Xiaomi dethrones Samsung, becomes world’s biggest smartphone brand

Samsung has been facing a lot of heat from Xiaomi over the past few years. Three years ago, Xiaomi defeated Samsung to become the number one smartphone brand in India. Now, it is being reported that the Chinese smartphone brand has dethroned Samsung globally to become the world’s biggest smartphone maker for the first time ever.

According to the latest numbers from Counterpoint Research, Samsung slipped to the second position in global smartphone rankings in June 2021. Samsung’s market share dropped to 15.7%. Xiaomi rose to the number one position in June, with a market share of 17.1%. Apple’s market share dropped, too, and it acquired a 14.3% share of the global smartphone market.

Xiaomi’s sales grew 26% month-on-month compared to May 2021. The Chinese firm’s cumulative numbers for the second quarter still position it at the second rank, though. The company was launched in 2011, and over the years, Xiaomi CEO had mentioned multiple times that it wanted to defeat Samsung and become the number one smartphone brand in the world. Now, the company seems to have achieved its long-standing goal.

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, said, “Ever since the decline of Huawei commenced, Xiaomi has been making consistent and aggressive efforts to fill the gap created by this decline. The OEM has been expanding in Huawei’s and HONOR’s legacy markets like China, Europe, Middle East and Africa. In June, Xiaomi was further helped by China, Europe and India’s recovery and Samsung’s decline due to supply constraints.”

However, Samsung could bounce back next quarter once it manages to solve supply chain issues. Due to the fresh COVID-19 wave in Vietnam, Samsung’s smartphone production has taken a hit. There was a shortage of Galaxy smartphones (especially Galaxy A series devices) across online and offline channels in various markets, which helped Xiaomi as well.

With the upcoming launches such as the Galaxy A52s, Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy Z Flip 3, and the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung has a chance to defeat Xiaomi and take back the throne.

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Caviar has mounted skulls on the stylish Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3

Eccentric custom smartphone company Caviar has announced limited edition versions of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. Not only that, but the two custom foldable smartphones got featured in a promotional video ahead of Samsung’s own official unveiling scheduled for August 11.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is primarily a productivity device paired with an S Pen, while the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a more compact and elegant clamshell smartphone. With that in mind, you’d probably never guess what Caviar had in mind for its latest custom models, because you’d probably never corelate the stylish design of the Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 with flaming skulls. But, believe it or not, that’s exactly what Caviar gave the new foldable devices…

Galaxy Z Fold 3 Ragnarok

The so-called Galaxy Z Fold 3 Ragnarok from Caviar features a blackened titanium body with laser engravings, and a prominent titanium skull inlaid with rubies and red flames. The red flame jewelry enamel was hand-painted.

This won’t be a mass-production device, but a limited edition one with only 99 models going up for sale. Speaking of which, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 Ragnarok costs a whopping $10,770.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Catrina Calavera

The stylish Galaxy Z Flip 3 didn’t escape Caviar’s skull treatment either. The Catrina Calavera edition has a tempered titanium body with 18K gold inlays, a hand-painted 18K white gold skull, and an 18K gold frame with inlaid emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 Catrina Calavera edition has a total of 419 gemstones and a price tag of $46,460. Caviar is selling only 20 copies, but they’ll cost nearly $1 million combined.

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Samsung’s foldable share in 2023 could top 75% as demand is expected to soar tenfold

Love them or hate them, foldable devices are here to stay. Market watchers expect this emerging segment to grow massively by 2023, with Samsung likely to continue dominating the foldable market two years from now.

The foldable device market in 2021 is showing a 3x growth compared to 2020, and Counterpoint Research expects foldable device sales to be around 9 million this year. Samsung will continue dominating the foldable device market in 2021 while holding at least an 88% share by the end of the year.

Fast forward to 2023 and the global foldable segment is expected to grow tenfold. Samsung is projected to lose some ground to rivals in 2023 and account for a market share of around 75%.

The research firm adds that Apple will possibly join the foldable market in 2023. This could legitimize foldable devices and push them even further into the mainstream, or at the very least, Apple’s contribution will strengthen the global supply chain.

Foldable devices could be Samsung’s answer to China

Huawei’s demise has allowed other Chinese brands to flourish in many regions in and outside of China. And although Samsung’s market share in China remains negligible, the emergence of foldable devices could allow Samsung to turn the tables and establish a better foothold in the East Asian country.

Counterpoint Research analyst Jene Park believes that Samsung has an opportunity to secure Huawei’s vacant spot, especially with the release of new foldable devices. It could be that the Z Fold and Z Flip lineups will allow Samsung to turn the tides in China.

A previous report dating back to May claimed that the foldable display market could soar in demand a hundredfold by 2025, possibly topping 73 million shipments. Samsung Display is the largest distributor of foldable displays, so the company will benefit the most from the increasing popularity of foldable mobile devices over the coming years.

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The MEA market topped new records in Q2, but Samsung failed to capitalize

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) market experienced record smartphone sales in the second quarter of the year, and Samsung continues leading the charge in front of its rivals. But while Samsung hasn’t let go of its top spot in the MEA region in Q2, the company did lose a lot of ground to a few of its competitors who have made impressive gains.

Q2 was one of the best quarters for the MEA region in terms of smartphone sales. The market declined 3% quarter-on-quarter but grew a massive 35% year-on-year, shows a new market analysis published by Counterpoint Research.

Samsung maintained the lead but lost a 4% market share

Samsung kept a 16% market share in the MEA in terms of smartphone sales in Q2 2021, down from a 20% share recorded a year ago. At the same time, rivals including Xiaomi, Tecno, Itel, Infinix, Oppo, and Vivo have all gained significant ground during the same 3-month period, closing the gap with Samsung but ultimately failing to overtake the Korean tech giant.

Samsung was hit by production issues in Vietnam

Samsung’s market performance in the MEA region in Q1 was a lot more positive thanks to the company’s boosted market spendings at the beginning of the year. However, Samsung lost ground in Q2 as sales trended downwards due to production difficulties at its facilities in Vietnam.

What’s worse is that market watchers expect Samsung to face even more production difficulties in Q3, which could lead to further losses in the MEA region.

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The Galaxy A52s is stopping by the FCC as more press renders leak

Samsung has decided to develop an S-branded Galaxy A52 variant, for whatever reason, and the so-called Galaxy A52s will probably go on sale before the end of Q3. Or at the very least, Samsung appears to be dealing with the formalities necessary for the phone’s market release. As a result, the Galaxy A52s was recently sent to and greenlit by the FCC.

The Galaxy A52s with model number SM-A528B has Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and of course, Bluetooth connectivity, but the FCC documents haven’t revealed much else aside from these characteristics and the 5G bands it supports: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 78.

The Galaxy A52s won’t be all that different from the standard model

One of the few changes expected to be introduced by the Galaxy A52s 5G is a newer Snapdragon 778 chipset. There’s also a rumor floating around suggesting that the Galaxy A52s will abandon the depth sensor in favor of a 5MP telephoto camera.

The Galaxy A52s 5G will also introduce at least one new color option — mint green — as confirmed by leaked renders. The phone’s exterior design is pretty much unchanged, though.

Finally, the Galaxy A52s 5G is said to ship only with 128GB of storage, and rumor has it that Samsung intends to release the phone in Europe for around 450 euro.

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Samsung’s brand-new E5 OLED display will debut on this smartphone

Samsung Display is the world’s biggest manufacturer of small-sized OLED panels. Its display panels are used by all smartphone brands, including Apple, Google, OnePlus, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi. The company has reportedly developed a brand new OLED panel for smartphones, and it will debut on a non-Galaxy smartphone.

It has been revealed that the iQOO 8 will use Samsung Display’s new E5 OLED panel. It is a 6.78-inch display with QHD+ resolution, a pixel density of 517ppi, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Since it is an LTPO panel, it supports a variable refresh rate (from 1Hz to 120Hz). It is a 10-bit panel and can display 1 billion colors. It has curved sides and a centered punch-hole for the selfie camera.

The iQOO 8 will be unveiled on August 17. iQOO is Vivo’s value-oriented sub-brand, and going by the company’s teasers, the iQOO 8 will feature the Snapdragon 888+ processor that was announced a few weeks ago. It also features 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. It is said to run OriginOS 1.0 that is based on Android 11.

It is interesting to see Samsung Display’s new OLED panel debuting on a non-Galaxy smartphone. The company hasn’t revealed what improvements it has achieved over the E4 OLED panel, though.

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More signs show that Samsung is preparing the Galaxy M32 5G for release

Samsung is indeed developing a 5G version of the Galaxy M32, and it’s starting to look more and more like the company is gearing up for the smartphone’s imminent release in India. An exact launch date — or even a vague timeframe — has yet to be disclosed by Samsung, but the support page for the Galaxy M32 5G is now live at Samsung India, which should mean that the device must be on its way to a market release.

The support page doesn’t say much about the phone itself yet, but it will be populated with more topics once the phone goes on sale. The “Galaxy M32 5G” moniker isn’t mentioned outright, but the SM-M326B model number matches the phone’s description.

What’s the Galaxy M32 5G all about?

Well, it’s simple. The Galaxy M32 5G is meant to bring 5G connectivity to an already great low-cost phone. The 4G model was released in India in late June and stole the spotlight from the phone it was supposed to copy, namely the Galaxy A32.

Spec-wise, the Galaxy M32 5G will be largely unchanged compared to the 4G model, but according to a recent benchmark, the 5G model will feature a different chipset — the MediaTek Dimensity 720.

Compared to the Helio G80 chipset, the Dimensity 720 solution has better performance and higher energy efficiency thanks to the 7nm manufacturing process. Furthermore, the Helio G80 has a Mali-G52 graphics chip, whereas the Dimensity 720 SoC boasts a Mali-G57 GPU.

Samsung is bound to spill the beans on the Galaxy M32 5G release details soon, though we should keep in mind that the company’s main priority right now is to ensure that Galaxy Unpacked 2021 is successful, which could mean that the Galaxy M32 5G might take a back seat for a while.

Galaxy M32 (LTE) review

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The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is now live at Samsung’s online store in Thailand

The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is launching in more markets today. After announcing pre-order details for the USA yesterday, Samsung followed up with a new announcement for Thailand, where the Galaxy Tab S7 FE is now available for purchase outright.

Galaxy tablet enthusiasts in Thailand can now order the Galaxy Tab S7 FE online from Samsung in exchange for 19,990 Baht ($601). The tablet features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage, expandable by up to 1TB via microSD.

Prospective buyers are locked into a single hardware configuration

Galaxy Tab S7 FE buyers in Thailand have a choice of four color options: black, green, pink, and silver. However, customers don’t have many other options aside from picking a color.

In other words, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE in Thailand is available in a single memory option with LTE connectivity only. The Wi-Fi model could arrive at a later date for a lower price, but Samsung has yet to reveal any availability details for this variant in Thailand.

The first FE-branded Samsung tablet is accompanied by an S Pen and a handful of productivity apps. It supports DeX and can be paired with a Book Cover accessory (sold separately).

Galaxy Tab S7 FE review

• Buy the Galaxy Tab S7 FE at Samsung Thailand

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Tired of pop-ups? Google’s about to make the web less annoying (and break it)

Samsung’s merciless stance on alert-abusing adware and privacy-friendly policies are some of the biggest reasons why we prefer its Internet browser over its many Android alternatives. Ever since native ad-blocking support first arrived to the popular app back in 2016, the company’s been hard at work fleshing out its functionality. But the latest blow to annoying frontend design practices won’t be coming from Samsung’s direction – at least not initially.

Namely, Google still seems keen to continue investing in ad-blocking tech, regardless of the fact that it just happens to be the largest ad conglomerate in the world. And its next milestone seems pretty much guaranteed to leave a trace on your web-browsing experience, as Alphabet’s subsidiary is currently preparing to gradually sunset the Alert API in Chrome.

Samsung Internet is likely to follow Chrome’s lead here… but will this break the web?

Yes, the thing capable of pushing out pop-up messages. The very one that countless of shady sites have been abusing since the dawn of the modern browser. As of Chrome 91, cross-origin iFrames (i.e., those sent by embedded HTML windows) are a thing of the past. The implication is that the Alert API will be facing further limitations in the very near future. And the Chromium foundation of Samsung Internet also makes this change a likely release candidate for Samsung’s own mobile browser.

Granted, eliminating something as ingrained as the Alert API without breaking a whole swath of websites in the process seems… pretty much impossible. For better or worse, mind you. And some developers have already started rallying opposition to the move on social media, arguing the tool is still irreplaceable in many teaching and debugging scenarios.

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Galaxy S20, Note 20 August security update rollout kicks off in the USA

The August security update for Galaxy devices began rolling out last month and is beginning to appear in more and more countries as the days go by. In the Galaxy S20 lineup, the Galaxy S20 FE was the first to get the latest security update, and the other three Galaxy S20 models are now joining the party, as well.

And, surprisingly, the rollout has kicked off in the USA of all places, with unlocked models first in line. The same goes for the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, unlocked units of which are also receiving the August 2021 security update at the time of this writing.

Security enhancements are all you’re getting with the August update

Unfortunately, the updates for both the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 20 series are quite boring, as they only feature security enhancements. The August 2021 security patch itself is quite bare-bones, with merely two critical Android OS vulnerabilities being fixed.

It’s likely just the calm before the storm, though: Samsung will soon be releasing One UI 3.1.1 (which will debut on the new foldables) for many of its devices, and the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 lineups are sure to be on the eligibility list. Of course, the update train won’t stop there for these two flagships – they will also be upgraded to Android 12 and One UI 4.0 in the future and will go all the way up to Android 13.

The new firmware versions accompanying the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 updates are G98xU1UES2DUG6 and N98xU1UES2DUG1 respectively. Owners of unlocked models should be able to download it over the air from their phone’s Settings » Software update menu. Our firmware archives also have the relevant files for anyone wishing to manually upgrade using a Windows PC.

Galaxy S20 5G

• Model: SM-G981U1
• 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 Note 20 5G

• Model: SM-N981U1
• 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

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Watch: Galaxy Buds 2 get unboxed ahead of launch, this time on video

The Galaxy Buds 2 are expected to be officially unveiled during Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event on August 11. However, the upcoming truly wireless earphones have been leaked extensively, and their full specifications, colors, and pricing have already been revealed. Now, the Galaxy Buds 2 have been unboxed, as seen in a new video.

Samsung’s upcoming true wireless earbuds feature a design that’s similar to the Galaxy Buds Pro. And it is a departure from the design seen with the Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Buds+. The South Korean firm has equipped the Galaxy Buds 2 with a Bluetooth 5.2 chip, a dual-driver setup (11m woofer and 6.3mm tweeter), and six microphones. They feature ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and a transparency mode.

The Galaxy Buds 2 feature an IPX7 rating for water resistance. The earbuds come packed with a 61mAh battery, while their case has a 472mAh battery. These earbuds can last up to 8 hours on a single charge with ANC turned off, and combined with the case, they can last up to 20 additional hours. With ANC turned on, the Galaxy Buds 2 can last up to 5 hours (13 hours with the case).

The case features a rounded square design, a USB Type-C port, and Qi wireless charging. The Galaxy Buds 2 will be available in four colors: Black, Olive Green, Purple, and White. They are expected to cost $150 and will compete with the likes of AirPods, Beats Studio Buds, and OnePlus Buds Pro.

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Original Galaxy Fold gets the August 2021 security update

Samsung started rolling out the August 2021 security update in the last week of July. The Galaxy A52 was the first smartphone to get the update. Samsung’s first-generation foldable phones—Galaxy Fold 5G and Galaxy Z Flip—received the update this week. Now, the latest security update is available for the Galaxy Fold as well.

The Galaxy Fold (SM-F900F) is currently getting the new software update in France. The update bears firmware version F900FXXS5EUG1 and includes the August 2021 security patch. It fixes 40 vulnerabilities related to user privacy and security. While we don’t have the official changelog for the update yet, it could also feature general bug fixes and device stability improvements.

If you are a Galaxy Fold user in France, you will get the update soon. If you don’t want to wait for the update to arrive on its own, you can manually check for it by navigating to Settings » Software update and clicking on Download and install. You can also take the manual firmware flashing route, but you’ll have to download the latest firmware file from our firmware database and have a Windows PC handy to flash the firmware.

The Galaxy Fold was launched with Android 9-based One UI in September 2019. The phone received the Android 10-based One UI 2 update last year and the Android 11-based One UI 3 update a few months. Currently, the phone is running One UI 3.1, which includes a few features that were originally introduced with the Galaxy S21 series.

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Galaxy Z Flip picks up the August 2021 security update

After releasing the August 2021 security update to the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20 FE, and the Galaxy Fold 5G, Samsung has released it to the original Galaxy Z Flip. However, this update has only been released to the international variants of the Galaxy Z Flip in Asian and European markets.

The Galaxy Z Flip (SM-F700F) has started getting the new software update with firmware version F700FXXS7DUG1 in dozens of Asian and European countries. It includes the August 2021 security patch that fixes 40 privacy and security-related vulnerabilities. It might also include general bug fixes and device improvements, but there are no new features or user-facing changes.

If you are a Galaxy Z Flip user in Asia or Europe, you might have already received a notification for the update. You haven’t received it yet, you can check for the OTA update by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also take the manual flashing route and download the latest firmware file from our firmware database.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy Z Flip early last year with Android 10 and One UI 2. The phone received the Android 11-based One UI 3 update in December 2020 and the One UI 3.1 update in February 2021. The foldable phone has been getting monthly security updates since its release.

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