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Foldable phones are the future, but their software is stuck in the present
Take your boring glass rectangle of a phone and fold it in half! Or thirds! Or.. quarters? It's time for the shape of smartphones to change again. Over the last decade, they've settled into a largely uniform look. If I were to draw an icon for a phone, it would be a vertical rectangle with rounded corners and maybe a button on the front. There -- I've just described the Galaxy S line, iPhones, Pixels and pretty much every other phone.
Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra is surprisingly sturdy
If you're going to drop $1,400 on a top-of-the-line smartphone like the Galaxy S20 Ultra, you'd expect it to be tough enough to survive the abuses of daily life, wouldn't you? Thankfully, that appears to be the case. Both JerryRigEverything (aka Zack Nelson) and PhoneBuff have conducted durability tests for the S20 Ultra that suggest that it can handle a lot of abuse... though not all of it. JRE noted that the Gorilla Glass 6 screen doesn't scratch until level 6 on the Mohs scale (don't even worry about your fingernails) and was extremely resistant to bending. You might not want to leave it unprotected alongside your house keys, but this is much tougher than the fragile Galaxy Z Flip.
Canada's first 5G network goes live in four cities
You no longer need to head to the US if you want a taste of 5G in North America. After starting its rollout in January, Rogers has switched on Canada's first live 5G network in the downtown cores of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. You'll unsurprisingly have to pick up one of Samsung's Galaxy S20 phones and subscribe to an unlimited data plan if you want to try the service right away, but Rogers' use of the 2.5GHz mid-range band suggests you'll have an easier time finding speedier service than you would with high-band 5G on networks like Verizon (Engadget's parent company) in the US. It's closer to AT&T and Sprint in that regard.
Samsung unveils its latest 4K and 8K QLED TVs for the US
Samsung's 4K and 8K TV launch is one of the more controversial in years, because Samsung appears to be saving high-end features for the much more costly 8K models. We first saw signs of it in January at CES 2020, when Samsung failed to show off any mainstream 4K sets, while displaying a plethora of 8K models. The company has now effectively confirmed that situation with the US launch of its new lineup.
Galaxy S20 Ultra teardown shows what's inside that giant camera bump
Samsung has made much ado of the Galaxy S20 Ultra's enormous camera array, but just what's in there that requires a conspicuous hump on the back of the phone? You don't have to wonder. iFixit has posted a teardown of the range-topping beast, and it's clear Samsung really didn't have much choice. The 108-megapixel primary camera by itself is huge -- the sensor covers twice the surface area of the 12-megapixel unit in the iPhone 11 series. The periscope-like zoom camera, meanwhile, needs a lot of space for its unusual lateral design, including optical image stabilization just for the prism.
Samsung may introduce a Lite version of the Galaxy Tab S6
Samsung might not save its Lite label for budget versions of its Galaxy flagships. Android Headlines has shared what it says are leaked details of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, a cut-down version of last year's high-end tablet. It'll reportedly resemble the original Tab S6 in shape and possibly size, but switch to decidedly mid-range specs with an Exynos 9611 chip (likely a Snapdragon 600-series in the US), 4GB of RAM and 64GB to 128GB of storage. The biggest change, however, might be the S Pen. The stylus in the leaked picture is too big to be tucked into the tablet itself -- this is clearly something you'd charge separately, and might be strictly optional.
Nearly every top-selling smartphone in 2019 was an iPhone or Galaxy
It's almost a cliché to say that Apple and Samsung dictate the tempo of the smartphone market, but there's now more evidence to support that claim. Counterpoint Research has calculated that nine out of the top ten smartphones sold worldwide in 2019 were made by either Apple or Samsung -- Oppo's A5 was the only exception at fifth place. The iPhone XR had the clear lead, representing 3 percent of all phones sold, while the Galaxy A50 was the top Android phone on the list with 1.8 percent.
Galaxy S20 Ultra review: Impressive but impractical
The first major phones of the year are here, and Samsung is being its usual ambitious self. The company unleashed a trio of new flagships in its S20 series, and for the first time, it introduced a souped-up Ultra variant alongside the regular S20 and S20+. The S20 Ultra is big and beefy, though with a starting price of $1,400, it's also very expensive. It offers a long list of impressive specs and intriguing features, like a triple camera system with a 108-megapixel sensor that can zoom up to 100x. But do these features make a good phone?
Samsung is already working to fix the Galaxy S20 cameras
Samsung's Galaxy S20 is not even on the market yet, but reviewers from publications including PC Mag have already experienced bugs with the cameras. Samsung has now responded, saying that it's working on a fix. "The Galaxy S20 features a groundbreaking, advanced camera system," Samsung told The Verge. "We are constantly working to optimize performance to deliver the best experience for consumers. As part of this ongoing effort, we are working on a future update to improve the camera experience."
Samsung finally adds period tracking to its Health app
The Samsung Health app is finally offering a long-awaited feature: period tracking. According to SamMobile, Samsung is rolling out an update, version 6.9.0.055, which adds a new women's health category and allows users to track their menstrual cycles.
Samsung Galaxy S20 is the first phone certified for USB fast charging
The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is now the first smartphone lineup to receive USB fast-charger certification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the organization leading the advancement of USB tech. The certification verifies that the Galaxy S20 series supports Programmable Power Supply (PPS) and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) 3.0 specification. For users, this means that the phones will work with certified third-party fast chargers.
How exactly does 5G work?
We've been hearing about 5G for ages, and 2020 is the year it'll finally become a reality for some people. Until this point there have been a few sparse 5G networks available in cities, but with only a handful of phones supporting 5G, even if you lived in an area with coverage odds are you couldn't connect. That's all set to change with a host of new 5G phones expected to be announced through 2020, and providers all around the world starting to switch on additional 5G towers. Even so, it's hard to know what to expect from 5G. Depending on your provider and your network, you may get blazing fast speeds but only in certain places, a bump in reliability without much speed, or anything in between. It turns out 5G isn't really one thing, it's a collection of technology and new frequency bands, and different carriers are focusing on different aspects of the network.
Samsung's new chips usher in smartphones with 16GB of DRAM
You could soon see more and faster DRAM in next-generation flagship smartphones than in many PCs. Samsung has just unveiled the first 16GB LPDDR5 mobile DRAM chips built on its second-generation 10-nanometer process tech, the company has announced. We've already seen this chip in Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra, and it'll likely appear in more flagship phones in the very near future.
Samsung temporarily shuts down phone factory following coronavirus case
Samsung's coronavirus problems extend beyond people steering clear of phone stores. The company has closed a phone factory in Gumi, South Korea until February 24th after confirming that a factory worker was infected with COVID-19. The company told the worker's associates to self-quarantine and will test them for the virus, and will also keep the relevant floor closed until the 25th.
Pre-order the Galaxy S20 from Amazon and get free Galaxy Buds+
Now that Samsung has officially detailed the new Galaxy S20 series and the phones are two weeks away from hitting store shelves, retailers like Amazon are trying to entice consumers to buy the devices ahead of time with pre-order promotions. As has become something of an annual tradition for Samsung, the company and various other retailers are offering a number of freebies to get you to commit to buying the phone now.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review: Admire it, don't buy it
To date, every foldable you could buy has been the subject of at least some drama. Royole's FlexPai felt barely finished. The original Galaxy Fold wasn't much more than a prototype, with glaring design issues that were fixed in later production runs. Huawei's Mate X stole the show at last year's Mobile World Congress but was delayed for reasons the company never fully explained. And the Razr? Well, let's just say the results couldn't possibly live up to the hype. The Galaxy Z Flip ($1,380) is different. Of all the foldables I've used, this is the first one that seems to tick all the boxes: Excellent performance, great cameras, and even decent battery life — all packed into a flip-phone-style body that I honestly think makes the most sense for most people. If you're in a rush to embrace one possible future for smartphones, then I don't think you'll do much better than this. But why rush? Embracing that future means putting up with a lot of compromises. And even though the Z Flip has fewer than most, the same lingering foldable criticisms apply. They're more expensive than comparable smartphones. They're inherently fragile and app-makers don't know how to take advantage of them (yet). The Z Flip may be the best of its kind, but until foldables as a whole mature beyond these problems, they're still not worth the splurge for anyone who doesn't want to double as a beta tester.
Galaxy Buds+ review: Samsung finally has a worthy AirPods alternative
I really wanted to like the original Galaxy Buds. They're some of the best-designed true wireless earbuds I tested last year. They're tiny, which makes them comfortable (well, as much as earbuds can be), and they came with a wireless charging case at a time when that still wasn't a standard feature. However, the audio quality was disappointing, call performance was subpar, and limited customization for onboard controls was frustrating. With the new Galaxy Buds+ ($150), Samsung improved its wireless earbuds in many ways, but some things still need work.
Samsung says the Galaxy Z Flip will be back in stock on Friday
Last week Samsung announced and almost immediately released its foldable Galaxy Z Flip, but only in "limited" quantities that dried up almost as soon as they appeared, unless you spot one in a store somewhere. Now Samsung says that tomorrow, on February 21st it will make more of the $1,380 devices available online, coincidentally around the same time pre-orders will begin for its flagship lineup of phones that includes higher specs and 5G across the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.
Samsung will sell its foldable glass display to other companies
Now that the Galaxy Z Flip is available to buy, Samsung plans to sell the phone's signature foldable glass screen to other manufacturers. The screen will carry the same ultra-thin glass (UTG) branding as of the Galaxy Z Flip's "cover window," with Samsung marketing the product as "tough, yet tender."
Teardown reveals how much hardware Samsung crams into the Galaxy Z Flip
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip lays out a welcome mat for dust and debris. But while the hinge gap is concerning, it is impressive that Samsung was able to fit so many components into a foldable design. iFixit's teardown reveals a stack of two minuscule motherboards and two battery cells crammed into the palm-sized device. And thanks to its modular parts, it's slightly more repairable than Motorola's new foldable Razr.