An Android 11 feature is coming to your Samsung phone… without Android 11

Google’s been making Android more secure with every major new release. One way Android keeps your data secure is through app permissions, with recent versions of the OS asking you to allow or deny an app from accessing device features such as camera or location the first time you install and run it so you have greater control over your privacy.

With Android 11, Google added automatic reset of permissions for apps that haven’t been used for a few months, similar to how Samsung’s software — which runs atop Android — can disable unused apps so they don’t run in the background unnecessarily. While the permissions auto-reset feature has been exclusive to devices running Android 11 all this time, it will soon come to your Samsung phone even if you’re not running Android 11.

Starting December, if your Galaxy smartphone or tablet runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above and has access to Google apps and services, it will gain support for auto reset of permissions for unused apps. The feature will be enabled for any app that targets/supports Android 11. For older apps that haven’t been updated with support for Android 11 and only officially supports older versions of the OS, you will be able to manually enable the feature from device settings.

We’ll learn more about how the permissions aut0-reset feature will work on devices that run an OS version older than Android 11, but we’ll let you know once it actually rolls out to the millions of Galaxy smartphones and tablets Samsung has sold over the last half decade.

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Google Stadia now fully supports Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Note 20 phones

Stadia is Google’s game streaming service that makes it possible to play console games on a variety of devices including smartphones. Since all of the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, console games can easily be played on mobile devices.

Several Samsung devices have been fully compatible with Stadia since last year. Google has now expanded the list with 11 more Samsung devices. They include the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Note 20 phones.

Samsung tablets also pick up Stadia support

Stadia has supported some of the best Samsung phones since February last year. With this latest update, all Galaxy S handsets from the Galaxy S8 onwards and Note handsets from the Galaxy Note 8 onwards are now fully compatible with Stadia.

It’s technically possible to steam Stadia games on any Android device. However, that’s done in an experimental capacity. Google maintains a list of devices that it supports officially for the game streaming service.

They include devices from Samsung and other manufacturers. These devices deliver the best possible Stadia experience without requiring any tweaks from the user. Since the games are being streamed over the internet, a great internet connection is obviously of vital importance.

The list has now been expanded to include the Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra in addition to the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Some of the best Samsung tablets are now on the list as well. They include the Galaxy Tab S5e, Tab S6, Tab S7 and S7+, the Galaxy Tab A and A7.

It’s interesting to note that Samsung’s latest foldables are still missing from the list. One could argue that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the perfect candidate for official Stadia support. There’s no saying when it will get it, though.

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Some Galaxy A and M series phones have a mysterious auto restart issue

The Galaxy A and Galaxy M series have done very well for Samsung. The company has sold millions of units across the globe, particularly in emerging markets. Customers love them for the features and functionality that they offer at attractive prices.

For the most part, they have been exceptional devices with little or no underlying issues. However, it appears that some Galaxy A and Galaxy M models are suffering from a mysterious issue that causes the device to freeze up and restart automatically.

Mysterious Galaxy A and Galaxy M devices’ issue seems to have no fix

The reports have come from users who own the Galaxy M30s, Galaxy M31, Galaxy M31s, Galaxy A50, Galaxy A50s and Galaxy A51 handsets in India. This suggests that whatever the root cause, it’s likely limited to a batch of devices sold within that particular country.

Reports indicate that the devices often freeze up and get hanged. Frequent auto restarts are also a problem. That makes it very difficult to use the device. Some users have even claimed that their devices are stuck in a boot loop. They don’t go past the Samsung logo at startup.

Samsung India’s official forums have reports about these issues going back at least a couple of months. There has been no word as yet from the company about the root cause. So it’s unclear whether this is being caused by a software or a hardware issue.

Device owners who have taken their units to a Samsung service center have been told that they need to get the motherboard replaced, a job that costs over $100. Naturally, not many are willing to spend that much money to fix an underlying problem they did nothing to aggravate.

The chipsets are a common thread between these devices. The Exynos 9610 and Exynos 9611 are used in the devices mentioned above. Whether that’s related to the issue in any way remains unclear. There have also been no reports about similar issues being faced on these devices by users outside India.

With a factory reset not working and a costly motherboard replacement that customers want to avoid, one can only hope Samsung can provide some clarity on the matter. Those who are facing these issues might also be hoping that whatever fix is needed, the company does it for them at no charge.

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