Samsung gets to keep its memory crown while rival merger falls apart

Samsung’s title of the world’s largest NAND flash memory manufacturer will remain unchallenged for the time being. Namely, while the merger of its two largest rivals — Japanese Kioxia and California-based Western Digital — seemed like a done deal this summer, the said consolidation now appears to be falling apart.

Sources close to the two companies claim the merger talks have been at an impasse for some time now. The underlying causes citied as the reasons for the deadlock are multifaceted and deeply rooted. E.g., valuation disagreements and regulatory approval concerns are the leading issues behind the standstill, making it likely that this will be the end of Kioxia’s elongated acquisition attempt. No matter the reasons, this is a great outcome for Samsung.

Even combined, Kioxia and WD wouldn’t overtake Samsung overnight

According to Statista, Samsung currently controls just over a third of the world’s NAND flash memory market, at 34%. Meanwhile, industry data for the second quarter of the year puts Kioxia and Western Digital’s shares at 18.3 and 14.7 percentage points, respectively. Meaning that even combined, these two wouldn’t manage to dwarf Samsung. At least not immediately.

The medium-term picture is a whole different matter. Logistics aside, combining their sales and R&D departments would certainly allow the two companies to eventually challenge Samsung’s market dominance. Of course, that’s assuming WD and Kioxia’s merger wouldn’t bleed value, which is a big “if”. Because big-business mergers tend to do just that, particularly so in the tech sphere.

Besides, it’s not like Samsung was resting on its laurels while its largest rivals were plotting to join forces. The South Korean giant has been doing everything it can to maintain its momentum in the NAND space through aggressive investments in both logistics and R&D.

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Samsung investors worried over Apple’s insistence to buy Chinese

Samsung investors are getting worried over Apple’s relatively newfound insistence on buying Chinese. “Relatively” meaning it’s not exactly new, but it wasn’t until recently that Cupertino ostensibly made buying cheap its top priority.

The writing has been on the wall for some time now, though. Apple is by far the most profitable smartphone company out there. And its investors are as insatiable as any, meaning its growth potential in the mobile space was sooner or later going to devolve into cost-cutting.

That is exactly what seems to be happening right now. Particularly in the display segment, where China’s giant BOE has recently chipped away another 15 million panels destined for the iPhone 13 series off of Samsung. In effect, Samsung stock has been plummeting in recent weeks, diving over nine percent since this point in September.

Apple’s number one priority is buying cheap, and Samsung ain’t cheap

One upside to all this is that Apple can’t keep competing in the premium smartphone segment while incessantly cutting costs. In fact, that’s largely what already bought Samsung a big head start in the foldable market. But in terms of winning back lucrative supply contracts, there’s a limit to how low Samsung can go. As evidenced by its own device portfolio, which saw significant price drops across the board this year.

Samsung isn’t the only Korean company whose medium-term profits are in question over Apple’s growing fondness of buying cheap components. It’s certainly the largest of the lot, mind you, but its rival LG has been having similar issues as of late.

As a result, LG’s stock has been following a similar trajectory to that of Samsung’s over the last month. Just slightly worse, as has become tradition when comparing these two across any metric in recent years. More specifically, LG’s valuation hit within the past 30 days is in the double digits, percentage-wise.

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October 2021 security update is now live for the Galaxy A51

Yesterday, Samsung released the October 2021 security update to the Galaxy A52. Just hours later, the company has released the latest security update to Galaxy A52’s predecessor, the Galaxy A51. The update is currently available in a few Asian markets, but more countries will get it soon.

The latest software update for the Galaxy A51 comes with firmware version A515FXXU5EUJ2. It has been released in India, Nepal, Russia, and Sri Lanka. The new update brings the October 2021 security patch that promises to fix more than 60 privacy and security-related vulnerabilities. As usual, it could also include general bug fixes and stability improvements.

If you are a Galaxy A51 user in any of the countries mentioned above, you might have already received a notification of 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 database and flash it manually.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy A51 in December 2019 with Android 10. The smartphone received the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update earlier this year.

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Russian court bans 61 Samsung smartphones following patent lawsuit

Samsung’s smartphone business wasn’t doing too great in Russia earlier this summer, as its biggest rival from China, Xiaomi, was able to capture a couple of extra percentage points in terms of market share. Samsung hoped that the launch of the Galaxy M52 5G and M22 in Russia would close that gap with Xiaomi, but it now turns out that the company is facing much bigger problems.

A Russian court has reportedly banned Samsung from importing and selling 61 smartphone models in Russia after Swiss company SQWIN SA filed a lawsuit against it. The company claimed that the Samsung Pay platform infringes on a patent for an electronic payment system filed in Russia.

61 Samsung phones could get banned in Russia

According to Reuters citing the RIA news agency, SQWIN SA filed the lawsuit earlier this year, and on July 27, the court reached a decision. At that time, it wasn’t clear which smartphone models were affected by this claim, and SQWIN SA filed an appeal in August before the court clarified that a whopping 61 Samsung phones are liable to get banned in Russia.

The ruling has yet to take effect, but the Russian court clarified that Samsung has the right to appeal it within one month of its adoption. It sounds like there’s a chance that Samsung will be able to avoid this disastrous outcome, though only time will tell. The 61 smartphone models weren’t listed in the latest report, but the number is probably large enough to cover virtually any worthwhile Galaxy phone that supports the Samsung Pay platform.

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Galaxy Z Fold 3 may be next in line for One UI 4.0 beta

With the third One UI 4.0 beta update now rolling out for the Galaxy S21 series in South Korea, Samsung might be getting ready to extend the beta program to more smartphone models soon. As of now, the beta program is open only for the Galaxy S21 lineup in select markets, but rumor has it that the company will soon release the first beta build for the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Specifically, Samsung is reportedly in the process of preparing the first One UI 4.0 beta build for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in China. According to @UniverseIce on Twitter, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in China — not the W22 5G — will join the Android 12-based One UI 4.0 beta program “in the near future.”

It could mean that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in other markets outside of China will be next in line for One UI 4.0 beta, though there’s never a guarantee with these early builds. Nevertheless, the beta program seems to be going swimmingly so far, so Samsung may soon add a few more devices into the mix before launching the first public build, presumably before the end of the year. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you posted.

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Samsung unable to catch up with Xiaomi in the Indian smartphone market

Although Samsung managed to secure its lead in the global smartphone market in Q3, 2021, the situation in India is quite different. The company lost out majorly to arch-rival Xiaomi in Q2, 2021, and the situation is more or less the same this time around according to a new report by market research firm Canalys.

The number of smartphones shipped throughout the country has dropped overall compared to last year. It is a lot better than the Q2, 2021 volume, though. We can expect things to get better in Q4 once the festive season hits since more people will be out to purchase electronics.

Samsung continues to play second fiddle to Xiaomi in India

Xiaomi and its sub-brands such as POCO and Redmi continue to dominate the Indian smartphone market with a 24% share and over 11.2 million units shipped. Samsung comes in second with a share of 19% and 9.1 million units shipped, followed by Vivo and Realme, which has a market share of 17% and 16%, respectively.

Samsung’s lead over the two is by no means significant and could evaporate in the coming quarters if it is not careful. To Samsung’s credit, it has somewhat managed to bridge the gap between itself and Xiaomi in India. However, Samsung has a long way to go before it can reclaim its throne that it lost not too long ago.

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Galaxy Watch owners can now try out Strava Premium for sixty days

Popular exercise tracking app Strava has teamed up with Samsung to give a free two-month trial to eligible Galaxy Watch owners. We stumbled upon this promotion via the colossal software update for the Galaxy Watch 4 software update that dropped today. The list of supported devices includes the Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Watch Active 2, and  Galaxy Watch 3.

To get started, head over to the dedicated landing page and click on the ‘Start your free trial here’ button. You’ll then be prompted to create a new Strava ID or log in with your existing credentials. Do note that you need to enter your payment information to redeem your trial, after which you’ll be charged monthly/annually, based on your preference.

Strava is free, but the Premium version offers a lot more features

The free tier of Strava offers basic features such as activity tracking, social network integration and the ability to use your phone as a tracking beacon. On the other hand, the premium version offers advanced metrics, workout analysis, and more. You can find the full list of features that Strava Premium unlocks on this webpage.

Strava, by default, lets users try out the service for free for sixty days. Thankfully, redeeming the offer once has no effect on the 60-day trial for Samsung Galaxy Watch owners. In essence, one can potentially get up to four months of Strava Premium by combining the two offers.

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October 2021 security update reaches the Galaxy Z Fold 3

Three weeks ago, Samsung released the October 2021 security update to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in South Korea. A few days later, the update was released to the unlocked variant of the smartphone in the US. The update is now rolling out to the smartphone in other markets, including Europe.

The latest software update for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with firmware version F926BXXU1AUJ7. It includes the October 2021 security patch that fixes more than 60 vulnerabilities related to the device’s security and user privacy. It could also bring improved stability and general bug fixes.

If you are a Galaxy Z Fold 3 user in Europe, you can check for the update on your device by navigating to Settings » Software update and clicking on Download and install. You can also download the latest firmware file from our firmware database and flash it manually.

Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone was unveiled in August, and it was the first device to run One UI 3.1.1. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 gets monthly security updates. It will also get three major Android OS updates.

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[Poll] Would you buy a Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition?

Samsung came out with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition yesterday. Nothing has changed under the hood. It’s still the same Galaxy Z Flip 3 that was launched in August. The Bespoke Edition is a cosmetic change. It allows you to choose from 49 different color combinations for your Galaxy Z Flip 3. Best of all, it still starts at $999.

This is an incredible level of personalization that Samsung is offering. The company is even allowing customers to change the color panels of their Bespoke Edition later on for a fee. This lets them change the look of their device whenever they want.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition is only available in seven countries initially. The company is saying that it will expand it to more countries down the line. You can buy one right now if you’re based in the US, UK, South Korea, Australia, France, Canada and Germany.

So the question is, are you buying one? If you haven’t purchased the Galaxy Z Flip 3 yet, perhaps this is the push you needed to go for it? Or would you rather wait until Samsung brings this level of personalization for the Galaxy Z Fold 3? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments.

Would you buy a Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition?

• No, I still think the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is too expensive
• Yes, but it's not available yet in my country
• Yes, I love being able to choose my own colors!
• I'm waiting for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 Bespoke Edition

Results

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Samsung Electronics gets fifth place in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands list

A previous report by market research firm Futurebrand suggested that Samsung’s reputation had taken a hit among consumers. However, its competitor Interbrand is of the opinion that Samsung Electronics is one of the best when it comes to brand value.

The report, which can be read in its entirety here, places Samsung fifth in the list of companies that hold brand value at USD 74.6 billion;  20% higher than last year. The fourth position is taken by Google, followed by Microsoft and Amazon at third and second. Unsurprisingly, Apple is at the top of the list.

Samsung is still a top five global brand

Samsung has cemented its position in the list ever since making it to the top five last year. Progress from here on is a tad difficult, though, as it is up against some of the world’s best technology companies. Interbrand states that Samsung won because of the following reasons:

• Its transition to a customer-centric management system, highlighted by the establishment of a new CX (customer experience) team dedicated to prioritizing customer experience and values
• Its ongoing efforts for sustainable development, including various campaigns guided by its CSR vision, ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,’ as well as company-wide initiatives that promote sustainability, such as the use of eco-packaging for TVs and the Galaxy Upcycling program
• The launches of innovative products including the Galaxy Z Flip3, Neo QLEDs and the Bespoke lineup of home appliances
• Technology leadership as a solid number one in the Memory market and the launches of innovative System LSI products
• Leading the development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, automotive and robotics through consistent investment

Despite lacklustre smartphone sales, Samsung Electronics seems to be doing well overall, at least for shareholders, who will receive never-before-seen dividends. Furthermore, it has also secured over 7,000 patents in 2021, indicating that it is innovating at full throttle.

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World’s fastest PC RAM is made using Samsung’s DDR5 memory chips

The PC market will soon get access to next-generation DRAM technology. With AMD‘s next-generation Ryzen CPUs and Intel’s upcoming Alder Lake chips, PC users can finally start using DDR5 RAM. While those chips aren’t ready yet, memory brands have already begun to announce their DDR5 RAM modules, and one of those brands is G.Skill.

G.Skill has unveiled its first DDR5 memory kits for PCs, and the company is calling it the world’s fastest. The G.Skill Trident Z5 comes in RGB (Z5 RGB) and non-RGB (Z5) versions, and both variants use Samsung’s DDR5 memory chips. The new modules are available in 5600MHz, 6000MHz, and 6400MHz versions. All the variants are available in 32GB (16GB x 2) capacity and latency of CL 36-36-36-76 or CL 40-40-40-76. These modules have a completely new design compared to G.Skill’s previous models.

Samsung had first unveiled DDR5 memory chips for servers last year. Three months ago, it made history by making a single 768GB DDR5 RAM stick using 32 DRAM chips of 24Gb capacity each. It was revealed last quarter that DDR5 chips would command a 30% premium over the price of DDR4 chips.

Earlier this month, the world’s biggest memory chip manufacturer, started producing DDR5 memory chips using 14nm EUV technology for faster performance and higher power efficiency.

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