localA50user, 3 hours agowait since when do samsung phones come with facebook pre installed? is that a region dependent... moreSamsung phones come with Facebook pre installed for quite a while (I used S10e bef and currently a70)
M643
localA50user, 3 hours agowait since when do samsung phones come with facebook pre installed? is that a region dependent... moreNo not region dependant.
Samsung did a deal with the suckerburg.
It is impossible to remove without a root.
1232107
Muttley, 4 hours agoNever buy a Samsung phone. The bloatware is just too much. This phone will come with faceboo... morewait since when do samsung phones come with facebook pre installed? is that a region dependent thing?
M643
Never buy a Samsung phone.
The bloatware is just too much.
This phone will come with facebook pre-installed and you will not be able to remove it.
So expensive to still have your data stolen by the Sucker Burg.
I have been in touch with Samsung on how to delete facebook and basically they say you can not.
They say it is not active if disabled....Yeah ! I believe that so not much.
I used to be a fan of Samsung , but now I move to , probably Apple.
Samsung are slowly making my phone unusable due to bloatware that can not be uninstalled.
So they can sell another phone......but not to me anymore.
I can not wait for an anti trust case against the zucker and Samsung.
428
What an epic fail joke, no 12gb ram version.
The S205G had 12gb ram.
w22
sammyfan, 11 hours agotrue...i rather buy note 20 ultrathe ultra has curved display (no thank you) so plus is best alternative because plain 21 is too small
V2645443
"..giving all flagship features without breaking a bank" most over exaggerated claim so far. 1000 pound for flagship which has basic internals with s21, thats just unacceptable expensive peace of garbage, it is definitely breaking a bank, please GSM Arena be reasonble with your claims :)
s
sammyfan
tue
Min, 13 hours agoAll i can say is..i dont like so much these s21 line up....especially the s21 ultra...bcoss th... moretrue...i rather buy note 20 ultra
P875
This one should reach 3700 on Geekbench as the final software has been released.
M
Min
YUU
All i can say is..i dont like so much these s21 line up....especially the s21 ultra...bcoss the phone dont have any micro sd card slot...so if you want to make an upgrade...it is just useless...the phone itself with 8k videos and only 256 gb is not enough actually...n needs the sd card to keep more high quality videos and picture
P13220
From my point of view this phone and standard s21 are not worth the money but Samsung knows that 90% of the users don't care about the the specs they just want the newer version and for them i ask Samsung to charge much more!
s15926
The review is kind of pointless.
It's a perfect copy of the S20+
Samsung just wanted you to buy the S21 Ultra and they only made changes on it.
As a punishment people won't buy anything. Not everyone has that much money to buy the S21 Ultra and not everyone is stupid enough to pay extra cash for the vanilla S21 which is basically the same as the S20.
N
Nikas
pdw
I purchased once s20 ultra, and after some time changed it to S20 +. Ultra is way too big and heavy (and I am not the smallest guy). S20 plus delivered exactly the same in much more comfortable way.
?
Anonymous
0wq
Dan, 18 hours agoSame I love the s21+ , upgraded from the s9 , amazing phone ! Amazing battery ! Cheaper then ultra obviously its cheaper than an ultra because its not ultra.hellooo!
w161
YUKI93, 18 hours agoHmmm... not sure if there is a point on buying this variant when it's pretty much identic... moreGSMArena posted in this article that S21+ does 19h of video playback on a single charge. S21 does "only" 15h, so it's obvious that the battery on S21+ is considerably better than on S21.
Add to that metal finish & UWB.
If the phone had a periscope 5x optical zoom borrowed from Note 20 Ultra, or at least a genuine 3x telephoto camera AND if the price difference between S21+ and S21U was larger (it's only around 200 € in my country), I would've bought it instead of Ultra.
34861135
Hmmm... not sure if there is a point on buying this variant when it's pretty much identical to the vanilla S21 except for the larger screen and the bigger battery. I don't think the battery endurance rating will be any better than the vanilla S21.
D
Dan
0@9
Misfit2Fields, 23 hours agoEnjoying mine, nice design, battery infection holds up against my old s20+ and it was QHD with... moreSame I love the s21+ , upgraded from the s9 , amazing phone ! Amazing battery ! Cheaper then ultra
M18639
Enjoying mine, nice design, battery infection holds up against my old s20+ and it was QHD with 60hz. And I'm running the s21+ on 120hz.
Selfish camera is miles better. And I'm enjoying the change with the Google feed.
t1
So far liking mine.
Battery life is amazing. Seeing over 60% at the end of the day. Looks like I could go 2 days most of the time if necessary. Tethering off shore is a big deal for us, so battery power is more important than a big, high tech screen.
I didn't need the fancy camera of the ultra, but thought the battery of the regular S21 wasn't going to be much of an improvement over the S20.
Getting my wife the Ultra because she is more into photography than I am and doesn't put it in her pocket where the extra bulk was more than I wanted.
R
RGz
RK3
Lmao, the S21+ has a slimmer chin than the S21 Ultra?
January 31, 2021 at 08:13AM
https://ift.tt/36tPc6d
Samsung Galaxy S21+ in for review - comments - GSMArena.com
The so-called bezel-less design has become standard for today's smartphones, regardless of whether or not they belong to the high-tier. The Galaxy A52 and A72 5G are just two of those mid-range handsets that share a premium design that was once reserved for flagships.
Samsung's upcoming Galaxy A52 and A72 smartphones are aimed at those looking to buy a cheaper 5G smartphone. Although they haven't been introduced yet, we finally have the first clear images showing the phones, courtesy to Evan Blass.
Samsung Galaxy A72 5G
Now, as far as their specs go, we do know a little bit about what these devices are supposed to offer. For starters, the Galaxy A52 5G is expected to pack a quad-camera module (64MP + 8MP + 12MP + 5MP). Rumor has it that the phone will be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, coupled with 6GB or 8GB RAM.
On the other hand, the slightly better Galaxy A72 5G is likely to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 processor. Furthermore, the smartphone will feature a 6.70-inch display, a quad-camera setup, and 128GB expandable storage.
Both 5G-enabled smartphones will ship with Android 11 and One UI 3.0 onboard. We have yet to learn when exactly Samsung will start selling these, but their predecessors (Galaxy A51 and A71) hit shelves back in April.
February 01, 2021 at 02:36AM
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New Samsung Galaxy A52 and A72 5G press renders confirm premium design - PhoneArena
The blue iPhone 12. A peculiar object of affection.
They call it an upgrade, don't they?
more Technically Incorrect
When you're flying, the word automatically fills you with joy because you're getting something better for free.
When you're buying a phone, on the other hand, the price of an upgrade can be steep and the concomitant joy graph may not enjoy such a sharp upward gradient.
Still, Apple CFO Luca Maestri told an analyst call last week that demand for the 12 "exceeded our own internal expectations at the beginning of the quarter."
That may well be, but when I upgraded from iPhone XR to iPhone 12 six weeks ago, I didn't have steep internal expectations.
Apple's phones haven't incited wonder over the last few years. When the XR and XS emerged, I didn't see the point of paying exalted dollars for the merely pleasant iPhone XS.
A Relationship of Convenience Has To End.
I chose an iPhone XR to replace my iPhone 6, which should tell you that I don't need the allegedly instant gratification of every new iPhone.
At the time I bought the XR, it was my first time succumbing to Face ID. Going from the iPhone 6 meant accepting greater size and weight. Somehow, I still believed the XR felt like an iPhone. I still wondered whether I'd keep it for as long as I'd had the iPhone 6.
I told myself I loved the XR's battery life. I told myself I adored how sturdy and reliable it was.
I often tell myself lies, especially in relationships.
Within a year, I became conscious that this was a relationship of convenience.
The XR began to weigh on me. Apple helpfully tells me I use my phone an average of two and a half hours a day. Holding it in a single hand became (first-world) tiring. Occasionally, I'd be stretching my thumb to click on an app and the rest of my hand would begin to kvetch. This was an irritating imbalance.
Yes, the battery life was an enormous improvement on previous iPhones. But as the XR began to age, I began to look upon it with a tinge of pity. And not such affectionate pity, either.
It had never become lovable. It had become like the portable vacuum cleaner you keep by your sofa to swiftly hoover up your carelessly dropped crumbs. Useful, but never remotely adorable.
Parting with it, then, wasn't a sweet sorrow. It was more like a Hollywood actor divorcing a famous star at the end of their carefully worded marriage contract.
We shook hands. We said thank you, it's time, and goodbye.
Six Weeks With iPhone 12. This Is Getting Creepy.
I wasn't at all convinced that iPhone 12 would offer a vast difference.
The saleswoman didn't oversell the 12. Instead, she told me: "That's probably the most similar to what you've got. The difference between the 12 and the 12 Pro is the telephoto lens. So if you're some sort of videographer, get the Pro."
I'm not (yet) a spy, so I chose the 12.
I'll admit I found the blue color marginally alluring. At the time I bought the phone, I muttered: "The 12 felt lighter and slightly slimmer than my XR, oddly but not unpleasantly retro and, hey, now I have two cameras, something I've never consciously wanted at all."
You see? No absurd enthusiasm there. Just a sense that at least this thing might be a touch more personable to the hand.
The last six weeks, however, have tended toward the creepy. I find myself enjoying the phone's square edges. I find myself thinking back to the rounder edges of the iPhone XR and concluding they looked cheap.
I also find myself believing that the screen has a noticeably sharper resolution and a much better microphone. It clearly takes appreciably better pictures too. I actually like holding this phone. Someone seems to have spent a little more time making its ergonomics fit my handonomics.
What's most disturbing to me is that I'm beginning to feel slight affection for this object. A phone, no less.
I pick it up with a tinge of reverence, rather than a grab of impatience. I even look at it occasionally and think: "Oh, you really do look nice." (Thank you, Sauvignon Blanc.)
Yes, I may have Lockdown Delusional Syndrome. This could be a sad, bizarre harking back to the iPhone 5 -- where the 12 drew much of its inspiration -- and how much more exciting life was in those days.
No, I'm not in love. It may just be a silly phase I'm going through. I still wonder, though, whether this particular iPhone, retro though it may be, could have a lasting impact in the twisted annals of design.
This phone cost me less than the XR, yet it feels so much classier.
Perhaps that's why Apple claims it saw the largest number of people upgrading in a single quarter.
Most of them just did it for the infinitely improved cameras, right?
January 31, 2021 at 08:00PM
https://ift.tt/2L4x5fM
I switched from iPhone XR to iPhone 12 and things got weird - ZDNet
As a part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung had announced during the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 in August last year that the Your Phone app would soon offer support for running multiple apps on Windows. Following the announcement, Microsoft had started rolling out the feature to users who had opted for the Windows Insider program in November. The feature recently became generally available for all users with select Samsung smartphones.
According to Analy Otero Diaz, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, the multiple apps experience in the Your Phone app is now available to all users running the Windows 10 May 2020 update or later. In order to run multiple apps from your Samsung device via Your Phone on Windows, there are a few prerequisites. These include the following:
The latest Windows 10 May 2020 update or later. It is recommended that you update to the latest version of Windows 10. You can check and update by heading to Settings > Updates & Security > Check for update
A recommended 8GB of RAM on your Windows PC
The latest version of Your Phone app on your Windows PC with version 1.20102.132.0 or higher
Your Phone companion app to link Windows with your Samsung device. Make sure you have version 1.20102.133.0 or higher. You can download the app from the Google Play store
You also need the latest Link to Windows Service with version 2.1.05.2 or higher. This can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store
Both the phone and PC should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network
How to run multiple Android apps on Windows using Your Phone:
Once you have met all the requirements mentioned above, open the Your Phone app on your Windows PC
The app will ask you to select between Android or iPhone. Select Android and click on Continue
Next, you will be asked to install/update to the latest version of Your Phone Companion app on your Samsung smartphone by heading to this link (www.aks.ms/yourpc)
After you have installed/updated the companion app on your phone, confirm the same on the Your Phone app on your PC and open the QR code
On your supported Samsung smartphone, head over to Settings > Advanced Features and head to Link to Windows
Enable the service and tap on Add Computer and use the phone’s camera to scan the QR code displayed on the Your Phone app on your PC
Sign in to your Microsoft account and wait for a confirmation to allow your phone to be connected to your PC
You should now be able to see your phone on the Your Phone PC app
Head over to the Apps section on the left to get access to all apps installed on your phone
How to interact with apps:
One can interact with apps using your PC’s mouse, trackpad, keyboard, pen, or touch-enabled screen. Here are some tips if you are using a mouse and keyboard:
Single click will behave the same as any single touch/tap interaction
Right click anywhere on your phone screen to navigate to the previous page
Click and hold will behave the same as a tap/hold interaction
Click and hold and drag to select content
Mouse scroll to move between pages vertically or horizontally
January 31, 2021 at 11:05PM
https://ift.tt/3oAnOK4
How to run multiple Android apps on your Windows 10 PC with Microsoft’s Your Phone - XDA Developers
It's fair to say that Samsung isn't sitting on its laurels when it comes to innovative form factors. The company already has two flavors of foldable phone — the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which opens up into a large tablet, and the Galaxy Z Flip, which folds in half to be more compact. Now the company has confirmed that it will be experimenting with more unorthodox ways of cramming more display into a small space.
Korean site The Elec reports that Samsung Display has gone on the record about its plans in the "rollable and slidable" arena. The company's senior vice president Choi Kwon-young reportedly said on the company's fourth quarter conference call that Samsung Display will push on with "small- to mid-displays this year."
There are two important things to note here. Firstly, the report doesn't define what it means by rollable or slidable. It presumably refers to the way the screen expands — either unrolled, like a scroll, or sliding out — but you would imagine the results would look pretty similar to your average consumer.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you'll note that the report refers specifically to Samsung Display — and that part of the business has fingers in a lot of pies. It's possible that the company's experimentation with rollable/slidable displays could be limited to television sets, rather than being small enough to pop in your pocket.
It's also possible that the firm is talking about making displays for other companies to use, but on the phone front that would seem unlikely, given Samsung's enthusiasm for being first out of the traps with foldable handsets.
With all those caveats covered, there is good reason to think that Samsung is working on a rollable phone. Not only has LG's (possibly abandoned) Rollable handset piqued media interest, but a recently uncovered patent shows that Samsung has been considering the practicalities of rollable displays for at least a year.
In the unlikely event that neither LG nor Samsung deliver a rollable phone, all hope isn't lost. TCL also has a rollable design in the works, which the company demoed at CES. No release date was given, but with LG's option reported to cost $2,359 (again, assuming it arrives), then TCL's reputation for lower-cost devices might prove attractive to those on a budget.
January 31, 2021 at 08:24PM
https://ift.tt/3amp6TN
Confirmed: Samsung has big plans for rollable phones and slidables - Tom's Guide
Samsung, the world’s biggest phone maker, is also one of the largest consumer electronics and appliance makers in the world, selling everything from televisions to refrigerators.
So we were wondering: How much would it cost the ultimate Samsung fan if they could spend all they wanted on each of Samsung’s highest-end devices?
In December — as a sort of thought experiment — CNN Business calculated what it would cost to buy all the most expensive Apple gadgets (if anyone ever actually did such a thing). The answer: Nearly $80,000.
Samsung’s biggest fan would pay more.
Phone
At $1,999.99, Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 with 5G, is the most expensive phone in the company’s current lineup. (Note: Samsung is currently offering sitewide discounts, so this article includes prices as they are listed on its site as of Thursday. Trade-ins can lower prices even more.)
Released in September, the device features a 6.2-inch front screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen when the device is unfolded, a helpful feature if you frequently find yourself working, gaming or watching video content on the go. The folding display is coupled with software features that Samsung says will help users to multitask, including the ability to have multiple apps open simultaneously.
The phone comes in metallic silver, gold, red and blue.
There are more perks, too, for those willing to shell out for the Galaxy Z Fold 2: Samsung is offering six free months of Spotify Premium and four free months of YouTube Premium. Customers who buy the phone can also enroll in Samsung’s “Galaxy Z Premier” VIP benefits program, which includes access to Michelin star restaurants and golf and country clubs around the country, among other offerings.
You’ll want a case to protect that pricey device. You can get a luxe-looking, brown leather cover for $79.99. And a wireless charger portable battery pack for $59.99 will help ensure your device doesn’t die on you while on the go. Samsung Care+ for the phone costs $11.99 per month.
Total: $2,151.96
Audio
Samsung’s highest-end, over-the-ear headphones are the AKG N700NC M2 Wireless Headphones, which sell for $299.99. These foldable headphones have up to 23 hours of battery. They’re Android- and iOS-compatible, with the ability to switch between two different Bluetooth devices.
For on-the-go, Samsung offers the Galaxy Buds Live for $129.99. They have an ergonomic design, about 6 hours of battery life and can connect to your phone’s smart assistant with just your voice. Two other neat features: just five minutes of charging will get you an extra hour of listening, and “active noise cancellation,” which “reduces background noises” without blocking “what’s important, like voices and announcements,” the company says on its website.
They come in bright colors including blue, red and pink.
Total: $429.98
Watch
Samsung calls the Galaxy Watch3 Titanium its “most advanced” smartwatch. It boasts “military-grade durability and water resistance,” a battery that can go for more than a day on a single charge and a 45 millimeter display. Health features include heart-rate monitoring, automatic workout tracking, a sleep monitor and breathing guides to help with stress. Integrated Samsung Pay will help if you forget your wallet at home.
The smartwatch is Bluetooth-connected, and Android and iOS compatible. Currently, it’s going for $499.99, rather than the original price of $599.99.
A leather watch band will cost you $79.99.
For their watch, phone and ear buds, users can also get a UV sanitizer, which doubles as a wireless charger, for $39.99.
Total: $619.97
Computer
The Galaxy Book Flex QLED is Samsung’s priciest personal computer. It comes in two screen sizes — 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch -— the latter of which totals $1,399.99 without a trade-in.
The Galaxy Book Flex features a convertible design that lets it flip from laptop to tablet, a touchscreen QLED display, a 10th generation Intel Core processor and 512 GB of storage. It also has 19 hours of battery life, a Bluetooth enabled stylus and a trackpad that can become a wireless charger for other devices using PowerShare.
You can get a 3-year SamsungCare+ protection and support package for $349.99 and a Galaxy Book S pouch for $79.99 to protect your device. For extra storage, you can get a 2 TB portable storage drive for $229.99.
And for your home office setup, you can also get a Samsung 32-inch Smart Monitor with auto-installed Microsoft 365 and a suite of entertainment apps for $369.99.
Total: $2,429.95
Tablet
In case a laptop that doubles as a tablet just isn’t enough for you, Samsung’s Tab S7+ tablet is the highest-end option. It offers a 12.4-inch screen with an edge-to-edge display and a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as 512 GB of memory.
The wifi-connected version currently goes for $899.99, and the cell network-connected version costs $1,049.99. It boasts up to 14 hours of video playback on a single charge, and comes with a stylus and four months of ad-free YouTube Premium included.
Three years of Samsung Care+ for the device rings in at $159.99.
Total: $1,209.98, for the cell network-connected version
Television
Samsung is running a promotion on its $99,999.99 98-inch, 8K smart TV (yes, that’s an 8-foot wide television), so it’s currently only $59,999.99. It uses AI to scale graphics up to 8K resolution — 16 times the resolution of full HD.
Add four years extended warranty and wall mount service, for a total of $62,669.98.
Total: $62,669.98
Kitchen appliances
Samsung has long been a household name when it comes to appliances, and in recent years it’s decked out some products, such as the standard fridge, with features like voice control and AI.
While Samsung sells “kitchen packages” that include a fridge, gas range, dishwasher and microwave that help you save a few hundred dollars, let’s just posit that you purchase your items separately, over time, as you gradually replace older appliances. The company also charges extra fees to install the appliances and haul away your old ones, as well as for Samsung Care+ coverage.
Family Hub Refrigerator
This 22-cubic-foot smart fridge retails for $4,799, but is on sale for $4,099. It costs slightly more than its bigger cousin, as this shallower version is best suited in kitchens with a narrow fridge space. It costs an extra $129.99 to extend the warranty by three years.
The fridge works with a water filter that’s compatible only with Samsung’s, and a three pack will set you back $129.99. The Family Hub is a stainless steel fridge that lets you create shopping lists using voice command, and you can see inside it without opening the doors via 3 built-in cameras.
Dishwasher
Samsung’s matching stainless steel dishwasher retails for $1,049 and is on sale for $749.
Oven
Excluding Samsung’s bundle deals for an oven and a microwave, the most expensive oven on Samsung’s website goes for $4,199, but it’s on sale for $3,779. You can convert the oven into two sections to cook two dishes at different temperatures simultaneously.
Microwave
Samsung sells a matching smart microwave for $499.
Cooktop
The 36-inch induction cooktop costs $2,499 and it has a virtual flame that makes it look like a gas stove. It’s also Bluetooth-enabled with digital controls.
Range
Say you also want a classic gas range and not just the induction cooktop. Samsung sells a $3,339 gas range that comes with air fry capabilities.
Total for Kitchen: $15,223.98
Laundry (and miscellaneous)
After sprucing up your kitchen, how about some shiny new appliances for the laundry room?
Washer-Dryer Set
Samsung’s Smart Flex washer and dyer set in black stainless steel typically retails for $3,998 but is currently on sale for $3,597.98. The machines boast the ability to do two separate loads of laundry at the same time. And — if you have kids — the finish is fingerprint resistant.
Air Dresser
This dresser steams and refreshes your clothes, for a price tag of $1,149. It uses filtered water and can be controlled through the Samsung SmartThings app.
Vacuum
Samsung sells a variety of vacuums. The priciest set costs $748 and includes a stick vacuum with an accessory that automatically empties the dustbin. Samsung also announced a new robot vacuum, the JetBot 90, earlier in January, but did not specify its price.
Air Purifier
A voice enabled and Wi-Fi connected air purifier goes for $549.
SmartThings Wi-Fi Pack
To help connect all those devices, Samsung charges $279.99 for three devices that offer mesh Wi-Fi throughout a large home. This router can be the connective hub for all of your smart gadgets and appliances.
Total for Laundry (and miscellaneous): $6,323.97
How much am I spending?
If you really decked out your home and life with Samsung-only products, you would rack up quite a bill. And you’d be locked into using Samsung’s AI assistant Bixby, which came to market later than its competitors from Apple, Amazon and Google.
You would have a matching stainless steel set of shiny new appliances, though, and a bunch of high-end devices.
After adding up the costs of all the home appliances and various Samsung tech gadgets, the shopping list comes to a grand total of $90,879.77, minus installation and other fees for the appliances (the massive TV accounts for most of the cost). For a home to fit all these items, it’ll probably have to be a big one.
Grand total:$90,879.77
January 31, 2021 at 11:50PM
https://ift.tt/39zJqSL
The real cost of being the ultimate Samsung fan: Nearly $91,000 - WTOP
Samsung is planning a future where no two users will have the same smartphone experience. This would be an exciting prospect for customers, but a nightmare for reviewers and testers.
In a recent interview with Engadget, Samsung’s head of camera R&D Joshua Sungdae Cho envisages a world where Galaxy smartphone cameras will automatically tailor photographic results to individual users by learning their likes and dislikes.
When a user takes a photo, factors such as sharpening, color, tone, facial smoothing and HDR processing are all taken into consideration when producing the final image. These processing decisions are usually pre-determined in the factory, resulting in similar results for everybody using the same phone.
In the interview, Cho reveals that Samsung currently uses focus groups to determine the most popular editing styles, resulting in “perfectly trendy” photos.
This could all be about to change, however, with future cameras delivering personalized adjustments tweaked according to what the smartphone believes each individual user will prefer.
MORE FOR YOU
However, trends change over time and preferences will vary wildly from one person to the next as well as by various cultural norms. While one user may want photos with maximum ‘pop’, another might like as little processing as possible.
Cho’s rather ambitious plan is to “satisfy everybody 100 percent through personalization.” He goes on to say, “When there are ten people taking a picture of the same object, I want the camera to provide ten different pictures for each individual based on their preference of the brightness, the color tone, the detail enhancing, etcetera.”
This could be great news for the majority of people who want to get the ‘best’ photos with a minimum of editing but brings up a number of important issues.
Personalization on this level could prove very troublesome for anyone attempting to review or test the new cameras. If the camera delivers substantially different results to each user there it would become very difficult for a reviewer to evaluate camera performance in any meaningful way.
Furthermore, objective benchmark testers like Dxomark could find themselves in a seemingly impossible situation. Even if a neutral or default setting were to be made available to level the playing field, this simply wouldn’t reflect the way the majority of customers would use their devices.
The camera would presumably adapt its automatic adjustments over time as it learns more about the user’s preferences. This means that photos taken when you first buy a phone might look quite different to those you get after a year of use. So what happens when it’s time to buy a new phone? Do you have to start again from scratch?
The answer for serious photographers is to offer as much manual control as possible. For everyone else, there are interesting times ahead.
If you’ve been keeping watch these past few months, you’d have noticed that Samsung has been slaying it with its software updates. Besides working relentlessly to roll out the latest Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update to a wide range of flagships and flagship-killers, Samsung has also rewarded several mid-range devices with a similar treatment. Along with this commendable promptness, the brand also deserves our appreciation for updating mid-rangers that other brands often forget. So, in this edition of our weekly Discussion series, we ask you if you think Samsung is leading the way among Android manufacturers when it comes to software updates?
While Samsung appears to be at the top of its game, the condition was certainly much different a few years ago. Ironic to the brand’s global reputation, Samsung also earned the blame for delaying software updates, limiting key updates — such as Android version incremental updates — to its flagship devices, and offering a cluttered user experience with its TouchWiz user interface that was later refreshed as Samsung Experience. Samsung addressed complaints about the poor UX by majorly overhauling it with the first One UI update back in 2018. Not just that, the frequency and the availability of the latest updates have also improved majorly in the last few years.
Despite this promptness, however, Samsung still lags in one area and that is support for Seamless Updates on Android. The feature was introduced with Android Nougat, and it allows new updates to install in the background while the phone is still being used. While updates may normally take only a few minutes to install, we cannot deny that saving that time is also a bonus, especially in an age where we are constantly dependent on our phones. Until Google does not make Seamless Updates mandatory for manufacturers, we can expect Samsung to its own sweet time.
Whether Seamless Updates improve the user experience or not is another topic for yet another Discussion. For now, we would like you to share your opinions on what you think about Samsung’s enthusiasm for updates. Comments your views below!
January 31, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Discussion: Has Samsung actually gotten good at software updates? - XDA Developers
The iPhone 12 range has been heralded as the start of a new era for Apple’s famed smartphone family. But is it really such a leap forward?
Perhaps the best way to answer that question is to pitch the iPhone 12 against the iPhone 11 in a straight face-off. Not only does one directly follow the other, but they’re thought to be one of the best selling Apple phones from their respective years.
Add in the fact that Apple still sells the iPhone 11 as new, and this comparison becomes all the more pertinent. Below we'll talk you through everything we've learned about these two phones during our reviews process so you can make a decision which is for you.
iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11 price and availability
The iPhone 12 became available for purchase on October 23, 2020. Prices start from $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 64GB model, moving up to $849 / £849 / AU$1,429 for 128GB, and $949 / £949 / AU$1,599 for the 256GB model.
Its predecessor, the iPhone 11, landed on September 20, 2019. At launch, prices started at $699 / £729 / AU$1,199 for 64GB, increasing to $749 / £779 / AU$1,279 for 12GB and $849 / £879 / AU$1,449 for 256GB.
However, we’re a year on now. As mentioned above, the iPhone 11 is still available to buy brand new in all three storage capacities, but prices are much lower than before.
You can currently pick up the 64GB model for $599 / £599 / AU$999, the 128GB model for $649 / £649 / AU$1,079, and the 256GB model for $749 / £749 / AU$1,249.
This gives the iPhone 12 quite a task. Can it justify the additional expenditure of $150 / £150 / AU$270 over its still-relevant predecessor?
Design
We weren’t hugely enamored with the iPhone 11 design when it arrived on the scene. There was a sense that we’d seen it all before – which we had (or most of it, at any rate) with the previous year’s iPhone XR.
The iPhone 11 essentially followed the same blueprint, albeit with a few differences. It’s available in fetching new colors of mint green, lilac and lighter yellow shades, which join the Product (RED), black, and white variants. The back of the phone is slightly cleaner than before, but with a rather obtrusive new camera array that also appears on the iPhone 12.
The iPhone 11’s is a premium-feeling phone, featuring the same balance of glass surfaces and aluminum body as its newer sibling. But it’s a chunky bit of kit at 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm and 194g – certainly compared to the iPhone 12, which measures just 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4mm and weighs 164g.
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The iPhone 12(Image credit: TechRadar)
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The iPhone 11(Image credit: TechRadar)
Lest you get blinded by figures, the iPhone 12 is smaller than the iPhone 11 in every way. It’s 4mm shorter, 4mm narrower, almost a millimetre thinner, and a whopping 30g lighter.
This comes down to Apple’s crisp new design for the iPhone 12. It’s rather reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and 5, with its flat-edged industrial approach. However, the tolerances are even tighter, and the screen extends closer to the edges.
It loses the attractive dark green shade from the iPhone 11 lineup, as well as the less appealing yellow and purple shades, but in their place is an appealingly deep shade of blue and a slightly less attractive light green tone, It’s also available in the usual Black, White, and Product (RED) variants.
Going back to the subject of build quality, the iPhone 12 gains a new nano-crystalline Ceramic Shield screen, which is four times tougher than before. While both phones are IP68 certified, meanwhile, the iPhone 12 can be immersed in 6 metres of water for 30 minutes, while the iPhone 11 can only withstand 2 metres.
From a certain perspective the iPhone 11 is more comfortable to hold, courtesy of those rounded edges. But we prefer the look and compact nature of the iPhone 12 overall.
Display
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iPhone 12(Image credit: TechRadar)
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iPhone 11(Image credit: Future)
If the iPhone 12’s fresh design makes the release gap between it and the iPhone 11 seem longer than 11 months, just wait until you consider the screens.
While both measure 6.1 inches and get to around 600 nits of brightness in typical conditions, that’s where the similarities end.
There are significant differences in screen technology. While the iPhone 11 employs IPS LCD technology, the iPhone 12 makes the leap to OLED. This results in more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and far more contrast for the newer phone. There’s really no comparison.
The iPhone 12 presses home its display advantage with a much sharper resolution. While the iPhone 11 can manage only 828 x 1,792 for a meager 326ppi, the iPhone 12 comes in at 1,170 x 2,532 for 460ppi.
Both models do share a 60Hz refresh rate. But that’s far more disappointing on the iPhone 12, which has been released at a time when 90Hz and 120Hz screens are the norm in the Android world.
Camera
iPhone 12(Image credit: TechRadar)
In terms of hardware, the camera offering in both devices is similar. And not just from a visual standpoint.
Both the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 11 pack a pair of 12-megapixel cameras – one wide and one ultra-wide – with the same-sized image sensors. The only major difference here, in fact, is that the iPhone 12’s wide sensor has a faster f/1.6 aperture, which naturally helps with low-light photography.
That’s not to say that the iPhone 12 camera doesn’t achieve superior results. It does – but the difference isn’t seismic, and those improvements are largely a result of Apple’s improved image processing and the more capable A14 Bionic chip.
This brings about new features such as Smart HDR 3, which handles dynamic range better than before. Scenes with bright skies will look better balanced with the iPhone 12.
In other daytime shots, you’ll struggle to see much of a difference. But like we’ve already said, the key improvements can be seen with low-light and night-time shooting. We noticed that the iPhone 12 captures brighter shots with more detail in more challenging conditions.
Night mode in general is more flexible on the iPhone 12, as you can employ it across all three cameras (including the 12-megapixel selfie camera).
Video has also been improved in the iPhone 12, with Dolby Vision now rendering scenes with much better balance and dynamic range. Although on the iPhone 12, it’s limited to 4K/30fps.
Specs and performance
iPhone 11(Image credit: TechRadar)
Apple improves its smartphone performance by a decent margin every year, so it’s no surprise that the iPhone 12’s A14 Bionic comfortably beats the iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic. Going by benchmarks and Apple’s own estimates, the CPU is around 20% faster, while the GPU is around 10% faster.
The A14 also contains a 16-core Neural Engine for an 80% boost to AI performance compared to the A13.
In general use, however, we defy you to notice the difference. Both phones feel extremely fast, and no modern 3D game or multitasking session will highlight a clear advantage for the newer phone – minus the odd lighting effect or optimized 60fps frame rate.
The true advantage of this performance boost is increased future-proofing. You might be able to buy both phones brand new today, but the iPhone 12 will enjoy an extra year of feeling fast, not to mention ongoing software support from Apple.
It’s also the more capable A14 that enables many of the camera advances outlined in the previous section. These days, such photographic improvements are more a result of processing power and machine-learning than they are lens and sensor upgrades.
For what it’s worth, both phones run on 4GB of RAM. We say ‘for what it’s worth’ because iOS is famously frugal with its memory usage, so such an amount is ample for everything you could want to do with these devices. Yes, the Pro models pack 6GB of RAM, but we remain unconvinced that they enable anything meaningful.
The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 11 come with identical storage options, too: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. We would have liked to see the iPhone 12 join the iPhone 12 Pro in adopting 128GB as the new entry-level option.
Another spec advantage for the iPhone 12 is 5G connectivity. If you live in an area with next-gen network coverage (admittedly, still a big ‘if’), then only the newer phone will be able to capitalize on it.
Battery life
So far the iPhone 12 has secured a win in every category, aside from price. But there’s one area that the older iPhone 11 would appear to hit back: battery life.
With a 3,110mAh battery, the iPhone 11 certainly has more power on tap than the iPhone 12 with its 2,815mAh unit. But you need to factor in the added optimization based on the more efficient A14 Bionic chip.
Apple quotes identical battery life figures across video (17 hours) and music (65 hours). Sure enough, we experienced similar stamina from both phones.
However, we’d say that the iPhone 11’s battery life is slightly better. With its lower-res display and lack of power-sapping 5G, we found that we could perhaps eke a tad more life out of the older phone.
Moving around between 4G and 5G networks certainly seemed to drain the iPhone 12’s juice quite heavily in our experience, leading to an empty battery after 16 to 18 hours. Hopefully that will improve in future models, when the 5G modem is better integrated.
While both phones pack wireless charging, only the iPhone 12 supports Apple’s new MagSafe method. Imagine if your Qi charging pad was smaller and clipped onto the back of your phone magnetically. Then add an ecosystem of compatible cases and wallets – this is MagSafe in a nutshell. It requires extra expenditure for the accessories, and it’s too early to say whether it will become a neglected gimmick in the vein of 3D Touch.
Another piece of additional expenditure will be a regular wall charger. If you were to buy a new iPhone 12 or iPhone 11 direct from Apple today, you wouldn’t get a brick in the box – just a USB-C to Lightning cable. Find a new iPhone 11 from before the iPhone 12 rollout, however, and you’ll score that classic charger.
Takeaway
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The iPhone 12 in a variety of colors(Image credit: Future)
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The iPhone 11 in a variety of colors(Image credit: Apple)
The iPhone 12 is a better phone than the iPhone 11 in every way bar battery life.
It’s faster, more compact, more attractive, and it packs a vastly superior display. Its camera represents only a modest improvement, but those advances make themselves known in tricky low-lighting conditions.
As mentioned, the iPhone 11 might just pip its sibling to the post in the battery life stakes, which is disappointing. But part of that comes down to the provision of 5G connectivity in the iPhone 12, which will hopefully come into its own throughout 2021 and 2022.
Are these improvements combined worth the $150 / £150 premium? That’s something each reader will have to answer for themselves – but one thing’s for certain: after a couple of years treading water, the iPhone 12 feels like a clear step forward from Apple.
January 31, 2021 at 03:00PM
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iPhone 12 vs iPhone 11: which Apple smartphone is the right choice for you? - TechRadar
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Now, as far as their specs go, we do know a little bit about what these devices are supposed to offer. For starters, the Galaxy A52 5G is expected to pack a quad-camera module (64MP + 8MP + 12MP + 5MP). Rumor has it that the phone will be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, coupled with 6GB or 8GB RAM.
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