Samsung heir Lee could end up being arrested once again

It seems there’s no end in sight for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong’s legal troubles. Prosecutors in South Korea have now sought arrest warrants for the Samsung Group Vice Chairman and defacto heir as part of their investigation into alleged accounting fraud and a controversial merge between two Samsung units.

He has already done a stint in prison when he was arrested three years ago on charges brought up on bribery allegations. After spending almost a year in prison during which he filed an appeal against his prison sentence, Lee was let go as his five year sentence was reduced in half and suspended, which meant that he did not need to serve time behind bars.

2015 merger continues to haunt Samsung’s heir

While that matter continues to run its course, Lee Jae-yong’s latest troubles are linked to the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. The merger was widely viewed as a way to make Lee the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, which is basically a holding company for the entire Samsung Group, and also paved the way for his eventual succession as chairman of the empire.

The deal has remained controversial ever since. Ilsung Pharmaceutical, which had a 2.11 percent stake in Samsung C&T before the merger, had filed a case to have it nullified as Ilsung claimed the merger with Cheil Industries was “unfair” to shareholders. The Seoul Central Court ruled in 2017 that no illegality was found during the merger process which meant that no grounds existed to nullify it.

In addition to investigating this merger, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has also been looking into allegations of accounting fraud at Samsung Biologistics. Lee was summoned for questioning at the office on May 26. South Korean prosecutors are now seeking an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong.

They seek Lee’s arrest on suspicions that include violations of audit rules and manipulation of the stock price. The Seoul Central District Court will review the request for warrants on June 8. Lee’s lawyers have expressed “deep regret” at the prosecution’s decision to seek warrants, pointing out in a statement that Lee has continued to provide his full cooperation with the investigation.

In a rare move, Lee Jae-yong apologized last month for Samsung’s failure to “comply with laws and ethics” and also promised to not pass on management control of Samsung to his children. A significant decision as after him, it would be the first time that a direct descendant of his grandfather Lee Byung-chul, who started Samsung in 1938, would not be in the driving seat.

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Samsung Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition will be sold separately

It was confirmed yesterday that Samsung is launching a special edition of the Galaxy S20+ in partnership with BTS, the biggest Kpop group on the planet. The Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition comes in a special Purple color and will be available for purchase starting July 9.

The Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition will also be available for customers who would like to complete the whole package. However, Samsung has decided to sell these Galaxy Buds+ separately in order to increase its share in the competitive wireless earbud market.

Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition have the same Purple color

Samsung is clearly trying to replicate the success that it saw with the Galaxy Z Flip Thom Browne edition. It teamed up with the fashion designer to offer a customized finish on the foldable smartphone with matching Galaxy Buds+ and Galaxy Watch Active 2.

Given the sheer global reach of BTS, it goes without saying that the company is going to see an even bigger response for these new special edition devices. It was expected that the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition will both be offered as part of a single package but Samsung isn’t doing that.

The company will sell the Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition separately instead. They have the same Purple color as the Galaxy S20+ along with the BTS logo on the case. This is actually a smart decision by the company. Not all BTS fans will be able to buy a Galaxy S20+ that costs more than $1,000 but a lot more of them will be able to buy earbuds that cost just over $100.

By leveraging the massive BTS following with this unique product Samsung will be able to increase its market share in the wireless earbuds market. The Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition will also be available from July 9.

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Galaxy Fold now getting June 2020 Android security update

The international variant of the Galaxy Fold (SM-F900F) is now receiving the June 2020 Android security update. Samsung began rolling out the new software on Wednesday, with the OTA package already being available for download throughout Europe.

As always, SamMobile’s firmware archive contains full images of the latest upgrade which is identified by build number F900FXXS3BTE1. However, if you still haven’t received the update notification, you should first check for the download manually by going to Settings > Software update > Download and install.

The June 2020 security patch is currently only out for the regular Galaxy Fold, while the Galaxy Fold 5G remains on the previous software level. This is par for the course for Samsung’s seminal foldable smartphone; the 5G-ready version of the device is usually a couple of weeks behind in the update schedule. Speaking of which, this firmware build appears to have underwent a pretty standard two-week testing process at Samsung, with its compilation date being May 22nd.

Galaxy Fold 5G still waiting for the June 2020 patch

Much like it’s ordinarily the case, it’s strongly advised your device is either charging or has plenty of battery life left prior to initializing the installation of the newest security upgrade. Likewise, having a stable Wi-Fi connection while doing so is ideal.

As the first-ever foldable handset from Samsung, the Galaxy Fold treaded a lot of new ground following its 2019 debut. While Samsung’s original take on this novel concept was met with a lukewarm response from critics, the company will soon be trying to improve on its foldable flagship with the Galaxy Fold 2. The second-generation device is widely expected to launch this summer, most likely in August.

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Galaxy A31 launched in India, here’s how much it costs

Samsung is on a smartphone launch spree in India. After launching the Galaxy M01 and the Galaxy M11 in the country two days ago, the company has finally launched the Galaxy A31 in India. The phone was first launched in the UAE and then in South Korea, Vietnam, Brazil, and Australia. The Galaxy A31 is priced at INR 21,999 (around $290) in India for the 128GB variant.

The new Galaxy A series smartphone will be sold through Amazon, BeNow.in, Flipkart, Samsung eStore, and Samsung Opera House starting today. It will also be available through offline retailers across the country at a later stage. The Galaxy A31 is available in India in three colors: Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush Blue, and Prism Crush White.

Galaxy A31 specs: A recap

The Galaxy A31 sports a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with Full HD+ resolution and an under-display fingerprint reader. It runs Android 10 with One UI 2.1. The processing is carried out by the MediaTek Helio P65 processor, and there’s 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. A 5,000mAh battery powers the Galaxy A31 and supports 15W fast charging.

The smartphone features a 20MP (F2.2) selfie camera with 1080p video recording. At the rear, the phone has a quad-camera setup, featuring a 48MP primary camera (F2.0), an 8MP ultrawide camera (13mm lens, F2.2), a 5MP macro camera (F2.4), and a 5MP depth sensor (F2.4). The Galaxy A31 has a dual-SIM card slot, LTE, GPS, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack.

The Galaxy A31 also features Samsung Pay, the company’s mobile payments solution, and Samsung Knox and Alive Intelligence (multi-lingual typing, smart cards in the Messages app, smart crop, Finder, and more).

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Samsung decides to fund $31.8 million for 28 research projects

Samsung has announced that it plans to invest around KRW 38.85 billion (around $31.8 million) in 28 research projects. As a part of the Samsung Future Technology Development Project, the South Korean electronics giant will invest in 14 basic science projects, eight material science projects, and six projects in ICT (Information and Communications Technology).

The company has finalized the research projects in which it plans to invest in the first half of 2020. These projects include studies related to AI (Artificial Intelligence), brain tumor treatments, space science, and other fields. The South Korean firm established the Samsung Future Development Project foundation in 2013 to strengthen the development of basic sciences and future technologies.

Samsung has endowed over KRW 1.5 trillion for ten years to promising research projects through its foundation. It has invested over KRW 758 billion in 589 projects until now. These projects were chosen from universities and public research institutes in South Korea. Samsung has listed all the 28 projects that it chose for H1 2020 on its website.

“Globally renowned journals have paid significant attention to Korea’s aggressive investment in R&D and favorable results. The foundation will continue its efforts to discover new projects and ideas that could change the world,” said Kim Seong-Keun, Chair of Samsung Science and Technology Foundation.

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Samsung AR patent shows a way to ease turn-by-turn navigation experience

Samsung develops various technologies every year, and some of them eventually appear in real-life products. The company has been working on various AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies over the past few years and has filed several patents. A new patent filed by the company was published recently, showing a neat AR feature that could improve the whole turn-by-turn navigation experience while driving.

The patent describes AR glasses that could overlay turn-by-turn navigation information and signs directly in front of a driver’s eyes. While some cars and heads-up displays already have capabilities to show navigation information on the windshield, AR glasses could feel more immersive and closer to reality. The system could include an outward-facing camera to read the road and an inward-facing camera to analyze the driver.

There are several advantages of using AR glasses instead of heads-up displays. Unlike heads-up displays that stay fixed, AR glasses could show navigation information and points of interest even when the driver is looking around while driving. Apart from navigation, Samsung’s AR glasses patent describes overlaying additional information such as exit ramps, fuel stations, points of interest, and more.

For this system to work, Samsung’s AR glasses need to work in sync with a maps app on a smartphone (or a navigation unit inside the car), GPS, multiple cameras, and sensors. Samsung already makes various smart car-related technologies and components such as camera sensors, infotainment units, processors, and it has plans to do more in the future.

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Galaxy A31 to sell for a higher price than A30 in India, but there’s a reason

The Galaxy A31 is planned to go on sale in India online via Flipkart tomorrow, June 4. Pricing details for the new mid-range device haven’t been officially disclosed yet, but the phone should eventually hit physical retail stores for the price of INR 21,999 ($292), according to Pricebaba citing its sources.

It’s unclear exactly when the Galaxy A31 will go on sale through offline channels across India, but the rule of thumb is that offline prices are generally higher than online prices. In other words, the Galaxy A31’s price at Flipkart could be lower than INR 21,999 once the phone goes on sale tomorrow.

More expensive than the Galaxy A30 at launch, but there are reasons

You may be aware that the Galaxy A30 was considerably cheaper than its successor at launch, commanding a price of around INR 17,000. Nevertheless, there are reasons why the Galaxy A31 costs nearly INR 5,000 more than its predecessor. First of all, many components have been upgraded, especially the camera setup. It’s been bumped from a two-camera to a quad-camera combo. The phone also received an under-display fingerprint sensor for better or for worse, and it got a higher-capacity 5,000mAh battery, up from 4,000mAh.

More importantly, and likely the main reason why the Galaxy A31 is more expensive, is that the variant sold in India should be the one that’s better equipped, featuring 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s 2GB extra RAM and twice the storage of the most expensive version of the Galaxy A30.

All things considered, even if the higher price can be justified, only time will tell whether or not Samsung India’s strategy to debut the Galaxy A31 in the best-possible memory configuration pays off. We expect other memory variants to be made available at some point in the future.

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