Galaxy Xcover Pro gets updated to Android 11 with One UI 3.0

Samsung has already released the Android 11 update to various smartphones and a couple of high-end tablets. The company has now started rolling out the Android 11 update to the Galaxy Xcover Pro, a rugged smartphone that was released last year with Android 10 pre-installed.

The Galaxy Xcover Pro is now receiving the Android 11 update with One UI 3.0 in various countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UAE, and the UK. The latest update comes branded with firmware version G715FNXXU7BUA8, and it brings along the January 2021 security patch to the rugged smartphone.

The new update includes Android 11 features like one-time permissions, chat bubbles, conversations section in the notifications area, a dedicated media player widget, easier smart device controls, permissions auto reset, and wireless Android Auto. It also brings One UI 3.0 features like a refreshed UI design, improved Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls, newer versions of stock apps, additional lockscreen widgets and AoD customizations, and a new design for Bixby Routines.

If you are a Galaxy Xcover Pro user in one of the countries mentioned above, you might have already received a notification for the latest update. In case you haven’t received it yet, you can manually check for it by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also download the correct firmware from our firmware section and flash it manually.

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February 2021 security update for the Galaxy S21 series debuts in Asia

The Galaxy S21 flagship lineup is now being updated with the February 2021 security patch. The firmware update has yet to be released for the international variants but it is now rolling out for the Galaxy S21 series in Hong Kong.

Samsung’s new flagship series was released with the January 2021 security patch out of the box, but by the time the phones began shipping to customers at the end of the month, the February 2021 patch was already being prepared for release on a handful of other Galaxy phones. Now the Galaxy S21 series is catching up, at least in Hong Kong, where firmware version G99x0ZHU1AUAE is hitting the waves.

The new firmware update for the Galaxy S21 series in Hong Kong weighs roughly 306MB and the changelog is fairly generic, mentioning performance improvements, camera improvements, and other unspecified bug fixes.

Regardless, Samsung is updating the flagship in Hong Kong through a different channel so the exact-same update won’t be hitting the international market, though you can be certain that the February 2021 security patch will soon be released for the Galaxy S21 series everywhere. As usual, the patch addresses a variety of low-to-high security threats discovered in Android OS and Samsung’s own software.

Galaxy S21

• Model: SM-G991B
• Dimensions: Bar: 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.2 inch / 157.48 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Exynos 2100
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S21+

• Model: SM-G996B
• Dimensions: Bar: 161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm
  
• Display: 6.7 inch / 170.18 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Exynos 2100
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S21 Ultra

• Model: SM-G998B
• Dimensions: Bar: 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm
  
• Display: 6.8 inch / 172.72 mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Exynos 2100
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Samsung’s incredibly fast MRAM solution could soon be used in wearables

Samsung is reportedly turning its attention towards the emerging MRAM market with the goal of expanding the application of MRAM technology to additional sectors, revealed Samsung Foundry principle engineer Han Shin-hee at SEMICON Korea via The Elec. The company hopes for its MRAM chips to be used in more areas beyond IoT and AI, such as graphic memory, low level cache, the automotive market, and even wearables.

Samsung’s been working on MRAM for years and it began mass producing its first commercial MRAM solution in mid-2019. It was built using a 28nm FD-SOI process. The solution had a limited capacity, which is one of the drawbacks of MRAM, but it was reportedly applied to IoT and AI chips as well as microcontrollers manufactured by NXP. Coincidentally, NXP could soon be owned by Samsung if the company moves forward with its next wave of mergers and acquisitions.

Samsung now wants MRAM to become a viable solution for more market segments and applications, seeing how the global MRAM market is expected to be valued at $1.2 billion by 2024.

What is MRAM and how does it differ from DRAM?

MRAM stands for Magnetosensitive Random-Access Memory. As opposed to flash memory / DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) which stores data as an electric charge, MRAM is a non-volatile solution that uses magnetic storage elements consisting of two ferromagnetic films and a thin barrier to store data.

In practice, MRAM is incredibly fast and can be up to 1,000x faster than eFlash. In part, this is because MRAM doesn’t have to perform an erase cycle before writing new data. It also requires less energy than conventional storage mediums.

On the other hand, MRAM’s biggest weakness lies in its low storage capacity, which is one of the reasons why it occupies a relatively narrow niche on the market rather than hitting mainstream. But with Samsung now reportedly wanting MRAM to succeed in more areas, the technology could soon be used in wearables and other mobile devices.

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AMD might not outsource its GPU/APU production to Samsung after all

A rumor emerged earlier this week to support the possibility that AMD will move the production of its 3nm and 5nm-based GPU and APU solutions from TSMC over to Samsung, but according to a fresh report, this might not come to pass after all.

AMD is indeed struggling with supply, reason why some industry observers were speculating that the company will turn to Samsung for help, but market watchers cited by IT Home now claim that the reason for this shortage doesn’t lie with TSMC’s inability to keep up with demand, but rather with an insufficient supply of ABF substrates.

This is an industry-wide issue that has reportedly affected the manufacturing output of other products from different suppliers and brands, including NVIDIA’s RTX 30 series GPUs and the Sony PS5 console.

AMD’s shortages aren’t caused by TSMC’s production capacity

Therefore, there’s no real reason for AMD to be looking for a different manufacturer, especially now that the partnership between AMD and TSMC is stronger than ever following Apple’s move to 5nm, which opened up the 7nm line for AMD.

As for Samsung, even though the company might not be responsible for manufacturing AMD’s GPU and APU solutions, the two companies are already working together to bring AMD GPUs to the next generation of Exynos chipsets in 2022. Perhaps the supply and production chain will see some changes by then, but for now, AMD will reportedly stick with TSMC.

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Samsung raises the bar for TV accessibility in 2021

When it comes to accessibility features and cutting-edge technologies, Samsung has always been eager to combine the two. And it’s now raising the accessibility bar for consumer electronics once again. This time around, the focus is on smart television sets, as Samsung’s 2021 TVs will offer a range of features meant to make the user experience more intuitive for people with hearing or vision impairment.

This effort, dubbed ‘Screens for All’, lately contributed to the company’s impressive innovation award haul at this year’s CES. The new functionalities range from alternative viewing modes for the color-blind to expanded audio descriptions of movie scenes and the like.

What’s new for smart TV accessibility in 2021?

Holding down the mute button on your Samsung TV remote for longer than two seconds will take you to a menu allowing for granular controls over local accessibility options. This menu will always feature a Voice Guide, though the built-in narrator will otherwise have to be enabled under accessibility settings. Once activated, this functionality will have the TV inform you of the exact channel and volume level whenever you switch channels or turn on a compatible TV.

Another unique capability of newer Samsung TVs is an app designed for practicing using the remote. It offers audio feedback informing you of the purpose of whatever button you pressed last. The blind and visually impaired will consequently be able to familiarize themselves with the remote more quickly.

Many of the aforementioned accessibility features have been developed in direct cooperation with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, a British nonprofit. The RNIB has been collaborating with Samsung since 2013, and the fruits of those accessibility efforts will be made available globally. Prior to that, Samsung became the first TV manufacturer to receive the RNIB’s ‘Tried and Tested Accreditation’ back in 2020.

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Galaxy S9, S9+ getting February 2021 security update

The February 2021 Android security update is already rolling out to select variants of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. These over-the-air packages are identified as release versions G960FXXSEFUA1 and G965FXXSEFUA1. Both are likely to hit your Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ soon, assuming that hasn’t happened already.

At least based on how much progress they’ve made over the last three days, which is when the first update notifications started arriving. As of right now, the security patch level dated February 1st, 2021 is available for download across every continent – at least partially.

How soon until the new patch becomes available globally?

So, if you haven’t already received a notification prompt about a pending software upgrade, you can perform a manual scan by going to Settings > Software update > Download and install. Our firmware archives already offer a ton of system images for various Galaxy S9-series devices containing the new update, as well.

Both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will continue to receive monthly security patches for at least another year. Samsung is expected to downgrade them to a quarterly update cycle afterward. But extra feature additions are likely out of the question, at this point. Meaning the One UI 2.5 update was probably the last we’ve seen of them on the Galaxy S9 range.

Galaxy S9

• Model: SM-G960F
• Dimensions: Bar: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
  
• Display: 5.8 inch / 147.32 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9810
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy S9+

• Model: SM-G965F
• Dimensions: Bar: 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm
  
• Display: 6.2 inch / 157.48 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9810
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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Three-year-old Galaxy Note FE gets February 2021 security patch

Samsung has improved a lot with software updates for its smartphones and tablets. The company has already released the Android 11 update to a bunch of high-end and mid-range smartphones. It was also the first company to release the February 2021 security patch to its phones. Now, the company has released the latest security update to the Galaxy Note FE.

The Galaxy Note FE (SM-N935S) has started receiving the February 2021 security patch in South Korea. The latest update bears firmware version N935SKSU4CUA1, and it is still based on Android 9 and features One UI. We don’t have the official changelog yet, so we are unsure if Samsung has included other improvements with this update.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note FE in July 2017. It is amazing to see a Galaxy smartphone released more than three years ago getting the latest security patch, and that too, in the first week of the month. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 8 Pro is still on the November 2020 security patch.

If you are a Galaxy Note FE user in South Korea, you might have received the software update notification on your smartphone already. You can manually check for the update by navigating to Settings » Software update and then tapping on Download and install. You can also download the entire new firmware from our firmware database and flash it manually. The update could be released in other markets soon.

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