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Should Samsung drop S Pen slot from Galaxy S24 Ultra?
S Pen is an iconic device, which swiftly became a basic Galaxy accessory as Samsung discontinued its Note lineup. Starting with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the iconic S Pen bonded with the Ultra model of the S series, but should Samsung continue bringing S Pen to future flagships such as the S24 Ultra?
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra maintained the form factor of the S series along with supporting S Pen as an additional accessory. With the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the company created a dedicated slot inside the body where the S Pen can rest and just rests most of the time.
As the S Pen slot debuted with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung turned the rounded corners into sharp corners, making the form factory boxy like Note. The company succeeded in respecting loyal Note lovers but indirectly hurt fans who love the S Ultra without a boxy design.
I use the Galaxy S22 Ultra as a daily driver, and honestly, the S Pen stays inside the phone’s slot most of the time. I only take it out if showing the device to someone or taking a group selfie, other than this, the S Pen is not so useful for me (personal view).
In favor of a device, which I don’t often use, I’ve compromised the iconic and handy design Samsung maintained until the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Large display with curved edges, beautiful camera bump, elegant build and color, and powerful internals all now comes in a boxy phone.
Meanwhile, some Galaxy lovers, especially the people of Note fanbase gladly accept the S Ultra with integrated S Pen support. No doubt, S Pen is a great tool, letting users have real handwriting feel on the smartphone, operate the camera, use it as a remote controller, and more.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra brought an enhanced S Pen experience, which Samsung further refined with the S23 Ultra. The Galaxy S24 Ultra already entered rumors bay, with an expected launch in late January 2024. What do you think, should Samsung drop in-built S Pen support with Galaxy S24 Ultra? Let us know via Tweet below:
— Sammy Fans (@thesammyfans) May 1, 2023
Huawei outpaced Samsung in the global foldable smartphone market in Q1 2024. TechInsights reveals that Huawei scored a whopping 257% YoY growth in the worldwide smartphone market, letting it claim the leadership crown from Samsung.
According to the report, Samsung lost its leadership to Huawei in the foldable market in Q1 2024. The Chinese phone maker managed to become the leader in the first quarter, with Chinese sales bringing a major push to claim this milestone.
The study notes that the Chinese tech giant secured its lead in the overall foldable phone market by dominating the Fold type segment. Despite a 25% decrease in market share YoY, Samsung maintained its leadership in the Flip-style foldable phone.
Surprisingly, Motorola scored an annual growth of 1260% with its clamshell foldable Razr. While notable growth was recorded by Honor (+480%), Vivo (+331%), and Xiaomi (+41%), Samsung (-25%) and Oppo (-75%) experienced a decline in market share.
The Chinese foldable phone market exhibited a growth of 94% year-on-year. As for the North American region, it grew by 143% YoY, and Motorola surpassed Samsung to take the top spot, with Samsung in second place and OnePlus in third.
At WWDC 2024, Apple will likely unveil AI-generated emoji and OpenAI collab. Apple is unlikely to debut significant AI or Generative AI features that Google and Samsung. Rather, the company could reveal basic AI features like transcribing voice memos or auto-generated emojis.
According to MarkGurman, the Apple WWDC 2024 event may include basic AI features and OpenAI collaboration. Apple’s rumored “smart recap” feature could summarize missed texts, notifications, and other things like “web pages, news articles, documents, notes and other forms of media.”
The Voice Memo app could also get a big boost in AI-generated transcripts. Apple could also announce AI-powered improvements to on-device Spotlight search, internet searches with Safari, as well as writing suggestions for emails and texts.
Rumors also indicate AI-powered features that will let users retouch photos and generate emoji based on what you’re texting. Siri voice assistant may also get a better, more natural-sounding voice, powered by Apple’s own large language models.
Earlier, Apple was rumored to be in talks with Google to integrate Gemini AI. Apple is reportedly allowing OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT chatbot with its operating system. However, Gurman reports that the company is still working with Google to reach an agreement on Gemini AI.
The Pixel 10 series could be equipped with a Tensor G5 chip made by TSMC as Google is reportedly ditching Samsung Foundry for its fifth-generation Tensor chipset, which would power the Pixel 10 series.
Evidence shared by AndroidAuthority indicates TSMC would manufacture Tensor G5 for Google. As Google’s Pixel business is gradually growing, parting ways with Samsung would give a major boost in terms of performance.
Pixel’s Tensor chipsets were always criticized for their performance and efficiency concerns. While Samsung Foundry has impressed with its latest Exynos chip in Galaxy S24, Google seems to have already jumped to TSMC.
Publicly available trade databases mention Google (as Shipper) and Tessolve Semiconductor (as Consignee). The description reveals the Google part number, chip’s code name “laguna (LGA),” goods’ type, packing type, manufacturer, and the number of tests the mentioned chipset has passed.
The evidence also reveals that the Pixel 10 might use up to 16GB of RAM, a huge 4GB bump to the current flagship’s RAM. This huge RAM boost is also expected to be brought to the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra, which Samsung would introduce in early next year.
Google introduced its in-house Tensor chipset in 2021 with Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Since then, the company has partnered with Samsung for semiconductor production. This year’s Pixel 9 series will also use a Samsung-made Tensor G4 processor.