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Is 25W fast charging sufficient for Samsung Galaxy smartphones?
Unlike rivals, Samsung brings upgrades to its new flagship smartphones generation by generation. The recently launched Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 can’t be defined as “revolutionary,” while they are just minor upgraded versions of their predecessors.
While the South Korean tech giant is bringing minor upgrades (at least) with each generation of phones, the charging speed is an exception here. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 feature the same 25W charging support, exactly the same as the last year’s Fold 3 and Flip 3.
Samsung calls 15W and 25W charging speeds – “Fast charging,” which doesn’t make sense if we have a look at the recently launched smartphones by non-Samsung OEMs. Well, Samsung claims that its 25W charging adapter has the ability to 50% charge Galaxy phones in 30 minutes.
At the same time, there are some smartphones that are claimed to have the ability to charge 100% in less than 30 minutes, which is beyond Samsung’s limits. Phones from Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are not available in North America, but the trio of OEMs is offering massive fast-charging tech.
Well, the OnePlus 10 Pro is available in the United States with 65W fast charging support, the OnePlus 10T is beyond that with 125W charging speeds stateside. It’s worth mentioning that the same model is offering up to 150W fast charging in markets outside the US.
65W fast charger fully charges the OnePlus 10 pro in under 40 minutes, while the 125W adapter takes half of this time for the 10T. So how Samsung can assume its “25W charging tech” a “fast charging” while there are a lot of phones offering massive support up to 125W?
Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,799 in the United States, it sounds like a failure in charging speeds due to its tiny 25W support even after having top-grade and latest hardware installations. OnePlus focuses on the Indian and Chinese markets, but what will be in the future when Chinese makers start gaining popularity in the US?
Similar to Apple, we don’t, Samsung and Google will bring faster-charging speeds on paper like the Chinese vendors. Meanwhile, it’s worth mentioning that the Galaxy Note 10+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra offer up to 45W fast charging support, which sounds a bit satisfactory.
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Samsung could shift its investment from the EV battery business in the US. The company plans to adjust its investment in ESS from EVs due to a sluggish market. The move comes after low demand for EVs, particularly bikes, and growing demand for ESS.
TheElec reports that Samsung eyeing the growing demand for ESS (energy storage systems) in the US. North America’s largest power company NextEra Energy could be awarding Samsung with a potential 1 trillion won ESS order.
Samsung is investing in converting its EV battery pack production line in Michigan, US. The electric bike battery pack line will be dismantled and converted for ESS use. The investment is expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter.
- The ESS battery pack line will be located in Factory 1, where a battery pack line for Harley-Davidson is currently in operation.
- Factory 2 primarily produces battery packs for Stellantis PHEVs, such as the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe.
The Korean tech giant is pursuing a 1 trillion won order for ESS batteries from NextEra Energy. The order is estimated to be around 5GWh. The company has started accelerating its penetration into the ESS market since last year with its Battery Box.
Samsung is exploring advanced sensor-shift image stabilization (OIS) camera tech for future Galaxy phones. The company recently filed a patent application related to image stabilization technology for mobile devices in South Korea.
The latest Samsung patent suggests work on the sensor-shift image stabilization (OIS) camera is underway. However, Apple iPhone-like sensor shift camera tech is far from arriving on Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones.
The patent entitled “Actuator for optical image stabilization and camera module including the same” describes how less force is required to stabilize the sensor itself. This allows for a more precise correction of the sensor position.
The patent document shows that Samsung is continuing to develop its ideas and methods for sensor-shift image stabilization. The absence of such cameras is not a sign that the company has abandoned the idea.
Samsung has been working on sensor-shift image stabilization for years. The company aims to upgrade the Galaxy camera capabilities in the future. The sensor-shift stabilization offers a sharper image by moving the camera sensor.
Previously, patents related to sensor-shift telephoto camera surfaced. However, the Korean tech giant hasn’t commercialized the technology. The patent was published recently, but doesn’t mean we will be seeing this upgrade in the Galaxy S25 series.
The development suggests that Samsung won’t include it on Galaxies till an advanced variant evolves. As the exploration continues, sensor-shift OIS feature remains in hope for the future of Galaxy smartphone segment.
Samsung officially confirmed its teaming up with Qualcomm and Google for XR devices. Now, Qualcomm CEO revealed that the company is working with Samsung and Google to develop mixed-reality smart glasses.
According to the info, Samsung is working on portable mixed-reality smart glasses in collaboration with Qualcomm. Not XR headset, the company’s first extended reality product could be smart glasses with AI for new experiences.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon shared new details about Samsung’s upcoming XR product. In an interview to CNBC, Amon confirmed the collab with Samsung will result in “a new product” that offers “new experiences.”
Beyond that, he hinted that this product will likely be a pair of XR smart glasses, not a headset. Just opposite to Apple’s approach, Samsung and Qualcomm aimed to create XR smart glasses that would be portable and easy to carry around.
“I want everyone who has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it,” Amon said. “We need to reach a point where wearing smart glasses feels no different from wearing regular glasses or sunglasses. Only then can we achieve true scale,” he added.
The XR smart glasses could debut later this year, featuring artificial intelligence. Samsung and Qualcomm reportedly aiming to make XR glasses mainstream, while Google could support them with optimized software.
Following the trend, the XR smart glasses could pack on-device AI capabilities. Some AI features will run directly on the device, others on the phone, and certain tasks will require cloud processing – unlocking “a whole new set of experiences.”
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