Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition is an S20 built for US military operators

Samsung just unveiled its latest mobile creation developed in collaboration with the US federal government and the Department of Defense (DoD). It’s a special version of the Galaxy S20 flagship, called the Tactical Edition. It was developed for military purposes to provide a high level of security and compatibility with existing peripherals and classified apps.

The Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition (TE) boasts DualDAR architecture. It offers two layers of data encryption to secure top-secret data for classified mission in accordance with the NSA standards. The Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition provides the warfighter with the technology that will give them an edge in the field, while providing their IT teams with an easy-to-deploy, highly secure solution […] said Taher Behbehani, Head of the Mobile B2B division at Samsung Electronics America.

Uniquely-customized features for military operators

Although the Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition is largely based on the consumer-grade Galaxy S20, it comes with a handful of custom characteristics beyond the higher level of security. It has a night-vision mode that allows operators to turn the display on or off when wearing night vision goggles, as well as a stealth mode for disabling LTE and muting RF broadcasting for off-grid communications.

The phone also offers a way to be easily unlocked in landscape mode while it’s chest-mounted, and operators can launch their most commonly used apps with a push of a button. The Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition can run multiple mission applications including ATAK, APASS, KILSWITCH, BATDOK, and it’s fully compatible with Samsung DeX.

According to the official announcement, the Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition will launch in the third quarter of 2020 through select IT channel partners. However, don’t expect to be able to buy one, as it won’t be available for purchase by the general public.

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Galaxy A10e gets May 2020 security patch in the USA with new update

Samsung’s hero budget phone, the Galaxy A10e, just got a bit better, at least as far as security is concerned. The Galaxy A10e with model number SM-A102U is getting a new update that includes the May 2020 security patch, pushing the firmware version to A102USQS6ATD5.

As you probably know by now, the Galaxy A10e was Samsung’s best selling smartphone – budget or no – in the USA by the end of the first quarter of the year. This means that the latest update and May 2020 security patch is reaching a large number of Galaxy A10e units, so don’t be surprised if you haven’t received an update notification just yet. If you haven’t, you can attempt to trigger the update by opening Settings, accessing Software updates and tapping Download and install. Alternatively, you can check our firmware archive to download firmware version A102USQS6ATD5 for the Galaxy A10e SM-A102U and install the update using a Windows PC.

No additional features appear to have been added with this latest release, and although the phone should be getting Android 10 at some point in the future, it remains at the Android 9 level for the time being. However, if you own a Galaxy A10e in the USA and you’ve noticed any changes, feel free to let us know in the comment section.

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A decade of Galaxy S camera improvements in one infographic

Samsung always took pride in the camera setup of its Galaxy S flagship phones, and the company’s series has been going strong for the past decade, starting with the original Galaxy S and leading all the way to the most recent Galaxy S20 series. The company is now reminding fans of its most important camera advancements over the years with a new infographic.

The first Galaxy S was released in 2010 with a 5MP camera featuring anti-shake, face detection, and autofocus among its main features. Samsung’s next notable upgrade to its mobile camera tech arrived in 2012 with the release of the Galaxy S3, when zero-lag shutter speed was introduced. One year later, the company attempted to break convention with the Galaxy S4 Zoom – a smartphone featuring an actual camera lens stuck to the back panel, boasting 10x optical zoom.

With varying results, Samsung never gave up on improving its mobile cameras

Real-time HDR was added with the Galaxy S5, and two years later, the introduction of dual-pixel autofocus to the Galaxy S lineup left a big positive mark. Dual Aperture was added to the series with the Galaxy S9, and Super Steady was the Galaxy S10’s newer additions to the camera.

Finally, the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra that were released earlier this year made way for super-high resolution image sensors, 30x / 100x zoom, Single Take, and 8K video recording. And while we’re aware that the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s camera wasn’t without issues especially early on, these advancements in mobile camera technology are bound to lead to further improvements with the next generation Galaxy S21 and beyond.

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Looks like Samsung has made a decision about its Galaxy Note 20 event

For the past few years, Samsung has conducted two major “Unpacked” events every year. The first takes place in February for the Galaxy S flagships and the second in August for the Galaxy Note. Both are conducted in the United States, in San Francisco and New York to be precise.

Samsung did conduct an Unpacked event in San Francisco this year for the Galaxy S20 and it would most definitely have conducted one for the Galaxy Note 20 in August. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, that might prove to be difficult. Now, it seems that Samsung has made a decision about how it’s going to launch the Galaxy Note 20.

First online launch for a flagship Samsung phone

There were already reports that the COVID19 pandemic would make it very difficult for Samsung to hold an Unpacked event. Social distancing guidelines prohibit mass gatherings, and with Samsung’s events drawing thousands of attendees, it would not at all be possible to conduct an event of that scale.

According to a new report out of South Korea, the Galaxy Note 20 launch will mark the first time that Samsung unveils a flagship product online. It routinely launches new tablets, mid-range smartphones and even wearable devices through mere press releases, but it has never had to do anything like this for a flagship device.

While the Galaxy Note 20 will definitely get more online fanfare than just a press release, Samsung will obviously not be able to put on a show like it does every year. It’s still expected to make the announcement in August this year but an exact date has not yet been provided.

The Galaxy Note 20 may not be the only device that Samsung launches that day. There’s a good chance that the Galaxy Fold 2 may also be unveiled online as it was previously expected to be unveiled at Samsung’s August 2020 Unpacked event.

These are uncertain times and like everyone else, Samsung also has to make the best of this situation. A full-scale event would be very difficult to organize owing to the travel restrictions that remain in place in many countries in addition to social distancing guidelines. Furthermore, many may not be willing to travel anyway, so it would just be best to unveil the devices online.

An official announcement from Samsung regarding this is yet to arrive, but all signs point to this inevitability.

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Galaxy A51 5G goes on pre-sale in China, sells out on day-one

The Galaxy A51 5G has been introduced to China on pre-sale terms via JD, and the phone is already out of stock, one day after the pre-sale went live. China is the market with the highest demand for 5G in the world, and the Galaxy A51 5G’s apparent success further highlights this fact.

It’s too early to tell just how well-received the Galaxy A51 5G will be in China in the long run and whether it will be able to compete with rival phones from local OEMs, but Samsung plans to combat the 2020 slump in smartphone sales with affordable 5G solutions. The 5G era could contribute to Samsung bolstering its position in the Far Eastern country’s smartphone segment, and the Galaxy A51 5G could play an important role in this.

The pre-sale in China lasts for 11 more days

The Galaxy A51 5G is offered by JD on pre-sale terms for 2,999 yuan ($422). The phone is already sold out, as mentioned above, however, new stock is likely to arrive at some point over the next few days. The smartphone is expected to ship beginning June 1.

Samsung’s mid-range 5G solution is nearly identical to the 4G Galaxy A51, except it’s equipped with an Exynos 980 chipset (as opposed to an Exynos 9611), and a larger 4,500mAh battery, up from the LTE model’s 4,000mAh unit.

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COVID-19 prompts Samsung Display to put Asan expansion plans on hold

Samsung Display is temporarily putting on hold its construction plans at the Asan industrial complex, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainties in the economic landscape. According to Yonhap citing the tech giant, it was necessary for these changes in the construction schedule to be set in place, as the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly altering the business environment.

The company still intends to expand its Asan complex, at least for now. At this time, its expansion consists only of an outer area. It’s unclear when Samsung Display will want to resume constructions.

Samsung Display hasn’t changed its long-term plans

The company highlighted the fact that although the construction plans at the Asan complex have been temporarily put on hold, this doesn’t change the company’s long-term vision to invest roughly $11 billion in the Asan plant by 2025. The company still intends to equip its Asan facility with production lines capable of manufacturing Quantum Dot displays.

The Asan factory hasn’t been without its troubles. Just a few weeks ago, one of Samsung Display’s OLED production lines at the Asan facility was shut down after a fire broke out. The extent of the damage in the long term is yet unclear, but Samsung Display previously stated that the unfortunate event won’t have any effects on its capacity to supply clients.

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Samsung accidentally confirms Galaxy Book S with ‘Intel Inside’

Samsung Canada accidentally confirmed the first “Intel Inside” variant of the Galaxy Book S. A premature listing that’s still live as of this writing reveals the new Galaxy Book S iteration – identified by model number NP767XCM-K01CA – utilizes an Intel i5 processor from the unannounced Lakefield generation. The misstep hardly reveals surprising information, however; Samsung’s ultra-thin laptop has been rumored to launch as the first Lakefield notebook for some time now.

More importantly, the said premature listing confirms Samsung is targeting global availability for this particular version of the Galaxy Book S. That’s been far from a given until today seeing how Samsung’s notebook release strategy is anything but consistent.

Galaxy Book S ARM vs. Intel differences

The promptly spotted Samsung Canada product page reveals the new Galaxy Book S retains the 13.3-inch Full HD display of the previous models, but pairs it with the Intel Core i5-L16G7 processor and 8GB of RAM, as well as a 42Wh battery. Battery life will be something to look out for here as the first-ever x86-based Galaxy Book S is expected to be less efficient than its ARM counterparts.

Samsung’s own landing page suggests up to 17 hours of standalone operation, a noticeable downgrade compared to the 25-hour rating attached to the original Galaxy Book S. Of course, your mileage will vary as real-world usage tends to be a bit more hardware-taxing than continous video playback is, which is what Samsung uses as its performance standard.

The Lakefield version of the notebook also lacks gigabit-grade LTE but otherwise appears similar to the original product family. Dual USB-C ports, Bluetooth 5.0, and microSD card support are still part of the package, much like a discreet fingerprint reader integrated into the power button of the new Galaxy Book S. Consumers will have a choice between 256GB and 512GB models, both of which will be available in Mercury Gray and Earthy Gold.

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