Foldable phones are the newest and fastest-developing type of mobile computer right now. Growing out of the desire to put the largest possible amount of screen inside the user’s pocket, they represent the cutting edge of technological innovation, with Samsung and Huawei offering the most notable early examples. A good foldable is one that combines the greater usability and potential of a large-screen tablet with the effortless portability of an everyday smartphone. We can expect foldables and their hinge designs to keep evolving at a breakneck pace, as hardware companies work to figure out exactly how to fold and market this new breed of portable computer.
The Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 get the update this month, with other Samsung foldables getting it “sequentially,” according to Samsung. One UI 5 Watch is starting to officially roll out, too.
You can read more on Samsung’s website.
Founder and CEO Lei Jun has announced a launch date for Xiaomi’s latest foldable, the Mix Fold 3, alongside a short teaser trailer. We’re not expecting the phone to be available outside of China given Xiaomi’s previous foldables, so we’ll have to appreciate its massive four-strong camera bump from afar.
A YouTuber is livestreaming people repeatedly folding and unfolding two of this year’s biggest releases until they break. The Motorola Razr 40 Plus Ultra broke after just 126,266 folding cycles, but as of this writing the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still going strong at over 330,000. Not bad considering Samsung’s promotional materials say it’s rated for 200,000.
8
Verge Score
It’s a big update year for Samsung’s flip-style foldable — and a much larger cover screen makes all the difference.
With all eyes on Samsung’s new foldables yesterday, Oppo subbrand OnePlus couldn’t help itself. “We OPEN when others FOLD,” the brand tweeted, in reference to the rumored name of its foldable. It confirmed its foldable plans in February, when it said it’d be releasing the foldable in the second half of the year.
Less than a day after Samsung announced its new foldables, Xiaomi is teasing the Mix Fold 3, which will be announced in China next month with an interesting rear quad-camera setup and Leica branding.
Let this serve as a reminder that a) hot foldable summer is alive and kicking and b) China gets a lot of foldables that never make their way to the West.
Okay this Galaxy Unpacked video was fun.
It captured well the frustration of phone cords. the excitement of the first cell phones (“I’m calling you from the back of a taxi!”). And the late night talk show-style gag about phablets being too big was spot on and a funny moment to look back on.
It almost swerved into being a little too smug, but I think pulled off staying on this side of the line.
Samsung mobile business president TM Roh mostly waxes poetic in his pre-Unpacked blog post about human-inspired product design, but also confirms one small detail about the upcoming folding phones: they’ll be thinner and lighter than last year’s models.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 was already appreciably lighter than the Pixel Fold, so that likely gives the Z Fold 5 another advantage over Google’s first foldable. We’ll get all the details soon enough — Unpacked is next Wednesday which is fast approaching.
A set of images obtained by reliable leaker Roland Quandt and later posted to 9to5Google shows all the ways you might be able to use the upcoming foldable’s cover display.
In addition to the ability to take selfies, it looks like there are also keyboard, calendar, weather, call history, and boarding pass widgets. While the Galaxy Z Flip 4 already offers some of these widgets on its 1.9-inch cover screen, the extra screen real estate on the Z Flip 5 should make them much easier to use.
Look, the Pixel Fold is the new hotness and we know the Z Fold 5 is coming in just a couple weeks, but both of those are going to cost you close to $2,000. Last year’s Z Fold 4, meanwhile, is still an excellent device and with today’s $700 discount, much more attainable than those other folding phones.
This new (and strange) Samsung ad is mostly forgettable, but watch all the way to the end for a potential hint of the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s cover screen, which is rumored to be much bigger than before.
Samsung is set to reveal the new phone on July 26th.
WinFuture has dug up a host of images of Samsung’s unannounced Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 foldables, as well as its Tab S9, which are expected to launch later this month. There’s nothing too surprising in here, given we’ve seen images of both foldables before, but it’s nice being able to see them from (almost) every angle.
Google’s Pixel Fold is the first real competition for Samsung in the US folding phone market. But it doesn’t make up for Samsung’s multiyear head start.
6
Verge Score
The Pixel Fold is a powerful device with an entertainment-friendly inner screen, but it feels like it’s at least one generation away from greatness.
The Razr Plus is a much better phone than the preceding models. It’s a little fiddly, but for the right kind of person, it presents a rewarding experience.
According to SamMobile, some Google apps will be optimized for the updated cover display, including Google Maps, Messages, and YouTube. This isn’t an entirely new idea — you can run apps on the Moto Razr Plus’ bigger cover screen, too — but it still seems like an extremely useful way to use the extra screen real estate.
Samsung will likely announce its new foldables at Unpacked in July.
Get a look at the new Motorola Razr Plus, its 3.6-inch cover screen, and the Magenta color option in this quick hands-on video with the foldable phone that’s launching later this month.
And check this page for updates on the Razr line, plus all of the new foldable phones we’re expecting to see for the rest of 2023.
Moto is adding two new foldables, led by the Razr Plus. Its 3.6-inch cover screen makes it more than just a nostalgic tribute to your favorite 2000s flip phone.
Leaker @OnLeaks has unearthed new trailers for Motorola’s upcoming, and so far officially unannounced, foldable Razr 40 and Razr 40 Ultra. We can see a pretty sizable cover display on the Ultra with an onscreen keyboard, and a color variant seemingly based on Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year.
The new trailer has leaked a week after a full spec sheet and 44-second trailer emerged.
