Samsung’s next budget tablet may be called the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

The Galaxy Tab S6 is a flagship Android tablet that Samsung released last year. Samsung addressed a major shortcoming of its flagship tablet lineup with this device by shipping it with the latest processor, which was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 at that time.

It appears that the company’s next tablet is going to be an offshoot of the Galaxy Tab S6. However, it’s not going to be a premium product. Samsung is likely going to launch its next budget tablet as the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.

Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will truly be a Lite device

We exclusively revealed a couple of months ago that Samsung is developing a new tablet bearing model number SM-P615. Specs of the device emerged the following month. We now know what Samsung is going to call this tablet courtesy of the device going through its Bluetooth qualification process. The Bluetooth SIG listing reveals that this product, the SM-P615, will be called the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.

Despite sharing its name with Samsung’s flagship Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is going to be Lite in every sense of the word. Key specs of the tablet were revealed last month when it surfaced on Geekbench. It will use the same Exynos 9611 processor as found in mid-range devices like the Galaxy A50s. It will be available with 64/128GB storage options and 4GB of ram. There’s also a possibility that it will be paired with an S Pen and will most likely come with Android 10 out of the box. A Wi-Fi only variant of the tablet with model number SM-P610 will be on offer as well.

Seeing as how this is going to be a truly mid-range affair, expect Samsung to launch the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite by way of a press release at some point in the coming months. No word as yet on the pricing and availability details but we’ll be sure to let you know if we get a hold of them.

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Galaxy Watch Active 2 Golf Edition, Aluminum LTE variant launched in Korea

Samsung has launched two new variants of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in South Korea. The Galaxy Watch Active 2 Golf Edition, as the name suggests, is targeted towards golf aficionados. The South Korean tech giant has also unveiled the LTE version of the existing aluminum variant of the smartwatch.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 Golf Edition comes with upgraded golf shot distance measurement. It also comes with a built-in Smart Caddie app, which offers information on more than 40,000 golf courses worldwide. This variant of Samsung’s newest smartwatch comes in two variants: 44mm Aqua Black and 40mm Pink Gold. They are priced at KRW 393,000 ($323) and KRW 359,700 ($295), respectively. Samsung had also launched golf editions of the Gear S3 and the Galaxy Watch in the past.

The South Korean firm has also introduced a new variant of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 Aluminum with LTE connectivity. It will be available in both 40mm and 44mm sizes. It comes in three colors: Aqua Black, Cloud Silver, and Pink Gold. The 40mm variant is priced at KRW 359,700 ($295), while the 44mm variant costs KRW 393,700 ($323) in South Korea.

These new variants of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 will be available in South Korea starting tomorrow. The company also mentioned that these new Galaxy Watches would be introduced in some markets outside of Korea. The golf-focussed variant will be launched in the UK and the US, while the Aluminum LTE variant will be launched in some Asian and European markets in the future.

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Samsung says it will improve Galaxy S20’s camera performance with software updates

The main selling point of the Galaxy S20 series is its cameras. Samsung managed to cram in a lot of cameras in its latest flagship phones, the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Moreover, the camera sensors in the phones are some of the largest in the industry. However, some reviewers are complaining of bugs and underwhelming camera quality.

Some of the Galaxy S20 Ultra reviews published over the past few days have mentioned that the cameras on the phone have an inconsistent and slower-than-usual focusing mechanism, both in the photo and the video modes, and excessive processing. The phone uses PDAF (phase-detection autofocus) rather than a faster and more reliable dual-pixel PDAF system that is found in most modern high-end phones, including its previous-generation flagships. The cameras also seem to over smoothen people’s faces and skin.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra reviews published by PCMag and InputMag talk about similar issues with its cameras. TheVerge hasn’t published its full review of the phone yet but notes that it has faced issues related to autofocus and skin smoothening as well. In response to the publications, Samsung said that it would improve and optimize the camera performance of the Galaxy S20 series in the future with software updates.

Here’s the complete response from Samsung:

“The Galaxy S20 features a groundbreaking, advanced camera system. We are constantly working to optimize performance to deliver the best experience for consumers. As part of this ongoing effort, we are working on a future update to improve the camera experience.”

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has the mightiest camera setup on any smartphone in the world, featuring a monster 108MP (1/1.33-inch) primary camera, a 48MP camera with a 10x hybrid optical zoom periscope lens, a 12MP ultrawide-angle camera, and a 3D ToF camera on the rear. The phone can also record 8K videos, albeit at a frame rate of 24fps. The South Korean smartphone giant has already released a software update in South Korea that improves the camera performance of the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

We are working on our own review of the Galaxy S20 Ultra and will soon share our findings regarding the phone’s camera performance with you. What are your expectations from the Galaxy S20’s cameras? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Samsung has yet to slow down its R&D spendings, hits record high in 2019

Samsung Electronics is one of the biggest R&D spenders in the world, and last year, the company managed to outdo itself by spending no less than 20.1 trillion won ($16.5 billion) in researching and developing new or improved products.

The company’s R&D spendings by the end of 2019 were up by 8.3% compared to 2018. That’s quite impressive given that Samsung did spend money on R&D in 2018 as well, and was South Korea’s biggest spender in this area throughout that year. In 2019, however, Samsung managed to increase its R&D to sales by 1.1% compared to a year prior. This effectively means that Samsung’s R&D expenses have taken shape in real products, more so last year than they did in 2018, and part of this effort and research is now being felt by customers in one form/product or another.

According to Yonhap News citing industry sources, the bulk of Samsung’s R&D expenses in 2019 has covered the development of system chips and next-gen displays. Near the beginning of 2019, Samsung confirmed its plans to invest $115 billion in logic chip development over the next decade, and to a degree, it looks like the company’s vision has already taken shape throughout 2019.

Interestingly enough, the same report mentions that Samsung Electronics made a bigger push into R&D last year despite the fact that sales and operating profits have dropped by 5.5% and 52.8% year-on-year, respectively. This only goes to show that Samsung is very serious about its long-term R&D vision, and it’s willing to aim at higher profits in the long run rather than cashing in and resting on its laurels.

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Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 will not be getting Android 10 update

In a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, Samsung’s customer reps have previously claimed, not once but twice, that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 will receive Android 10 this year. As hopeful as that may sound, that’s simply not going to happen.

The two aforementioned smartphones were omitted from Samsung’s Android 10 update roadmap that was published a few months ago. That hasn’t stopped Samsung’s customer reps to once again offer false hopes a couple of months later, so if you still have any doubts on the matter then let us clear them out: the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 will not receive Android 10 and One UI 2.0, and this was directly confirmed to us by Samsung at Unpacked.

Now, this is actually par for the course. If it wasn’t for the erroneous information passed along by Samsung’s own representatives in the first place, we wouldn’t have dared to hope that Android 10 would be released on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. That’s simply because both of these smartphones fall outside of Samsung’s guaranteed update window. The company offers two major software updates for its smartphones, and both of these devices have already made the jump from Android 7.0 Nougat to Android 8.0 Oreo and then to Android Pie.

On the bright side, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 should continue to receive security patches, at least for a while. Even so, the Galaxy S8 is virtually three years old so it might stop receiving updates altogether soon. Technically speaking, Samsung no longer has an obligation to deliver security patches to the device, but the February 2020 patch is already rolling out for both the S8 and Note 8. Future patches designed to fix severe issues could continue to arrive, albeit at a slower pace than before.

Galaxy S8

• Model: SM-G950F
• Dimensions: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm
• Display: 5.8” (146.5mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 8895
• Camera: 12 MP, Dual Pixel F1.7 OIS

More specifications

Galaxy S8+

• Model: SM-G955F
• Dimensions: 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm
• Display: 6.2” (158.1mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 8895
• Camera: 12 MP, Dual Pixel F1.7 OIS

More specifications

Galaxy Note 8

• Model: SM-N950F
• Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm
• Display: 6.3" (160.02mm) Super AMOLED
• CPU: Exynos 8895
• Camera: 12 MP, 2x, 1 telephoto F2.4 and 1 wide angle F1.7 OIS

More specifications

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Samsung showcases Galaxy S20 Ultra Folded Lens in assembly video

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is one of the largest, most powerful, and camera-centric smartphones ever created. You might be wondering how it all comes together and how the hardware looks on the inside, and you might be thinking that your best chance to get an inside look at the device is to wait for one of those destructive ‘durability test’ videos.

But if you’re like some of us and you don’t enjoy watching new smartphones being smashed to pieces, Samsung has your back. The company has just published an official assembly video of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and although it doesn’t go into the finer details like an iFixIt video normally would, it does offer a better view of the internal hardware.

We get a close look at the camera assembly and the Folded Lens module which makes Space Zoom possible. Aside from the camera setup, the video also showcases all of the PCBs that hold everything together, the large 5,000mAh battery, and the wireless charging coil to name a few.

Mind you, it’s obvious that the video at hand doesn’t highlight whether the Galaxy S20 Ultra is easy or difficult to repair. We’ll have to wait for videos from third-party sources for that.

Samsung left out the parts in which the host of the video deals with screws and adhesives, and instead chose to create a cleaner video that’s focused mainly on highlighting the flagship’s internal components. Check out the video below and feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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[List] Galaxy devices that have received Android 10/One UI 2.0 update

Samsung surprised us with how quickly it released the official Android 10/One UI 2.0 update for the Galaxy S10, and if that weren’t enough, the company even managed to push out the update to two budget smartphones before its other 2019 flagship, the Galaxy Note 10. And, if if Samsung can keep the momentum going, we could see other Galaxy devices making the jump to the newest version of Android in the near future.

While we will be writing a separate article every time One UI 2.0 and Android 10 come to another Galaxy device for the first time, we decided it would also help our readers if we put together a list that tells them which Galaxy devices have already received the update. You can find that list below – you can bookmark this page and keep checking back from time to time to see if Android 10 is available for your Galaxy smartphone or tablet.

Do keep in mind that the presence of a device on this list does not mean it has been updated to Android 10 in every country. Samsung gradually expands availability of software updates, whether they are simple security updates or those that bring a newer version of the OS, although you can keep an eye on our firmware archive to find out if the update has been released in your country.

Galaxy devices that have received Android 10/One UI 2.0 update

• Galaxy S10 series
• Galaxy Note 10 series
• Galaxy M20
• Galaxy M30
• Galaxy Note 9
• Galaxy A40s
• Galaxy S9/S9+
• Galaxy A30
• Galaxy A50s

What to know what’s new in Android 10? Check out our One UI 2.0 feature focus series to learn more about all of the new features. We also have a detailed walkthrough on the visual differences between One UI 1.1/1.5 and One UI 2.0.

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