Galaxy Z Flip 3 might be getting downgraded to ‘budget flagship’ status

Despite the premium form factor, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 might not be a full-fledged flagship. Namely, GalaxyClub just dug up a model number likely belonging to the international variant of Samsung’s upcoming foldable smartphone – SM-F720F. What’s more, that designation is said to belong to an LTE-only device, which carries some less-than-exciting implications.

Primarily because the last high-end SoC to even release in an LTE-only configuration was the Snapdragon 855 Plus. This is the same chip found inside the original Galaxy Z Flip, whereas its promptly launched follow-up utilized the 5G-enabled Snapdragon 865 Plus.

Should we be getting worried about the next Galaxy Z Flip?

While Samsung is no stranger to downgrading its non-mainstream smartphone lines, the worst we can probably expect here is a combo of the Snapdragon 865 (the non-plus model) and some LTE modem. Or the Exynos 990, of course, as that would pretty much make the SM-F720F on par with the regular Galaxy S20 Fan Edition.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 variant with 5G support is likely to be labeled as the SM-F721B. But that’s just an informed guess based on today’s leak and Samsung’s recently established product practices. It’s worth pointing out that the very existence of an LTE-only Galaxy Z Flip 3 contradicts a recent report from the tech giant’s home country. Exactly two weeks ago, industry sources claimed that Samsung’s entire 2021 foldable smartphone portfolio will embrace 5G connectivity.

But if Samsung truly intends to release another foldable smartphone without 5G connectivity, such a device would almost certainly debut with a sub-$1,000 price tag. That’s a pretty major silver lining to this development, seeing how the company’s flexible-display devices still haven’t descended into the triple-digit territory. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is currently expected to launch in May or thereabouts.

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Galaxy S21 pre-order reservations start in the US

More than three weeks ahead of the Galaxy S21 announcement, Samsung USA has started accepting pre-order reservations for the upcoming phones. You can now sign up to be notified when pre-orders for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra go live in the region.

Samsung is letting consumers register for the pre-order notification via the Samsung Shop app. If you want to register for the pre-order, you need to click on the ‘Reserve Now’ button on the banner image, fill in the required details, and accept the terms and conditions.

The South Korean firm is offering some benefits for reserving the pre-orders. You can get up to $60 credit that you can spend on accessories while pre-ordering a Galaxy S21 series device. The company is also offering an extra $10 credit to those who pre-order the phone via the company’s app. The company will also let you trade-in your existing smartphone for up to $700, depending on the phone and its condition.

Galaxy S21 series specs

The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra are expected to feature a new design, 120Hz Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 888 processor in the US (Exynos 2100 in other markets), 8GB/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB/512GB storage, and Android 11-based One UI 3.1. The Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ are rumored to sport Full HD+ screens, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra could have a QHD+ display.

The Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ could come with a 10MP selfie camera and a 12MP+12MP+64MP triple-camera on the rear. The Galaxy S21 Ultra could have a 40MP selfie camera and a 108MP+12MP+10MP+10MP quad-camera setup on the rear. All phones are expected to feature 8K 30fps video recording, stereo speakers, 5G, IP68 certification, in-display fingerprint reader, Samsung Pay, Wireless DeX, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.

Samsung is expected to equip the Galaxy S21 Ultra with additional features like S Pen compatibility and Wi-Fi 6E. The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra are expected to be powered by 4,000mAh, 4,800mAh, and 5,000mAh batteries, respectively.

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Samsung fails to ship 300 million phones for the first time in 9 years

Samsung has been the number one mobile phone brand globally since 2012, and it has been shipping close to 300 million phones every year since 2011. However, it won’t be able to reach the 300-million mark this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related shutdowns, and the market conditions. And this would be the first time in nine years that the company won’t reach that figure.

By the end of Q3 2020, Samsung shipped 189 million mobile phones. That is lower than Samsung’s usual Q3 shipments, but it is still a good number considering the pandemic. However, it won’t be able to ship more than 270 million phones by the end of 2020. According to a new report coming out of South Korea, Samsung is aiming to get back in form and ship 307 million phones in 2021. The company is reportedly planning to expand its mid-range, affordable 5G, and foldable phone lineups next year.

Apparently, the company wants to ship around 287 million smartphones and 20 million feature phones. Of those 287 million smartphones, almost 50 million units could be foldable devices. The company is reportedly planning to introduce more affordable foldable smartphones next year.

The Galaxy S series didn’t do very well this year, but Samsung came back well by launching the Galaxy S20 FE. It also launched mid-range 5G smartphones such as the Galaxy A51 5G, Galaxy A71 5G, and the Galaxy A42 5G. Now, the company is working on the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Note 21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and a bunch of mid-range 5G smartphones.

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Exynos’ market share slipped in Q3 2020 even as Samsung supplied chips to Vivo

Samsung is not particularly known for its Exynos processors, but it was still among the top three brands last year due to the sheer number of Galaxy devices it shipped with its in-house chipsets. However, the company’s market share seems to have slipped a bit in the third quarter of this year.

According to the latest numbers from Counterpoint Research, Samsung’s market share dropped from 16% in Q3 2019 to 12% in Q3 2020. The company is still placed in the third position, but it is now joined by Apple and Huawei’s HiSilicon. Surprisingly, MediaTek overtook Qualcomm in the third quarter to take the global smartphone chipset throne. MediaTek had a 31% share of the market, while Qualcomm had a 29% share of the market. MediaTek appears to have done really well in markets like India and Latin America, especially in the $100-$250 price segment.

Despite shipping its new Exynos 980 and Exynos 880 chipsets to Vivo, Samsung’s market share slipped. This could be due to Samsung’s own smartphone division using more Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets this year. Even next year, the company is expected to launch mid-range phones like the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy A72 with Snapdragon processors.

Hopefully, Samsung’s semiconductor division will be able to win back the smartphone division’s trust with upcoming chips like the Exynos 1080. The company is also scheduled to unveil the Exynos 2100 processor on January 12, and it is rumored to be quite a performer, and that’s good considering the Exynos 990 blunder. With 5G-capable chipsets like the Exynos 980, Exynos 1080, and Exynos 2100, the only thing that Samsung seems to be missing out on is a good entry-level chipset.

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Samsung unveils first videos of Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G

Samsung unveiled its 2021 laptop lineup last week. The company has four new Windows 10-powered laptops: Galaxy Book Flex 2, Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G, Galaxy Book Ion 2, and Notebook Plus 2. Now, the company has published the first videos of the Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G.

The South Korean tech giant published the official unboxing of the Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G on its YouTube channel. It also published a video that explains how to use the new laptop’s features. The Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G comes with a USB Type-C charger, a SIM card ejector pin, and a quick start guide.

It has a 13.3-inch Full HD touchscreen display, 11th Gen. Intel Core CPU, up to 16GB RAM, and up to 512GB SSD. The 2-in-1 laptop features an S Pen, a full-sized keyboard, a 13MP world-facing camera, a 720p HD webcam, and a trackpad. It is powered by a 69.7WHr battery.

The built-in camera app on the Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G has a document mode that lets you capture documents easily and enhances productivity. The pre-loaded Samsung Notes app can be used to note down things, draw, edit images, create PDFs, sign documents, and more.

In terms of port selection, the Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G has a full-sized HDMI port, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, a USB 3.1 Type-C port, a microSD card slot, and a headphone jack. The laptop also comes equipped with Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.1, and a fingerprint reader.

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Massive Galaxy S21 leak leaves nothing to imagination

Samsung has been terrible in plugging leaks this year. Various aspects of the Galaxy S21 series have been leaked over the past few weeks. We have already seen the design, specs, and pricing of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. A new leak further corroborates those details and reveals some additional information.

According to the report from WinFuture, the Galaxy S21 has a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, while the Galaxy S21+ sports a 6.7-inch screen. Both phones use Full HD+ panels with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, up to 1,300 nits brightness, Gorilla Glass Victus, and under-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader. They will reportedly feature Exynos 2100 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB/256GB internal storage. Apparently, there are no signs of a microSD card slot on any of these two phones.

As reported earlier, the Exynos 2100 SoC features one Cortex-X1 CPU core clocked at 2.9GHz, three Cortex-A78 CPU cores clocked at 2.8GHz, and four Cortex-A55 CPU cores clocked at 2.3GHz. The Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ will reportedly come with Android 11-based One UI 3.1. Connectivity features of these phones include 5G, dual-SIM capability (nano SIM + eSIM), GPS, Wi-Fi 6, UWB, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and USB Type-C port.

In terms of imaging, the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ feature 10MP selfie cameras with an F2.2 aperture, 1/3.24-inch sensor, 1.22µm pixels, and 4K 60fps video recording. At the rear, both phones feature a triple camera setup featuring 12MP wide-angle camera with OIS, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera with OIS. The rear-facing camera can record 8K 30fps and 4K 60fps videos.

The Galaxy S21 reportedly features a 4,000mAh battery and the Galaxy S21+ is powered by a 4,800mAh battery. Both phones feature 25W fast charging, Qi wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. Other features include stereo speakers, IP68 certification, and Samsung Knox.

The Galaxy S21 measures 151.7×71.2×7.9mm, weighs 171g, and will be sold in four colors: Grey, Pink, Purple, and White. The Galaxy S21+ measures 161.4×75.6×7.8mm, weighs 202g, and comes in three colors: Black, Purple, and Silver. The report also states that the phones won’t come with a charger in the box, at least in the European markets.

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Samsung drops Galaxy Buds+, Buds Live prices ahead of Galaxy Buds Pro launch

With the upcoming launch of the Galaxy Buds Pro, Samsung will have a wide range of truly wireless earphones in its lineup. The company appears to be making some adjustments to the pricing of the rest of its wireless earphones ahead of the launch of the Galaxy Buds Pro.

The company has dropped the prices of the Galaxy Buds+ and the Galaxy Buds Live slightly in India. The Galaxy Buds+, which were being sold for INR 8,990 (around $122), are now priced at INR 8,090 (around $109). The Galaxy Buds Live, which were earlier priced at INR 11,990 (around $163), are now being sold for INR 10,890 (around $148).

The Galaxy Buds Pro could be priced at $199 in the US, at least going by the recent leak. However, looking at the Indian launch prices of the Galaxy Buds+ and the Galaxy Buds Live, the Galaxy Buds Pro could be priced lower in India than in the US.

Samsung’s first truly wireless earbuds with an in-ear canal design and active noise cancellation feature a dual-driver setup, Bluetooth 5.1, improved ambient mode, conversation mode, touch sensors, wear detection, a 28-hour battery life, USB Type-C port, and wireless charging. The Galaxy Buds Pro will compete head-to-head with Apple’s AirPods Pro.

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