This week, on our weekly firmware news roundup: OnePlus 6 and 6T are getting Fnatic mode and DC dimming, the S10 series gets the August patch, and more!
What's New This Week
OnePlus
- OnePlus 6 and 6T get Fnatic mode and DC dimming
Huawei
- Mate 20 Pro receives DC dimming
- Huawei P30 and P20 Pro are now receiving "Selfie night mode"
Samsung
- Galaxy A5 (2017) and J7 Pro are now getting the August security patch
- S9 and S9+ receiving the security patch
- S10 series gets the August patch as well
OnePlus
OnePlus 6 and 6T
The latest update for the OnePlus 6 and 6T brings a ton of fixes and improvements along with a few new touches. Fnatic mode and DC dimming are specifically worth mentioning.
In case you've never heard about it, Fnatic mode focuses on improving gaming performance, reducing latency, and also improving your gaming experience by blocking every notification.
As for DC dimming, unlike PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), DC dimming allows you to directly reduce or increase the brightness of each individual pixel. This should make a difference in terms of eye fatigue, weariness, and dizziness.
Other than that, the August security patch has been included as well. And if you want the full changelog, you can check it out right here:
- System
- Optimized pocket mode
- Fixed an issue with apps failing to respond
- Fixed an issue to unlock apps successfully using fingerprint when the screen recorder is turned on
- Added Quick reply in landscape mode (Settings - Utilities - Quick reply in landscape)
- Android security patch updated to 2019.08
- General bug fixes and stability improvements
- Launcher
- Added password settings for Hidden Space
- Gaming Mode
- Introduced brand new Fnatic mode for an immersive gaming experience, More surprises on the way
- Zen mode
- Added additional Zen mode features
- OnePlus Laboratory
- Added the DC dimming feature
- Communication
- Support VoLTE/VoWiFi for Bouygues
Last, but not least, do keep in mind that this is an incremental update. So, there is a chance that some of you may have to take a while before getting your turn and being able to install it.
That's all for now. We'll let you know if anything else comes up. So, stay tuned!
Huawei
Mate 20 Pro
DC dimming is now coming to the table for the Mate 20 Pro. It's a feature that seems to be getting more and more popular by the day.
So, if you were experiencing extensive eye strain with your device, then that should change for the better after installing this update! It's currently being delivered in China, but we assume that it's going to become globally available very soon.
In case you're not familiar with it, our phones will normally increase our decrease brightness by using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). This works by rapidly refreshing the light source of the display.
The higher the frequency of the refresh rate, the brighter that your display will be and vice versa.
The only issue with PWM is that it can increase eye strain for some people. More severe cases can even lead to nausea.
So, while PWM has worked wonderfully for the past few decades, we could clearly use something better. And that's where DC dimming comes to the table.
DC dimming reduces the brightness of each pixel individually. This results in a brightness control technology that doesn't tire our eyes as much.
However, do keep in mind that this can create some strange color effects on OLED displays. For this reason, you'll have the option of turning that feature on or off in the display settings (flicker reduction).
P30 and P30 Pro
The latest update for the P30 and P30 Pro brings night mode for the front cameras to the table. It's currently being delivered in China, but we're expecting it to go global pretty soon!
As the name suggests, this new feature allows you to use night mode for the selfie camera as well. You should be able to find the option in the camera settings after installing the update.
Other than that, the August security patch is included with the update as well. We don't have any info on the size of it, but having a 50% charge and enabling Wi-Fi before downloading is generally recommended - just to be safe!
Samsung
Galaxy A5 (2017) and J7 Pro
Both the Galaxy A5 (2017) and J7 Pro are now receiving the August security patch in specific regions. We don't exactly know in which ones just yet, but it should become globally available pretty soon.
No mention has been made about any other features. So, we're expecting that the download size is going to be pretty small.
If you installed it and found anything new apart from the security patch, do let us know about it in the comments down below!
S9 and S9+
The August security update is also available for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus over the air and it comes in at 247 megabytes! As with most OTA updates, you may have to wait for a few days till everyone gets it.
Apart from the security patch, it also brings a few camera improvements. But, the changelog doesn't mention anything specific. That's most likely because nothing major has been added.
While the update will soon become globally available, there are already numerous users from Germany who got it. If you're living in any other region and you just received this update, do let us and everyone else know about it in the comments!
S10 Series
With all the rest of the Samsung devices receiving the August security update, it's only natural that the S10 series would get it as well. More specifically the S10e, S10, and S10+!
It weights 112 megabytes and in terms of features, nothing else apart from the security patch is mentioned. That's also probably why a bunch of countries started receiving it at once.
Speaking of countries, so far we know that those have started receiving it:
- Czech Republic
- Netherlands
- France
- Nordic region
- Bulgaria
- UK
- Greece
- Germany
- Romania
- Poland
- Spain
- Austria
- Italy
- Hungary
- And potentially more
As per usual, if you got the update and you're living in a region that is not mentioned above, let us know about it in the comments!
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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