News
PSA: Samsung will begin Android 14 (One UI 6) rollout with Galaxy S23
Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 series in February 2023. This new smartphone lineup introduces some meaningful upgrades in terms of hardware and design. Also, it’s the first time in years that Samsung is offering the same Snapdragon variant worldwide.
The Galaxy S23 lineup consists of three models namely the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Both non-Ultra models adopted the same design as their elder sibling as part of initiating Samsung’s 2023 signature design approach.
Talking about Ultra, the South Korean tech giant didn’t bring any notable design changes except for the thick middle frame. However, the primary camera has been upgraded to a monstrous 200-megapixel sensor, ditching the conventional 108-megapixel snapper.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Android 14 Update
Software side, the Galaxy S23 series comes pre-loaded with Android 13-based One UI 5.1. Do note that it’s still the latest version of the company’s proprietary skin for Galaxy devices. In the coming months, the Galaxy Z5 lineup will debut along with the One UI 5.1.1, pre-installed.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 will become the most expensive Samsung smartphone after launch, however, Galaxy S is the flagship stream. As the company is getting a long time with the S23 series in terms of firmware, consumers will get benefited from the fastest Android rollout.
Google introduced the Android 14’s Developer Preview build in early February. In April, the operating system entered Public Beta testing on eligible Pixel phones, with the latest milestone achieved it second Beta. With all four major rollouts, the company added new features, changes, and improvements.
For Pixel phones, Android 14 will be bringing new customization tools, as Google showcased at I/O 2023. Meanwhile, it won’t be the same case for the Galaxy devices as they run One UI, which is based on Android but tweaked by Samsung.
That said, Galaxy users don’t care what’s happening at Google’s Android department. They are just eagerly waiting for the One UI Beta Program that usually begins after the official release of Android every year. Among others, the S23 lineup will be the first to let Samsung start Android 14 distribution.
Samsung Android 14-based One UI 6 (Beta & Stable), both will first rollout to the latest Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra. The Beta firmware may be limited to seven countries, while the Stable builds availability may reach a wide mark by the end of October 2023.
Are you excited about One UI 6?
On May 31, Samsung Display announced that it is accelerating its push into the premium laptop market by supplying its highest resolution 16-inch UHD+ (3840×2400) OLED screens to MSI for the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport – its new gaming laptop.
MSI Laptop x Samsung Display
Collaborated with Mercedes-Benz’s performance-oriented AMG brand, the new MSI laptop boasts strong performance and portability. First unveiled at Computex Taipei 2023, the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is aimed at both the OLED laptop market and the gaming market.
Since entering the IT market in 2019, Samsung Display has collaborated with 11 global laptop brands, launching more than 100 models of OLED laptops. Omdia analysis suggests, Samsung Display’s market share in the IT OLED market, including laptops and tablets, was 76.7% based on last year’s figures.
The South Korean display manufacturer recently announced an investment of $3.1 billion (4.1 trillion won) in building an 8.6th-generation IT OLED line, officially reaffirming its expansion plan for the future IT market.
We are supplying MSI with the industry’s highest resolution laptop OLEDs so that gaming users can experience the best HDR content on OLED,” said Brad Jung, VP and head of the Mobile Display Marketing Team at Samsung’s Display business.
Counterpoint’s component research service has recently revealed that producing Galaxy S23 Ultra (256GB) variant costs Samsung around $469. The latest BoM (bill of materials) analysis reveals that the major components driving cost are the SoC, display, and camera subsystem.
Due to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, Qualcomm’s share has increased to an all-time high after attaining design wins for the fingerprint sensor IC, key power management ICs, audio codec, RF power amplifiers, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth, GPS, and Sub-6GHz transceiver.
In addition, Samsung becomes the second-largest beneficiary, which supplied 256GB NAND flash and the 6.8-inch AMOLED display for the S23 Ultra. The company supplied a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, featuring 1750 nits of peak brightness, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and more.
In the camera sub-system, the design wins are shared between Samsung and Sony. Samsung supplied the 200-megapixel primary camera and the 12-megapixel selfie camera, while Sony offers the 12-megapixel Ultrawide, 10-megapixel Telephoto, and Periscope Telephoto sensors.
Other component suppliers
Silicon Mitus and Maxim are the providers of power management ICs that support the regulation of power for display and other key components.
For sensing components, STM has registered design wins related to the laser autofocus module, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and touch panel controller.
The battery is packaged by Samsung and the cell is provided by ATL. The quick charging IC, which charges up to 45W, is sourced from NXP while the 15W wireless charging IC is from Convenient Power.
| Source |
Google Pixel Watch is a great option for those who neither prefer Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 nor Apple’s Watch Series 8. This year, Google is planning to introduce the Pixel Watch 2, a sequel to its first-gen smartwatch, which could ditch the Samsung-made Exynos processor.
According to 9to5Google sources, the Google Pixel Watch 2 will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 series processor rather than Exynos wearable SoC from Samsung. Qualcomm released the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip in July 2022, which powers the TicWatch Pro 5.
Follow our socials → Google News, Telegram, Twitter, Facebook
On the other hand, the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, which lacks Qualcomm’s co-processor is also powering some wearables manufactured by Chinese OEMs. It’s fabricated on 4nm process technology and brings four A53 cores at 1.7GHz with dual Adreno 702 GPUs (1GHz).
However, the original Google Pixel Watch’s Exynos 9110 chip is fabricated on 10nm process tech and features two Cortex-A53s cores. It was earlier rumored that the Pixel Watch 2 will have the W920 chip used in Galaxy Watch 5, but it’s not happening though.