Yes, Galaxy S20 FE 4G with Snapdragon 865 processor is coming soon

As if Samsung’s smartphone lineup is not confusing enough, the company is making another variant of the Galaxy S20 FE. This new variant first appeared earlier this month with model number SM-G780G. A few days later, we confirmed that it is an LTE variant of the Galaxy S20 FE with the Snapdragon 865 processor.

The Galaxy S20 FE 4G (SM-G780G) has now appeared in Geekbench’s database. The new listing reveals that the phone uses the Snapdragon 865 processor (codename ‘kona’) with the Adreno 650 GPU. It features 6GB of RAM and runs Android 11 out of the box (probably with One UI 3.1). The phone scored 893 points in the single-core CPU test and 3,094 points in the multi-core CPU test. Samsung has also published support webpages for this variant of the Galaxy S20 FE on its website for Malaysia, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and the UK. All those support webpages mention the model number SM-G780G/DS, which means that the phone features a dual-SIM card slot.

Galaxy S20 FE 4G (Snapdragon 865) specs

As per the information we have, except for the processor, this new variant of the Galaxy S20 FE is exactly similar to the Exynos 990 variant. It features a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with Full HD+ resolution, HDR10+, and a 120Hz refresh rate. It has 6GB/8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage, and a microSD card slot. The phone has a 32MP selfie camera and a 12MP+12MP+8MP triple-camera setup on the rear with 4K 60fps video recording.

The phone also features an in-display fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, IP68 rating, full Samsung Pay, and a USB 3.2 Type-C port. It uses a 4,500mAh battery and supports 25W fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.

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Samsung could entirely ditch Tizen in favor of Wear OS for Galaxy Watch 4

Samsung’s Tizen is the second-best operating system for smartwatches right now. However, the South Korean firm appears to be planning to ditch Tizen in favor of Google’s Wear OS, at least according to the latest rumors. The rumors first appeared back in 2018 when the company replaced Gear branding with Galaxy for its smartwatches. Now, another report seems to confirm Samsung’s shift from Tizen to Wear OS for its next-generation smartwatches.

An APK teardown of the latest version of the Galaxy Wearable app by Android Police’s Max Weinbach reveals two codenames: Fresh and Wise. These codenames are connected to Samsung’s next-generation smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch Active 4. They will reportedly come in two sizes—40/41mm and 44/45mm—and two variants: Bluetooth and cellular.

A new plugin with the codename ‘water’ was also found in the APK file, and it is reportedly Samsung’s compatibility layer for Wear OS. A reference to ‘newos’ was also found in the Galaxy Wearable application file. All of this points towards Samsung preparing to launch the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch Active 4 smartwatches running Google’s Wear OS. The upcoming watches are expected to be launched sometime in Q2 2021.

We are not entirely sure as to why Samsung would switch from Tizen to Wear OS even though the former is generally a more polished platform. Perhaps, this switch is a part of Samsung’s deepening partnership with Google and due to the lack of enough third-party apps and services for Tizen. Samsung is quite optimistic about the wearable market, especially after its growth last year, so it could be willing to ditch Tizen for even better growth.

Earlier, it was also found that Samsung is also working on the Galaxy Buds 2, which could replace the original Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Buds+ later this year.

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Another update has landed on the Galaxy S20 FE to improve security

Samsung’s April 2021 security patch rollout continues and the Galaxy S20 FE is one of the latest devices to join the recent firmware update party alongside the Galaxy A52, the Galaxy S21, and a couple of other Galaxy phones.

The Galaxy S20 FE is now receiving the April 2021 security patch through a new firmware update that’s rolling out in countless countries across Europe. There are too many to count here, but you can refer to our firmware archive for a complete list.

The update seems to be limited to the 4G variant of the Galaxy S20 FE and it can be identified by firmware version G780FXXS2CUC8. The Galaxy S20 FE 5G will probably receive a similar update very soon.

If you happen to own the Galaxy S20 FE in one of the many European countries in which the firmware update is now rolling out, you should receive an update notification at any moment. Otherwise, you can try triggering the update via the Settings app by navigating to Software update and tapping Download and install.

As usual, SamMobile readers can circumvent the OTA release and download the latest firmware for the Galaxy S20 FE (SM-G780F) from our archive. The firmware can then be installed on the phone using a Windows PC without having to wait for the update to reach your device over-the-air.

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The Galaxy A52 is already getting the latest security update

Not a lot of time has passed since the Galaxy A52 was officially introduced to the world as a killer mid-range device with flagship characteristics, and it didn’t take long for Samsung to improve the phone’s security with a fresh firmware update. The April 2021 security patch is now rolling out to the 4G variant of the Galaxy A52 (SM-A525F) in a handful of countries across the European continent.

Galaxy A52 owners can identify the update by firmware version A525FXXU1AUC5. The firmware is now being rolled out in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The April 2021 security patch was recently released for the Galaxy S21, the Galaxy Note 10, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and even the Galaxy A52’s predecessor — the Galaxy A51 — along with the One UI 3.1 update. Samsung has yet to detail the latest security patch so nobody really knows what vulnerabilities it’s supposed to be fixing, but improved security is always welcomed.

For the time being, the new firmware update appears to be available only for the 4G-enabled Galaxy A52, but we’re guessing that the 5G variant will get the same treatment soon. Galaxy A52 owners in Europe can attempt to download the latest update from the Settings app by accessing the Software update section and tapping Download and install.

As usual, SamMobile readers can also acquire new firmware from our servers for free. If you want to skip the wait, head down to our firmware archive, look for the firmware that matches your phone, and download it on a PC to install it manually using Odin.

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Samsung says the Galaxy S7 isn’t a phone so it shouldn’t be taxed as one

Samsung has apparently tried to reclassify the Galaxy S7 as anything but a telephone for cellular networks in South Africa in an attempt to convince the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) to lower import tariffs and get a tax refund. The company failed in its endeavor because, well, the Galaxy S7 is a phone after all, despite the fact that it takes advantage of smart features.

There is some entertainment value in watching a giant multinational corporation like Samsung arguing over semantics in an attempt to get a tax refund. And with help from IT specialist Jacques Van Wyk, Samsung has reportedly argued that the Galaxy S7 is first and foremost an apparatus which allows for the connection to a wireless communication network for the transmission or reception of speech or other sounds, images or data, but it is not a telephone for cellular networks.

Rather, it’s more of a pocket computer, so it shouldn’t be taxed as a phone, according to Samsung. Which is quite an amusing statement given that the Galaxy S7 doesn’t even support DeX.

Smartphone or pocket computer. Tomayto, tomahto

Mobile phones have evolved over the past decade to a point where they have been colloquially referred to as “pocket computers,” and with that knowledge in mind, Samsung and Jacques Van Wyk concluded that the primary function of the Galaxy S7 was to connect to the internet and offer access to music, games, and social media platforms, rather than to provide cellular connectivity for phone calls.

Evidently, SARS disagreed and argued that the Galaxy S7 is indeed a telephone for cellular networks, and despite the fact that telephones have evolved over the years, they still feature a keyboard — even if it’s software-based — speakers, microphones, as well as a SIM card / eSIM that’s used precisely for communicating with other people over cellular networks.

Professor Ling Cheng said in an affidavit that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is manufactured as a cellular network handset, which is designed to maintain a two-way communication with the base station of a cellular mobile communication system.

Judge Mngqibisa-Thusi concluded that just because the Galaxy S7 has functions which can be found in laptops or desktop computers, this does not detract from its principal function of being a telephone for cellular networks. She also added that Samsung’s attempt to redefine the Galaxy S7 as a laptop / desktop computer was disingenuous, and that the device’s usage through the internet does not change its nature and objective characteristics.

Samsung’s tax refund application was dismissed with costs, though it’s unclear how much money the company had to pay for its attempt.

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For some, today’s the last day of Samsung Cloud-OneDrive migration

Samsung Cloud will soon drop support for Gallery Sync, Samsung Cloud Drive, and Premium Storage. Samsung confirmed last year that Cloud customers have until April 2021 to migrate their data to Microsoft OneDrive, and Samsung has now provided more information as to how it’s going about shutting down its Cloud service.

To be clear though, Samsung Cloud isn’t going away entirely. It will only lose sync capabilities with Gallery, My Files, and Premium Storage, but customers will continue to be able to back up / sync and restore data from apps like Contacts, Calendar, and Notes.

Samsung’s strategy includes two groups and three stages

Samsung isn’t shutting down its Cloud service in every country at the same time, but instead, the company has split the market into two groups and three stages. For the first stage, customers in Group 1 will have until March 31 to migrate their data to Microsoft OneDrive, while Group 2 will have until May 31.

During stage 2, customers in Group 1 will continue to be able to download their data to a PC until June 30, while Group 2 has an August 31 deadline.

Once both stages are completed, data will then be deleted from Cloud and users will no longer be able to recover it. The final stage for Group 1 and Group 2 will commence from July 1 and September 1, respectively.

You can refer to Samsung’s dedicated page to verify if you belong in Group 1 or Group 2 by country. And if you are part of the former group then you only have one more day until you won’t be able to migrate your data to Microsoft OneDrive, so you might want to hurry.

How to integrate with Microsoft OneDrive

Samsung Cloud app users can integrate with Microsoft OneDrive and migrate their data by tapping More, accessing Settings, and selecting Link with OneDrive.

Gallery app users can tap the More button, access Settings, and select Cloud Sync or Switch to OneDrive.

Last but not least, My Files app users can go to More, Settings, and select Make the Switch to OneDrive.

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This is how the Galaxy S eco packaging has changed over the years

Samsung’s sustainability efforts in recent years have led to a few key changes to the company’s manufacturing processes as well as the retail packaging of its products. And in recent news, Samsung has released a new infographic that tells the eco-conscious journey of the Galaxy S flagship series — or rather its packaging — over the past half a decade.

Samsung became increasingly eco-conscious with every new Galaxy S flagship generation it released over the past five years, so here’s a quick summary of what’s been going on.

Samsung’s Galaxy S eco-journey so far

With the launch of the Galaxy S8 series in 2017, Samsung has removed the magnet from the packaging, it has replaced the plastic accessory tray with one manufactured from paper-based materials, and it has completely removed the plastic case that came with the included earbuds.

The following year — with the launch of the Galaxy S9 series — Samsung maintained all of the previous changes but has also replaced the plastic-built device tray to a different tray made from pulp-mold material.

The packaging for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S20 lineups went through even more drastic changes. The package structure was simplified, the accessory tie material was changed to paper, and protective films were removed from accessories. Furthermore, the accessory trays were integrated to one pulp-mold tray. Interestingly, Samsung also claims that the accessory coating was changed from glossy to matte because the latter solution is more eco-friendly.

Finally, the latest Galaxy S21 series represents another important step in Samsung’s journey towards sustainability, even though it may have come at a cost for consumers. The packaging was made from corrugated carboard to reduce material waste, but more importantly, the company has removed a couple of in-box accessories — the charger and the AKG-branded earbuds – to minimize the amount of packaging necessary.

Samsung’s eco-friendly efforts have led to the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) awarding the company with the Gold Tier Award for recycling of electronic waste, as well as the Champion Award for the Galaxy S10’s eco-packaging. You can refer to the infographic below for more details.

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