These are Samsung’s nineteen 5G-enabled device models launched so far

Samsung is one of the few OEMs that have embraced the transition to 5G early on and have already pushed numerous 5G-enabled devices to the market at a time when the technology was reaching only a limited number of customers. At present Samsung offers numerous 5G devices in various categories, and as to remind customers of how many 5G options they have, the tech giant recently listed its entire 5G portfolio in an infographic (seen below).

You may have forgotten exactly how many 5G-enabled devices Samsung has been selling since 2019, but the company gives customers a 5G option in nearly every device category and price point. Samsung’s 5G journey began with the Galaxy S10 5G last year, and although subsequent flagships like the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S20, and Galaxy Note 20 series have all been 5G-enabled, Samsung also released no fewer than four 5G mid-range phones.

Samsung has so far created nineteen 5G device models

The Galaxy A90 was the first 5G phone from Samsung that wasn’t a Galaxy S or Note model. It was released one year ago and it was followed to the market by the Galaxy A51 5G and the Galaxy A71 5G. More recently, as in earlier this week, Samsung took the veil off the Galaxy A42 5G as its most budget-friendly 5G solution yet.

Of course, 5G is not limited to Samsung’s ‘candy bar’ smartphones. Its entire foldable series has a 5G option and the company’s flagship tablets also made the jump to 5G with the Galaxy Tab S6. The new Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+ both have 5G options, and Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Book Flex 5G for customers who may be looking for a 5G notebook.

Check the infographic below for a closer look at Samsung’s entire 5G portfolio and feel free to let us know in the comment section if you happen to own any of these devices.

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Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition sells out in Thailand overnight

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition was unveiled at Unpacked Part 2 along with the standard model and both variants became available for pre-order earlier this week. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition is available in only 7 countries, with Thailand being one of them, and it turns out that demand for the device is very high, at least in the aforementioned market.

Samsung Thailand claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition was sold out overnight. Indeed, the device is no longer in stock at Samsung Thailand’s online shop and it might never become available again. Samsung confirmed at Unpacked Part 2 that it will manufacture and sell only 5,000 Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition units globally. The company hasn’t revealed how many of those 5,000 units were shipped to and sold in Thailand, nor has it confirmed whether or not this was the only batch.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition was offered on pre-order terms in Thailand for 109,900 Baht ($3,498). The package contains the Galaxy Z Fold 2 itself as well as the Galaxy Watch 3, a pair of Galaxy Buds Live, and a few other accessories, all of which come with the Americana striping.

If you’ve missed the opportunity to pre-order the Thom Browne Edition, you can still secure a standard Galaxy Z Fold 2 in Thailand for 69,900 Bah ($2,225). Samsung is reportedly making 800,000 Galaxy Z Fold 2 units this year so there should be plenty of stock to meet the apparent demand.

• Pre-order Galaxy Z Fold 2 from Samsung Thailand

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One UI 2.5 starts reaching Galaxy Note 10/10+ and co.

The latest iteration of Samsung’s custom mobile OS, One UI 2.5, is now rolling out to the international variants of the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, as well as the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. It hence appears that the entirety of last year’s flagship range is now transitioning to this particular implementation of Android 10. And yes, that includes the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, whereas the Galaxy S10 series started receiving One UI 2.5 shortly beforehand.

Samsung certainly deserves credit for pulling off the start to this deployment in such a highly synchronized manner. Mostly due to the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G being part of the first release wave, which isn’t something we’re used to seeing. Time will tell whether this break from the pattern marks the start of a new era of software support quality for Galaxy Note 10+ 5G owners, but in the meantime, the entire smartphone range is now also getting the September 2020 Android security patch alongside One UI 2.5. As for the latter’s features, they’re pretty much identical to the Galaxy S10 changelog.

The highly synchronized nature of the rollout is a surprise, but a welcome one

As per usual, owners of eligible Galaxy Note 10 versions – identified by model numbers SM-N970F, SM-N975F, and SM-N976B – can expect an update notification prompting them to download the new firmware in the coming days. But any tinkerers can also skip the waiting line by downloading full system images from SamMobile‘s firmware archive and flashing them onto their smartphones manually. It bears reminding this option is only meant for advanced users who know what they’re doing and have double-checked their Galaxy Note 10 models are compatible with whatever OS version they ended up downloading.

As a reminder, the older Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+ are all in line for the One UI 2.5 upgrade as well. It remains to be seen when exactly will they end up receiving it, but the wait shouldn’t be too long and will breathe a bit more life into Samsung’s 2018 flagships.

Galaxy Note 10

• Model: SM-N970F
• Dimensions: Bar: 151.0 x 71.8 x 7.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.3 inch / 160.02 mm Dynamic AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9825
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

Galaxy Note 10+

• Model: SM-N975F
• Dimensions: Bar: 162.3 x 77.2 x 7.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.8 inch / 172.72 mm Dynamic AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9825
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

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[Poll Results!] Would the S Pen convince you to buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra?

South Korean media is abuzz with rumors that Samsung is planning to discontinue the Galaxy Note series next year. It’s also claimed that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will come with an S Pen. It could be the only model out of the three Galaxy S21 handsets released next year to feature the stylus.

This might not bring a lot of comfort to Galaxy Note loyalists who can’t imagine that their beloved series would be discontinued. Samsung might try to appeal to them with an S Pen-quipped Galaxy Z Fold 3 but there’s no chance the foldable could be as durable as a Galaxy Note 21.

So in order to reach some sort of a middle ground, Samsung could bring the S Pen to its Galaxy S series for the first time. This would also require some significant design changes for the Galaxy S21 Ultra since it would need to have a silo for the S Pen. Customers would thus get the S Pen experience on a conventionally durable device that has none of the fragility that you get on a foldable.

Will the S Pen be able to convince you to take a chance on the Galaxy S21 Ultra? Or are you opposed to the idea entirely and want the Galaxy Note series to stick around? Vote below and share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

Results: Rather unsurprisingly, the majority of those who participated in this pool are opposed to the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note series. They’re closely followed by 32% of the respondents who believe that their decision to buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra will be based on the overall specs. Only 14% say that they’ll pre-order the Galaxy S21 Ultra on day one if it came with the S Pen.

Would the S Pen convince you to buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra?

• No, I'm opposed to the Galaxy Note series being discontinued 38%, 488 votes
  488 votes 38%

  488 votes - 38% of all votes
• My decision will be based on the overall specs 32%, 406 votes
  406 votes 32%

  406 votes - 32% of all votes
• Not completely sold on the idea but have an open mind 17%, 213 votes
  213 votes 17%

  213 votes - 17% of all votes
• Absolutely, going to pre-order on day 1 14%, 174 votes
  174 votes 14%

  174 votes - 14% of all votes

Total Votes: 1281

24 August 2020 - 3 September 2020

Voting is closed

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Early Galaxy Z Fold 2 impressions: 3 things I don’t like about Samsung’s new foldable

Samsung only recently made the Galaxy Z Fold 2 fully official, and I’ve been using the device for a couple of days. The Galaxy Fold has been my daily driver for almost a year, and I’ve made it clear several times that Samsung’s foldables are the future and that the Fold has made it nigh impossible for me to go back to using a non-folding smartphone again.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that I was incredibly excited for the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Samsung is addressing some of the Fold’s shortcomings with its successor – the larger cover display, for example, is a substantial upgrade, and 120Hz refresh rate makes the inner display a lot more fluid and fun to use. However, it’s not all perfect, and there are three things in particular that have left me underwhelmed.

Battery life not as good as the Galaxy Fold’s

The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s battery life is shorter than the Fold’s. That’s to be expected, as the Z Fold 2 has a larger inner display with double the refresh rate and 5G connectivity is included as standard but the battery has received less than a 5% increase in capacity. Still, it feels like a downgrade.

Disabling the high refresh rate and sticking with 4G (my carrier doesn’t have the best 5G coverage anyhow) should make the Z Fold 2 match or exceed the Fold’s endurance, but it would have been so much better if Samsung had found a way to equip the phone with a 5,000 mAh battery. It would probably be easy, too, seeing as how Samsung’s foldables have two batteries that combine to offer the total advertised capacity.

2x zoom camera is not enough

My colleague Abhijeet has already expressed his displeasure over the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s three-year-old zooming capabilities, and while I’m not as demanding of a phone’s cameras as he is, I have to agree that not having 2020 levels of camera zoom is just not done. Given the price point and how good the overall specs of the Z Fold 2 otherwise are, it should have, at the very least, launched with camera hardware that matches the Galaxy S20 or S20+.

The 64MP camera on the S20 and S20+ isn’t as great as the periscope zoom camera on the Galaxy S20 Ultra or the Note 20 Ultra, but it can take very useful pictures at up to 10x magnification. It also enables 8K video recording, although I won’t say that’s a feature that I care about.

The punch hole is more of a distraction than the notch

You would expect the punch hole on the Z Fold 2’s foldable display to be a massive improvement over the Fold’s notch. Well, it isn’t. The punch hole is more visible than the notch, especially when you’re watching a video. Also, the punch hole is in the wrong place. Naturally, it can’t be placed at the center of the inner display, because that’s where the folding wizardry takes place. But it still feels off, and a corner punch hole would have been a better alternative to the notch instead of the no-man-land placement Samsung has gone with on the Z Fold 2.

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I should note that these are only my initial thoughts on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 after a very short time of using it as my daily driver. I will have to test the device more to find out how the battery copes with a variety of use cases and whether the punch hole will continue to be a distraction. Our full review will have all the answers you seek, so stay tuned!

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Galaxy Note 10 Lite getting One UI 2.5 update – but it may take a while

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite started receiving the One UI 2.5 update, though the rollout appears to be a tightly controlled affair for now. More specifically, the new over-the-air release debuted in Spain on Tuesday, according to SamMobile‘s firmware archive, which also identify its build version as N770FXXU5CTH4. Nothing major happened ever since and it’s currently unclear how many Galaxy Note 10 Lite units the OTA managed to actually reach. What’s certain is that no other countries followed suit.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, especially since the One UI 2.1 update for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite was also confined to Spain for the initial few days, so the rollout will hopefully grace more markets by the end of the week.

September 2020 Android security update is also here

Whatever the case may be, we can at least confirm the new firmware comes packaged with the latest Android security patch dated September 1st, 2020. Regarding user-facing features added to the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, the jump to One UI 2.5 may not constitute a move to Android 11 but it’s still a pretty noticeable change to Samsung’s custom OS. Well, it is on the select few devices that it graced so far.

Fortunately, we do have a same-generation point of reference for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite – the Galaxy S10 which is also joining the One UI 2.5 club this week. Based on that changelog, users can expect Pro Video improvements, longer photo selection periods in Single Take, Split Keyboard for landscape use, more informative interactions with select Wi-Fi routers, and a range of other quality-of-life changes. Not all of which have been decently documented, to be frank. We’re still looking into the exact contents of this release and will report back with any developments.

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Infographic explains Samsung’s journey and achievements in the soundbar segment

Samsung entered the soundbar segment in 2008 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US. Since then, the company has released various groundbreaking products, soundbars with industry-first technologies, and went on to become the top soundbar brand in the world. Now, the company has published a new infographic that explains its journey and achievements in the soundbar segment.

The company’s first soundbar was the HT-X810, and it was the first soundbar in the world with a built-in DVD player and a wireless subwoofer. In 2009, Samsung released the HT-BD8200 soundbar which was the first in the industry with an inbuilt Blu-ray player. The HW-E550, which was released in 2012, was the first soundbar that could split audio into the left and right channels. In 2013, the South Korean firm released the HW-F750 and the HW-F751 that featured a tube amplifier for classic audio tuning.

Samsung released the world’s first curved soundbar, the HW-H7500/7501, in 2014. Its first Dolby Atmos soundbar with 5.1.4 channel audio, the HW-K950, was released in 2016. Earlier this year, the HW-Q800T was released. It debuted with Samsung’s new Q-Symphony audio technology that can work in harmony with a Samsung TV so that the audio is released from both the soundbar and the TV at the same time for an immersive experience.

In July 2020, the company released the world’s first soundbar with 9.1.4 channel audio and Dolby Atmos compatibility. Samsung’s HW-Q950T features a front speaker with top firing speakers, two separate rear channel speakers with additional top-firing drivers, and a wireless subwoofer. Samsung has been the leader of the soundbar segment for six years in a row.

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