Samsung needs a ‘one more thing’ moment for upcoming Unpacked event

If you’ve been following tech news with even a tiny bit of interest these past few weeks, you know just how extensively everything we’re going to see at Samsung’s August 11 Unpacked event has leaked. Leaks happen every year before Samsung announces new products, but this time it seems to be especially bad.

That means Samsung’s event will be a dud on arrival. Yes, the average consumer doesn’t really follow leaks and rumors, but the average consumer also doesn’t watch these events as much as you would think. For the rest of us, Samsung’s second Unpacked show for 2021 has effectively been ruined, but there’s a way Samsung can salvage some of this mess.

Why have an event when the internet’s already ruined it?

It’s simple: Samsung needs a “one more thing” moment as it is wrapping up all of its announcements on the virtual stage. Perhaps a tease for an upcoming product, like the Galaxy S21 FE? Maybe a small glimpse at the kind of performance and awesomeness we can expect from the company’s AMD-powered Exynos chipset?

Because without any sort of surprise reveal or new information that hasn’t already surfaced online, this instance of Unpacked will end up being a major bore. And, unless Samsung can put a lid on all of these yearly leaks, the next Unpacked may turn out to be even worse.

In fact, that will probably happen, as Samsung doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stop these leaks. Well, there are rumors that the company has been sending takedown notices to websites and leakers to get pictures and videos of its upcoming products off the internet, but doing something after the fact doesn’t really matter.

Wishing for a “one more thing” moment is all we can do at this point. Hopefully there’s something unknown and mysterious waiting for us at Unpacked next week. If not, Samsung may as well tell us everything right now, kinda like how Google decided to announce its upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro out of the blue earlier this week, well before the products are actually set to go on sale.

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Samsung takes Intel’s crown again to become the top global chipmaker

The semiconductor division is a literal cash cow for Samsung. The company posted record profits in Q2 2021 largely due to the stellar performance of this division. The increased demand for its semiconductor products also enabled Samsung to once again take Intel’s crown to become the world’s top chipmaker.

Samsung first passed Intel to take the top position four years ago in 2017. However, Intel was able to claw back its lead in 2019. However, the intense demand seen following the pandemic has once again pushed Samsung to the top spot.

Memory chip demand pushes Samsung to the top once more

It was a pretty big achievement when Samsung became the world’s largest chipmaker by revenue in 2017. It had ended Intel’s 24-year streak in the top position. Samsung kept up the momentum in 2018 as well by outselling Intel yet again.

However, due to the oversupply in the memory market towards the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, the semiconductor division’s revenues took a hit. Since Intel isn’t in the memory market, it remained unaffected. This allowed Intel to take back the top spot by the end of 2019.

Fast forward to 2021 and Samsung is back on top. It has become the world’s top chipmaker by revenue. The semiconductor division brought in revenues of $19.7 billion for Q2 2021 compared to Intel’s $19.6 billion. Memory chips have once again pushed Samsung to the top as a supply shortage has once again raised prices.

The steady increase in memory chip demand is likely to continue so Samsung is going to occupy the top spot for some time. However, with Intel entering the foundry business and winning over Samsung clients like Qualcomm, it may not be long before it starts to claw its way back to the top yet again.

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Samsung will make your next NVIDIA graphics card even more expensive

Trying to find a graphics card at MSRP has been a real challenge over the past year. Demand has skyrocketed due to cryptocurrency mining. The chip shortage is not helping matters as the supply remains constrained. So scalpers are making a killing by buying up GPUs and selling them multiple times over the retail price.

This is obviously hurting gamers and others who just want a GPU that doesn’t cost a kidney. As if that wasn’t enough, your next NVIDIA graphics card will be even more expensive thanks to Samsung.

Your next NVIDIA graphics card could be even more expensive

Samsung Foundry has announced that it’s going to increase the price of semiconductor wafers. These wafers are utilized to manufacture chips for NVIDIA graphics cards, SOCs and more. Companies like NVIDIA that contract chip manufacturing to Samsung will pass on the increased cost of manufacturing to their customers. The end result will be an increase in the MSRP of graphics cards.

However, Samsung has a good reason for hiking the prices of its wafers. It’s doing this to finance the expansion of its S5 fabrication plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Samsung wants to increase capacity in order to meet surging demand. The additional facility will enable the company to achieve higher production figures, particularly for the advanced nodes that will enter production in the coming years.

The higher capacity will enable Samsung to make more chips for its customers, like NVIDIA. The benefit for them will be that they can then get more supply in order to meet demand. That should help reduce the shortage in the semiconductor market.

In the meantime, graphics cards will remain as difficult to find at MSRP as ever before. Despite the recent crackdown on cryptomining in countries like China, the supply hasn’t stabilized enough to prevent scalpers from selling GPUs at exorbitant prices.

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Xiaomi may have just defeated Samsung in European smartphone market

Samsung has been facing a lot of heat from Chinese smartphones brands, especially in Asian markets. The South Korean firm was still ahead of those smartphone brands in Europe and North America. However, it looks like Xiaomi may have just defeated Samsung in the European market.

According to the latest numbers from market research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung slipped to the second position in the European smartphone market in Q2 2021. The report states that Samsung shipped 12 million smartphones during the quarter and acquired a 24% share of the market. Xiaomi, on the other hand, shipped 12.7 million smartphones to acquire a 25.3% share of the market. The Chinese brand grew 67.1% year over year, while Samsung faltered 7% when compared to Q2 2020.

Boris Metodiev, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Xiaomi has seen great success in Russia, Ukraine, Spain, and Italy among others and found customers eager for its Mi and Redmi series of feature-rich, value smartphones.”

Apple ranked third with 9.6 million iPhone shipments in Q2 2021. The world’s most profitable company grew 15.7% during the period when compared to Q2 2020. OPPO grew a whopping 180% year-over-year to reach 2.8 million shipments and a 5.6% market share. Realme, OPPO’s subsidiary brand, grew a staggering 1800% in the region and shipped 1.9 million smartphones during the second quarter of this year. It currently has a market share of 3.8%.

Total smartphone shipments during Q2 2021 in Europe stood at 50.1 million units, a 14.4% year-over-year growth. The market’s rebound was reportedly driven by continued economic recovery post-COVID-19, healthy demand from consumers using older phones, and value-for-money 5G smartphones.

With Asian and European markets in its favor, Xiaomi may look towards the North American market in the near future. The US, in particular, is considered to be the most profitable smartphone market, and Xiaomi may try to partner with cellular network operators to gain a foothold in the country.

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Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 Classic prices confirmed in a new leak

Samsung will unveil a bunch of new devices next week during its Galaxy Unpacked August 2021 event. The company’s first Wear OS 3 smartwatches will be a part of the event as well. Their design and complete specs sheet have been leaked already, and now their pricing has been revealed as well.

Galaxy Watch 4 price could start at €279

Leakster Even Blass (@evleaks) has published a few images of the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and they reveal the European prices of the wearables. The Galaxy Watch 4’s 40mm variant could carry a price tag of €279, while its 44mm variant could cost €309. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, which has a rotating bezel and a bigger screen, could be priced at €379 for the 42mm variant and €409 for the 46mm variant.

pic.twitter.com/8K7PiB3YwZ

— Evan (@evleaks) August 3, 2021

Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 specs

Both smartwatches sport circular Super AMOLED displays with Corning’s Gorilla Glass DX/DX+ protection. They feature an IP68 rating as well as an MIL-STD-810G-compliant design for dust, water, and shock resistance. Both smartwatches run One UI Watch 3.5 software on top of Wear OS 3. They also feature an accelerometer, barometric altimeter, ECG, GPS, gyro, heart rate monitor, sleep monitoring, SpO2 sensor, stress monitoring, and even body fat composition measurement.

The Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will come equipped with the 5nm Exynos W920 dual-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. They also feature dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC. The smartwatches have a loudspeaker and microphone for taking calls and other tasks. The Galaxy Watch 4 is expected to feature a 247mAh battery, while the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic could have a 361mAh battery.

Both smartwatches feature Qi wireless charging, Samsung Health, SmartThings, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

Galaxy Watch 4 (42mm)

• Model: SM-R880
• Dimensions: Watch: x x mm
  
• Display: 1.2 inch / 30.2 mm Circular Super AMOLED
• CPU:
• Camera:

More specifications

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Carrier variant of the Galaxy A32 5G gets July 2021 security update

While Samsung updated most of its phones and tablets with the July 2021 security patch last month, carrier variants of some of its devices have still not received the update. The Galaxy A32 5G’s carrier variant was stuck on the May 2021 security update until today. Now, it has started getting the new security patch.

The carrier variant of the Galaxy A32 5G (SM-A32U) has started getting a new software update on Comcast’s network in the US. It comes with firmware version A326USQU3AUG2 and includes the July 2021 security patch. As per Samsung’s documentation, the new security patch includes fixes for more than 20 privacy and security-related vulnerabilities in Galaxy devices. The update could reach more networks over the next few days.

If you are a Galaxy A32 5G user on Comcast’s network, you might have already received a notification of the new update. If you haven’t, you can check for it manually by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also download the latest firmware file from our firmware database and flash it manually using a Windows PC.

Samsung had launched the Galax A32 5G six months ago, and the phone reached US shores sometime in April 2021. The device was launched with Android 11-based One UI 3.1 out of the box, and it seems to be on Samsung’s quarterly security update schedule. The Galaxy A32 5G will get two major Android OS updates in the future.

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Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Z Fold 3 prices leak once again

Samsung will officially unveil the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 next week during its Galaxy Unpacked August 2021 event. However, even before the unveiling, the pictures, specifications, and pricing of the phones have been leaked. Now, the prices of the upcoming foldable phones have leaked once again, and this time from a very trusted source.

Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Z Fold 3 European prices leak

Reliable leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks) has tweeted images that showcase the prices of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It looks like the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will come with a starting price of €1,099 in European markets, while its higher-end storage variant could cost €1,149. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 could come with a price tag of €1,899, and its higher-end storage variant could cost €1,999.

Remember that pricing is almost never a direct conversion across markets and currencies. https://t.co/MLvLUynwjG pic.twitter.com/fdbRvnySu6

— Evan (@evleaks) August 3, 2021

If this information is correct, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be priced €350 lower than its predecessor. The Galaxy Z Fold 3, on the other hand, could cost €100 lower than the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Moreover, the South Korean firm is expected to have some excellent pre-order deals and trade-in offers for its upcoming foldable smartphones, that could result in even lower ownership cost. That’s in line with our exclusive report about lower starting prices for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 will feature a stronger body and a more durable foldable display. It will also feature a bigger cover display, a faster processor, newer software, and faster charging speeds. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a stronger and slimmer body as well. It will also come with a faster processor, an under-display selfie camera, improved cameras all around, and S Pen compatibility.

Are you thinking of upgrading to any of the upcoming foldable Galaxy smartphones? Let us know in the comments section below.

Galaxy Z Flip 3

• Model: SM-F711B
• Dimensions: Folded: 87.4 x 73.6 x 17.3 mm
  Unfolded: 167.3 x 73.6 x 7.2 mm
  
• Display: 6.7 inch / 170.18 mm Dynamic AMOLED Display
• CPU: Snapdragon 888
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

Galaxy Z Fold 3

• Model: SM-F926B
• Dimensions: : x x mm
  
• Display: 7.6 inch / mm Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• CPU: Snapdragon 888
• Camera: 12MP

More specifications

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