed Samsung official, these are “the core points” the company’s exploring through this partnership with the Bank of Korea.

The pilot program will be backed by Samsung SDS and the Kakao consortium

The SDS branch of Samsung will be involved with the pilot program for the central bank digital currency, but it won’t work alone. It will be backed by affiliate Escor, and it will be joined by the Kakao consortium to get the project rolling.

Both Samsung and the Kakao consortium will work on launching the pilot program designed to test CBDC transfers and remittances between different countries.

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First Galaxy A52s leaked renders confirm a new mint green color option

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 aren’t the only unannounced smartphones to have leaked ahead of their official announcement. The Galaxy A52s may be a much less impressive device, but it, too, has now been spotted in a handful of leaked renders, signaling what could be a market launch just around the corner.

The Galaxy A52s looks virtually identical to the standard Galaxy A52, and that’s not a bad thing. Both phones have a modern design language with an Infinity-O display, a metal frame, and a camera bump that color-matches the rest of the back panel.

The refreshed model introduces a new color option

Speaking of colors, the leaked renders at hand showcase the Galaxy A52s in four color options, of which one is new. Same as the Galaxy A52, the upcoming refresh will seemingly be available in black, white, and violet; however, it might do away with the blue color option in favor of mint green.

The source behind these renders — @_snoopytech_ — adds that Samsung will release the Galaxy A52s in a single storage option with 128GB of built-in memory.

The Galaxy A52s could debut in Germany, where support pages already exist, and it’s rumored to hit the shelves in Europe for around 450 euro. It could go on sale in Korea in September, but regardless, it might not bring too many changes aside from a souped-up Snapdragon 778G processor.

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Samsung India is now selling the budget Galaxy F62 for an even lower price

Half a year went by since the Galaxy F62 was released, and Samsung India is now selling the phone at a discount. The Galaxy F62 was originally launched for the starting price of INR 23,999 ($323), but Samsung is now selling the same device at an INR 4,000 ($53) discount, which is nothing to sneeze at given the phone’s already affordable nature.

The Galaxy F62 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage now costs INR 19,999 ($269). It’s a great price for a mid-range phone that’s capable of delivering top-tier gaming performance thanks to the Exynos 9825 chipset. If you’re looking to buy a cheap phone for mobile games or you’re looking for a device that has excellent battery life and Samsung Pay support, the Galaxy F62 is it.

The Galaxy F62 is more about raw performance than multimedia

This is one of the more practical mid-range smartphones from Samsung, and it betrays a stronger focus on raw performance and autonomy. The camera isn’t stellar in low-light conditions, and the phone lacks 90Hz/120Hz, but even so, it packs a strong punch for the price — especially one that’s now lower by INR 4,000.

The Galaxy F62 has a massive 7,000mAh battery that supports 25W super-fast charging, and it ships with Android 11 and One UI 3.1 out of the box. Customers in India have a choice between three color options: black, blue, and green.

Galaxy F62 review

Buy the Galaxy F62 at Samsung India

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It’s official! Galaxy Tab S7 FE pre-orders in the USA open tomorrow

Samsung is finally bringing the Galaxy Tab S7 FE to the USA. Customers will be able to pre-order the Fan Edition tablet beginning tomorrow, August 5, for the starting price of $529.99. The tablet will be offered through Samsung’s online stores and through carriers AT&T and Verizon, initially. T-Mobile, US Cellular and “other retailers” will also announce availability details for the Galaxy Tab S7 FE “in the coming days.”

The Galaxy Tab S7 FE will be available with Wi-Fi or 5G connectivity. The 5G model will launch for $669, but Samsung is offering $80 instant credit to customers who buy the 5G model or pre-order the Wi-Fi variant. This brings the price of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE Wi-Fi / 5G down to $449.99 and $589, respectively.

Color availability will differ based on connectivity, but in total, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE will be offered in four color options: Mystic Black, Mystic Green, Mystic Pink, and Mystic Silver.

Galaxy Tab S7 FE pre-orders open tomorrow before shipping in September

Samsung will start shipping the Galaxy Tab S7 FE to customers in the USA in September, but no exact release dates were given in the official announcement.

Prospective buyers who may want to learn more about the tablet before it starts shipping can check our Galaxy Tab S7 FE review. Spoiler alert! It’s a decent tablet but it’s not entirely fit for the “Fan Edition” moniker.

The Galaxy Tab S7 FE has excellent build quality and speakers, a generous 12.4-inch display, and great battery life. It comes with an S Pen as well as productivity software and DeX. However, the tablet has an LCD instead of an AMOLED display, it lacks a fingerprint sensor, and performance for the 4GB model isn’t something to write home about. Even so, it’s a great productivity and multimedia device.

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Galaxy S9 owners, the wait for the August 2021 security patch is over

The Galaxy S9 series was dropped from monthly to quarterly updates four months ago, and Galaxy S9 owners were left waiting for a new security patch to arrive in July or August. July came and went, but the good news is that Samsung hasn’t forgotten about its three-and-a-half-year-old flagships. The Galaxy S9 is now receiving a new firmware update in Europe, and as you may have guessed by now, it’s accompanied by the new August 2021 security patch.

The new update carries firmware number G96xFXXUGFUG4 and is rolling out for the Galaxy S9 in Germany, with more markets likely to follow suit. Interestingly enough, the firmware number indicates that the update includes something extra along with the latest security patch, but we’re unsure exactly what. We’ll update this story once we have a more concrete changelog, but we wouldn’t get your hopes up for something major. The two previous firmware updates for the Galaxy S9 have also included extra features, though only minor, such as enhanced Quick Share.

The August security patch fixes Android OS vulnerabilities, for the most part

Samsung detailed the August 2021 security patch yesterday. The majority of issues addressed by this new release originated from Google’s Android OS. 38 fixes from Google are included in the latest security package, 2 of which are marked as critical. In addition, the August 2021 security patch features 2 fixes for vulnerabilities affecting Samsung’s software.

Galaxy S9 owners in regions where the latest firmware update is rolling out should receive an update notification soon. They can also attempt to download the update from the Settings app on the phone — under Software update — or they can download the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ update from our firmware database and install manually using a PC.

Galaxy S9

Model: SM-G960F
Dimensions: Bar: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
Display: 5.8 inch / 147.32 mm Super AMOLED Display
CPU: Exynos 9810
Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S9+

Model: SM-G965F
Dimensions: Bar: 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm
Display: 6.2 inch / 157.48 mm Super AMOLED Display
CPU: Exynos 9810
Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Guess the Samsung device 12 – See if you can get them all right!

This is a fun new activity that we have put together for our readers. Think you can correctly identify all Samsung devices? Take part in our quiz below and let’s see how many you can get right!

We’ll create a new visual quick every week for you to participate and hopefully learn more about the many Samsung Galaxy devices. Do share the results of the quiz with your friends and see if you can compete against them for higher scores and bragging rights.

Remember, if the quiz isn’t loading properly, please access the non-AMP version of this webpage.

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Galaxy S21’s carrier-locked variant is getting the August 2021 security update

Five days ago, Samsung started rolling out the August 2021 security update to the Galaxy S21 series in China. Earlier today, the company released it to the international variants of the Galaxy S21. Now, the carrier-locked units in the Galaxy S21 series have started getting a new update.

Samsung has released a new software update to the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra on Xfinity Mobile’s network in the US. The software has firmware version G99xUSQU4AUGE and includes the August 2021 security patch. The company has explained on its website that its latest security patch fixes 40 privacy and security-related vulnerabilities. The update might not include any new features or user-facing UI changes.

If you are a Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, or Galaxy S21 Ultra user on Xfinity Mobile’s network in the US, you can check for the update by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also choose to flash the firmware manually after downloading the latest firmware file from our firmware database.

Samsung is expected to release the update to Galaxy S21 series devices on more US networks over the next few days. The phones were launched earlier this year with Android 11-based One UI 3.1. They have been getting monthly security updates since their release. The phones will get three major Android OS updates, which will take them to Android 14 towards the end of their lifecycle.

Galaxy S21

Model: SM-G991U
Dimensions: Bar: 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
Display: 6.2 inch / 157.48 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
CPU: Snapdragon 888
Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S21+

Model: SM-G996U
Dimensions: Bar: 161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm
Display: 6.7 inch / 170.18 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
CPU: Snapdragon 888
Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S21 Ultra

Model: SM-G998U
Dimensions: Bar: 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm
Display: 6.8 inch / 172.72 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
CPU: Snapdragon 888
Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Samsung signs Israeli FIFA, Fortnite team in new eSports push

Israeli eSports organization Team Finest is the lastest professional gaming collective to join forces with Samsung. The conglomerate will hence be sponsoring a wide array of their activities and facilities moving forward. Of course, the development also means Samsung’s logo will start being prominently displayed on Team Finest kits. And seeing how the organization currently competes in everything from Fortnite and FIFA to CS: GO and Valorant, Samsung secured quite a lot of eSports-centric ad space with this move.

In a prepared statement issued for the occasion, a company representative suggested the decision to sponsor Team Finest was a straightforward step for Samsung to take. In the sense that it signals a continuation of Samsung’s growing appetite for competitive gaming and video games, in general.

Expect more high-profile eSports partnerships involving Samsung

And while Samsung’s eSports ambitions grew quite wide in recent years, this particular tie-up is hardly surprising. Not in the least because Team Finest is among the more established names on the international pro gaming scene. Before Samsung came into the picture, the organization already secured sponsorships with household tech brands such as Logitech and Acer.

Plus, Samsung has recently committed to collaboration with some of the most high-profile brands in the niche like David Beckham’s own gaming team. Meaning the Team Finest sponsorship probably won’t be its final such undertaking announced in the near future. After all, a boost to brand awareness is rarely a wrong move for an industry leader the size of Samsung. Not to mention that this signing could pave the way for some uniquely intriguing experiences.

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Here’s how you can get a free Galaxy A32 5G with T-Mobile

T-Mobile seems to have an endless stock of Samsung Galaxy A32 5Gs at hand. The carrier can’t seem to stop giving them away. Previously, one could trade in just any functional phone for a free Galaxy A32 5G, although you’d get reimbursed with in-store credit instead of cash.

If you missed the last promotion, here’s your second chance to get your hands on a shiny new Galaxy A32 5G. This time around, you need to sign up for a new line on T-Mobile’s website. After that, you’ll need to buy a Samsung Galaxy A32 on a monthly payment plan.

Once the purchase has been confirmed, T-Mobile will credit your account $282, which can be redeemed once a month for up to 24 months. That is effectively how much you’d end up paying for a Galaxy A32 5G otherwise ($11.75 per month).

If you choose to terminate your service early, you will have to pay the remaining balance as a part of your final settlement. T-Mobile rounds things off by stating that only ‘well qualified’ customers can avail of the scheme. The offer is valid only for the entry-level Galaxy A32 5G variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

The Galaxy A32 5G is one of the most affordable 5G smartphones out there, making it an attractive buy for those on a tight budget. However, you’ll effectively be stuck with T-Mobile for two years, so keep that in mind before committing to a purchase, or, in this case, the lack of one.

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WhatsApp View Once disappearing photo/videos land on Samsung phones

Facebook-owned WhatsApp continues to expand its feature set for the billions of people across the globe that use this cross-platform messaging app. The new WhatsApp View Once feature brings disappearing photos and videos to your chats.

This feature was first made available in the beta version of WhatsApp a few months ago. It has been rolled out for everyone today and yes, that includes the owners of Samsung phones as well.

Send self-destructing photos and videos via WhatsApp

WhatsApp has a great many features to its name. The features include but are not limited to WhatsApp Web, group video calls, live location sharing and more. WhatsApp View Once is a great new addition to the feature set.

View Once photos and videos have now been rolled out for all WhatsApp users. They can use it to send photos and videos that will automatically disappear from the chat after they have been opened.

It’s a great privacy feature to secure sensitive information like a Wi-Fi password, for example, or photos or videos that you want the recipient to see only once. To use this feature, just tap on the “1” button on the left of the send button when sending a photo or video in a chat.

All media sent through the WhatsApp View Once feature is secured with end-to-end encryption. This means that WhatsApp can’t see what’s being shared.

The recipient will see it’s a disappearing photo when they receive it and it will be deleted automatically after they have seen it. There’s obviously nothing stopping them from taking a screenshot or recording their phone with another device, but that’s a whole other discussion.

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SamMobile Weekly Giveaway: Speed up storage with a 1TB Portable SSD!

The best Samsung phones aren’t the only great products that the Korean giant makes. It also makes some of the best SSDs that you can find on the market. Samsung’s Portable T5 series is much loved for its compact design and superior performance.

We’re giving away the 1TB Samsung Portable SSD T5 in our latest SamMobile Weekly Giveaway. The 1TB capacity is more than what most of you will need to meet your storage needs. It’s also super-fast which is certainly an added benefit.

You can submit an entry by using the widget embedded below. All SamMobile readers across the globe are eligible to participate. The winner will be announced on August 11, 2021.

Portable SSD T5 1TB international giveaway!

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[Result] SamMobile Weekly Giveaway: Get a move on with the Galaxy Fit 2!

Time to get active this summer with the Galaxy Fit 2, one of Samsung’s best activity trackers. You now have a chance to get your hands on one for free by participating in this SamMobile Weekly Giveaway.

The Galaxy Fit 2 comes with advanced tracking features in addition to automatic detection for five different activities. It can perform sleep tracking as well. The Galaxy Fit 2 lasts for up to 15 days on a single charge.

Follow the steps highlighted in the widget below to submit your entry for this giveaway. The winner will be announced on August 4, 2021.

Result: Congratulations to Khalid.who.else for winning the Galaxy Fit 2! Your prize will be sent out shortly. If you didn’t win, don’t worry, there’s always next week.

Samsug Galaxy Fit 2 international giveaway!

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Galaxy A52s inches closer to launch, could be available in Germany

The Galaxy A52 has been a huge hit, thanks to its combination of features and pricing. It offers a massive improvement over the Galaxy A51 and brings a high-refresh-rate display, an OIS camera, a faster processor, a bigger battery, and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. It was revealed last month that Samsung has been working on a souped-up version of the Galaxy A52 with an even faster processor, and it just moved closer to the launch.

The Galaxy A52s (SM-A528B/DS) has been spotted on Samsung’s website for the German market. The South Korean firm has published a dedicated support webpage for the phone, which means that the Galaxy A52s will be launched in Germany. We also expect the phone to launch in other European markets. Going by its model number, the phone features a dual-SIM card slot and 5G connectivity.

Previous leaks and reports have shown that the Galaxy A52s will feature the flagship-grade Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor. The phone will be available in two variants, one with 6GB RAM and the other with 8GB RAM. If we were to guess, the version with 6GB RAM could have 128GB internal storage, while the variant with 8GB RAM could have 256GB internal storage. The phone is expected to cost €449 in Europe.

The Galaxy A52s was benchmarked with Android 11, and it could come with One UI 3.1 out of the box. It could be available in at least three colors: black, light green, and white. It is expected that the Galaxy A52s will feature the same camera setup as seen on the Galaxy A52, but Samsung could surprise us by replacing the 5MP macro cam with a telephoto camera. The phone is expected to debut in South Korea sometime next month.

Samsung Galaxy A52s Support Webpage Germany

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International variant of the Galaxy A50 gets the July 2021 security update

The Galaxy A50 has finally started getting the July 2021 security update. Samsung had started rolling out the July update in the last week of June 2021, and dozens of Galaxy devices have received it since then. However, only the carrier-locked version of the Galaxy A50 had received the update until today. The new security patch is now rolling out to the international version of the phone as well.

Samsung has released the new software update to the Galaxy A50 (SM-A505G) in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. The latest update bears firmware version A505GUBS9CUG4 and includes the July 2021 security patch. Apart from fixing over 20 vulnerabilities mentioned in Samsung’s documentation, the update could also bring general bug fixes and device stability improvements to the phone.

If you are a Galaxy A50 user in any of the countries mentioned above, you can check for the latest update by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also download the latest firmware file from our firmware database and flash it manually. The update could reach more markets over the next few weeks.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy A50 in March 2019 with Android 9 Pie on board. The smartphone received the Android 10-based One UI 2 update last year and the Android 11 update five months ago. It won’t get any major Android OS updates in the future.

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Someone already unboxed the Galaxy Buds 2, and Samsung probably isn’t happy

Samsung’s alleged decision to go after leakers who ruined their surprise doesn’t seem to have deterred anyone in the slightest. We have a very good idea about what the Galaxy Buds 2 have in store for us and even how much it may cost. We had a good idea about its aesthetics thanks to leaked renders, and now, we get to see the real thing.

Twitter user @AhmedQwaider888 has posted what looks like a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 in the wild. We also get to see the retail packaging, charging case and the actual buds’ design. As expected, there isn’t much inside the box other than the actual earbuds, USB charging cable and what we assume to be replacement ear tips.

Ahmed seems to have taken the Galaxy Buds 2 for a spin (the Galaxy Wearable app now supports the new earbuds) and briefly described his experience via a Facebook post. It seems that the Galaxy Buds 2 last for a full five hours without a charging case and up to 20 hours with one. The noise isolation seems to be a whole lot better than the Galaxy Buds Pro, too.

At this point, there is very little mystery around the Galaxy Buds 2. Samsung would do well to have an ace up its sleeve, as most of its surprises have been ruined by now. A brief demonstration of the AMD Radeon-based GPU on the upcoming Exynos chipset would be nice, but the chances of that happening are quite low.

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Galaxy A42 5G finally picks up the July 2021 security update

The Galaxy A42 5G is only now picking up the July 2021 security update, roughly one month after many of its peers did the same. Its year-older counterpart, the Galaxy A52, was actually the smartphone that kickstarted Samsung’s August security patch rollout last week.

But the Galaxy A42 5G has been near the rear end of Samsung’s monthly update cycle since spring. Or since making the jump to Android 11, to be more specific. E.g. the device only picked up the May security patch in early June and the last time it made the cut within the same calendar month was back in April.

Galaxy A42 5G owners can still count on several years’ worth of security updates

Either way, the firmware version that’s now finally bringing the July 1st, 2021 security patch level to the Galaxy A42 5G is designated by PDA version A426BXXU2BUF2. Samsung’s established version naming practices suggest some other user-facing features and improvements might also be part of this particular download.

Australia, Italy, Spain, and Singapore are just some of the countries encompassed by the rollout as of today. So, despite being a bit late, this release at least already seems to be going global. And on the bright side, Galaxy A42 5G owners can still count on years’ worth of guaranteed security patches. Courtesy of their device still being under a year old and Samsung still being the king of Android software support by some margin.

As always, you can try initiating this download on your own by going to Settings > Software update > Download and install. Or, by paying our firmware archives a visit and doing things manually.

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August 2021 security update starts rolling out to international Galaxy S21 variants

Last week, the Chinese variants of the Galaxy S21 series had received the August 2021 security update. However, the international variants were still stuck with the July 2021 security patch. Today, Samsung has released its latest security patch to the international variants of the Galaxy S21 series.

The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra have started getting a new update in Germany. The new software has firmware version G99xBXXU3AUGM and includes the August 2021 security patch. While we don’t have the official changelog for the update yet, we expect it to include fixes for over 40 vulnerabilities, general bug fixes, and device stability improvements. Don’t expect any new major feature, though.

More markets will get this Galaxy S21 update over the next few days. If you are a Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, or Galaxy S21 Ultra user in Germany, you can download the new update right away by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also choose to download the latest firmware file from our firmware database and flash it manually using a Windows PC.

The Galaxy S21 series was launched in February, and all the phones in the series came with Android 11-based One UI 3.1 out of the box. They have been receiving monthly security updates since their launch. Samsung has promised three major Android OS updates to these smartphones, which means that they will get Android 12, Android 13, and Android 14 updates in the future.