Daily Authority: 🅰 Samsung's A-Day coming up

🍕 Good morning! I’m very sorry I missed Pi Day yesterday. I had my head in the visa application clouds. But, I mean, 3.15 is kind of close enough right? Right? Anyway, a link on how much Pi you really need below…

Samsung’s next A-series

Samsung’s set to launch more of its best-selling Galaxy products: Samsung’s A-series of smartphones, all ready for launch later this week.

• Some of the best-selling Galaxy phones each year in the US include the Galaxy A5 series (eg A52) and the Galaxy A1 series (eg. A12).
• The A10, A11 and A12 all sold well as budget options through each generation.
• The A50, A51, and A52 pushed plenty of units as the go-to mid-range option: Samsung polish without quite the S-series star features.
• The A70 lineup competes directly with affordable flagships from Chinese brands, with worse specs but better brand recognition and (arguably) software.
• According to Counterpoint analyst data, A-series phones make up nearly 60% of Samsung’s global phone sales, so they’re an incredibly important part of Samsung’s portfolio.

Main event:

• And now we have the date for Samsung’s event for the 2022 A-range: this Thursday March 17.
• Based on previous years, the likes of the Galaxy A73, A53, A33, A23, A13 and A03 are expected, with a rough guide being most expensive to least expensive running from A7x to A0x.
• The sweet spot has traditionally been the A5x, for about $500, and the A12, for about $180, representing value for folks who need a smartphone without too much fuss.
• (Reviews say don’t bother with the A0x series most of the time).
• The A5x series tend to sneak in higher-end features without the flagship processor to boot, while the A1x series sticks with battery life and acceptable camera performance, with compromises on the processor and IP rating.
• Samsung’s longer-term support separates it from others. Last month, it announced four years of One UI and Android OS upgrades for its flagship phones in its foldables and S-series, but the A-series was also highlighted.
• Mind you, Samsung said “select A series devices” so it’s possible only the higher-end A-series devices will see major upgrades until 2026.
• Other Android manufacturers are absolutely phoning it in by not providing more, but let’s see how Samsung fares with its own budget models…

Samsung’s chance to pounce:

• Samsung’s invite came with a standard image but also the following gif. From the action, you could bet on: waterproofing on a wider range of A-series phones, better low-light camera performance, a focus on battery life… and, I don’t know, more emoji?

• None of that is exactly unexpected. But I still don’t think much of the Apple iPhone SE 2022 that launched last week which tried to tick those boxes too.
• Reviews of the iPhone SE 2022 came out yesterday and while the value of the long-lifetime is expected, but as The Verge’s review said, the 4.7-inch screen was just too small and apps aren’t properly considering it anymore. Quote: “The modern internet and app experience were just not constructed for a 16:9 4.7-inch screen.“
• By no means can Samsung strike a serious blow to Apple’s dominance at the low end… but this is undoubtedly Samsung’s chance to best Apple’s lowest-price phone: the $480 mark that the 128GB iPhone SE 2022 is priced at is now the yardstick.
• Make no mistake. The A-series isn’t the shining light of Samsung. But it sells more of these than the S-series, and that means these almost matter more. And watch out for the A-series “s” versions too, later in the year, like the Galaxy A52s that was well-reviewed around here.

Roundup

⌚ The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 battery just leaked, and it’s good news (Android Authority).

📱 The polls are in: You still think the Sony Xperia 1 III is a good buy in 2022 (Android Authority).

👉 iOS 15.4 now live as Universal Control comes to iPads and Macs, plus mask-friendly Face ID unlock (The Verge).

📸 What is RAW photography and should you shoot in it? (Android Authority).

🎮 xScreen turns an Xbox Series S into a portable console (The Verge).

⛽ Just when gas prices pushed you to ditch gas guzzlers, Tesla is raising prices across its entire EV lineup (Engadget).

📁 New flexible screen can be stretched without the images getting warped: long way to go to get this into a consumer product but… (Gizmodo).

π How much Pi do you really need? (Wired).

🐐 Kawasaki made a rideable robotic goat, complete with gamer LED antlers for some reason (Gizmodo).

🚀 SNL star Pete Davidson will be on Blue Origin’s next spaceflight on March 23, along with some CEOs and a University of North Carolina professor (Engadget).

💿 CD sales rose for the first time in 17 years, but vinyl is still the big money maker (Engadget).

🤔 “Do animals benefit from cooked food the same way we do?” (r/askscience).

Chart Tuesday

A different form of data put into a chart today: a LIDAR map of most of New York City by visualgeomatics:

How great. I can see where I lived for a summer in 2014 in a very different way.

• The data actually comes from freely available United States Geological Survey data. (USGS 3DEP LiDAR data.)
• The author used Blender, QGIS, and Global Mapper, primarily, plus Photoshop.
• Other cities up next: San Francisco, which should be fun for the elevation changes!

Cheers,

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.