Galaxy A6 (2018) starts getting Android 10 update

Samsung has been pretty great with software updates for its older phones over the past year. After releasing the Android 10 update to the Galaxy S series and the Galaxy Note series, it has started rolling out the update to smartphones in the Galaxy A series and the Galaxy M series.

Two months ago, we had reported that Samsung has been testing the Android 10 update for Galaxy A6, Galaxy A6+, and the Galaxy A7 (2018). Today, the company started rolling out the Android 10 update to the Galaxy A70s and the Galaxy A6 (2018).

The Galaxy A6 (2018) has started receiving the Android 10 update in France, and other markets around the world could get it over the next few weeks. The update with firmware version A600FNXXU5CTB9 also brings the March 2020 Android security patch to the mid-range smartphone.

We don’t have an official changelog for the update just yet. Still, we expect it to bring most of the Android 10 features such as a refreshed UI design, newer UI navigation gestures, more emojis, improved permissions, and more.

If you live in France and own a Galaxy A6 (2018), you should be able to see a pop-up notification for the update. If you don’t see the notification, you can check for it manually by heading to Settings » Software update » Download and install on the device. Alternatively, you can also download the complete 3.5GB firmware from our firmware section.

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New Galaxy S20 software update rolling out now

Samsung is now rolling out what is the first software update for the international variants of the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra since they hit retail shelves a week ago. We’re speaking of the Exynos-powered variants, which are now receiving an update to build number G98xFXXU1ATC1. Samsung had released an update for the Galaxy S20 series in Korea a week ago, but that update had a newer build that’s different from the one the company has now released in other markets.

The latest update for the international variants is rolling out in India as we write this. Samsung has included a generic changelog that doesn’t give any details, but the update should make some improvements and changes as it’s not just a standard security update (security updates have the letter ‘S’ instead of a ‘U’ before the last five characters of the build number). We’ve faced multiple issues on our Galaxy S20+, including random heating, lag in the camera app, and performance stutters when apps like YouTube are running in picture-in-picture mode, and we hope those are addressed in the new update.

Of course, we also hope the autofocus issues on the Galaxy S20 Ultra are fixed as well. However, with the S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera using standard phase detection autofocus instead of something like Dual Pixel autofocus, we have an inkling its autofocus speed will never be as good as we’re used to seeing on Galaxy flagships. For those wondering, the autofocus issues are not present on the Galaxy S20 and S20+, as both of those phones support Dual Pixel autofocus.

In any case, if you own a Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra, you should get a pop-up notification informing you of the update in the next couple of days. You can also try downloading it right away by tapping the Download and install option in the phone’s Settings » Software update menu. We also have the latest firmware for the Galaxy S20 series available in our firmware archive, which you can use to update your phone manually using a Windows computer.

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Galaxy S20 Ultra teardown video shows Samsung’s superior periscope zoom camera tech

We’ve already seen a teardown video of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which Samsung launched last week. However, a new teardown video of the phone takes an in-depth look at the South Korean electronics giant’s periscope camera technology and the ultrasonic fingerprint reader from Qualcomm.

JerryRigEverything’s latest teardown video shows how hard it is to take apart a Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (South Korean version). As usual, a heat gun is required to remove the back panel safely, but one needs to be extra careful as the corners of the rear panel can be easily cracked if they are not handled with care.

The phone has a Qi-compatible wireless charging coil, which can also reverse charge other devices. Removing the wireless charging coil reveals the 5000mAh battery, which is held into its place using lots and lots of glue. As we know already, the use of glue inside a phone makes it much harder to repair.

There are four cameras on the rear, and they are all safely (and tightly) packed into a metal assembly. The 108MP wide-angle camera and the 48MP telephoto camera are optically stabilized. The periscope-style 10x hybrid optical zoom mechanism is a bit special, though, at least compared to periscope cameras from the rivals. Samsung has stabilized the prism and the middle lens using a set of five electromagnets, making sure that the images and videos aren’t blurred or shaken.

There are no mmWave antennas inside the Korean version of the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G since the carriers in the country do not use the mmWave technology. So, if you plan on using the Korean version of the phone in the US, it won’t be able to latch onto the fastest 5G networks.

Coming to the in-display fingerprint reader, it appears that Samsung is still using the first-generation ultrasonic fingerprint reader from Qualcomm, which can read only a small portion of a user’s finger. The second-generation ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are bigger and faster, but the South Korean firm seems to have decided against using them in the Galaxy S20 series.

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Galaxy A70s starts receiving Android 10 update in India

Samsung had launched the Galaxy A70s six months ago with Android 9-based One UI 1.1 software. Now, the company has started rolling out the Android 10 update for the smartphone in India. The update also brings along the February 2020 Android security patch for the Galaxy A70s.

The Android 10 update for the Galaxy A70s features firmware version A707FDDU2BTC2 and has a file size of 2025.96MB, so make sure that you’re on a fast Wi-Fi network before you hit the download button. If you haven’t seen the pop-up notification on your phone yet, open the Settings app on the device, select Software update, and tap Download and install.

As usual, the Android 10 update with One UI 2.0 brings new UI navigation gestures, newer emojis, improved dark mode (with darkened wallpapers), slightly tweaked icons and UI design, updated camera UI, an alternative look for the Face Unlock feature, and numerous other improvements.

The Galaxy A70s had the built-in screen recording feature out of the box even though it was running the One UI 1.1 software. On the other hand, other Samsung smartphones received the feature as a part of the One UI 2.0 update. Other features such as Link To Windows and power key customization were rolled out to the Galaxy A70s via a software update four months ago.

We expect the Android 10 update to be rolled out to the Galaxy A70s in other markets in the coming weeks. The Galaxy A50s received the Android 10 update last month, while the Galaxy A70 received the latest Android update yesterday.

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Kernel sources for the Galaxy S20 series are now available for download

Samsung has released the kernel sources for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. Developers who may want to start optimizing their apps for Samsung’s latest flagship can now download the kernel sources for both the Exynos and Snapdragon-powered variants from Samsung’s open source repository.

As usual, the kernel sources are of no use for the average user, and that includes early Galaxy S20 adopters. But they are vital components for developers who want to release new apps or optimize existing ones for the new flagship series. Kernel sources are also the key to developing custom recovery tools, stable custom ROMs and more.

Samsung continues a tradition of timely releases

Samsung has been releasing kernel sources for its devices for years now, and the company seems to have formed the habit of making them public in a timely manner. This greatly benefits developers who may want to start creating or optimizing apps early on, and in turn, it benefits customers. These timely releases indicate that Samsung values third-party app developers and the custom scene.

The kernel sources can now be downloaded for the model numbers SM-G981U, SM-G981B, SM-G986U, SM-G986B, SM-G988U, and SM-G988B. The model numbers correspond to the 5G models, and the letters ‘U’ and ‘B’ correspond to the Snapdragon and Exynos variants, respectively.

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Samsung Netherlands reveals 2020 QLED TVs and soundbars prices

Samsung’s 2020 QLED TV and soundbar lineups are being readied for market release in the Netherlands ‘in the coming weeks.’ The company has disclosed the prices for all of its latest products, ranging from the truly bezel-less Q950TS 8K TV and MX-T70 soundbar, to the more affordable T5300 32-inch TV and HW-T400 audio system.

Samsung is releasing its 2020 Q and TU/T TV models in the Netherlands, along with The Serif 2020, The Frame, and The Sero. Sizes vary depending on the model, and you can refer to the chart below for each model’s size options and corresponding price tags. Likewise, the company’s latest soundbar models have prices ranging from 149 EUR to 599 EUR.

Samsung’s 2020 QLED 8K TVs benefit from a variety of new technologies, including Object Tracking Sound, Quantum Dot AI, and Q-Symphony, the latter of which combines the built-in speakers of the TV with an external soundbar to provide a more immersive audio experience. 8K rendering has been improved through the next-gen Quantum Processor.

Samsung’s plans to dominate the 2020 TV market are underway

Samsung began 2020 in full force as far as its TV business is concerned. After announcing a wide variety of models at CES, the company continued amassing various certificates and entered a collaboration with the 8K Association to make its 8K TVs easier to distinguish on store shelves.

The company’s performance last year was stellar, but Samsung wants to push the limits even further and aims to sell around 8 million QLED TVs globally throughout the year. Its plans are already underway. The 2020 4K and 8K TV lineups were introduced in the USA earlier this week, and today, the company announced a new series of TVs as part of the Made for India initiative.

 

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Another Samsung Galaxy A device, the A21, spotted with MediaTek chipset

After the Galaxy A31, another one of Samsung’s budget Galaxy A smartphones will seemingly abandon the Exynos brand of chipsets (and Qualcomm, for that matter) in favor of a MediaTek solution. This time it’s the Galaxy A21, which was recently spotted in the Geekbench database running a MediaTek Helio P35 silicon paired with 3GB of RAM.

The Helio P35 chipset was built by TSMC on a 12nm FinFET process and comprises a total of eight ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores in a single cluster, operating at a maximum frequency of 2.3GHz. The CPU is paired with an IMG PowerVR GE8320 graphics chip clocked at 680MHz. The chipset supports a maximum of 6GB of RAM, and while there is no guarantee that the Galaxy A21 will have more than 3GB, Samsung could offer at least a 4GB variant to match last year’s Galaxy A20s configuration.

Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy A21 runs Android 10 out of the box, presumably with One UI Core 2 on top. It’s not going to deliver the full-fledged One UI 2.0/2.1 experience found on flagship phones, but the UI looks the same overall, except for a few missing features.

Judging by previously-leaked renders which may or may not be accurate, the Galaxy A21 could also transition from an Infinity-V display to an Infinity-O design with a circular corner cutout. It could sport a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and four main cameras. The original Galaxy A20 was introduced in March 2019, so there is a chance that the launch of its MediaTek-powered direct sequel – the Galaxy A21 – is just around the corner.

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