Verizon is rolling out a new software update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, pushing the software version to ‘N950USQU2BQJA’ and more importantly, introducing a handful of improvements to the Live Focus camera functionality. The software package also includes the Android security patch for October, as well as a fix for the KRACK vulnerability.
Verizon’s latest update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 introduces a number of quality-of-life improvements to the camera application, specifically to Live Focus, i.e. the feature equivalent of what iPhone owners refer to as Portrait Mode. Following the update, the ‘Live focus ready’ on-screen button within the camera app has a new bright yellow background for easier readability, and furthermore, the ‘background blur’ slider is now flanked by new ‘+’ and ‘-‘ icons. Lastly, the Live Focus camera user interface now accommodates a ‘back’ button at the top of the screen, giving users the ability to return to the normal camera viewfinder with a single tap. Aside from these improvements, the latest software update also includes the October security patch and a fix for the KRACK WPA 2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) vulnerability discovered earlier in October, which could theoretically be exploited in order to intercept Wi-Fi traffic.
The latest firmware update was released today and as usual, the software package at hand is being distributed over the air in stages. This means that not every Samsung Galaxy Note 8 unit in the wild will receive the update at the same time, and some Galaxy Note 8 owners will receive the update notification ahead of others. But as usual, eligible owners can attempt to trigger the update manually by accessing the phone’s main settings menu and navigating to ‘About Device’ and ‘Software updates.’ Users are highly advised to proceed with the update over a Wi-Fi network in order to avoid slow download speeds or potential extra charges on their monthly bills. In addition, one should ensure the device has enough battery charge left to carry through the entire process, or that it is plugged into a wall socket, as unscheduled reboots during firmware updates can lead to serious problems or corrupt system files. Half a battery charge should be able to last the entire installation, according to Samsung.