This week, on our weekly firmware news roundup: the Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro and A51 get One UI 3.0, Xiaomi Mi A3 gets yet another Android 11 update, and more!
What's New This Week?
Xiaomi
- Xiaomi Mi 10T and 10T Pro are now receiving the latest version of Android
- Another (Hopefully bug-free) update is here for the Xiaomi Mi A3
OnePlus
- OnePlus Nord is getting yet another OxygenOS11 open beta update
- OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro get Oxygen)SS open beta 6
Samsung
- Galaxy S20, Note 20, Galaxy A8, Galaxy A60, S9, and Galaxy S21 are now receiving February's security patch
- Galaxy Watch 3 gets SmartThings Find
- Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro and Galaxy A51 are now receiving the latest version of Android
- Galaxy J3 Pop, A7 (2017), A5 (2017), and Galaxy A3 (2017), reach their end of life
Xiaomi
Xiaomi Mi 10T and 10T Pro
2 more Xiaomi devices are now receiving the latest version of Android. This time, we are talking about the Xiaomi Mi 10T and 10T Pro.
The patch is currently available in India and it comes in at 2.8 gigabytes. In it, you can expect to find everything that's included in Android 11. We are talking about:
- Bubbles for multiple chatting apps
- New emojis
- Better overall security and privacy
- Temporary permissions
- Notification history
- Scheduled Dark Mode
Along with numerous under-the-hood additions, improvements, and January's security patch. Some of the aforementioned features may have already been present in MIUI 12 previously, though.
This is an incremental update – which means that some of you are gonna have to wait a bit longer until you get your turn. We still don't have any information on when the update will reach more regions, but we expect it won't be too long now.
Xiaomi Mi A3
The Xiaomi Mi A3 is probably one of the most unfortunate, if not the most unfortunate Xiaomi device we've ever seen. Up till now, it has already received 3 Android 11 updates in a row that were full of bugs.
A fourth one is now here and, hopefully, this one is going to work out just fine.
By checking out our sources, you can see that there are already plenty of comments that are complaining about bugs such as the phone shutting down randomly from time to time. So, we are already off at a bad start.
If you have this update, feel free to let us know whether it works correctly or not in the comments section down below.
OnePlus
OnePlus Nord
Great news for beta testers. OxygenOS11 open beta 3 is now here for the OnePlus Nord. The official changelog is as follows:
System
- Optimized UI display effects of work life balance
- Fixed the issue that the dial icons overlap on the lock screen
- Fixed the issue of white space in the notification bar in Dark mode
Camera
- Fixed the issue that the camera fails to start through quick gestures
- Fixed the issue with video recorded by the front camera that can not be played
Ambient Display
- Fixed the small probability issue that Canvas AOD can not be activated
Clock
- Fixed the small probability issue that alarm clocks can not be set
So, it's really just a lot of bug fixes and improvements – which is what betas are all about.
As per usual, this is an incremental update that's going to be delivered in waves.
OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro
Another OxygenOS open beta update is here for both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The changelog is as follows.
If the image is too blurry, here it is in text form as well:
- System
- Optimized the UI display of the status bar
- Optimized the stability of frame rate and improved the experience when playing games
- Optimized the interface of the Community homepage and make notifications more eye-catching
- Fixed the crash issue where the drop-down menu of Browser
- Updated Android Security Patch to 2021.01
- Shelf
- Newly added Dock, a dashboard that displays various information, including daily steps, screen usage time, etc.
- Optimized weather animation effects to improve fluency
- Weather
- Optimized animations for sunny and cloudy days for a clearer dynamic display
- Gaming Space
- Fixed the issue where notifications could not be turned off in the game in some cases
- Gallery
- Optimized the layout of the cloud service interface in the Gallery for a better operation experience
- Bluetooth
- Improved the transmission rate of Bluetooth when connecting watches
So, leaving all the improvements and fixes aside, one addition is the dashboard that contains various pieces of information. Such as steps, screen usage time, and more.
Just like with all OnePlus updates, this is an incremental rollout that is being delivered in waves. It may take some time before all of you get it. So, show some patience.
Samsung
Galaxy S20, Note 20, Galaxy A8, Galaxy A60, S9, and Galaxy S21
Samsung is commonly one of the first, if not the first manufacturer to push the latest security patch on to their smartphones. And this month is no different as we are five days into February and there are already plenty of phones getting the latest patch.
At the moment of writing this article, this includes the:
- Galaxy S20 Series: EU and USA
- Galaxy Note 20 Series: U.S
- A8 (2018): United Arab Emirates
- Galaxy S20 FE: Numerous regions
- Galaxy A50: Thailand
- S9 and S9+: Globally available
- Galaxy S21: Asia
The updates do not seem to include anything more than the security patch – except the S21's as it also introduces a few stability improvements, better camera performance, and minor bug fixes. Samsung doesn't mention anything in particular, though.
Now, it's worth keeping in mind that the aforementioned locations are not final. We can safely assume that the updates will slowly reach more and more regions. And as time goes on, plenty more Samsung devices are also going to get February's patch.
Also don't forget that such updates are incremental. Even if your phone is receiving the update in your region, it may take a while before you get your turn.
Galaxy Watch 3
Another update is here for the Galaxy Watch 3 and this time, it includes SmartThings Find. In case you are not familiar with it, this is a simple feature to help you find the Watch in case it you miss it somewhere.
Apart from that, the update also includes improvements to Samsung Health along with improvements in performance and reliability. You can currently find it and download it in South Korea, India, and the U.S.
Just keep in mind that as an incremental update, it may take a while before it becomes available for everyone. And we can also safely assume that it'll slowly become available for more regions as well.
Galaxy Xcover Pro and Galaxy A51
Two more Galaxy devices the ranks of One UI 3.0. This time, we are talking about the Galaxy Xcover Pro and Galaxy A51.
At the moment of writing this article, the update is already available for the Xcover Pro in Austria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, the UAE, UK, and a few other regions.
As for the Galaxy A51, the update has currently only been sighted in Russia but it's safe to assume that you'll soon be able to install it from anywhere in the world.
However, as per usual, don't forget that such updates are almost always incremental. It may take a while before you get One UI 3.0 even if you live in one of the currently supported regions.
In case you are not familiar with One UI 3.0, you can expect to get:
- Improved battery life
- UI overhaul
- Google's new gesture-based navigation system
- New options for AOD (Always On Display)
- Numerous minor additions to Samsung apps
- And more
Galaxy J3 Pop, A7 (2017), A5 (2017), and Galaxy A3 (2017)
Where there is life, there will be death. Where there is darkness, there will be light. And where there are software updates, there will be phones that won't get it. This is the balance of life.
For as much as manufacturers love supporting their smartphones, newer models will always have to take priority. This week, 4 Samsung devices reach their end of life and will no longer receive any updates:
- Galaxy J3 Pop
- A7 (2017)
- A5 (2017)
- And Galaxy A3 (2017)
These smartphones have already been around for almost 4 years now. So, we'd say they deserve some well-earned rest.
Mind you, we are not just talking about major updates here, but security ones and any kind of update in general. At least not unless Samsung finds a huge security exploit – and even then we wouldn't bet on an update.
Wrapping Up
That's all for now. Come back next Friday for more firmware news!
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!
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