Samsung shows mysterious full-screen smartphone in AC ad

An unnanounced full-screen smartphone from Samsung had a cameo in a recent ad for the company’s new Wind-Free Air Conditioner series. While the mysterious device was shown running SmartThings, the app’s white interface revealed no display notch or punch-hole to speak of. The main takeaway here is the implied use of under-display camera (UDC) technology, a solution Samsung reportedly been working on for a while now.

The AC ad unsurprisingly prompted some speculation about the look of the upcoming Galaxy Note 20, especially after a similar-looking device render appeared on Samsung’s own website. Be that as it may, don’t take this to mean this is exactly how the next Galaxy flagship — or any other device from Samsung, for that matter — will look like.

Samsung close to figuring out truly bezel-less displays

While the futuristic smartphone shown in the below ad (starting at 0:55) is more likely to be a prop than a product that’s about to hit the market, the timing of its appearance coincides with some past expert forecasts regarding the arrival of such gadgets. For example, a report from late 2019 predicted Samsung’s first full-screen smartphone to arrive in the summer of 2020. Insiders from South Korea specifically mentioned the Galaxy Fold 2 as part of that prediction, expecting the foldable to become Samsung’s first device to utilize under-display camera tech.

Needless to say, there’s probably no way the unnamed smartphone depicted herein resembles anything close to the Galaxy Fold 2. However, both the Galaxy Note 20 and the successor to the Galaxy Fold are confirmed to launch this summer, perhaps even simultaneously. This bezel-free handset cameo hence at the very least underlines how close Samsung is to finally figuring out UDC tech, which should usher in the era of truly full-screen smartphones.

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Galaxy A31 with 4GB/128GB will be available in Brazil next week

Today, April 29, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy A31 for Brazil. The mid-range phone will be available for purchase in Brazil starting next week, with color options including black, blue, and white.

As expected, the Galaxy A31 will have a higher-than-normal price tag in Brazil, and prospective buyers will be looking at spending 1,999 brazilian real ($375) for the device. Comparatively, the Galaxy A31 was released in Vietnam earlier this week for the equivalent of $276.

Galaxy A31 in Brazil ships with 4GB RAM, 128GB storage

Spec-wise, the Galaxy A31 in Brazil won’t be any different than the A31 released in other markets. This means the phone is equipped with a Helio P65 chipset, even though the silicon isn’t outright mentioned in Samsung Brazil’s latest announcement. The Helio P65 has two high performance cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz alongside six 1.7GHz cores.

It’s important to note that the spec sheet shared by Samsung Brazil mentions only the variant with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It is possible that the 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants will be released in Brazil later down the line, but the aforementioned $375 price tag seems to correspond to the 4GB/128GB model.

Other specs include a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 by 1080, an under-display fingerprint sensor, a quad camera setup comprising 48MP/8MP/5MP/5MP sensors, a 20MP selfie shooter, and a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging. The Galaxy A31 ships with Android 10 and One UI 2.0 out of the box.

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AMD GPU for 2021 Samsung flagships impresses in first leak

AMD’s first custom Radeon GPU set to power future Samsung flagships will easily beat the current industry-leading options. That’s what can be inferred from several benchmark summaries leaked out of South Korea. Samsung and AMD originally announced their mobile GPU partnership back in mid-2019, but the first fruits of their collaboration won’t make their way to consumers until at least 2021, AMD previously said.

Following nearly a year of no updates, newly emerged information indicates the project is still on course to hit that tentative release window. AMD is now said to be in the process of optimizing the custom GPU which may be integrated into Samsung’s seminal 5nm silicon.

Exynos 1000 likely to use AMD graphics

Additionally, we finally caught a glimpse of what to expect from the said chipset which will be based on AMD’s RDNA architecture. Looking at the leaked synthetic early test scores originating from GFXBench, the AMD GPU for future Samsung flagships scored 181.8 frames in the Manhattan 3.1 test, which is about 13% greater than what the Adreno 650 found inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 is capable of. Additionally, it averaged 138.25 and 58 frames in Aztec Normal and Aztec High testing, respectively. These two results are even more significant as they beat Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile GPU by a factor of three.

The first AMD Radeon GPU for Galaxy smartphones is likely to make its way to the Exynos 1000, or however the 2021 successor to the Exynos 990 ends up being called. In the meantime, Samsung is also said to be working on a revised 7nm offering after reportedly feeling “humiliated” by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. The SoC, possibly called the Exynos 992, could power the upcoming Galaxy Note 20 series expected to launch in August.

It’s still early days, though, and none of these scores have been independently verified, so it would be best to take this with a grain of salt for now.

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Samsung USA offers free Galaxy Buds with Galaxy S10 Lite

Samsung is now offering a complimentary pair of Galaxy Buds to everyone who purchases the unlocked version of the Galaxy S10 Lite in the United States. The deal that adds over $100 to the value of the overall package comes less than two weeks after the Galaxy S10 Lite released stateside with a $649.99 price tag. Carrier variants of the Galaxy S10 Lite aren’t encompassed by the new offer, though the proposal is still rather attractive seeing how it allows you to potentially get your hands on a Snapdragon 855 device and a high-end wearable for under $400 in total.

The newly introduced deal is primarily targeting prospective buyers who aren’t eligible for $250 in instant trade-in credit from Samsung. While the two promotions can’t be combined, you can still get the wearable free of charge alongside regular trade-in value for select handsets. For example, parting with your old Galaxy Note 8 would net you both the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Buds for $509.99, or just the former for $399.99. The difference mostly corresponds to the current price tag attached to the Galaxy Buds in the U.S. – $109.99. On the bright side, you’re still eligible for two months of YouTube Premium to go along with your new Galaxy S10 Lite and complimentary Galaxy Buds.

Finally, Samsung’s latest Galaxy S10 Lite promotion applies to all four Galaxy Buds colors: Black, White, Yellow, and Aura Glow Silver. Assuming you place your order today, Samsung estimates your new smartphone and accompanying wearable will ship by Monday, May 4th.

Galaxy S10 Lite Review

• Buy Galaxy S10 Lite from Samsung

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Galaxy S20 Ultra in Cloud White sighted again with release date

The Cloud White variant of the Galaxy S20 Ultra appeared online once again ahead of its market debut. Speaking of which, its release date also came to light as it appears the new color option will be hitting the Chinese market tomorrow, May 1st. According to previous reports, this particular model sports 256GB of storage and will also come to Europe in the near future.

A combination of a white rear panel and a black quad-camera module gives this iteration of the Galaxy S20 Ultra a unique aesthetic which stands out from the rest of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 lineup.

New Galaxy S20 Ultra color comes with a 5G requirement

Tomorrow’s release of the new Galaxy S20 Ultra color should encompass only a single device configuration. That would be the 5G model with 256GB of flash storage, whereas an otherwise identical device with half as much memory can already be purchased on the Old Continent, priced at €1,349. Newly emerged information suggests the Galaxy S10+ is also on course for a minor refresh that will include both the Ceramic White and Ceramic Black iterations of the 128GB model. Those will be offered alongside the already widely available Prism Black, Prism White, and Prism Green options.

Adding new color options to flagship smartphone lineups is an established strategy of Samsung’s which served it well over the years. This time, however, the company’s in for an uphill battle as the Galaxy S20 range had a rather weak market debut, largely due to reasons outside of the company’s control.

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Samsung improves efficiency of its chip manufacturing process

Samsung revealed its plan to start the mass production of 5nm EUV chips before the end of Q2 2020 and start the development of the 3nm process this year. The company has reportedly increased its semiconductor output by about 40 percent while maintaining the same wafer input level, which means that Samsung has improved the efficiency of its production.

The South Korean firm’s investment in semiconductors declined from KRW 27.35 trillion in 2017 to KRW 23.72 trillion in 2018 and KRW 22.56 trillion in 2019. Samsung spent KRW 1.66 trillion in 2018, but it had to spend KRW 1.86 trillion in 2019 due to a 12% rise in prices, which means there was no change in the number of wafers the company bought. But, the number of chips produced went up 39 percent from 711 billion gigabits in 2018 to 889 billion gigabits in 2019.

Samsung is also making improvements to its DRAM manufacturing process by converting its first-generation 10nm (1x) process into second-generation (1y) or third-generation (1z). When the company completes this process, it can make 20 to 30 percent more chips with the same number of wafers. Moreover, once Samsung uses EUV to manufacture its DRAM chips, it can make twice the number of chips using the same amount of wafers when compared to the 1x process.

In the NAND flash segment, the company recently announced that it has started developing the industry’s first 160-layer flash memory. Chips manufactured using this technology are smaller than the one built using previous-generation techniques, and the productivity per wafer is 20 percent higher.

Industry experts say that China’s recent massive investment in chip manufacturing will still not be good enough to defeat Samsung. Rival Chinese firm YMTC’s 128-layer NAND flash chip technology is inferior to Samsung’s 160-layer chips that use channel hole etching technology. The company looks well set in the semiconductor space right now.

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Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ get May security update

After releasing the May security patch for the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Fold a day ago, Samsung is now bringing it to the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. The Note 10 duo is receiving a new update in several European countries, including Germany, France, Romania, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Switzerland.

Only security fixes are included in the latest Galaxy Note 10 update

The update features firmware version N97xFXXS4CTD1 and doesn’t have anything but the new security patch to offer. That’s not surprising after the feature-packed update the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ received just a couple of weeks back. That update brought many Galaxy S20 features — including new camera functionality — to the Note 10 and Note 10+ in addition to version 2.1 of One UI.

If you own a Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+, you will get a notification once the update is available in your region. You can also manually download the update over the air by tapping Download and install in your phone’s Settings » Software update menu. The latest firmware is also available for immediate download from our firmware archive.

Given Samsung’s recent track record with security updates, we can expect it to release the May security patch for more Galaxy devices soon. We should also find out what security vulnerabilities are addressed in the May patch in a few days once Samsung publishes the relevant details on its security bulletin.

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