Samsung’s foldable phones are the perfect fit for fashion collaborations. The Galaxy Z Flip 3, in particular, can be a canvas for expressing oneself through the cover display and the wide range of colorful accessories. There were plenty of options at launch, but today, Samsung announced two new accessories for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in collaboration with Marvel and Disney.
They consist of a hand strap featuring the Marvel logo and a ring that resembles Disney’s Mickey Mouse. To be precise, Samsung will be selling the Marvel strap and Disney ring separately without a protective case, but the accessories can be attached to Samsung’s regular Silicone Cover cases for the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 Marvel and Disney accessories are available offline
The Marvel and Disney accessories for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be sold offline from mid-October — Samsung Taiwan revealed today. Namely, they will be available at the Samsung Experience Hall, Samsung Wisdom Hall, and the Samsung Mall.
For the time being, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 Marvel and Disney accessories seem to be limited to Taiwan. The Marvel strap is priced at NT$690 ($24), whereas the Disney ring will be available for NT$890 ($31).
As yet, there’s no official information as to whether or not Samsung will sell these accessories outside of Taiwan. But as always, we’ll keep you up to speed if the story develops. And if you are looking to buy the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in a more unique color combination, look forward to Galaxy Unpacked 2 on October 20, where Samsung might unveil a new design studio for its foldable phones.
Samsung’s event comes a day after Google’s launch event for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro on October 19. There is a lot of hype around these devices. A leak has now revealed the expected Google Pixel 6 Pro price. Samsung won’t be happy about it.
Google Pixel 6 phones will undercut the Galaxy S21 series on price
Leaked Target pre-listings have been shared online. They reveal that the Google Pixel 6 Pro price will be $898 in the United States. This means that the handset will be cheaper than the Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Google will thus be able to undercut two of the best Samsung phones on the market. One can even argue that they’re the Android smartphones to beat in 2021. The $599 Pixel 6 is also going to undercut the Galaxy S21.
The new Pixel smartphones will have much to offer. These handsets will be the first to feature Google’s new in-house designed Tensor chipset for smartphones. We’ve previously detailed how this makes the new Pixel phones a threat forSamsung.
Combine that with a more competitive price and you’ve got a problem for the Korean giant. As if that wasn’t enough, Google is also going to obliterate Samsung’s edge in software support. It will provide five years of security updates for the Pixels and four Android OS upgrades.
The Galaxy S21 series is already on its way out, though. The impact on its sales may not be significant. It remains to be seen whether the new Pixel phones can hold a candle to the Galaxy S22 series due next year. They may remain a tough competitor for the Galaxy S21 FE that’s now expected to launch in January 2022.
Here are the corroborated #Pixel6 and #Pixel6Pro prices in the Target inventory system in the US.
The latest update for the carrier-locked units of the Galaxy Z Flip 5G in the US comes with firmware version F707USQS2DUI1. The unlocked variant of the smartphone is getting the newest update with firmware version F707U1UES2DUI1. While we don’t have the official changelog for the updates yet, they include the October 2021 security patch, device stability improvements, and general bug fixes.
If you are a Galaxy Z Flip 5G user in the US, you might soon get the new software update. If you are feeling impatient, you can check for the update manually by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also download the latest firmware files from our firmware database and flash them manually on your smartphone.
One week after releasing the October 2021 security update to the Galaxy Fold, Samsung is releasing it to the Galaxy Fold 5G. The new software update is currently rolling out in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. More markets are expected to get the update over the next few days.
The latest software update for the Galaxy Fold 5G comes with firmware version F907BXXS6FUI5. It includes general bug fixes, device stability improvements, and the October 2021 security patch. Samsung had revealed earlier this month that its latest security patch fixes more than 60 privacy and security-related vulnerabilities to make its devices more secure.
If you are a Galaxy Fold 5G user in any of the countries mentioned above, you might have already received a notification of the new update. If you haven’t received it yet, 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.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra should be three months away, assuming that Samsung will launch the series in January 2022. The phone will succeed the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which, as of this writing, remains one of the best smartphones ever made. But will the Galaxy S22 Ultra make the Galaxy S21 Ultra obsolete a few months from now? And more importantly, is it even worth buying the S21 model at the moment, knowing that the sequel is just around the corner? Or should you wait for the Galaxy S22 Ultra to arrive?
Well, starting with the obvious: no, the Galaxy S21 Ultra won’t be made obsolete by a new flagship. It won’t be rendered useless, but as is the case with yearly upgrades, the Galaxy S22 Ultra should have at least a few key advantages over its predecessor.
Reasons why you should go ahead and buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra this year
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is tried and tested, and it’s the best Samsung smartphone to date, barring foldables and the Galaxy Note series. It has a fantastic camera with great optical zoom capabilities, and it’s powerful enough to handle virtually any task without difficulties — especially the 16GB model.
The 2021 flagship’s exterior design might also be more appealing, judging by the leaked Galaxy S22 Ultra renders so far. The ongoing model has a camera housing design that works very well for the form factor, but Samsung could change things around again next year, and not for the better.
Another reason is that the Galaxy S21 Ultra is cheaper now than it was at launch. And with the holiday shopping season closing in, customers will be able to find all sorts of attractive Galaxy S21 Ultra deals and discounts, especially since Samsung and its partner retailers know that the sequel is just around the corner. Some stores will want to clear up their inventory, so prospective buyers should have many opportunities to buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra this year for a much lower price relative to the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s cost at launch.
Finally, if you’re not a fan of the S Pen at all then you might prefer the Galaxy S21 Ultra over the sequel, since the 2021 flagship could be the last in the series to omit a dedicated S Pen slot.
Reasons why you should wait for the Galaxy S22 Ultra
One of the most obvious reasons is the S Pen — assuming you’re a fan. If you plan on using this popular accessory with your flagship phone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra should be the superior choice.
Samsung already brought the S Pen to the Galaxy S21 Ultra earlier this year, but the phone doesn’t have a dedicated S Pen holster. Instead, the accessory needs to be stored inside an S Pen case that Samsung sells separately, and it lacks Bluetooth features.
In contrast, recent leaks indicate that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will fully embrace the S Pen and come with a dedicated holster — which is one of the key characteristics of a Galaxy Note device.
Moving on beyond the S Pen, there are the usual yearly upgrades to look forward to. If you buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra this year, you’ll be missing out on the upcoming Exynos 2200 chipset, which should be considerably more powerful than the ongoing Exynos 2100 solution — in theory, at least. You can never be too certain about a chipset’s performance before release, especially now that the Exynos SoC is backed by AMD graphics. Preliminary performance reports look promising, but AMD has little experience in the mobile game so only time will tell how Samsung’s new chipset pans out. Besides, the Exynos 2200 might not be available in every market.
Finally, a new flagship will ship with a newer OS version, namely Android 12 with One UI 4.0 on top. Of course, the Galaxy S21 Ultra already has access to this firmware — in beta form — so it might run a polished build by the time the Galaxy S22 Ultra goes on sale. In this regard, you could say that the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a head-start, particularly if you don’t shy away from beta firmware builds. However, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will ship with this latest OS version from day one, which means it will be supported for longer and receive one extra Android OS upgrade before it reaches end-of-life.
Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy S22 Ultra? What’s the conclusion?
At the end of the day, the Galaxy S21 Ultra remains a great flagship and a safer purchase, at least in some areas. It has a fantastic camera system, a great display, and good performance, all wrapped in an elegant design. If you really need to buy a new flagship this year, you probably won’t regret getting the Galaxy S21 Ultra, especially if you find it at a good discount before the end of 2021.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S22 Ultra might become the best S Pen-enabled phone once it goes live early next year, and it will certainly deliver better firmware support than its predecessor. It technically should be faster too, and at the end of the day, there’s no telling what other unique features Samsung might have prepared to differentiate its upcoming flagship from the rest of the pack.
If you’d have to buy a flagship within the next few months, would you pick the Galaxy S21 Ultra this year, or would you wait for the Galaxy S22 Ultra to arrive early next year? Feel free to leave a comment below.
We are still three months away from the announcement of the Galaxy S22 series. However, their possible design and specifications have been leaked already. Most Samsung fans disliked the design render of the Galaxy S22 Ultra that was revealed a few weeks ago. Now, a new set of renders have been published, showcasing a new camera design.
LetsGoDigital has published new concept renders of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. According to the latest images, the upcoming flagship smartphone might not have a camera island. Instead, all individual cameras might have slight protrusion from the body. The camera design reminds us of the LG Velvet that was launched last year.
The camera design definitely looks better than the P-shaped and 11-shaped camera design that was rumored earlier. You can see its design in a 360-degree video towards the end of the article.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra reportedly features a 6.8-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, Exynos 2200 or Snapdragon 898 processor, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging. The smartphone could have a 108MP primary camera, an ultrawide camera, and two 12MP telephoto cameras with OIS.
The phone could launch with Android 12-based One UI 4.0 out of the box. Other features that we could expect on the phone include an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, Samsung Pay, and Wireless DeX.
Did you like this version of the Galaxy S22 Ultra in terms of design? Let us know in the comments section below.
Samsung has a gaming-focused product lineup called Odyssey, and the company has launched several Odyssey laptops and monitors over the past few years. While the company didn’t see much success in the laptop space, its Odyssey gaming monitors have hit the mark among gamers.
The South Korean firm has now published a new infographic to showcase how it has consistently improved its Odyssey gaming monitors. Samsung launched its first curved Odyssey gaming monitor (CFG70) in 2016. It featured gamer-centric UI and design. It then introduced QLED display technology in 2017 with the CHG90. The CHG70 and the CHG90 were the first gaming monitors in the industry with VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification.
In 2019, Samsung launched the Odyssey CRG9, the world’s first monitor with Dual QHD resolution (5,120 x 1,440 pixels). It also featured the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification for top-notch HDR performance. Last year, it launched Odyssey G7 and Odyssey G9 gaming monitors with 1000R curvature displays.
Earlier this year, the company unveiled the world’s first Mini-LED gaming monitor, the Odyssey Neo G9. It features 2,048 local dimming zones, a 1,000,000:1 static contrast ratio, and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. The monitor even features an RGB lighting zone on the rear, called CoreSync, which automatically replicates the colors displayed on the screen. Right now, the company makes one of the best gaming monitors in the world.
