Yesterday, Chosun Daily published a news report that alleges a key "Galaxy Z Flip 7-related" decision made by Samsung leadership. According to smartphone industry moles, the oft-leaked/rumored "Exynos 2500" chipset destined to debut in the company's next-gen (horizontal) foldable smartphone design. As stated in the South Korean insider article: "this is the first time that Samsung's own mobile application processor (AP) is being installed in a foldable phone." Prior to 2025, Galaxy Flip Z product lines made use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. Throughout early 2025, leaks have linked the "troubled" Exynos 2500 mobile processor to futuristic Galaxy Z Flip 7, Fold 7, and affordable "FE" Enterprise Edition models. The emergence of a superior 2 nm "Exynos 2600" flagship chip—apparently tailored for Galaxy S26 devices (2026)—has allegedly relegated the lesser SoC into lower leagues.

Semiconductor industry watchdogs reckon that the "Exynos 2500" will be manufactured via Samsung Foundry's own 3 nm GAA node process (aka SF3). Notebookcheck commented on this odd choice: "industry estimates from earlier suggested (SF3) yields were around 40%, making it less than ideal for mass production. But it seems Samsung decided to proceed anyway to save on costs, and likely give a new lease of life to its struggling foundry business." Jukanlosreve followed up with additional inside knowledge, just after the publication of Chosun Daily's news piece. The keen tracker of foundry-related revelations let slip with this observation: "the Exynos 2500 being used in the Flip 7 is said to be a lower-clocked chip due to its low yield. So it might as well be called the E2500E." Samsung is expected to unveil its Galaxy Z Flip 7 smartphone family during an "Unpacked" July event. Experts believe that Foundry employees will accumulate useful experience from the mass production of 3 nm parts; thus leading to improved output of finalized 2 nm (SF2) production lines.

The vast majority of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) new stories—so far, in 2025—have involved or alluded to new-generation SK hynix and Micron products. As mentioned in recently published Samsung Electronics Q1 financial papers, company engineers are still working on "upcoming enhanced HBM3E products." Late last month, a neighbor/main rival publicly showcased their groundbreaking HBM4 memory solution—indicating a market leading development position. Samsung has officially roadmapped a futuristic "sixth-generation" HBM4 technology, but their immediate focus seems to be a targeted sales expansion of incoming "enhanced HBM3E 12H" products. Previously, the firm's Memory Business has lost HBM3 ground—within AI GPU/accelerator market segments—to key competitors.

Industry insiders believe that company leadership will attempt to regain lost market shares in a post-2025 world. As reported by South Korean news outlets, Kim Jae-joon (VP of Samsung's memory department) stated—during a recent earnings call, with analysts—that his team is: "already collaborating with multiple customers on custom versions based on both HBM4 and the enhanced HBM4E." The initiation of commercial shipments is anticipated at some point in 2026, hinging on mass production starting by the second half of this year. The boss notified listeners about development "running on schedule." A Hankyung article alleges that Samsung HBM4 evaluation samples have been sent out to "NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Google." Wccftech posits a positive early outlook: "Samsung will use its own 4 nm process from the foundry division and utilize the 10 nm 6th-generation 1c DRAM, which is known as one of the highest-end in the market. On paper, (their) HBM4 solution will be on par with competing models (from SK hynix), but we will have to wait and see."

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. The Company posted KRW 79.14 trillion in consolidated revenue, an all-time quarterly high, on the back of strong sales of flagship Galaxy S25 smartphones and high-value-added products. Operating profit increased to KRW 6.7 trillion despite headwinds for the DS Division, which experienced a decrease in quarterly revenue.

The Company has allocated its highest-ever annual R&D expenditure for 2024, and in the first quarter of this year, it has also increased its R&D expenditure by 16% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 9 trillion won. Despite the growing macroeconomic uncertainties due to recent global trade tensions and slowing global economic growth, making it difficult to predict future performance, the Company will continue to make various efforts to secure growth. Additionally, assuming that the uncertainties are diminished, it expects its performance to improve in the second half of the year.

The 8K Association was at the NAB 2025 Show with several areas of interest. At one end of the booth, there was a demonstration of real time gaming using an AMD-based gaming PC and a special 65" TV flown in from Korea by 8K Association member, Samsung, that supported 120 FPS display. The game was Horizon Forbidden West and the TV was a modified Neo QLED 8K display set enabled with the following features: Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and FreeSync Premium Pro. The PC was from MAINGEAR and used an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU. The game supports the Steam platform which allows analytics to be shown and confirming the 120 Hz operation. The game was rendered at 5K and was then internally upscaled using AMD ML-based FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 technology.

The signal was sent to the TV using HDMI 2.1b with DSC support and the impressive smooth visuals attracted a lot of attention from visitors, especially those that were already aware of the game, which is visually very impressive. In the center of the booth was the latest 8KA "sizzle reel" which includes video provided by member company Imax featuring some impressive content scanned from its 70 mm film stock. BZBGear, another 8KA member was showing its range of switches, splitters and HDBaseT transmitters and receivers which all support 8K.

Industry watchdogs have held the belief that Samsung's foundry business has lost several key clients due to alleged yield problems—the South Korean megacorp appears to be diligently working on major improvements with currently "in-progress" manufacturing processes; namely 2 nm GAA (aka SF2). Semiconductor industry insiders believe that TSMC is still leading the way with a recently completed trial run of their own 2 nm design, but rumors of elevated prices have reportedly upset certain important customers. According to a fresh Sedaily news article, Qualcomm has conducted negotiations with Samsung Foundry top brass—semiconductor industry moles claim that a "Snapdragon 8 Elite 2nd generation product" was the main topic of discussion. This next-gen flagship mobile chipset was previously linked to a 3 nm TSMC node, but newer rumors point to a possible spin-off that will utilize a "more advanced 2 nm process"—courtesy of Samsung Electronic's prime "Hwaseong S3" facility.

Sedaily and Jukanlosreve reckon that mass production will kick off at this cutting-edge early next year. Earlier today, Jukanlosreve added extra conjecture/context via a long social media bulletin: "the completed chips are expected to be integrated into Samsung Galaxy smartphones slated for launch in H2 2026. Design work is to finish in Q2 2025, after which mass-production preparations will begin and wafer runs will start in Q1 2026. Output is estimated at roughly 1,000 twelve-inch wafers per month. Given that Samsung's current 2 nm capacity is about 7,000 wafers/month, this project would utilize only around 15 % of its available capacity—suggesting this is a modest order rather than a large-scale win." These predictions have surprised many industry observers; Samsung leadership has seemingly tried to prioritize the in-house Exynos mobile processor designs within futuristic flagship Galaxy smartphone devices. Jukanlosreve reckons that the Samsung Foundry is keen to embrace any new "golden opportunities," given the operation's weakened track record across the past half decade. One unnamed insider posited: "this Qualcomm partnership could pave the way for orders from other big tech players." Sedaily sent a query to Samsung HQ, regarding the latest inside talk—a company spokesperson replied with: "we cannot confirm anything related to customer orders."

Samsung Display today announced a new Brand Identity (BI) for its QD-OLED technology, a cutting-edge innovation in premium TVs and monitors. The company plans to trademark a new QD-OLED logo, underscoring its commitment to superior display solutions.

The new BI visually represents the letter "Q" from QD-OLED, incorporating a blue color that represents blue OLED technology and a gradient effect representing QD-OLED's distinctive wide color spectrum.

As a GPU supply chain gets regularly updated, NVIDIA quietly added a new memory partner to its GeForce RTX 50 series lineup, bringing SK Hynix on board alongside Samsung for GDDR7 modules. Early mentions suggested that SK Hynix memory would appear on standard RTX 5070 cards. Still, the first sightings were on RTX 5070 Ti models, especially in China, where these cards have arrived ahead of other regions. Users on Chiphell and Baidu, verifying their GPUs with GPU-Z, discovered that the SK Hynix chips, which officially run at 28 Gbps, can be safely overclocked to 34 Gbps. This shows that switching to a second supplier does not hurt performance or overclocking headroom, so enthusiasts can expect the same headroom they've enjoyed with Samsung-sourced modules.

That said, some owners have encountered an obstacle when cross-flashing BIOS files with SKUs that use Samsung memory. Flashing an RTX 5070 Ti BIOS from a Samsung-equipped card onto one built with SK Hynix memory sometimes prevents the GPU from booting. However, dual-BIOS designs let users switch back to factory firmware and restore normal operation without too much fuss. As VideoCardz pointed out, TechPowerUp's BIOS database indicates that current firmware versions from various board partners already include support for GDDR7 modules from Samsung, SK Hynix, and even Micron. This suggests that these flashing issues aren't simply a matter of unrecognized memory. It could be related to board-specific power settings or other configuration quirks, with every GPU maker designing their boards differently, yielding possible errors if the firmware is swapped. Since SK Hynix-based cards run fine out of the box, most users won't have any reason to flash different firmware.

Just before the official launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics cards, members of the Chiphell forum expressed concerns about unnamed evaluation samples exhibiting worrying memory module temperatures. Days later, Western review outlets published similar findings across several board partner specimens. Typically, pre-launch and retail units have utilized SK hynix GDDR6 VRAM modules—TechPowerUp's W1zzard uncovered numerous examples of the manufacturer's "H56G42AS8DX-014" model during teardown sessions. Curiously, Chinese PC hardware enthusiasts have happened upon Radeon RX 9070 XT cards that utilize Samsung GDDR6 memory modules. It is not clear whether Yeston has outfitted its flagship Sakura Atlantis OC SKU with Samsung components from the very beginning, but one owner documented a GPU-Z diagnostics session—late last month—showing "GDDR6 (Samsung)" onboard. Earlier this month, insiders posited that NVIDIA was in the process of changing its main GDDR7 memory vendor—from Samsung to SK hynix—for the GeForce RTX 50-series.

According to a recent Guru3D news piece, additional cases were reported. Online conjecture points to "higher end" custom models being updated with "cooler" modules. Hilbert Hagedoorn—Guru3D's head honcho—has gathered compelling information via community feedback channels: "the transition to Samsung memory has yielded noticeable thermal advantages. Early reviews and comparisons indicate that the new memory modules help lower temperatures significantly. Custom RX 9070 XT models running demanding benchmarks like Furmark have demonstrated memory temperatures of 75°C or lower without necessitating an increase in voltage or a reduction in clock speeds. Notable manufacturers, including Sapphire, XFX, and GIGABYTE, have already integrated Samsung's GDDR6 into their custom variants. However, as of now, AMD has not authorized its partners to explicitly differentiate between models with SK hynix and Samsung memory, likely to avoid confusion among consumers and maintain a consistent product lineup." Additionally, TechPowerUp forum members have found Samsung GDDR6 memory on Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 custom models. Thanks for the tip, Fluffmeister.

Samsung Display today announced that the company has earned Marketing Claim Verification from global safety science company UL Solutions for claims related to perceived brightness. This marks the first time UL Solutions has issued a Marketing Claim Verification for a technology that leverages PCL calculations.

To achieve UL Solutions' Marketing Claim Verification, Samsung's True Bright, which is a distinction Samsung gives to displays that provides greater perceived brightness when compared to LCDs of the same PCL score, was evaluated for Perceptual Contrast Length (PCL) to quantify the brightness of the black of a display. PCL, which has been adopted as an industry standard by SEMI, refers to the brightness of a display specifically as perceived by the human eye. This metric acknowledges that perceived brightness is influenced not only by the physical light emitted by the panel but also by its contrast ratio. OLED displays typically have a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1—over a thousand times that of standard LCDs. The enhanced contrast of OLEDs ensures that the same image is perceived as brighter when compared to LCD displays.

Samsung Electronics today announced the new Galaxy XCover7 Pro and Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro, enterprise-ready devices designed to meet the demands of today's fast-paced, high-intensity work environments. Continuing the legacy of Samsung's ruggedized devices, these latest Pro models are versatile, optimized and secure—delivering enhanced durability, steady performance and optimized workflow to empower frontline workers, from the office to the field and beyond.

With 5G connectivity, an upgraded processor and increased memory, the XCover7 Pro and Tab Active5 Pro offer enhanced mobility and reliability. The XCover7 Pro features a powerful new stereo speaker system with anti-feedback technology, which minimizes unwanted audio loops for clearer communication. Both devices offer enhanced battery capacity, with the XCover7 Pro equipped with a 4,350mAh battery for longer usage, while the Tab Active5 Pro comes with a 10,100mAh battery set designed to support demanding workflows. The Tab Active5 Pro also supports Dual Hot-Swap battery functionality, allowing workers to replace batteries without powering down their devices and ensuring seamless operation even when battery levels are low.

According to the latest South Korean semiconductor industry whispers, Samsung's 2 nm GAA node process (aka SF2) development team has hit another pleasing experimental production milestone. An Asia Economy SK news article has sourced insights from inside track players—one unnamed mole posited that: "the 2 nm yield currently under development at Samsung Foundry is much better than previously known...and more positive than the (reportedly abandoned) 3 nm process." A combination of relatively new leadership and a rumored welcoming of first wave High-NA EUV equipment has likely bolstered next-gen efforts, after late 2024's alleged failure of 3 nm prototypes. Leaks from earlier in 2025 indicated SF2 test yields wavering around 20-30%; far from ideal—back then, insider reports suggested that TSMC was well on the way to achieving 60% rates with a competing 2 nm product line. Asia Economy has picked up on mutterings about Samsung's current progress—latest outputs: "have exceeded 40% in the wafer testing stage at a post-processing company."

Industry watchdogs reckon that the South Korean's foundry business is making good progress; perhaps on track to commence speculated mass production by the third quarter of this year—just in time to get finalized flagship "Exynos 2600" mobile chips in the manufacturing pipeline. The Taiwanese rumor mill indicated a major milestone "completion" of TSMC's 2 nm trial phase at some point last month—insiders mentioned excellent yield rates: in the region of 70-80%. Cross-facility mass production could start later this year, but experts propose that the market leader will be implementing price hikes. These "elevated charges" could send loyal TSMC customers in the direction of an alternate source of 2 nm wafers: Samsung. Fresh semicon biz gossip has the likes of Apple, AMD and NVIDIA in the picture.

Samsung's foundry business seems to be busying itself with the rumored refinement of a 2 nm GAA (SF2) manufacturing node process—for possible mass production by the end of 2025, but company leadership will very likely be considering longer term goals. Mid-way through last month, industry moles posited that the megacorporation's semiconductor branch was questioning the future of a further out 1.4 nm (SF1.4) production line. Officially published roadmaps have this advanced technology rolling out by 2027. Despite present day "turmoil," insiders believe that a new team has been established—tasked with the creation of a so-called "dream semiconductor process." According to a fresh Sedaily news article, this fledgling department has started development of a 1 nm foundry process.

Anonymous sources claim that Samsung executives are keeping a watchful eye on a main competitor—as stated in the latest South Korean report: "there is a realistic gap with Taiwan's TSMC in technologies that are close to mass production, such as the 2 nm process, the company plans to speed up the development of the 1 nm process, a future technology, to create an opportunity for a turnaround." A portion of the alleged "1 nm development chip team" reportedly consists of veteran researchers from prior-gen projects. Semiconductor industry watchdogs theorize that a canceled SF1.4 line could be replaced by an even more advanced process. Sedaily outlined necessary hardware upgrades: "the 1.0 nanometer process requires a new technology concept that breaks the mold of existing designs as well as the introduction of next-generation equipment such as high-NA EUV exposure equipment. The company is targeting mass production after 2029." Samsung's current Advanced Technology Roadmap does not extend beyond 2027—inside sources claim that the decision to roll with 1.0 nm was made at some point last month.

Samsung Electronics and Google Cloud today announced an expanded partnership to bring Google Cloud's generative AI technology to Ballie, a new home AI companion robot from Samsung. Available to consumers this Summer, Ballie will be able to engage in natural, conversational interactions to help users manage home environments, including adjusting lighting, greeting people at the door, personalizing schedules, setting reminders and more.

"Through this partnership, Samsung and Google Cloud are redefining the role of AI in the home," said Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "By pairing Gemini's powerful multimodal reasoning with Samsung's AI capabilities in Ballie, we're leveraging the power of open collaboration to unlock a new era of personalized AI companion—one that moves with users, anticipates their needs and interacts in more dynamic and meaningful ways than ever before."

So far, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50xx graphics card models have shipped with Samsung GDDR7 memory modules onboard. According to a fresh MEGAsizeGPU (aka @Zed__Wang) claim, a change in vendor has already occurred. The tenured tracker of Team Green inside track information believes that the company has: "started to use SK hynix GDDR7 for the GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. Started with GeForce RTX 5070 first." Officially, NVIDIA's latest board designs can support GDDR7 modules produced by the "big three:" Samsung, SK hynix and Micron (see BIOS info below). Team Green's comfortable market leading position probably grants plenty of negotiation power to pick and choose the best component deals. Day one evaluators performed teardowns on GeForce RTX 50 series review samples; TechPowerUp's W1zzard found Samsung "K4VAF325ZC-SC32" GDDR7 units—rated for 32 Gbps—onboard various GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB models. As outlined by VideoCardz, the rest of NVIDIA's "Blackwell" gaming product stack sticks with 28 Gbps-rated Samsung GDDR7 modules, extending to its Mobile portfolio.

Earlier today, industry moles in South Korea have heard whispers about Samsung Electronics planning a new pricing strategy for NAND and DRAM product lines. According to an MK news articles, local sources believe that company leadership will: "raise memory chip prices—by 3-5% from the current level—for major global customers. It is reported that some customers have already begun contract negotiations that reflect the increase conditions." Regional watchdogs posit that the megacorporation is reacting to very current geopolitical tensions (i.e. tariffs). Earlier this week, a main rival—Micron—informed customers about forthcoming memory price increases. Naturally, the North American memory chip giant is not "fully" affected by recent seismic shifts. A "significant growth demand" has caused jacked up charges—effective across DRAM, NAND flash, and HBM portfolios—projected throughout 2025 and 2026.

Returning to South Korean shores and Samsung, one unnamed semiconductor insider opined to MK: "oversupply continued throughout last year, but supply has recently decreased as major companies have begun to reduce production...In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) devices are appearing one after another in China, and demand for semiconductors is gradually increasing due to industrial automation." DRAMeXchange—an appropriately named market research organization—has kept track relevant trends. As disclosed by the MK news piece—as of last month, general-purpose DRAM DDR4 prices: "remained flat for the fourth month in a row." Looking at conditions for DDR5 (used in high-performance PCs and enterprise equipment), prices soared by 12%. DRAMeXchange observed NAND costs rising by 9.6%: "continuing an upward trend for the third consecutive month."

Samsung Electronics America today announced its plans to strengthen its presence in the U.S. gaming industry with the upcoming release of its latest gaming monitor, Odyssey 3D. From March 24-28, Samsung hosted "eXperience 2025," an exclusive event for key North American customers at Fairmont Austin in Texas. This year, the event brought together nearly 600 major clients, including MicroCenter, Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart.

The event served as a platform for Samsung to unveil its newest gaming monitor lineups in front of customers, including its 2025 flagship products—Odyssey 3D (G90XF), Odyssey OLED G8 (G81SF) and Odyssey G9 (G91F) models.

According to a fresh Money Today SK news article, Samsung is expected to launch a next-generation Galaxy Ring model later this year—this tiny wearable device is touted to operate with a "dream battery" design. The South Korean giant's Electro-Mechanics division is reportedly tasked with the challenging development of "all-solid-state" batteries for all manner of ultraportable products. Yesterday's report suggests that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Ring sequel—apparently scheduled for launch within Q4'25—will be driven by the Electro-Mechanics team's pioneering effort. The production of all-solid-state battery units is an expensive endeavor, so industry watchdogs have predicted tough retail conditions for the forthcoming "Galaxy Ring 2" rollout—the original unit was not exactly a "hot property" in terms of sales figures.

Money Today's inside sources reckon that the Electro-Mechanics branch will—eventually—fit all-solid-state battery designs inside new-gen earphones (aka Galaxy Buds) by Q4 2026, and very futuristic smartwatches by the end of 2027. Given cost considerations, larger all-solid-state solutions—potentially for usage in smartphones—are not in the pipeline. Around early February of this year, the development of Samsung's (inevitable) "Galaxy S26" mobile series was linked to alleged 6000+ mAh silicon-carbon battery units. The South Korean's smartphone engineering team is reportedly trying to play catch up with more advanced solutions, as devised by competitors in China. The status of Samsung's proprietary silicon-carbon prototype is the subject of much online debate, but certain insiders believe that employees are still working hard on the perfection of an ideal "battery formula."

Samsung Electronics today announced the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and Galaxy Tab S10 FE+, offering new entry points to the Galaxy ecosystem on a premium tablet design. Equipped with the largest screen yet on the Galaxy Tab S FE series and slimmer bezels that expand its display, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ provides a fun, immersive viewing experience for everything from entertainment to studying and day-to-day tasks. Samsung's Intelligent Features empower users to get more done with ease, while a slimmer design helps users to achieve their creativity and productivity on the go.

"The new Galaxy Tab S10 FE series brings advanced mobile AI experience and Samsung's connected ecosystem to even more tablet users, while still offering leading performance and design," said Changtae Kim, EVP & Head of New Computing R&D Team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "We're confident that the slim bezels and expansive displays, in addition to a whole host of functional improvements, will inspire people to do more, create more, and discover more."

Over the past weekend Jukanlosreve declared via social media that Samsung's: "Exynos 2600 (mobile SoC) is definitely back, and it will be used in the Galaxy S26 series. But the chip volume is so limited that it'll likely be similar to the Exynos 990 situation. I'm not sure if SF2 is actually any good." Mid-way through March, the keen observer of semiconductor industry conditions posited that Samsung's Foundry business could abandon a 1.4 nm (SF1.4) process node. SF2 (aka 2 nm GAA) seems to be in a healthier place, according to insiders—thanks to rumored assistance from an external AI-specialist partner. The development of next-generation flagship Exynos smartphone processors are allegedly closely tied with Samsung Foundry's 2 nm GAA manufacturing process.

As alluded to by Jukanlosreve's recent prediction, the statuses of leaked 2 nm-based "Exynos 2600" and "Exynos 2500" chips were often questioned by industry watchdogs in the past. The latter is purportedly destined for rollout in forthcoming affordable "Galaxy Z Flip FE" models, albeit in mature 4 nm form. Vhsss_God—another source of inside track info—has weighed in on the topic of Samsung's next-gen chipset roadmap. Compared to Jukanlosreve's musings, their similarly-timed weekend projection seemed to be quite fanciful: "exclusive leak...Samsung doesn't want to use Exynos or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips anymore. S26 line is targeted to launch with the new Samsung developed chip (2 nm)—formerly referred to as Exynos 2600. (The company) will try its hardest to ditch Snapdragon on the entire Galaxy line next year." Perhaps there is too much of a negative stigma attached to Samsung's long-running chipset nomenclature, but the majority of foundry moles continue to label incoming designs as Exynos processors.

Amazon Luna, the online game streaming service, has officially announced that it will be expanding further into Europe, introducing availability in Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Sweden. The launch includes both the free-to-play games available via Amazon Prime Gaming and the standalone Luna+ subscription service. Along with that announcement, it was also revealed that Amazon Luna has entered into a multi-year partnership with EA to bring some of the game studio's AAA hits to Luna+ members. EA joins GOG, Ubisoft, and Jackbox Games as publishers and game studios whose games are now available on Luna.

Kicking off the EA partnership are Star Ward: Jedi Survivor, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, and Dead Space. Unlike the Ubisoft and Jackbox games, which require an additional subscription tier to access, EA's games are available in the basic Luna+ subscription. Amazon says that more EA games will be coming to Luna soon, specifically mentioning the EA Sports portfolio, although it did not specify which games or say when they would be coming to the platform. With Luna's expansion into more European countries, Amazon is also increasing the availability of the Luna controller, which connects directly to the cloud game streaming servers for reduced latency. The Luna controller will now be available in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Sweden for €69.99 MSRP or 799.99 SEK, with introductory sales bringing prices down to €44.99 and 519.99 SEK, respectively. The Luna controller is not yet available in Portugal, but it will launch there later this year. Luna+ subscribers can play on a variety of devices, including Mac, Windows, iOS/iPadOS, Android, and ChromeOS devices (via Chrome or Safari web browsers), as well as Amazon Fire tablets and TVs and Samsung and LG TVs.

Samsung Display today announced plans to boost sales of its QD-OLED for monitors to popularize this cutting-edge, self-emitting display technology. The company expects shipments of QD-OLED for monitors to grow more than 50% this year compared to last year's shipments of 1.43 million units, and is ramping up its supply to meet high consumer demand.

According to the market research firm Omdia, OLED panel monitor shipments have experienced significant growth over the past few years: 8,300 units in 2021, 160,000 units in 2022, and 820,000 units in 2023, reflecting an almost 300% annual increase from 2021 to 2024. This data highlights a rapid shift from Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to OLED technology, largely driven by the adoption of QD-OLED. Last year, Samsung Display held a commanding 71.2% share of the OLED panels for monitors according to Omdia.

Samsung Electronics today announced the availability of its newest Odyssey gaming monitors, as well as the ViewFinity S8. The 2025 Odyssey lineup includes the revolutionary Odyssey 3D, the stunning Odyssey OLED G8—which features an industry-first 4K, 240 Hz screen—and the ultrawide Odyssey G9. These monitors, which push the boundaries of immersion and excellence, have been meticulously designed to deliver excellence to modern gamers.

"At Samsung, we are committed to delivering cutting-edge display technology that enhances the gaming experience," said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "The new Odyssey monitors represent a significant leap forward in innovation, visual quality and performance, empowering gamers to fully immerse themselves and perform at their best."

Samsung has officially released its next-generation 9100 PRO series solid-state drives to the masses, with availability starting today. The drives leverage PCIe 5.0 technology to deliver sequential read/write speeds of up to 14,800/13,400 MB/s—twice as fast as previous generation offerings—while random read/write performance reaches 2,200K/2,600K IOPS. The series, available in standard and heatsink variants, marks Samsung's first consumer NVMe offerings to reach 8 TB capacity. The 9100 PRO line integrates Samsung's 5 nm controller architecture, yielding up to 49% improved power efficiency compared to prior models. This efficiency gain comes without compromising the form factor, with the drives maintaining a slim 0.35-inch profile. The heatsink variant provides additional thermal regulation capabilities for sustained performance under demanding workloads, making it particularly suitable for AI content generation, 8K video editing, and high-performance gaming applications.

Currently available configurations include 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities, with pricing starting at $199.99 for the standard 1 TB model and $219.99 for the heatsink-equipped equivalent. The 2 TB models are priced at $299.99 and $319.99, respectively, while 4 TB variants command $549.99 and $569.99. Samsung has announced that 8 TB models will enter the market in H2 2025. Compatible with desktop PCs, laptops, and PlayStation 5 consoles featuring appropriate PCIe 5.0 slots, the drives incorporate Samsung's V-NAND TLC (V8) technology and LPDDR4X cache memory—ranging from 1 GB in the 1 TB model to 8 GB in the 8 TB version. Samsung's Magician Software suite provides management capabilities, including performance optimization and firmware update notifications.

According to The Korea Economic Daily, an unlikely alliance—involving Samsung Electronics and Palantir Technologies—was formed at the end of last year. Late last week, insiders posited that the South Korean megacorporation's Foundry business was going through troubled times. It is not clear whether the assistance provided by Palantir's AI-infused suite has produced pleasing results chez Samsung's flagship production hubs, but insiders reckon that utilization of the software started just before Christmas. Local media outlets view this unusual pairing as a "gamble"—reportedly, the new-ish initiative has targeted an improved "semiconductor yield (ratio of good products in total production), quality, and productivity."

The Samsung Foundry appears to be going "all-in" with its 2 nm GAA node process; industry moles picked up on signals transmitted by an alleged special "task force (TF)." This elite team is reportedly entrusted with a challenging two-pronged goal; get 2 nm GAA over the finish line by late 2025, alongside the (connected) finalization of a much-rumored "Exynos 2600" mobile chipset. The Korea Economic Daily news article mentions the expansion of a "Samsung DS Division AI Center" back in December (2025), but falls short of labelling this department as the aforementioned "special task force." Despite a previous reluctance to share sensitive data with external companies, the latest report suggests a significant change in strategy. Further details were disclosed: "(Samsung's) collaboration with Palantir is handled by the DS Division AI Center...The AI Center is an organization that merged the DS Division Innovation Center and SAIT (formerly Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) AI Center, and is developing DS Division-specific technologies using AI, advancing development software, building AI platforms, and controlling and advancing facilities and infrastructure." Around late February, industry inside trackers predicted continued "smooth" progress with the 2 nm GAA node. Samsung Foundry's fully upgraded "S2" mass production line is expected to come online by Q4 2025.

Samsung Foundry could abandon its 1.4 nm (SF1.4) process node initially targeted for 2027 production, according to industry leaker @Jukanlosreve. This decision comes amid ongoing yield problems with the company's 3 nm SF3 node and follows the shutdown of underutilized 5 nm and 7 nm production lines. This could significantly impact Samsung's technology roadmap, which had positioned SF1.4 alongside automotive-focused SF2A and SF2Z nodes. According to Korea Economic Daily data, the foundry division's market share has fallen to 8.2% compared to TSMC's 67.1%. Samsung continues the development of Exynos 2600 on the SF2 node and maintains orders from Japan's Preferred Networks but has failed to attract major clients beyond Chinese firms, avoiding US sanctions. Internal restructuring appears imminent, with reports suggesting the Exynos design team may move under the Mobile Experience division.

While Samsung may prioritize improving yields on existing nodes rather than pursuing SF1.4, this approach risks competitive disadvantages in high-performance computing and AI markets. The SF2Z node with Backside Power Delivery Network (BPDN) technology remains under development, though its commercial viability depends on resolving broader manufacturing issues. Samsung's retreat would further fall behind advanced node manufacturing, competing with TSMC and potentially Intel, raising questions about competition in leading-edge semiconductor fabrication. The company's decisions in the coming months will determine whether it can regain manufacturing credibility or face production of trailing-edge semiconductor nodes. Manufacturing advanced silicon remains a challenge for everyone except TSMC.