As expected, after the update hit the units of Samsung Galaxy J5 and J7 (2017), the higher-end Samsung Galaxy A5 — both the 2016 and 2017 versions have received a new update with the latest security patches. The new update arriving through an OTA notification contains the security patch from the month of February.

Google releases a new security patch once a month, but this one is particularly important because it contains the fixes for Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, which are among the most dangerous ever discovered on this operating system. It also contains fixes for 16 vulnerabilities found in Samsung’s software. The update for Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 and 2017 weighs about 34 MB and it started rolling out in Russia for the A5 (2016) and in the Netherlands for the A7 (2017).

It will gradually expand all around the world, so if you still did not receive the notification do not worry, it is not immediate. The build number of the update is A510FXXU5CRB2 for the 2016 version and A520FXXU4BRB1 for the A5 2017. It is still based on Android Nougat as these two handsets still do not get Oreo. Soon, the update will roll out on the main Samsung flagships as well: Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8.

(Via)

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When smartphones first launched, they had pretty terrible front facing cameras as their sole function was for the occasional video calls. Not until selfies became the rave did manufacturers start to pay attention to front cameras.  Now it is not unusual to see a phone having the same pixel count on the front and rear cameras, or like the OPPO F1 Plus/Oppo R9, having a front camera with a higher pixel than the rear camera.

This year, Samsung has started upgrading the front camera on its smartphones starting with the Galaxy A5 and A7 (2017) which both have 16MP shooters up front which is a big upgrade from last year’s 5MP. Rumor has it that the Galaxy S8 will be getting an upgrade to an 8MP shooter with autofocus. The autofocus is actually the important part of the upgrade as front facing cameras usually have a fixed focus. The Samsung S7 and S7 Edge have 5MP fixed focus cameras.

READ MORE: Samsung’s First Foldable Display Smartphone Looks Beautiful in Concept Renders

The Galaxy S8 is not the only one getting the upgrade as sources say a new J-series set to launch in March will also get a front camera upgrade.

(Source)

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