Samsung and Minted have announced a partnership expansion to bring new artworks from independent artists around the globe to the Samsung Art Store.

These artworks are coming from the first-ever “Frame It” art challenge winners. The contest was co-hosted by both brands in December 2025. These artworks will be available through 2026 to bring new art styles to Samsung users. The company has shared the winners:

• Autumn River by Wendy Keller (first prize winner)
• Winter’s Quiet Return by Carol C. Young (second prize winner)
• County Line Up by Kamala Nahas (third prize winner)
• Apple Tree by Wendy Keller (fourth prize winner)
• Misty Valley by Melanie Severin (fifth prize winner)

Autumn River by Wendy Keller (Source – Samsung)

Minted arts have been available for Samsung Art Store users since 2019, but the new Frame It competition has enabled new creations that are specifically targeting Samsung Frame series TVs. As an outcome, 180 artworks by 98 independent artists will be available on the Art Store.

Both partners are also supporting these independent artists with prizes ranging from $2,000 to $750, and an Editor’s pick of $150, as well as a commission on net sales.

Furthermore, new Samsung x Minted artworks will be available through seasonal themes to vary their appearances and user experience.

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Last month, the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold went out of stock in the U.S., and the company indicated that the phone wouldn’t be restocked. However, it’s now announced that Galaxy Z TriFold will be returning to sale once again this Friday.

Samsung has listed this phone on its official online store with a tagline, “Coming soon – the return of our popular trifold screen.” The company also announced that this sale will be available until supplies last.

It has an official countdown timer running on the Samsung Store, which could help you to stay ready to place an order. Besides the online store, you can also find the phone at Samsung’s official experience stores.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold is returning in the U.S.

Launched in December, the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold brings a new generation of foldable form factor. It folds twice to create a massive 10-inch tabelt size screen space that helps users to see content bigger and multitask better than ever.

Once closed, the TriFold becomes an ordinary phone with its 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display offering you all functions without requiring you to unfold the device. Its dimensions make the phone as hand-frinedly and its weight makes it easy to carry.

It equips three rear cameras: a 12MP ultra-wide, a 200MP high-quality main camera, and a 10MP 3x telephoto optical zoom camera. There’s one 10MP selfie camera on the foldable display and the other on the cover.

The phone uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, coupled with the One UI 8.0 operating system with Galaxy AI features. It comes with Samsung’s 7 OS upgrades and seven years of security patch support.

Unlike Fold 7, Z TriFold ships a 5,600mAh battery, the largest Samsung has ever packed inside a foldable phone. And, it supports 45W fast super charging. Now comes the price, the phone was launched at $2,899 in crafted black color and 512GB of storage.

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Galaxy S25 series users have marked a big win over Samsung and forced it to reverse a decision on the latest AI features for this flagship.

Samsung has officially announced that it’s working on a new software update that will bring new AI features for the Galaxy S25 series. The company specifically mentioned that the feature list includes call screening, which has become a cornerstone for this discussion.

The Galaxy S26 series comes with new performance upgrades and AI features. Since the launch day, Galaxy S25 users have been expecting these new additions to descend to their phones with the One UI 8.5 update.

Users reached Samsung through its community moderators and verified whether the call screening feature would be a part of the One UI 8.5 rollout. The moderators denied the compatibility.

This was the turning point for the entire scenario, in which Samsung users started criticising Samsung’s 7 OS update policy. They alleged that the company is keeping the new features exclusive to the Galaxy S26 series as a selling point. And they are feeling betrayed even after purchasing a premium phone. That’s not it; the company also denied access to call screening for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 series.

This criticism is genuine, and there are a few reasons. The Galaxy S25 series was launched in January last year, which makes it only one year old, and has received one major OS update so far. Meanwhile, the Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are the most recent foldables.

What makes the scenario even more concerning is that these previous-gen devices come with a high-end chipset. Therefore, they could run all of the latest features without any performance issues.

Third, and the final features like call screening are software-focused. Hence, developers can install it via an OTA update. With these facts, Samsung appeared to be neglecting previous flagships and limiting the new feature pack.

User raised questions, if Samsung is doing this to only a year-old flagship, it may also discriminate against the S26 series when the S27 lineup launches. These are some of the most genuine comments that Samsung should read.

Following the initial backlash, Galaxy S24 and S23 series users also joined the movement and forced Samsung to come up with an announcement in their favor.

Author’s take

With the release of the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung started selling the 7 OS upgrade and 7 years of security update support. The policy is in effect for premium phones launched over the time span of past two years.

This is one of the selling points of Samsung S-series and foldables, which assures consumers of getting long-term support, keeping the phone updated with new features. However, the most recent incident suggests that Galaxy S-series and Foldable users may face some lag in the 7 OS upgrade as the years goes bye.

From my perspective, Samsung should be doing these after-sales services without user complaints. In fact, it’s its responsibility to keep its existing users happy. So that they could refer to that good experience to their family and friends. Similarly, if they are getting mistreated, they will spread that experience as well. This will hurt the consumer trust in the brand’s after-sales services.

As the software experience is picking up consumers’ interest, this attitude of Samsung leaders for existing users won’t go unattended. Also, if it wants to compete against Apple, it must fix such flaws. For example, Apple has already released the call screening feature for all of the supported devices from the past generation. And the good thing is, no one has to ask for it. The company just gave it away. This should be the common standard of after-sales services.

We expect that this user backlash will set an example for Samsung, and it should not neglect its past year’s flagships, such as the Galaxy S25 series.

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Samsung has made a big change in the price of Galaxy S26 Ultra just a month after the release, declining below the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The company launched the Unlocked Galaxy S26 Ultra at a starting price point of $1,299 in the US. Its 512GB version is priced at $1,499 and 1TB at $1,799. Following the new discount, these prices have declined to the following:

• $1,099 for 256GB
• $1,299 for 512GB
• $1,599 for 1TB

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra now starts at $1,099 in the US

That’s a $200 saving on each model. Compared to that, the 256GB version of the Galaxy S25 Ultra is priced at $1,299, the 512GB at $1,419, and the 1TB variant at $1,659. These prices are basically the launch prices of the phone from a year ago.

This is the first major price cut for the lineup, which appears to be applied for a limited time. Still, getting the $200 off without a trade-in is a big offer for anyone looking to buy this phone upright.

On the other hand, Samsung is offering up to $720 instant credit for people who want to swap their old phone for a new Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Launched on February 25, the Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with a new Snapdragon chipset with improved performance and new AI features. The design embraces refreshed material and an optimized frame for a new look.

The highlighted feature of this phone is the privacy display, which hides the content from side view to protect your data from unknown people while using the phone in public.

Samsung has also improved the main camera, capturing more light in photos and videos in nightitme. Features like horizontal lock steady mode offer unique video stabilization that you won’t find in iPhones.

After the latest discount, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is now also competitive in price category than the S25 Ultra. Are you considering buying one? Share your thoughts on our social media channels.

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It appears that Perplexity has made progress with the Hey Perplexity wake-up phrase for the Galaxy S26 series after dumping the “Hey Plex”.

Perplexity app version 2.81.2 app insights from AndroidAuthority revealed a new wake-up voice setup screen mentioning “Hey Perplexity.

“Say Hey Perplexity to open the assistant, even when the screen is off,” found in the setup, changing from Hey Plex mentioned in the past. The assisting screenshot shows the setup screen with instructions.

There are no other details available about the upgrade and the reason behind this change, as promised by the company.

Backdrop

Prior to the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung announced Perplexity integration with the new phones and Hey Plex wake-up phrase to trigger the voice assistant. This functionality is the same as the Google Gemini, which comes as the default AI agent for the S26 series users.

The S26 series comes with the pre-installed Perplexity app, and initially, it had a setup process for Hey Plex. Early test shows that the feature was working better than expected. However, it’s not as fluent as Gemini.

Despite this, Perplexity unpromptly removed the feature from the latest S-series phones. Soon after, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas announced that the feature would be renamed to Hey Perplexity without confirming a rollout date. Since then, users have been waiting for this wake-up phrase transition.

The latest insight shows that the lineup may soon receive Hey Perplexity with a new app update.

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Samsung is about to expand the Quick Share support to the AirDrop feature for Galaxy devices other than the Galaxy S26 series, as suggested in the latest leaks and app update rollouts.

Quick Share is a file-sharing feature for Galaxy devices, bringing faster file transfers from one device to another. Despite this ease of access, Samsung and other Android phones need to use Bluetooth to transfer files with Apple devices. Meanwhile, these devices support a faster file transfer through AirDrop.

Late last year, Google announced that Quick Share had added AirDrop support, breaking through the boundaries between the two operating systems, enabling cross-platform file sharing. In March, the Galaxy S26 series the lineup become the first among Samsung phones to get AirDrop support.

The feature access is simple; you need to open Quick Share and transfer a file to the nearest Apple device. No tweaks, no workarounds. With this launch, Samsung also revealed that more Galaxy devices will get Quick Share support.

In that direction, the company has started sending relevant app updates to its eligible phones. You may have seen these:

• Quick Share
• Quick Share Agent
• Quick Share Connectivity

We usually don’t see Samsung sending new updates for Quick Share. However, this time it’s important. Many S25 series users with One UI 8.5 reported this arrival, and the same can be said for the Galaxy S24 series under the beta program.

This indicates that the app updates may have crucial improvements to prepare the devices for the upcoming feature support.

Rollout expectations

Past report suggests that Samsung is planning to stretch the One UI 8.5 beta program for the Galaxy S25 series, and the 9th beta is on its way to testers.

Moreover, a new firmware version for Galaxy S25’s One UI 8.5 beta shows that it carries the AirDrop support for the Quick Share feature. This update could roll out in the first half of the month, followed by similar rollouts for the S24 series. However, we’ll have to wait for the release to confirm its content.

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The Galaxy S26 series launched with One UI 8.5, bringing new UI and animations upgrades as well as AI features that Galaxy S25 users have been waiting for since the launch day. Yet, the wait continues to stretch.

The Galaxy S25’s One UI 8.5 saga started in early December with the beta program. So far, 8 betas have been released with features, improvements, and optimizations. Still, the beta is missing some of the Galaxy S26 series features. One of these features is the call screening, which Samsung first denied compatibility with the S25 series and later announced would come with a future update.

Since Samsung prioritizes the Korean community in software rollouts, users on their forums are showing their disappointment with the company and reflecting on the low-grade treatment. The majority of Galaxy S25 users have criticised Samsung for the 7 OS update promise, which they don’t think Samsung is fulfilling with priority.

“Who would use a Galaxy like this? A phone costs over a million won, so it’s basically telling us to buy a new one every year just because a new model comes out. This is really too much. Do you think people using the Samsung S25 are suckers? If you’re going to categorize prices like this, then the promise of 7 years of updates was all a lie.” A Galaxy S25 user wrote about the One UI 8.5 and new AI feature situation.

This is just one example, and the forum has many such posts that show strong criticism of Samsung’s current OS upgrade rollout policy.

As a matter of fact, Samsung is clearly making it a stretch, and this isn’t even a major Android update. One UI 8.5 is still based on Android 16, which was released last year. So, much of the testing should have been done for the feature rather than OS compatibility. The time it’s taking for the rollout isn’t understandable.

Author’s take

Samsung is creating a divide here; it is selling new features with the Galaxy S26 series while the S25 users are watering their mouths. The most interesting fact is that S25 customers have paid almost an identical price compared to the latest phones. And, the phone maker is showing zero interest in prioritizing their user experience.

The company could have rushed the development for this lineup and released the update right after the S26 series launch, even in March; a move may have been welcomed by users.

We just entered April, and only the next One UI 8.5 rollout for the Galaxy S25 series will present a clear picture.

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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is no longer a mystery, which many observed as identical to the Fold 7, but the display could be the reason why Samsung is making the phone look familiar.

The Z Fold 8 will follow the side fold mechanism, featuring foldable and cover displays. The width and the height are reportedly the same as the recent generation Fold device. However, the new Fold may be slightly thicker. On the other hand, the camera design hasn’t changed.

Based on past reports, Samsung has already developed a creaseless solution for foldable devices and showcased it to the public at CES. The display shows no signs of crease, a major upgrade.

The tech was compared to a Galaxy Z Fold 7, which was released in July 2025. The difference between the two generations was huge, removing one of the most annoying impurities of the foldable displays.

Reports indicate that the creaseless display is coming to the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Samsung hasn’t said anything on this matter. However, the dimensions have an indication.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 CAD Render (Source – Androidheadlines)

The Fold 8 could have the same width and height as the Fold 7, except for the thickness. The thickness could be due to improved closure protection, but there may be another reason.

Related to this, a report from January speculated that Samsung could opt for dual Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 display. This solution will limit the crease visibility and make it look like nothing.

According to Samsung, the Fold 7 features a 50% thicker UTG than its Fold 6. And utilizing dual UTG may have forced Samsung to return some of the thickness to the Fold 8’s design. This may not be huge, but only slightly.

Also, the reataining the same dimensions suggests that Samsung may have been testing this solution on the Fold 8’s form factor for a long time. Keeping the same design allowed the company time to focus on the new upgrade with the same electronics components. If Samsung goes with the extra UTG layer, then it will certainly bring a creaseless display.

Unraveling more on the display, Samsung is reportedly considering using the M13 display on the new Fold, instead of the M14. The reason for that would be the optimized performance, which the company found sufficient for next-gen foldables.

Besides the Fold 8, Samsung also has a Wide foldable phone that is expected to launch alongside the Fold 8 and Flip 8 in the second half of this year. The Fold 8 lineup will utilize the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and run the latest Android 17.

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Do you remember that Perplexity promised to bring a replacement for the Hey Plex voice wake-up for the Galaxy S26 series? Well, that feature is still missing in action.

Back in February, Samsung announced a strategic partnership with Perplexity, one of the leading AI companies. It was then announced that this AI will be part of the multi-agent strategy for the S26 series.

At the launch, both companies brought more to the table. Samsung Browser and Bixby are now using Perplexity’s summarization and agentic AI capabilities to get smarter than ever before.

That said, Samsung is still holding Google’s AI assistant as the key driver in the latest S-series devices. However, it’s also offering users a way to switch to Perplexity or Bixby. You can wake up these AI assistants through voice commands.

For example, Gemini wakes up with “Hey Google,” and it’s ready to take your questions, no matter if your phone is locked. You can do the same with Bixby for “Hey Bixby” and “Hey Plex” for Perplexity.

For those who are new to this topic, let me tell you that Perplexity, specifically, launched the Hey Plex wake-up phrase for the Galaxy S26 series. I tried this feature on my new S26 Ultra, and it worked quite like the new Bixby.

Yet, within a few days, the AI firm removed this wake-up phrase. The reason was unknown, and the company didn’t even bother sharing more information.

As the news began to spread online, Perplexity CEO, Aravind Srinivas, said that the “Hey Plex” wake-up phrase is changing to “Hey Perplexity”. Again, there was no explanation behind this decision.

So, we waited, and it’s the 5th of April, 2026, and Perplexity is still missing a wake-up phrase that both Samsung and Perplexity unveiled for the S26 series.

Moral of the story

Yes, nobody is noticing that Hey Plex or Hey Perplexity is missing from the new S26 phones because Gemini can do everything better than its competitors, including Bixby.

So what are we doing here? Because there’s a pattern to learn: Samsung installed Perplexity’s AI under its multi-agent framework. Perplexity is getting Samsung’s vast user data, changing its features right after the phone launch, while maintaining zero transparency. And it’s a common business strategy between the two companies. So, consumers aren’t the priority.

I said it before, and I will say it again, if this wake-up phrase change is only for the namesake, it will be one of the most time wasting investment from the Perplexity team.

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In March, Samsung released the Galaxy S26 flagship with One UI 8.5 featuring privacy display and new features, but running the February security patch, and skipped a new firmware update.

Since its launch, Samsung has released two software updates for this flagship. The first focused on system stability improvements, and the second update introduced AirDrop support for the Quick Share feature.

The one thing that remained the same in these updates is the February 2026 security patch. To be mentioned, the phone shipped with this security level out of the box.

To cover up, the company delivered the April 2026 security patch on the first day of this month. Making it the first phone in the S-series to get this update on board. Though the update is yet to expand for global users, it secures the phone with the latest patches.

Photo by Sammyfans

Meanwhile, it doesn’t erase the fact that the company actually skipped a security update for its newest flagship phones. The key reason for that would be the AirDrop support. This new firmware may have consumed the time that Samsung decided to skip a new update.

We also want to mention that this is the first time in a while that Samsung skipped a monthly security update for a flagship phone. It’s hard to say when the phone maker will seed the April patch for all users, but it’s good to see that Samsung rushed to release the April 2026 patch for some users at the earliest.

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