According to tipster Ice Universe, Samsung has disabled Odin, a proprietary firmware flashing tool typically used to install stock firmware, install custom ROMs, and restore devices. It also appears that Samsung has removed “Download Mode,” which acts as a gateway for Odin. This change appears to have been made in the latest One UI 8.5 firmware and currently affects the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and recently launched Galaxy S26 series.
Samsung is a no-go again anyway, as they have decided to go back to their shitty Exynos CPUs for the S26. The CPU itself is fine, but their modems are awful.
Going from my Exynos S22 to a Snapdragon S25 was night and day mobile reception wise.
What would you get for a new phone nowadays?
For me: Just for the modem and battery life :)
But now that my new phone works well, no reason at all. I don’t game on my phone, so any more performance is utterly wasted and the cameras barely seem to be getting upgrades either.