This week, on our weekly firmware news roundup: Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is now receiving MIUI 12, Galaxy S10 and Note 10 series get One UI 2.5, and more!
What's New This Week?
Asus
- ZenFone 7 and 7 Pro's latest update is bringing camera improvements to the table
HMD Global
- Nokia 2.1 is now receiving Android 2.1 (Go edition)
Xiaomi
- Mi Mix 3 and Note 8 Pro are now receiving MIUI 12
Samsung
- Galaxy Note 9, A21s, A51, A50, and A70
- One UI 2.5 is now being delivered to the Galaxy Note 10 and S10 series (Including the lite variants)
- Samsung's "hidden" feature adds sound to motion photos
- Galaxy Buds Live are now receiving a small update with stability improvements
Asus
ZenFone 7 and 7 Pro
Another update is here for the ZenFone 7 and 7 Pro and it brings even more camera improvements to the table. Other than that, there are also improvements to DC dimming along with other, minor improvements and bug fixes.
To be more specific, this is what the changelog says:
- Improved System/touch freeze problem.
- Fixed the occasional system restart issue.
- Improve occasional DC dimming flicker and screen brightness adjustment.
- Enabled Google Lens on Asus Camera.
- Improved the photo quality of Camera night mode.
- Improved the performance for camera noise.
- Added group alarm feature.
- Added Dual-band Wi-Fi network feature.
- Allowed to mute a single app when multiple foreground apps make sounds.
So, as you can see, there are no specific details about the camera improvements.
Last, but not least, this is another incremental update which means that some of you are gonna have to wait a little bit longer before getting your turn.
HMD Global
Nokia 2.1
HMD remains true to its word of updating every single one of their devices to the newer version of Android. After all, the Nokia 2.1 is now being upgraded to the Go edition of Android 10!
Android 10 (Go edition) rollout for Nokia 2.1 starts today. Check here for more details and the availability in different countries - https://t.co/fbyk98TNCP pic.twitter.com/dKpewa5lAw
— Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) September 2, 2020
It's currently being delivered in waves, so, it's going to take a while before everyone gets it. The first wave includes:
- Bangladesh
- Cambodia
- India
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Philippines
- Sri Lanka
- And Thailand
HMD Global mentions that 10% of these regions will get the update by the end of September 2, which means that 10% of you should already have it, 50% should get it by September 7th, and 100% should have it on September 7th.
There is no mention of other regions/waves as of yet. But we can probably safely assume that all users will have it by the end of this month.
As for the update itself, in case you are not familiar with it, the Go Edition of Android 10 is basically a lightweight variant. Both the OS and its apps are designed to occupy less space and work with less bandwidth while also not stressing the hardware as much.
Due to this, you may also be missing some of the core features of Android 10 – such as the built-in screen recorder, Fast Share, Automatic Dark Mode, Adaptive Notifications, and a few other, minor installments. This is a necessity for older devices with less-powerful hardware to work with Android 10. The "version" is just too much for them and it won't be able to run properly.
Xiaomi
Mi Mix 3 and Note 8 Pro
Both the Note 8 Pro along with the Mi Mix 3 started receiving the latest version of MIUI towards the end of the last week (Weekend). So, by now, a good chunk of you should probably already be running it.
MIUI 12 brings new system animations, universal Dark Mode with improvements, a new status bar, and more!
One of the things we liked the most is the new status bar. When you pull it down from the right side, you get Quick Controls. And when you pull it down from the left side, you get to see the notifications panel – which essentially delivers a cleaner look.
August's security patch is included as well along with a few other minor additions, improvements, and bug fixes. But that's about it as far as features are concerned.
One thing to keep in mind is that MIUI 12 is kind of heavier hardware-wise compared to older versions. So, those of you who are using a low to mid-range device will probably notice slowdowns and lag spikes. We certainly did with both the Note 8 Pro and the Mi 9T too (Non-pro variant).
Samsung
September Security Patch (Note 9, A21s, A51, A50, and A70)
As we've probably already mentioned tons of times, Samsung is now known for being one of the best manufacturers in terms of updates. Not only because they recently promised to deliver 3 years of updates to flagships and certain Galaxy A phones, but also because they regularly deliver monthly security patches faster than anyone else.
We are now 4 days into September and the Galaxy Note 9, A21s, A51, A50, and A70 are already receiving the latest security patch!
It's currently available in both Ukraine and Russia and we expect that it'll soon be delivered to numerous other regions too. So far, we also haven't seen any new features. And we don't expect to see any since the update's size is rather small.
The only exception is the Galaxy A50 as it also receives a few improvements in AR Emoji. It may not be a massive addition but it's an addition nonetheless.
When it comes to flagships, both the S10 and Galaxy Note 10 series are receiving this month's patch. But they also get One UI 2.5 – which is why we are going to talk about them in a separate section down below!
Still, with all that said, it's only the 4th of September. There is a good chance that most flagships will already be up to date by the time we deliver the next weekly firmware news. So, stay tuned!
One UI 2.5 – Galaxy Note 10 Series and S10 Series
The minor One UI 2.5 update is slowly reaching more and more devices with the Galaxy Note 10 series and the S10 series taking their turn this week. Mind you, this also includes the "Lite" variants.
As far as availability is concerned, here is what you can currently expect (although chances are that availability will greatly expand in the upcoming week):
- S10 Lite: Spain
- S10 Series: Germany
- Note 10 Series: International variants
As the changelog mentions, this update includes Wireless Dex, Split keyboard on landscape mode, enhanced Pro video, Bitmoji Stickers for the AOD (Always on Display), SOS location for messages, and more.
Arguably, one of the fanciest additions is Wireless Dex. As the name implies, this is what allows you to use Dex without a cable on compatible displays.
Last, but not least, the update also includes September's security patch. And as per usual, you can also expect to find minor bug fixes and general improvements.
One thing to keep in mind is that even if you live in a region that's currently receiving the update, there is a chance you'll end up waiting a bit more. That's due to the fact that major updates such as this one are often being delivered in batches. So, people who belong to the last batch always have to wait a bit more.
One UI
The later versions of One UI come with a feature that's called "Motion photos". All it does is capture a sort of short video and turns it into what is essentially a moving image. That's nothing new.
One thing that's new, however, and hasn't been mentioned by Samsung as of yet, is the ability to add sound in Motion photos.
It's definitely nothing insane. But, since Samsung doesn't mention anything about it anywhere, we just thought we'd let you know instead. That's all.
Galaxy Buds Live
Samsung's new version of the Galaxy Buds, the Galaxy Buds Live are now here and a new update is already available for them.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to bring anything more than small system stability improvements. Fortunately, these are improvements nonetheless.
That's all we've got for this week. Feel like we forgot to mention something important? Got anything wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!
Like what you see? Then feel free to follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest news, reviews, listicles, apps, games, devices, how-to guides, and more!