Samsung announces global launch of Galaxy Tab A9 series

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Samsung announces global launch of Galaxy Tab A9 series
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Samsung has announced a global launch of the Galaxy Tab A9 and Galaxy Tab A9+. The new budget-friendly tablets debuted in India a couple of weeks back. The company is now bringing them to more countries. They are available in a few additional markets today, with more to follow in the coming weeks.

Galaxy Tab A9 series tablets arrive in more countries

Samsung’s A-series tablets have always been low-cost offerings with basic features. It’s no different with the Galaxy Tab A9 lineup. You don’t get anything special, but the new devices can do the job if all you need is a bigger screen with optimized software, decent battery life, quality stereo speakers, and 5G connectivity.

The base model features an 8.7-inch LCD screen with a 1,340 x 800 pixels resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. Samsung ships it with MediaTek’s Helio G99 processor and a 5,100mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging via a USB Type-C port. It has a 2MP selfie camera and an 8MP rear camera with no LED flash.

The Galaxy Tab A9+ gets an 11-inch LCD screen with a 1,920 x 1,200 pixels resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. Samsung has equipped it with a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 695 processor. It features a 7,040mAh battery but with the same USB-C charging speed. Its rear camera remains unchanged but the selfie shooter is a 5MP unit.

Both tablets are available with 4GB/8GB of RAM, and 64GB/128GB of storage. They support microSD cards up to 1TB capacity. You can purchase these tablets with Wi-Fi+Bluetooth connectivity or add 5G on top at a cost. While Samsung is offering Wi-Fi 5 on both models, the base Galaxy Tab A9 has Bluetooth 5.3 and the Plus has Bluetooth 5.1.

Other highlights of the Galaxy Tab A9 series include a Dolby Atmos-powered dual-speaker setup, Samsung Knox security, and support for Book Cover accessories. The tablets run Android 13-based One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. Samsung should offer at least two major Android OS updates to the devices. They come in Graphite, Silver, and Navy colors.

Price and availability

Samsung’s press release states that the Galaxy Tab A9 and Galaxy Tab A9+ will be available in “select markets” starting today. The company hasn’t named any country nor did it reveal regional pricing details. In India, the tablets are priced at ₹12,999 (approx. $156) and up. You can expect a similar pricing structure in other markets too. If you are interested in the tablets, go to Samsung.com to check for their availability in your country.


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Samsung revamped NPU architecture in Exynos 2400 for AI boost

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Samsung revamped NPU architecture in Exynos 2400 for AI boost
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Earlier this month, Samsung announced the Exynos 2400 processor for the Galaxy S24 series. It said the chip brings a 14.7x boost in AI performance compared to the previous generation, i.e. the Exynos 2200. We now have more details about the chip’s NPU (Neural Processing Unit) powering this AI boost.

Samsung changed its NPU architecture in the Exynos 2400

The Exynos 2400 was unveiled during Samsung’s System LSI Tech Day event in San Jose, California on October 5. The Korean firm didn’t share the full specs of the chip. It only teased improved AI, CPU, and GPU performances. Along with a 14.7 times faster AI performance, the new processor also brings a 1.7 times faster CPU and a more powerful GPU with enhanced ray tracing.

Following the event, Samsung published a blog post sharing insights into some of the new technologies and products unveiled at the LSI Tech Day. The company says the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has resulted in the development of smarter and more powerful mobile computing solutions. To meet these needs, it changed the architecture of its NPU in the Exynos 2400 to “remove memory bottlenecks.”

The Korean firm has “drastically” increased the support and acceleration for non-linear operations, which are used in Transformer-based models. Thanks to these architectural changes in the NPU, the Exynos 2400’s MobileBERT benchmark performance has increased by three times compared to the previous-gen solution. The benchmark uses a set of natural language processing (NLP) tasks to evaluate the AI performance of mobile devices.

Samsung confirms four-cluster CPU structure for its new chip

Samsung’s announcement lacked details about the Exynos 2400’s CPUs, though we already had an idea about it thanks to leaks. The company has now confirmed rumors that the chip features a four-cluster CPU structure. It confirmed that the mid-cores have been divided into two groups with varying speeds.

The CPU “traditionally consisted of three clusters: the high-end cluster for time-sensitive applications, the low-end cluster for backdrop applications, and the middle cluster. For more efficient CPU operation, Samsung decided to divide the middle cluster into two different gears,” it said. We are expecting one Cortex-X4 core operating at 3.1GHz, two Cortex-A720 cores at 2.9GHz, three more Cortex-A720 cores at 2.6GHz, and four Cortex-A520 cores at 1.8GHz.

Additionally, to optimize the power and performance during heavy gaming sessions, the Exynos 2400 will reduce the CPU power portion and reallocate more power onto the GPU. Samsung reiterated that the new Xclipse 940 GPU brings enhanced ray tracing. It can render shadows, reflections, and global illumination more realistically. This helps deliver an immersive gaming experience. The Galaxy S24 series arrives in January 2024, so there’s some time before we get to see its real-world applications.


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Google Wallet now lets you share passes with other people

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Google Wallet now lets you share passes with other people
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Google Wallet has been loading up with changes over the past week, and they just keep coming. Now, the company is rolling out a feature that it teased back in July. According to the report, Google Wallet will allow you to share passes with other people.

As stated, Google Wallet has been unveiling new features over the past week. Recently, the company let Google Wallet scan the barcodes and QR codes of different cards that aren’t on the list of supported passes. This essentially lets you add custom cards to the wallet. You’ll even be able to assign your own name to the card. This only makes Google Wallet more versatile.

Google Wallet now lets you share passes

This is a great feature to have if you need to give people your pass to use without giving them your phone. At the moment, it looks like this is limited to boarding passes. You’re obviously not allowed to share most other passes or payment cards.

In the interface, you’ll see your passes below your credit cards. Scroll for the one you want to share. If you’re able to share it, then you’ll see a share button on the left of the overflow menu. When you share it Google will give you a warning.

It lets you know that you can’t undo this. If you share your pass with anyone, there’s nothing stopping them from sharing it with someone else. So, just be careful about that.

When you tap on the share button, you’ll see your system share sheet pop up with a link to share with the recipient. When the recipient gets it, they’ll simply tap on it. The link will open the Google Wallet app for them where they can save it. It’s as simple as that. This feature is rolling out, so if you don’t see it yet, you might want to wait a few days.


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Reddit may block AI startups from scraping data from the platform

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Reddit may block AI startups from scraping data from the platform
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Reddit has reportedly decided to block AI startups from scraping data from its website. This move prevents third-party companies from using Reddit’s data to train their machine-learning models without permission.

AI startups mostly rely on content available on the web to train the chatbots. This allows them to feed the chatbots and expand the knowledge base without spending any money on producing exclusive content. However, The Washington Post reports that over 535 news organizations are protesting this and want the AI startups to pay for the content. These organizations, including Reddit, have decided to block crawlers from scraping their content.

Reddit might ditch Google and Bing crawlers from scraping data

Reddit’s decision might also affect Google and Bing crawlers. The Washington Post noted that if Reddit fails to reach an agreement with AI companies, it might ditch Google and Bing search crawlers. This means no content from Reddit will be shown in Google and Bing (or OpenAI) search results.

The Post’s report also added that Reddit wants to ditch Google accounts and make users log into the website to read content. However, the platform later denied that part. It seems search crawlers are the only matter of dispute with Google. An anonymous source told the Post, “Reddit can survive without search.”

All evidence suggests that Reddit is strongly pursuing the idea of blocking Google search crawlers if it fails to make the tech giant pay for the content. The company’s spokesperson, Tim Rathschmidt, told The Verge, “In terms of crawlers, we don’t have anything to share on that topic at the moment.”

News organizations are determined to prevent tech companies from using content for free. They first protested against Google and Meta and asked for a fair share. While the tech giants threatened to block news in specific markets, like Canada, news organizations still hope to get compensation in exchange for their content. California news outlets might soon get a fee for content thanks to the state’s AB 886 bill.

X (Twitter) owner Elon Musk has already criticized AI startups for scraping data. He later charged developers a fee for accessing the platform’s API and implemented a reading limit to prevent data scraping.


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Amazon embraces a passwordless future with passkey support on iOS and the web. Android coming soon.

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Amazon embraces a passwordless future with passkey support on iOS and the web. Android coming soon.
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The use of passkeys, a more secure and convenient way to sign in to websites and apps, has been gaining much traction lately with many apps implementing their support. The latest of these sites is Amazon, which has begun to roll out support for this new login method on iOS and the web. 

Amazon announced the move today, and with it, the company’s plans to make it the site easier and safer for customers to sign in to their accounts. Passkey support is first being rolled out on the iOS shopping app and desktop browsers, with support for the Android app coming soon.
To use a passkey, customers simply need to unlock their device with their fingerprint, face scan, or lock screen PIN. Once their device is unlocked, they can confirm their identity to Amazon using their passkey. This makes it easier and more convenient for customers to sign in, and it also helps to protect their accounts from phishing attacks and other security threats.

This is about giving customers ease-of-use and security simultaneously in their Amazon experience. While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction. We are thrilled to be an early adopter of this new authentication method, helping to realize our vision for a more secure, passwordless internet. – Dave Treadwell, Sr. VP of E-Commerce at Amazon

Amazon passkey on iOS | Image via Amazon - Amazon embraces a passwordless future with passkey support on iOS and the web. Android coming soon.

Amazon passkey on iOS | Image via Amazon

To set up a passkey, customers can go to their Amazon account settings and select “Login & Security.” Then, they can select “Set up” next to “Passkeys” and follow the on-screen instructions. Once a passkey has been added to an account, customers can sign in with it on any supported device or browser.

Passkey support begins a gradual rollout today, effectively joining in on the effort to reduce the reliance on passwords. On this, Andrew Shikiar (Executive Director and Chief Marketing Officer of the FIDO Alliance), had the below to say:

Our research shows that consumers are tired of the hassle and complexity of passwords, and they are excited to embrace passkey sign-ins, which enable them to simply and securely access online services and stands to turn the tide against the ongoing plague of data breaches and identity theft. Passkeys fundamentally shift the way we sign in to our online accounts for the better—and seeing Amazon roll out passkeys is evidence of its commitment to its customers’ time, experiences, and security across Amazon web and mobile shopping experiences.

Amazon says it truly believes that passkeys are a big improvement over passwords, and that the company is committed to making them the standard way to sign in to websites and apps. This seems to be the sentiment across the industry at the moment, each company doing their part in encouraging even more companies to do the same so that we can all enjoy a safer and more convenient online experience.


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Grab this wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar from Samsung for $300 off

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Grab this wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar from Samsung for $300 off
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There are few things that are as satisfying as having an excellent sound setup for watching TV and movies, and that’s what you’d be getting with this deal on Samsung’s Q700C soundbar. Normally this retails for $699 but you can currently get it for $399. This is a wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar so there’s less to worry about in terms of cables strewn about. You still have to plug the soundbar and the subwoofer in for power. But you won’t need to connect either one to each other. You also won’t need to use HDMI cables to plug them into the TV. They connect completely wirelessly using the wireless Dolby Atmos.

So you have more freedom to place these where you want. One of the main issues with audio equipment can be the limitations you might end up with in where you can arrange everything. And this is usually due to cable length. But that’s not an issue here at all since you don’t need to plug these into the TV. And that also means you can place the subwoofer where you want as long as it’s near a power outlet.

In addition to the wireless connection, the Q700C also supports voice assistants including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. It supports Apple AirPlay as well and there’s Chromecast technology baked in too so you can fling music to the soundbar from your phone if you feel like jamming out. There’s also an automatic Game Mode that syncs with your TV. So if power on your console, the soundbar will know and turn Game Mode on. With this mode you get 3D optimized sound for more immersive experiences in your games. Worth noting is that the Q800C and the Q990C are also on sale. You can snag this deal or the deals on Samsung’s other soundbars from the link below.

Samsung Q700C Soundbar – Samsung


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Samsung aims to make Galaxy S24 the smartest AI phone ever

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Samsung aims to make Galaxy S24 the smartest AI phone ever
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Samsung revamped the NPU architecture in the Exynos 2400 to improve the AI performance of the new chip. The company removed memory bottlenecks and increased the support and acceleration for non-linear operations. These changes enable a massive 14.7 times boost in AI performance compared to the previous-generation solution. A new rumor says that the firm plans to make the Galaxy S24 flagships the smartest AI phones ever.

Samsung is going all in with the AI performance of the Galaxy S24 phones

Sources have told SamMobile that Samsung is aiming to surpass Google’s Pixel 8 series with the AI performance of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. Details are scarce, but as the publication notes, this is a “lofty ambition” from the Korean behemoth. It’s relying on the improved NPUs of the Exynos 2400 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The latter powers the Ultra model globally and the other two models in the US.

According to the new report, Samsung plans to offer ChatGPT and Google Bard-like generative AI capabilities directly on the device. For example, users will be able to create articles and stories by providing a few keywords. It’s unclear whether we are talking about a stock app with these features or a built-in tool that works with the Samsung Keyboard and can be pulled up in any text field. However, the efforts reportedly don’t end there.

Samsung also has some self-built generative AI tools in the pipeline for the Galaxy S24 series. During the Exynos 2400 announcement, it demoed a text-to-image AI generation tool to showcase the improvements brought by the new chip. There may be more such features that we don’t know about yet. The report states that many of them will be available both online and offline, which means on-device AI processing.

Samsung Bixby may get a new breath of life with the Exynos 2400

Samsung’s AI assistant Bixby could benefit hugely from the new AI capabilities of the Exynos 2400. It could be smarter than before, finally closing the gap to Google Assistant and Apple Siri. It should also be able to make more humanlike conversations and offer an improved speech-to-text functionality. A more proactive Bixby could help improve the assistant’s user experience.

Rumors are that Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S24 series in the third or fourth week of January 2024. We should hear more about the company’s AI plans ahead of the launch. Qualcomm is all set to launch the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 tomorrow. Leaks have hinted at massive NPU improvements for the new Snapdragon chip as well. We will let you know once the company officially confirms the details.


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Google Chrome to Mask User IP Addresses to Protect Privacy

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Google Chrome to Mask User IP Addresses to Protect Privacy
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Google is apparently working on a new Chrome browser feature called IP Protection, set for release in early 2024. This feature routes users’ internet traffic through a proxy server to hide their IP addresses

Google is developing a new feature for its Chrome browser called IP Protection, which will mask users’ IP addresses to protect their privacy. This feature is currently in development and is expected to be released to the public in early 2024.

IP Protection works by routing users’ traffic through a proxy server, which hides their real IP address from the websites and online services they visit. This can help prevent websites and online services from tracking users’ online activity and creating detailed profiles of them.

As seen here, the plan to conduct experiments was officially revealed on October 19th, along with an initial set of domains designated for proxying. Initially, requests to Google-owned domains will exclusively be directed through Google-owned proxies.

The feature can also help prevent users from being blocked from accessing websites or online services that are not available in their region.

It is worth noting that, IP Protection is an opt-in feature, therefore users will have the choice of whether or not to use it. It is also important to note that IP Protection is not a VPN. A reliable VPN encrypts all of a user’s traffic, while IP Protection only masks their IP address.

Benefits of Using IP Protection

There are several potential benefits to using IP Protection, including:

  • Increased privacy: IP Protection can help to protect users’ privacy from websites and online services that track users’ IP addresses. This can make it more difficult for these websites and services to create detailed profiles of users’ online activity.
  • Improved security: IP Protection can help to improve users’ security by preventing them from being tracked by malicious websites and online services. It can also help to prevent users from being blocked from accessing websites or online services that are not available in their region.
  • Better performance: In some cases, IP Protection can improve users’ internet performance by reducing the distance that their traffic has to travel.

Potential Drawbacks of Using IP Protection

There are also some potential drawbacks to using IP Protection, including:

  • Reduced functionality: Some websites and online services may not work properly when users are using IP Protection. This is because these websites and services may rely on users’ IP addresses to provide certain features or functionality.
  • Increased bandwidth usage: IP Protection can increase users’ bandwidth usage because their traffic is being routed through a proxy server.
  • Decreased privacy: While IP Protection can help to protect users’ privacy from websites and online services, it is important to note that the proxy servers used by IP Protection are operated by Google. This means that Google will be able to see users’ traffic, even if it is masked.

Overall, IP Protection is a promising new feature that can help to improve users’ privacy and security online. However, it is important to be aware of the potential drawbacks before using it.

IP Protection as a Step Towards a More Privacy-Respecting Web

IP Protection is just one of many steps that Google and other tech companies are taking to make the web more privacy-respecting. Other initiatives include phasing out third-party cookies and limiting fingerprinting, a feature that was introduced in the Mozilla Firefox browser back in 2019.

These initiatives are important because the web has become increasingly invasive in recent years. Websites and online services often collect vast amounts of data about users, including their IP addresses, browsing history, and purchase history. This data is then used to track users across the web and target them with advertising.

IP Protection and other privacy-enhancing features can help to give users more control over their privacy online. By masking users’ IP addresses and limiting fingerprinting, these features can make it more difficult for websites and online services to track users and create detailed profiles of them.

As more and more users adopt privacy-enhancing features, the web will become a more private place for everyone. This is a positive development for users and for the internet as a whole.

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  2. What is an OSINT Tool – Best OSINT Tools 2023
  3. Google offers Dark Web monitoring for US Gmail users
  4. Google’s Latest Android Feature Drop: Dark Web Search for Gmail ID
  5. Encrypted Email Service ProtonMail Now Supports Physical Security Keys

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You can save $200 on Sony’s 55-inch 4k X90L TV

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You can save $200 on Sony’s 55-inch 4k X90L TV
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Sony has a great deal right now on its X90L Bravia TV that drops the price by around $200. Normally the TV retails for $1,299.99 and the sale brings the price down to $1,098. So you get a total savings of $201.99. Not bad really when you consider that this TV has a lot of awesome features and Sony’s nicer TVs are typically pretty expensive.

Speaking of features, the X90L Bravia TV is a 55-inch TV with a 4K display and support for Dolby Vision HDR. What’s really neat is that Sony is bundling this TV with some free credits to use in its Bravia Core movie app. There are two ways to watch movies using this app. You can either select from a wide collection of free movies to stream, or buy/rent some of the newer movies. This is what you will end up getting some free credits for.

Additionally, the X90L TV offers PS5-specific features like Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode. What’s even better is that all of the TV’s game settings are kept in a single interface. If gaming is going to be one of the main things you do on this TV, this will simplify any gaming related modifications you make when turning settings on and off. That is, for those that aren’t automatic as some of them will be.

The Bravia X90L is also a smart TV powered by Google TV. Which means access to the Play Store and tons of apps for streaming content like TV, movies, and music. Plus it supports both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for voice controls whenever you just don’t feel like using the remote. Or for when you can’t find it. You can snag this deal for yourself from the link below.

Sony Bravia X90L – Amazon


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The Galaxy S24 appears on Geekbench with a 10-core Exynos 2400 SoC

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The Galaxy S24 appears on Geekbench with a 10-core Exynos 2400 SoC
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Earlier this month, we saw the Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple benchmark listings, revealing some interesting tidbits about the next-gen Samsung flagships. The base Galaxy S24 has now followed suit. The global version of the phone (model number SM-S921B) has appeared on Geekbench with the Exynos 2400 under the hood.

Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24 surfaces on Geekbench

If you have been following the news about the Galaxy S24 series, you might have heard that Samsung is using two different chipsets in its 2024 flagships. The Ultra model will ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 globally, but the other two models will use the Exynos 2400 in some markets, including Europe. They will ship with the Snapdragon chip in the US and a few other countries.

This has already been confirmed through Geekbench, as we recently saw the global version of the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Snapdragon processor. The US version of the same phone showed up with the Exynos chip. We saw a notable performance gap between the two variants, with Snapdragon outperforming the Exynos. However, early Geekbench scores are hardly a true measure of a device’s real-world performance.

Case in point, the Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24+ (global version) scored more than the Snapdragon-powered Ultra model. This confirms that nothing is set in stone yet. The new benchmark listing for the base Galaxy S24 supports this narrative too. It scored 2,011 in single-core tests and 6,086 in multi-core tests on Geekbeench v6. The latter score is much higher than that of the Ultra model (4,506).

If anything, these frequent benchmark runs are an indication that Samsung is inching closer to the launch of the Galaxy S24 series. Well, we are still about three months away from the launch event. The Korean firm is rumored to be looking at a date in the second half of January 2024. You can expect leaks and rumors about the new flagships to pick up intensity in the coming weeks.

The Exynos 2400 is a deca-core chipset

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 are both 4nm chipsets featuring the latest ARM CPU cores. However, there’s one key difference between the two. The latter is a deca-core SoC (ten CPU cores in a 1+5+4 configuration), featuring one Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.21GHz, two Cortex-A720 mid-cores clocked at 2.90GHz, three more Cortex-A720 mid-cores at 2.59GHz, and four Cortex-A520 efficiency cores at 1.96GHz.

The new Qualcomm chip, on the other hand, sticks to the age-old octa-core setup (1+5+2) with its prime core operating at a frequency of 3.30GHz. The five mid-cores are clocked at up to 3.2GHz, while the two efficiency cores operate at a frequency of 2.3GHz. Note that this is the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 we are talking about here. Samsung is expected to use an overclocked version of it in the Galaxy S24 series.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Geekbench


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