Samsung resumes BTS collab with lighthearted Galaxy Z Fold 2 unboxing

Samsung’s collaboration with boy band phenomenon Bangtan Boys – aka BTS – continued this week after the company detailed the Galaxy Z Fold 2, its latest foldable flagship set to be released worldwide later this month. In the meantime, the megapopular Korean group was tasked with doing another unboxing video.

The Galaxy X BTS partnership is expected to be concluded in the coming months. Regardless, it seems rather likely that Samsung will be exploring yet another deal with the group sooner rather than later. After all, while 2020 hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Samsung – or anyone else – this BTS projected ended up inviting a baffling amount of attention. It also gave us some of the most relaxed promo videos we’ve ever seen from Samsung. Take, for example, BTS’s new unboxing:

Another week, another Samsung x BTS collab

Not that we’re complaining about this chill tone to Samsung’s advertising, it’s just curious to witness. If you haven’t already, definitely take a look at the previous video of BTS unboxing the Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition in early summer to equally carefree and outright funny results.

Samsung’s recent BTS collaborations have apparently been so successful that both the limited-edition Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+ are still in rather short supply, even though Samsung repeatedly expanded their availability and continues to do so to this date. And while Samsung is clearing out warehouses thanks to BTS, the group continues to dominate the social media discourse in the name of the latest and greatest Galaxy flagships.

Speaking of which, we’re currently meticulously studying the Galaxy Z Fold 2 which will be officially releasing in the second half of September, as Samsung previously confirmed. And while we’re still on the subject of Samsung X BTS, UK fans can now take AR pictures with their favorite band members thanks to Samsung’s newest XR experiment.

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Samsung aims to release more customizable home appliances in the future

Samsung is trying to find ways to cope with the consumer lifestyle changes that appeared with the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s home appliance business chief, Lee Jae-Seung, said that the company now aims to become a lifestyle brand by releasing more customizable products.

The South Korean tech giant is recalibrating its strategies in the era of the pandemic as consumers try to become healthier and stay safe. These testing times have forced people to think differently, reuse living spaces, and change the way they operate and prioritize things. Lee claimed that the company is aligning its strategy for its digital appliance category and move beyond just manufacturing appliances. The company wants to become a truly consumer-centric lifestyle brand.

As people practice social distancing, the boundary between their spaces of relaxation and work is blurring. Consumers are repurposing their spaces to serve as multi-function spots. With that in mind, Samsung hinted that it would release more home appliances in its Project Prism. People can reflect their lifestyle and customize the colors, design, materials, and shapes of home appliances.

As of now, Samsung has launched refrigerators and laundry appliances under its Project Prism. The company is also upgrading its home appliance products with the latest AI, connected home, and IoT features to deliver better experiences amid the pandemic.

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Gap between Samsung Foundry and TSMC expected to narrow

Samsung is fiercely trying to compete with foundry market leader TSMC over the past few years. The South Korean firm has envisioned to become the largest foundry firm in the world by 2030, and to achieve that, it must defeat TSMC in terms of market share and technology. Currently, TSMC has more than a 50% share of the foundry market, while Samsung’s market share is 17.4%. The gap between their market share is expected to narrow in the near future.

An online conference co-hosted by the Korea Society of Automotive Engineers, Qualcomm, LG Electronics, and LG Uplus to talk about emerging future car technologies. During the conference, Kim Jae-Kyung, Vice President of Qualcomm Korea, said that the company is trying to maintain good relations with contract chipmakers Samsung and TSMC. He said that although it competes with Samsung in the semiconductor space, it is still trying to strengthen ties with Samsung Foundry.

While Samsung recently started mass producing 5nm chips, TSMC started mass production of 5nm chips for Apple a few months ago. The Qualcomm Korea top official said that the gap between Samsung and TSMC would continue to get narrower as Samsung has its own competence as a chip producer. Although TSMC has a competitive advantage over Samsung right now, the South Korean firm has its own advantages.

Samsung has been increasingly securing chip deals from giants like IBM and Nvidia. In August, IBM announced that its POWER 10 CPU will be made by Samsung. A few days ago, Nvidia mentioned during the reveal of its Ampere-based RTX 3xxx series GPUs that they are fabricated using Samsung’s 8nm process.

The Qualcomm Korea top executive also mentioned that the company expects the semiconductor business to rebound in 2021 when smartphone shipments are expected to reach pre-COVID-19 levels. He said that up to 1.8 billion smartphones are sold every year and that chips used in smartphones are the biggest profit source for chipmakers and chip designers. Qualcomm is trying to diversify its portfolio by developing chips for the automobile industry.

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Samsung was the biggest tablet brand in Africa, Europe, and Middle East in Q2 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has revitalized the shrinking tablet market, thanks to remote learning. During the period, Samsung emerged as the biggest tablet vendor in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The company’s tablet shipments increased by nearly 70% from Q2 2019.

According to a new report from market analysis firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Samsung shipped around 3.37 million tablets in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions during the second quarter of the year. Its market share reached 28.3%, up 7.6% compared to the numbers from the second quarter of last year.

In comparison, Apple’s market share dropped from 25% in Q2 2019 to 21.5% in Q2 2020. The Cupertino-based tech giant managed to ship 2.56 million iPads and stood second in the tablet market. Huawei was the third biggest tablet vendor in the region, with a market share of 15%. Lenovo and Amazon were at fourth and fifth positions with 12.1% and 3.8% market share, respectively.

The tablet market in the EMEA region grew 23.8% year-on-year, and the total shipments reached 11.9 million during Q2 2020. This is the biggest growth the segment has seen since 2013. IDC expects the EMEA tablet market to grow 10.9% year-on-year during the third quarter and 3.7% in the fourth quarter.

Stefania Lorenz at IDC, said, “The spike in consumer demand for tablets was driven by the lack of notebooks in the market. In fact, tablets were not expected to be the first choice for home-schooling or home-working, but younger students and children were equipped with tablets instead of notebooks.“

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Samsung Korea rewards Galaxy Fold 5G users upgrading to Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G

Samsung has announced that it is launching a special rewards program in South Korea that offers benefits to Galaxy Fold 5G users who upgrade to the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G. The company said that its ‘Galaxy Fold 5G Special Rewards Program’ offers a reward of KRW 1 million (around $840) in full if a customer who purchased the Galaxy Fold 5G returns it and buys the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G.

The Galaxy Fold 5G Special Rewards Program is only available to the first 10,000 customers on a first-come, first-serve basis. Users in South Korea can get enrolled in the program from September 10 to September 11 via Samsung’s website. After purchasing the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, they can apply for the special rewards program. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G is scheduled to be launched on September 18 in South Korea.

Customers who apply for the rewards program and purchase the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G can visit the nearest Samsung Digital Plaza from September 15 to September 25 to return their existing Galaxy Fold 5G. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G will be shipped to them from September 15. The company will deposit the money to the user’s bank account after it receives the product and inspects its condition, seven days after the return date.

Galaxy Fold 5G units that are registered for theft (or loss) and devices with defective power supply or defective cameras will not be eligible for this special rewards program.

A Samsung executive said, “This special reward program is prepared with gratitude to the loyal customers who loved the Galaxy Fold 5G and made meaningful innovations of the Galaxy lineup together. We will continue to introduce foldable smartphones that provide design and experience that goes beyond the limits of existing smartphones.”

Galaxy Fold 5G

• Model: SM-F907N
• Dimensions: Folded: 160.9 x 62.8 x 17.1 mm
  Unfolded: 160.9 x 117.9 x 6.9 mm
  
• Display: 7.3 inch / 185.42 mm Dynamic AMOLED Display
• CPU: Snapdragon 855
• Camera: 16MP

More specifications

Galaxy Z Fold 2

• Model: SM-F916N
• Dimensions: Folded: 159.2 x 68.0 x 16.8 mm
  Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9 mm
  
• Display: 7.6 inch / 193.04 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 865+
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Pentastic Good Lock module redesigns the S Pen Air Command menu

Samsung has released a new Good Lock module that was created specifically for S Pen devices running One UI 2.5, so that includes the Galaxy Note 20 series. It’s called Pentastic and it doesn’t necessarily bring many new features as much as it brings fresh customization options.

To begin with, Pentastic adds a new option to change the way the Air Command menu is displayed. As any S Pen user can let you know, Air Command pops up by default in fullscreen when you eject the S Pen from its holster, giving you a list of apps that work best with the stylus. Pentastic doesn’t change this functionality but it lets you change the Air Command menu from fullscreen to a floating vertical strip containing the apps.

Furthermore, Pentastic comes with an additional S Pen shortcut in case the ‘hold down Pen button’ shortcut in Air Actions isn’t enough. The module introduces a double tap shortcut that can be activated when holding the S Pen button pressed and double tapping the S Pen tip to the screen. You can, for example, assign an S Pen app to launch when this gesture is performed, or you can choose one of the standard non S Pen apps instead.

This new Good Lock module also adds the option to change the shape of your S Pen pointer. You can keep the default option or you can change the pointer into a mouse cursor, a heart, and more. Furthermore, the Good Lock module allows you to pick the sound your phone makes when the S Pen is ejected from its holster.

All in all, Pentastic adds quite a few interesting customization options as well as one practical shortcut, so you might want to give it a try if you’re an S Pen user. You can download Pentastic from the Galaxy Store or our APK archive but keep in mind that you will need Good Lock and One UI 2.5 in order to make it work.

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Original Galaxy Fit had its price cut in half by Best Buy

US retailer Best Buy has slashed the price of the original Galaxy Fit in half shortly after the Galaxy Fit 2 was officially unveiled yesterday. The original Galaxy Fit activity tracker is now available at Best Buy for $50 off, meaning it costs $49.99 as opposed to $99.99. The price reduction is valid for both color options, black or white, but it’s unclear if this is a permanent price drop or a limited-time deal.

A 50% price cut is nothing to sneeze at but we should point out that the Galaxy Fit 2, which was unveiled yesterday, will go on sale in Europe in early October for under 50 euro. Samsung has yet to reveal any launch details for the Galaxy Fit 2 in the USA, but 50 euro translates to less than $99 so it’s no wonder that Best Buy has decided to slash the price of the original Galaxy Fit in half down to $49.99.

Perhaps the retailer is aware that the Galaxy Fit 2 will arrive in stock soon and it doesn’t want the newer model to undercut the old one. The two fitness trackers are very similar but the newer Galaxy Fit 2 has a larger 159mAh (versus 120mAh) battery that promises two weeks of battery life on a single charge.

You can take a closer look at how the Galaxy Fit compares to the Galaxy Fit 2 by checking our online device comparison tool, and you can refer to the links below if you want to learn more about the Galaxy Fit or take advantage of this ongoing discount from Best Buy. Would you buy the Galaxy Fit at a discount or are you waiting for the Galaxy Fit 2 to arrive?

Galaxy Fit review

• Buy the Galaxy Fit from Best Buy for 50% off.

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