SAMSUNG TO LAUNCH MANY LOW-END 5G PHONES IN THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT YEAR

 With the current travails of Huawei, Samsung has a huge ground to cover. If it can unveil some affordable 5G devices, it might just claim those grounds. According to reports, after the official release of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung will unveil a series of low-end 5G phones. This year, the only mid-to-low end 5G phone from Samsung is the Galaxy A51 5G. However, the South Korean manufacturer is currently preparing the likes of Galaxy A32, Galaxy A52, and Galaxy A72. Unlike the latest high-end models, these mid-and low-end models will still retain the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

In addition, Samsung Galaxy A32 recently passed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification. According to reports, this device will officially arrive next year. There are speculations that the price of this device is about 400,000 won ($364). Although it will be Samsung’s cheapest 5G model, it is not entirely cheap. The likes of Realme V3 5G cost about $150. This is the target price of 5G smartphones for Chinese manufacturers next year. 

The Samsung Galaxy A32 will use a 6.5-inch display as well as a triple rear camera setup. This smartphone will also come with a side fingerprint sensor. The mid-range Samsung Galaxy A52 is expected to use a 6.5-inch display with four rear cameras and under-screen fingerprint recognition. The mid-to-high-end Samsung Galaxy A72 will use a 6.7-inch display with four or five rear cameras. There are speculations that the Galaxy A52 will have a 500,000 won ($455) price tag. However, the Samsung Galaxy A72 will sell for 600,000 won ($546).

Industry insiders predict that Samsung will launch a low- and medium-priced 5G phone with a multi-function camera when the Galaxy S21 arrive in January next year. The company will do this in order to seize the market gap left by the US sanctions on Huawei. If it succeeds, it will capture a larger share of the emerging market.

Nevertheless, it appears that the company is not preparing for a 5G phone under $350. This means that its devices are still pretty expensive, mid-range at best. If more $150 – $250 Chinese 5G phones hit the market in the first half of next year, Samsung may find itself struggling. The Korean manufacturer will have a better chance if the starting price of its upcoming 5G device is between $250 and $300. Do you think Samsung has the capacity to release $250 5G smartphones? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

REDMI 8 RECEIVES MIUI 12 GLOBAL ROM

 Xiaomi is already preparing for the release of a new version of its proprietary user interface – MIUI 13. Its announcement should take place next spring, but before that time the company will also please with the release of an intermediate firmware iteration – MIUI 12.5. But there are still quite a few of those models that are still waiting for the arrival of MIUI 12.

There was a message about the release of the global version of MIUI 12 for the Redmi 8 smartphone. The build number is V12.0.1.0.QCNMIXM and its status is “stable beta”. This means that the firmware is available to a small number of users and, if they do not encounter serious problems in the process of working with it, the company will begin its mass deployment.

As a reminder, Redmi 8 was introduced in October last year and has become one of the company’s popular models. It came to the market with the pre-installed Android 9 operating system with the MIUI 11, and a few weeks later received Android 10. And now a year later Redmi 8 will get MIUI 12. This model should also be among those who can count on the arrival of MIUI 12.5. This update is likely to be the last major one for the smartphone.

REDMI 8 SPECIFICATIONS

• 6.22-inch (1520 × 720 pixels) HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• Octa-Core (Quad 1.95GHz Cortex A53 + Quad 1.45GHz Cortex A53) Snapdragon 439 12nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 505 GPU
• 3GB RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 512GB with microSD
• Android 9.0 (Pie) with MIUI 10
• Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
• 12MP rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX363 sensor, 1.4μm pixel size, f/1.8 aperture, 6P lens, Dual PD auto focus, secondary 2MP camera
• 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.12μm pixel size
• Splash resistant (P2i coating)
• Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack, Wireless FM Radio
• Dimensions: 156.48×75.41×9.4mm; Weight: 188g
• Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
• 5000mAh (typical) battery with 18W fast charging

MIUI 12.5 WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR XIAOMI DEVICES BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR

Not so long ago, Xiaomi announced the release of an “intermediate” version of its user interface – MIUI 12.5; before the launch of the fundamentally new MIUI 13. Now the release dates from the official source have become known.

Jin Fan, the head of the software department spoke about the timing. The top manager said that the release of MIUI 12.5 is scheduled for the near future and should take place before the end of December.

 In MIUI 12.5, interface changes are expected, including the start page, the interface when pressing the power button, volume control, open applications and notifications, improved launcher animation for opening folders and launching applications, full desktop mode, approximate user location for greater security, the function of quickly converting photos to PDF directly in the Gallery, a new interface for camera settings, and so on.

For some smartphones, Xiaomi will release MIUI 12.5 alongside Android 11; but many will remain on the previous version of Android.