Samsung
Samsung Focus Mode feature is no more
Samsung seems to be very serious about its user’s utility. Its customized Android OS overlay “One UI” is the preferred user interface among all others. Instead, we can say that One UI is also one of the fundamental reasons for buying Galaxy smartphones. One UI not only tends to add needy applications or features but also removes unnecessary services from it to enhance its utility by not having non-needy services.
Recently, we have got to see that the manufacturer has removed an Android feature from its One UI 5.0 overlay of Android 13. The feature named “Focus Mode” prevents the user from using selected applications during the determined time. For example, it lets the user create various modes that will be able to restrict the selected applications during working hours as per their predetermined schedule.
However, this feature is removed from the One UI 5.0 only and is still available in the standard Android 13. But, it doesn’t really seem that anybody cares about it anymore, obviously for some good reasons due to its invulnerability. In that manner, the company did not remove this feature from its UI for nothing but to replace it with a more suitable option. Conclusively, the South Korean giant again replaced one of Android’s services with its more and more enriched service.
Let you know that in One UI 5.0, after removing the Focus Mode, Samsung has added a new “Modes” feature to its existing Bixby Routines as a better alternative. They now have named the system “Modes & Routines”. This feature will be proved as a more enhanced service as compared to Android. It also has the ability to change the layout and appearance of notifications, incoming calls, and more while having a mode activated.
The lower the SAR, the less radiation the smartphone emits! Here we are discussing the updated list of smartphones with the maximum SAR values.
We can’t neglect the fact that RF (radio frequency) waves are the basic need of smartphones to transmit and receive signals. Here, the term SAR stands for the Specific Absorption Rate, which is an estimate of how much radiation a phone emits, with a maximum acceptable value of 1.6 W/kg.
Here’s the question: RF waves are the source behind transmitting and receiving signals, but what if this radiation is harmful? The report from Stocklytics says that there’s a cause for concern that smartphone radiation might be going up, even though safety limits are in place.
As per the report, two Xiaomi phones are listed that consider high radiation levels, which are:
- The Mi A1 smartphone emits 1.75 W/kg at the ear and 0.76 W/kg at the body.
- The Mi Max 3 smartphone emits 1.58 W/kg at the ear and 1.42 W/kg at the body.
It is also reported that the Mi Max 3 5G variant also has similar ear radiation of approximately 1.59 W/kg but even higher body radiation at 1.56 W/kg.
Jumping on the Samsung Galaxy devices which are also on the list of remitting radiation –
- The Galaxy A23 5G allegedly reaches 1.5 W/kg at both the ear and body.
- Galaxy Z Fold 4 touches 1.30 W/kg at the ear and a maximum of 1.51 W/kg at the body.
- The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has 1.24 W/kg at the ear.
5G technology is also a concern since it uses a wider range of frequencies, which might lead to maximum radiation emissions from smartphones. However, it appears that regulators are paying attention to this and are expected to impose stricter limits on radiation output soon.
Luckily, here are some smartphone devices with fewer emissions:
Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 4a emit 1.36–1.39 W/kg at the ear, and the iPhone 7 series emits 1.36–1.39 W/kg at the ear, whereas the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy A55, and Galaxy A35 series, and Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Note 7 Pro all have relatively low SAR values.
You can easily reduce exposure to smartphone radiation by some precautions; for instance, during calls you can use a wired headset or speakerphone to keep your phone away from your head, and it is also a recommended idea to keep your phone on airplane mode when signals are weak as the device tends to effuse higher radiation to connect to distant antennas.
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Samsung is actively building up to expand the versatility of Galaxy AI, and now a new novelty is appearing standing on the door named ‘Battery AI’, expected to arrive on older models ahead of the Galaxy S25 series.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is next in line to debut in early 2025, and previously it was reported that it would bring no battery change but is expected to introduce a novelty called ‘Battery AI’ which will use artificial intelligence to add an extra 5% to 10% runtime to the battery life.
Now the reports take a U-turn as recent rumors unveiled that Samsung could introduce a battery AI feature before the Galaxy S25 lineup launch. By this point, it appears that it will be supported on older models. The reason behind this change appears to be that Samsung is addressing battery life complaints with its foldable Galaxy Z Flip models. The current foldable flagship Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a tiny battery because of space limitations; that’s why the giant is using a battery AI to improve battery life.
This is being speculated on by a report by PandaFalsh on X. If the reports are to be believed, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will arrive with battery AI, which would boost the battery life by up to 30 minutes. Apart from this, Samsung is also expected to bring the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 in both the Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 versions of its more affordable foldable handset.
However, here’s the strange fact that Battery AI will only launch for one model but not for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, especially because the device with the smaller capacity asks for this feature the most. Somewhere, this feature is also expected to be available on all Galaxy devices, not just the tiny battery ones.
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The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is first in line for the following year and is expected to come and prove to be an excellent gaming phone, as it is supposed to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
If the reports are to be believed, Samsung will power the forthcoming Galaxy S25 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip in a few regions and the Exynos 2500 in others. While both chips will most likely be quite powerful, noticeably, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to feature an extremely powerful GPU.
As per the report revealed by the well-known tipster Digital Chat Station, it is speculated that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip has an exceptionally powerful GPU for improved and upgraded graphics performance. It is reported that the Qualcomm chip can run Genshin Impact at the native 1080p resolution.
At the moment, it appears that the game is running at 720p resolution by default, and even then, many phones struggle to maintain the 60fps frame rate with graphics quality set to the highest.
Qualcomm started actively building up the development of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and has decided to debut it on October 1, 2024. This forthcoming flagship chip is reported to be manufactured using TSMC’s 3nm process and feature Qualcomm’s custom CPU core named Oryon.
However, these CPU cores are already housed in the Snapdragon X Elite chipset built for ARM Windows laptops, which delivers impressive performance. Given this prospect, it is expected that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 can also offer impressive and efficient performance.
Apart from all that, the Xiaomi 14 will be the first phone to debut featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which could be introduced sometime in October 2024.