Pixel 6 delay is the perfect reason to wait for the Galaxy S21 FE

Today, Google announced what are its most premium phones yet. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro together offer a variety of impressive features, or rather, features that any flagship should have in this day and age and were missing from Google’s previous Pixel phones. From Google’s new custom processor to the arrival of a periscope 4x zoom camera on Pixel devices, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are interesting phones, especially when combined with their aggressive price tags of $599 and $898.

Looking at the two devices individually, it becomes clear that the non-Pro Pixel 6 is not as exciting as the Pro model. It’s got no zoom camera, its screen has a lower refresh rate, and it’s also got a smaller screen and battery than the Pixel 6 Pro. Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S21 FE will probably have it beat in most areas, and if you needed a reason to wait for that phone instead of picking up the Pixel 6 right away, well, Google has given you one.

You see, many Pixel 6 orders will be delayed till mid-December, and with the Galaxy S21 FE expected to go official on January 11, we don’t see why you wouldn’t want to wait for Samsung’s phone to arrive before making a decision. The Galaxy S21 FE will most likely match most of the Pixel 6’s specs, including the promise of three major OS upgrades, and also have some extras that the Pixel 6 misses, like a zoom camera and a screen with a higher refresh rate.

The one thing that may give the Pixel 6 the lead is the software. It’s unclear if the Galaxy S21 FE will launch with Android 12 out of the box instead of Android 11. We hope it’s going to be the latest version considering how delayed the Galaxy S21 FE already is, but if it isn’t, then the Pixel 6 will enjoy better software support. The S21 FE may also be around $100 costlier.

Whatever the case may be, our point stands: It’s best to wait for the Galaxy S21 FE instead of ordering the Pixel 6 now, at least if Google isn’t able to get it to you before December. Or you could just grab the Pixel 6 (or Pixel 6 Pro), especially if you’re a Google fan or like “clean” software with fewer features. We won’t judge.

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Samsung and Virgin Media O2 announce 4G and 5G trials in the UK

Samsung and Virgin Media O2 have joined forces to conduct 4G and 5G trials in the UK. The goal is to verify the capability of Samsung’s network solutions and interoperability with Virgin Media O2’s legacy networks. The tests will involve Samsung’s advanced solutions such as its baseband unit, 5G Massive MIMO radios, and 4G radios on low-band and mid-band spectrums.

Samsung’s newest networking solutions provide a wide range of benefits. Its baseband unit has industry-leading capacity and throughput, while its 5G Massive MIMO radios are packed in a lightweight design to ensure easy installation.

Virgin Media O2 hopes for these initial trials with Samsung to help the company deliver the best possible 5G experience while boosting its 4G network.

Meanwhile, the government is investing £250 million “to put the UK at the forefront of 5G innovation,” and is supporting this new initiative by Virgin Media O2 and Samsung, said Julia Lopez, Minister for Media, Data, and Digital Infrastructure.

Virgin Media O2 is a joint venture between Telefónica and Liberty Global. It was launched in the UK in June, and now serves 47 million connections across broadband, mobile, TV, and other sectors.

Earlier this year, Samsung became the leading Open RAN vendor for Vodafone UK. Meanwhile, customers in the UK have had a chance to test Samsung’s 5G environment since last year at Samsung KX, where the company’s been demonstrating its latest 5G technologies through the so-called 5G Bus.

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SmartThings Energy is coming to the UK to help you save money on bills

Samsung’s home automation platform SmartThings is getting a new feature in the UK, which will allow users to gain more control over their energy consumption and electricity bills. This week, the company announced SmartThings Energy is coming to UK customers in collaboration with Chameleon Technology and Uswitch.

Samsung had released SmartThings Energy Control in the UK a couple of years ago, but the company describes the new SmartThings Energy platform as a supercharged version of the original. It’s powered by Chameleon Technology and allows customers in the UK to add their smart meter to the home automation platform for closer energy monitoring via their smartphones.

Furthermore, Samsung partnered with Uswitch — the UK’s leading price comparison service — and this will allow SmartThings Energy users to check for cheaper tariffs in accordance with the household’s energy usage.

Households will require a smart meter before using SmartThings Energy, and according to the announcement, the UK hopes that platforms like Samsung’s can increase consumer interest in smart meters. The energy price cap is expected to increase next year, and platforms like SmartThings Energy along with smart meters will become vital for customers who’ll want to keep their electricity bills in check.

Previously, Samsung introduced the SmartThings Energy platform in South Korea, and it didn’t take long for the company to bring the same service to customers in the USA.

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Samsung’s hard at work to release 3rd One UI 4.0 beta firmware this week

A couple of weeks went by since Samsung began rolling out the second Android 12-based One UI 4.0 beta build for the Galaxy S21 series, and the company just confirmed that the third beta wave is on its way and closing in fast.

A Samsung Community Manager confirmed earlier today that the development team is working hard to bring the third One UI 4.0 beta firmware to testers this week. Presumably, the third beta firmware will launch in South Korea at first, with additional markets following suit.

Of course, we’re still in the development process, so there’ no way to be sure that the third beta wave will commence this week, but we’ll find out soon enough. Samsung’s done a great job with the Android 12-based One UI 4.0 beta program so far, and at this rate, there’s a slight possibility that the first stable build will go live for the Galaxy S21 series before the end of November. The first beta build was released a little over a month ago, and we’re already looking forward to another wave.

The third One UI 4.0 beta firmware is supposed to address technical issues found throughout the first two phases, so if you were wary of joining the beta program due to unforeseen bugs, it should be safer to join with the third wave. We suspect that a lot more Galaxy S21 owners will be willing to try the third beta firmware, and in turn, this should help Samsung accelerate the development process even further.

You can check our hands-on videos below if you wish to learn more about the previous One UI 4.0 beta builds or the installation process itself. Will you be joining us for the third beta wave once it goes live? Feel free to let us know in the comment section and our social media networks.

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Here’s what to expect from Galaxy Unpacked 2 event on October 20

Samsung is holding an event on October 20, 2021, and the company has published a cryptic invitation teaser video on YouTube. The event will be live-streamed on YouTube and Samsung’s websites. If you were thinking about what the South Korean firm could announce during the upcoming Unpacked 2021 event, we have a video just for you.

In our latest video on SamMobile TV, we explain everything that you can expect from the upcoming event. It is rumored that Samsung could launch more color variants of its latest foldable smartphones. The company might also unveil redesigned versions of some of its stock apps. Check out our video to know more about those things.

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Carrier-locked Galaxy Z Fold 2 gets October 2021 security update in the US

Samsung is on a roll today. The South Korean firm has released new software updates to dozens of smartphones and tablets, including the Galaxy A01, Galaxy A20, Galaxy A52s 5G, Galaxy Note 10 series, Galaxy Z Flip 3, and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The latest Galaxy device to get the new security update is the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

The carrier-locked version of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 (SM-F916U) is getting the October 2021 security update in the US. The update, which comes with firmware version F916USQS2EUI3, is rolling out to devices on T-Mobile’s network in the US. Apart from fixing over 60 vulnerabilities related to user privacy and data security, the update might also include device stability improvements and general bug fixes.

If you are a Galaxy Z Fold 2 user on T-Mobile’s network, you might have already received the update. If you haven’t received it yet, you can check for the update manually 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.

More carriers could roll out this security update over the next few days. Samsung had launched the Galaxy Z Fold 2 last year with Android 10-based One UI 2.5. Earlier this year, the foldable smartphone received the Android 11-based One UI 3 update.

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Galaxy A01 receives the October 2021 security update

Over the past few weeks, Samsung has released the October 2021 security update to various Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Today, the company has updated the Galaxy A01 with its latest security patch, making it more secure and reliable.

The Galaxy A01 is getting a new software update in Russia. The update, which comes with firmware version A015FXXU5BUJ1, includes the October 2021 security patch. Samsung had revealed earlier this month that the October patch fixes for over 60 vulnerabilities found in Galaxy smartphones and tablets. The update could also include device stability improvements and general bug fixes.

If you are a Galaxy A01 user in Russia, you can download the latest software update for your smartphone 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.

More markets could get access to the latest software update for the Galaxy A01 in the coming weeks. The entry-level smartphone debuted with Android 10 onboard, and it received the Android 11 update a few months ago.

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Galaxy A52s, Samsung’s best mid-range phone, gets latest security update

The October security update has been rolling out to Galaxy devices at a surprising pace even as Samsung is dedicating its time to getting Android 12 and One UI 4.0 ready for the general public before 2022, and today, Samsung’s best mid-range phone is getting in on the action.

The Galaxy A52s 5G is picking up the October security update in a handful of markets this week, including Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Germany. The update comes with firmware version A528BXXU1AUI8 and should include more than just the latest security fixes, but we don’t currently have a changelog so it’s unclear what else is in there.

That said, we can assume that there’s nothing in the way of major new features included in the update. Those will arrive with One UI 4.0 and Android 12, which will be the first major OS upgrade for the Galaxy A52s and is expected to arrive sometime next year for Samsung’s mid-range phones.

To check if your Galaxy A52s has an update available, open its Settings app, select Software update, and tap Download and install. If you’re in one of the markets where the update has rolled out, you can manually upgrade your phone using firmware files that you can download from our archive.

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Galaxy A20 picks up October 2021 security update in the US

Samsung had released the Android 11-based One UI 3 update to the unlocked version of the Galaxy A20 in the US. Today, the company has started rolling out the October 2021 security update to the smartphone. The latest update is currently available on Sprint and T-Mobile networks in the US.

The latest software update for the unlocked version of the Galaxy A20 has firmware version A205USQSABUJ1. It includes the October 2021 security patch, which according to Samsung, fixes more than 60 vulnerabilities related to data security and user privacy. The update could also include general bug fixes and device stability improvements.

If you are a Galaxy A20 (SM-A205U) user in the US, you might have already received a notification of the new software update. If you haven’t received the update yet, you can check for it manually 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.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy A20 in the first half of 2019 with Android 9-based One UI. The smartphone received the Android 10-based One UI 2 update last year and the Android 11-based One UI 3 update a couple of months ago.

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Samsung Developer Conference 2021 keynote speakers revealed

With only a week remaining until Samsung Developer Conference 2021 takes place, the company has already solidified its list of speakers at the event. Key names include a number of its C-suite executives, including former smartphone chief DJ Koh. Koh, whom one Roh Tae-moon succeeded early last year, will hold the opening keynote of SDC 2021.

SmartThings VP Samantha Osborne and Mobile Software R&D EVP Janghyun Yoon are both scheduled to hold their own panels. As is Jeongsook Lee, the VP of the Office of Customer Experience. Visual Display Software SVP Yongjae Kim and Samsung Research America’s Visual Solutions Lab VP, Bill Mandel, have been confirmed to feature at the event, as well.

Who better to talk strategy but Samsung’s strategy makers?

The senior ranks won’t be appearing just for show. As was the case with previous editions of the show, platform strategy and ecosystem maturity will be some of the key topics at the next iteration of Samsung Developer Conference. So, who better to talk strategy but strategy makers?

Anyone tuning in live will have a chance to win the Galaxy Z Flip 3 from the official SDC website. The event is scheduled to start next Tuesday, at 10am PT / 7pm CET / 10:30pm IST.

As a reminder, this is going to be the first time in over two years that a Samsung Developer Conference is taking place, at all. Last year, Samsung postponed and eventually canceled its dev-specific event due to public health considerations. The reasoning, naturally, had everything to do with the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, 2020 was the first year in which an SDC didn’t take place in over half a decade.

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Samsung joins hands with Stellantis to make batteries for electric vehicles

Samsung SDI, a Samsung Group firm, is among the biggest battery makers in the world. It supplies batteries for electric vehicles from companies like Hyundai and Rivian. It has now signed a joint venture with global carmaker Stellantis to make batteries for its electric cars across various brands.

No details have been revealed regarding the size of the deal, but experts claim that it could be worth a few billion dollars. It was recently reported that Samsung SDI and Stellantis had signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to build a battery production plant in the US. Stellantis is the result of a merger of two big automobile brands: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and PSA Groupe.

Stellantis is being seen as a strong partner in the EV space since it owns various car brands, including Citroen, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati. The company has announced that it will invest around $34.9 billion by 2025 for the electrification of its cars and software development.

Samsung SDI currently has three battery plants, one each in China, Hungary, and South Korea. It competes with the likes of LG Energy, SK On, Panasonic, CATL, and BYD.

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Grab the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for just $850 in the US via this Amazon deal

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was launched in August with a starting price of $999, and it became Samsung’s cheapest foldable smartphone ever. However, you can now get it at an even lower price. If you live in the US, you can buy the unlocked version of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for just $850.

Amazon is currently selling the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in Cream, Green, and Phantom Black colors for just $850. And that doesn’t include trade-in benefits of up to $511. Moreover, you can get an additional discount of $50 if you get yourself an Amazon Rewards Visa card.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 features a 6.7-inch foldable Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution, HDR10+, and a 120Hz refresh rate. On the outside, it has a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED cover display. It runs Android 11 out of the box and will get three additional Android OS updates.

It uses the Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage, and a 3,300mAh battery. It has a 10MP selfie camera and a 12MP+12MP dual-camera on the rear and can record 4K 60fps videos. It supports Samsung Pay and wireless charging as well.

• Buy Galaxy Z Flip 3 (Unlocked) from Amazon US

Galaxy Z Flip 3 review

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