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Samsung extends Android support on flagship phones
It previously only offered full software updates for two years.
Samsung's discounted Galaxy S10 series starts at $599
Now that the Galaxy S20 series is here, there are bargains to be had if you don't need Samsung's absolute latest hardware. The phone maker has cut prices for the Galaxy S10 family. The S10e now starts at an easier to handle $599, while the standard S10 sits at the $749 that you previously paid for its smaller counterpart. And if you want a large phone without jumping to the S20 series, the S10+ starts at $849.
AT&T phones now show when calls come from verified numbers
AT&T is making good on its promise to validate calls and fight robocallers. The carrier has enabled validation displays that let you know when a call really did come from a given number. You'll need a Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ or LG V40 ThinQ to use this away from home (it's also available for digital home phone users), but it works same way regardless of platform. If a call has been validated ,you'll see a green checkmark next to the number as well as "valid number" below.
Samsung's Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds are on sale for $624
Amazon has dropped the price of its Samsung Galaxy bundle to $624. The package includes a Galaxy S10 (unlocked with 128 GB in Prism black), Galaxy Buds and a $50 Amazon gift card. Valued at $1,078, the bundle has most recently been on sale for $850. At this new Cyber Monday price, it's an even better deal (while it lasts).
Walmart is offering up to $450 back on flagship Apple and Samsung phones
In exchange for buying a new phone, Walmart is offering customers up to $450 in eGift cards this Black Friday. You can get up to another $250 in eGift cards with a qualifying trade in.
Walmart's best Black Friday deals: Roku, Oculus, Instant Pot and more
Fighting a crowd the day after Thanksgiving isn't for everyone. If you'd rather avoid the chaos and shop from the comforts of home, we've got you covered. Walmart revealed its Black Friday deals already, a mix of gadgets for gaming, TV streaming and more. There are also lucrative gift card offers when you buy a new phone, and that amount can increase if you have a worthy trade-in. We've listed the links to current product pages below. The deals go live online at 10PM ET on Wednesday, November 27th and they'll be available in-store on Thanksgiving Day at 6PM local time (except for the phone offer).
Target's Black Friday preview adds a $200 gift card to your iPhone 11
Black Friday is still weeks away, but retailers are already trying to pull shoppers into their stores with enticing discounts, and Target's preview is worth checking out for anyone considering a cellphone upgrade. On November 8th and 9th, it will throw a Target gift card in with several smartphones purchased and activated with either Verizon or AT&T. You may be able to find deep discounts via bill credits on activated phones elsewhere, but that's going to be immediately useful for the rest of your holiday shopping. The offers include a $200 gift card attached to Apple's iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max, as well as the older iPhone XS and XS Max, if purchased and activated from Friday through Sunday. Prefer Android? There's a $300 gift card waiting for you upon the purchase of a Google Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL, available now through Sunday. Finally, you can get a $400 gift card waiting along with Samsung's Galaxy S10, S10+ and Note 10+, or $200 if you prefer the cheaper Galaxy S10E, all available from now through Sunday.
Samsung's 'SpaceSelfie' balloon crashed in someone's yard
Samsung is learning first-hand about the risks of using high-altitude balloons for promotional stunts. A Michigan couple found the phone maker's "SpaceSelfie" balloon (meant to pitch the Galaxy S10) in their yard after it crashed to Earth on October 26th. The vessel didn't hurt anyone or damage property, but it was clearly a less-than-ideal touchdown -- Samsung characterized it as an "early soft landing in a selected rural area" that was prompted by US weather conditions.
Samsung's fix for Galaxy S10 fingerprint scanning will roll out soon
Samsung is acting on its promise to fix its fingerprint reader security flaw. The tech firm is alerting Galaxy S10, S10+, Note 10 and Note 10+ owners that it'll send a notification for the patch "within 24 hours" (clearly less time than that as you read this) for anyone who has registered a fingerprint on their device. You'll have a fix well before the weekend. Samsung is also asking anyone who has used the phone with a screen protector to delete and re-register their prints without the protector installed, since it might include "incorrect" info.
Pixel 4 vs. the competition: The camera battle intensifies
It's been yet another Pixel phone launch preceded by a ton of leaks, but we're still glad to see the official unveiling of Google's latest flagship. This 5.7-inch device may only have two rear cameras, but the software's been refined even further to include better Night Sight and HDR+. That's to be expected in the wake of more intense competition on the camera front from Samsung and Apple. To see exactly how this specs battle is shaking out, check out the table below, and stay tuned for our full review of the Pixel 4 later this month.
Samsung's Android 10 beta for Galaxy S10 phones starts soon
Samsung will soon give Galaxy S10 owners the chance to try Android 10 before the new mobile platform heads to the tech giant's other models. Google rolled out Android 10 in September, but only a few devices can download and install it at the moment -- its availability, as always, depends on phonemakers. In Samsung's case, it says the beta versions of the platform and the company's One UI 2 are "coming soon" to the Galaxy S10, S10+ and their smallest sibling, the S10e, in the US.
Samsung brings Note 10's AR and camera features to the Galaxy S10
You don't have to spend your days pining for the Galaxy Note 10's software features just because you bought a Galaxy S10 instead. Samsung has started rolling out an update that delivers some of the Note 10's features to the S10 series. Most notably, this includes key camera features. You can now use Super Steady to capture relatively jitter-free footage, switch on Live Focus while recording videos and invoke Night mode for the front-facing camera. You probably won't be clamoring quite so loudly for AR Doodle, but it's there if you want to draw in 3D.
The iPhone 11 Pro vs. the competition: Battle of the cameras
The new flagship iPhone is here, and Apple's added the word "Pro" to its name — the first time Apple's used that term for a handset. And no wonder: The camera on the iPhone 11 Pro is a triple-lens setup that takes nine images with each press of the shutter and uses a neural engine to assemble the best picture possible. It'll need to deliver in order to keep pace with rival flagships like the Pixel 3 (or next month's Pixel 4) and the Galaxy S10 or Note 10. Where else does it shine? And where does it fall behind? Check out our table below for the essential specs, and join us later this month for our full review.
The Galaxy Note 10 vs. the competition: Smaller screen
For its first few iterations it was easy for the Galaxy Note line to stand apart from other handsets. But as phones have gotten bigger and more advanced, the things that made the Note special have become fewer and fewer. In fact, last year there was very little to distinguish the Note 9 from its sibling S9+. A year later we're now looking at the Note 10: It's got a 6.3-inch screen, smaller bezels and a refined S Pen (with an accelerometer and gyroscope), but is that enough to make the phone something worth talking about in a world where its rivals also sport multiple rear cameras, wireless charging and bigger batteries? We've stacked up some of the more noteworthy challengers to the Galaxy Note 10 below, including its sibling S10, so take a peek and stay tuned later this month for our full review!
Samsung to fight falling profits with midrange phones, 'mainstream' 8K
As Samsung expected, its Q2 profit is off from last year's by about 56 percent. An operating profit of $5.6 billion (6.6 trillion Korean won) is no small figure, but obviously not up to par for the electronics giant, and follow a similar result in Q1 of this year. A big reason for the fall is a drop in prices for memory chips, which Samsung is a major supplier of for products like smartphones and servers. It's also negatively affected by weak iPhone sales since it supplies Apple with parts, and is facing slower sales for its own high-end phone models. Last year Samsung was looking toward foldable devices to help turn around the trend, and after a delay it's still expecting the Galaxy Fold to join its Galaxy Note 10 as an "innovative" new product launch. According to the company's report, it's also pushing ahead on 5G.
eBay offers Prime Day discounts even if Amazon doesn’t crash
eBay doesn't want Amazon to get all of the spotlight during Prime Day 2019, and it's taking a dig at the glitch that interrupted the consumer holiday last year to offer a Crash Sale. If Amazon goes down, eBay will release a flood of "too-good-to-be-true" deals. But you don't have to wait around for an Amazon fail to score deals on eBay. Beginning at 8am PT today, eBay is offering savings like $2,000 off an LG OLED 65-inch 4K Smart TV.
Samsung faces 60 percent drop in profits, still plans foldable phones
A few weeks ago, Samsung warned investors that its Q1 profit would drop about 60 percent from the same period in 2018. Now the detailed report has arrived, confirming that projection with an operating profit of $5.4 billion that reflected a 23 percent drop in revenue from its memory chip business. Samsung also suffered smaller drops in the mobile and consumer electronics divisions. Still the company claims "the newly launched Galaxy S10 smartphone logged solid sales." Paired along with its midrange A series, it expects market demand to increase slightly in the next quarter even as prices drop. Once item it didn't mention in the report is the now-delayed Galaxy Fold, however the future of foldable devices is still expected to increase profits in its display division. It still believes foldable devices, along with the Galaxy Note and 5G will help "strengthen" its leadership in premium smartphones. Its earnings call is still ongoing, if there's any notable news we will update this post. Update: In response to a question, Samsung executives said they expect to announce a new launch date for the Galaxy Fold in the next few weeks. They still believe it will find a place as a premium device for consumers looking for a new kind of experience, and their conviction that it will create a new category of devices has not changed.
Samsung's Galaxy S10 camera gets a dedicated 'Night' mode
Samsung has started rolling out a new feature for the Galaxy S10 camera called "Night" mode, according to SamMobile. It looks like a replacement for the original "Bright Night" feature that activated automatically (and only automatically) to let you take long exposures in very low-light conditions. With Night mode, you can decide when to turn the feature on and off, much as you can on Huawei's P30 Pro or with the Pixel 3's "Night Sight."
Samsung's Galaxy Fold reservations begin tomorrow (updated)
There's not much new to say about the Galaxy Fold at this point. It's a phone. That folds. It's expensive. And it may or may not have a significant design flaw, depending on how you look at it. The only remaining question was: When can people lay claim to one? The answer is tomorrow. Samsung just issued a brief saying that starting tomorrow customers in the US can "reserve their spot in the private pre-order," which begins April 15th. We already knew that the Fold would go on sale in the US on April 26th, and a press release from T-Mobile, for one, confirms that's still true. In its statement, Samsung added that the Galaxy S10 5G will ship here in the states sometime in May. When we say expensive, by the way, we're talking $1,980 for the Fold. As a refresher, the device has a 4.6-inch AMOLED display on the outside, along with a flexible 7.3-inch AMOLED screen when the device is unfolded. You're also getting six cameras and Samsung's Wireless Powershare technology for wirelessly charging other devices. Not bad, but then again: This is an experimental first-generation device that not even us reviewers have gotten to play with. As for the 5G Galaxy S10, Samsung somehow still hasn't mentioned a price, which is weird given how soon it will be available. For now, think of it as a higher-spec Galaxy S10, with a larger battery and a more advanced camera setup. Keeping in mind that the S10 itself starts at $900, that should at least put us in the correct ballpark. Update: This post has been corrected to say that only the Fold will be available for pre-reservations tomorrow. The S10 will be available in May but will not be up for pre-order this week.
NBC shot an entire episode of the 'Tonight Show' with the Galaxy S10+
Samsung is no stranger to using TV events as sales pitches for its smartphones, but now it's taking over an entire TV show. Variety has learned that the March 25th episode of NBC's Tonight Show will replace the usual studio program with a tour of Jimmy Fallon's favorite New York City locales (complete with The Roots and guests) shot entirely with a Galaxy S10+ phone. In essence, it's one long ad for the smartphone's cameras. Samsung's Patricio Paucar isn't shy about the reasoning, either -- it's an attempt to "break through the noise" and get people to pay attention when they might tune out the usual commercials.