Magenta mobile customers, rejoice! T-Mobile is rolling out Android 10 for the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9, right on the heels of Big Red carrier Verizon Wireless.
T-Mobile releases Android 10 to the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9
The Android 10 update for the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9, weighing in at a hefty 2.06299GB, with baseband version N960USQU3DTAA, brings a few things. First, it brings the February 1, 2020 security patch. Next, Android 10, Google’s major system update, arrives for these veteran handsets. Last but never least is Samsung’s new One UI 2.0 update, which tweaks the Korean giant’s new UI experience (formerly known as Samsung Experience).
With regard to T-Mobile changes, aside from Google’s security patch, the new update for the Note 9 and S9 removes the DIGITS built-in multi-line settings.
The new Magenta Android 10 update was first released on February 23rd, just two days ago.
Samsung started rolling out the Galaxy S9 Android 10 update just a few weeks ago in the US, by way of Xfinity Mobile.
What Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9 users can expect from Samsung’s One UI 2.0
T-Mobile’s removed settings, Google’s February 2020 security patch, and Samsung’s One UI are all part of the update. And yet, Google’s Android 10 and Samsung’s One UI 2.0 deserve some unpacking.
Samsung’s One UI 2.0 brings some slight tweaks to the experience, such as the Galaxy Note 10’s built-in screen recorder. The new screen recorder is available in the top settings window. Users access it by swiping from the top of the screen down to open. The screen recorder has a camcorder icon. Next, the manual brightness adjuster has been moved from the very bottom of the settings window. It’s now easier to reach without pulling down the top window entirely.
A “Link to Windows” setting allows Galaxy S9 and Note 9 users, as Galaxy S10, Note 10, and Galaxy S20 users, to wirelessly connect their Samsung smartphone to a Windows PC and access phone content. Samsung first announced the new feature for the Galaxy Note 10 series last year but has since brought it over to the Galaxy S10 series.
Notifications are smaller than before, which means that they’re more subtle than they’ve ever been. One more visual change many users will appreciate is that task manager usage has a more elegant look. Moving in and out of the task manager is more fluid than ever.
Android 10: Hearing Impaired, Children’s Digital Detox
Samsung’s One UI 2.0 is the Samsung “skin” or overlay on Google’s Android. Underneath remains Google’s Android 10 update. The new update brings features pertaining to security, parental controls for children, accessibility, and digital detox.
There’s Live Caption for the Hard-of-Hearing (HoH), a feature that allows users to read the spoken word across the screen as videos play. Even those who aren’t as hard-of-hearing can still appreciate reading subtitles. Android 10 brings greater security for users, allowing them to control how much data they share and for how long they share it. Users no longer have to share their location data all the time, for example. Developers no longer receive free reign over user data forever.
Gesture Navigation and Dark Mode
Most users engage Android by tapping on circles and words to perform actions on-screen. In Android 10, Google brings gesture navigation. Gesture navigation allows users to swipe in different directions to archive or delete notifications, for example.
Dark Mode is a huge feature for Android 10. It is one of the most coveted features of Android users up until now. Google says that Dark Mode conserves battery life and has rolled out a systemwide Dark Mode for Android 10. Working with Google, Samsung has provided an Enhanced Dark Mode for Galaxy phone users. The new Enhanced Dark Mode conserves even more battery life than before.
Adult Digital Detox: Focus Mode, Digital Wellbeing
Parental controls for children, found in Family Link, lets parents limit their children’s on-screen time in real-time. Parents can now suddenly turn off an app to tell their children “it’s time to get up and do something else.” Children, like adults, find mobile tech irresistible these days, and some parents want their children to experience things in life that don’t require screens. Getting outdoors to walk and see the beauty of nature is a great idea for a digital detox.
Children need to detox from the digital world. Parents and adults do, too. For adults, Google’s Android 10 brings Focus Mode and Digital Wellbeing. Focus Mode allows users to zone out a few addictive apps during the day. Digital Wellbeing deals with digital detox by allowing adults and parents to get away from their mobile devices. Like parental controls for children, adults can choose to shut down apps after a certain point or shut down apps for the weekend so that they can spend more time with family.
Go ahead and head on over to phone settings and find the software update button. Those who aren’t seeing it yet should remain patient. Make sure the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9 has a 30% battery life before updating. Also, Wi-Fi should be on, as updates can cause headaches for cellular data bills.