Founded in 1938, Samsung is the largest chaebol in South Korea. The myriad of companies under its brand are some of the biggest in their respective industries, but Samsung Electronics is the most notable. It makes some of the most popular phones in use today, and its flagship portfolio includes the Galaxy S-series and foldable Z-series devices. It also makes televisions, tablets, computers, headphones, and many of the displays, chips, and batteries found in devices from Apple, Sony, and others.
When it launched on Android in June, the app only supported the Samsung Galaxy S23, S24, and the Google Pixel 7/8 lineups. Compatibility with OnePlus and Xiaomi phones running Android 13 was added later, but Blackmagic has released another update adding features like recording timecode, plus support for the Samsung Galaxy Flip 5/6 and Fold 5/6 phones.
The requirement will kick in on September 25th, SamMobile reports.
Wildly popular fashion designer Sandy Liang designed a Galaxy Z Flip 6 phone case and sent the device to influencers during New York Fashion Week.
Flip phones are experiencing something of a tech Renaissance among young people. This collaboration hits on the nostalgia and trendy aesthetics — but will it make anyone ditch their iPhone?
“Phones should be colorful” is a hill I and others at The Verge will die on. A Samsung Galaxy S24 FE leak from Android Headlines purports to show four colors that Samsung will release the phone in, and just look at this green! We do love a green phone.
The outlet also published renders in yellow, blue, and black colors.
An upcoming Galaxy Ring and SmartThings integration enables the smart ring to trigger smart home automations.
A giant super-sized model of the wearable was at IFA this week to demo how your home can respond to biometric signals.
It showed the ring sensing the wearer had fallen asleep or woken up and then starting a sleep routine or a good morning routine. Now that’s an effortless interface.
I’m old enough to remember Samsung’s advertising blitz against Apple back in the days when a lot of people still waited in lines for the latest iPhone. Some of those were funny.
But finding random people named Sam Sung to hype up your folding phone? Pretty weak, Honor. Tech companies have seriously lost their fastball when it comes to this stuff.
Unlike other companies, Sammy says it’s bringing its newest AI features to its older phones.
The Galaxy S24 series, S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, and Tab S9 series will all get the same AI features as its new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 via a One UI 6.1.1 update, starting with S24 users in Europe and the US on September 9th.
It’s the first press day at the IFA 2024 tech show, and Samsung’s giant billboard on the side of Messe Berlin’s City Cube might just hint at what we’ll see inside this week.
The South Korean tech giant’s press conference starts in 15 minutes, and The Verge will be there — as long as I can find some coffee first.
Follow our IFA story stream for all the news.
Samsung’s entry into the Microsoft Copilot Plus AI PCs was the weirdly throttled (and pricey) Galaxy Book4 Edge, but here’s a new 15-incher with Qualcomm’s budget 8-core chip, plus a Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 backflipper with Intel’s Lunar Lake.
No prices yet, but both boast over 24 hours video playback; the Book5 has a 16-inch, 3K 120Hz OLED display that claims 120 percent DCI-P3 color.
Reliable leaker Evan Blass shared a pair of images of what he says is the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. The device supposedly has a 10.6mm profile when folded shut — potentially making it thinner than the 12.1mm Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Let’s put this sloppy, bad-faith argument to rest.
The Premiere 9 and Premiere 7 share the same 4K resolution and HDR 10+ certification as their predecessor, but they come with Samsung’s gaming hub and an ambient mode that projects photos, videos, and widgets on your wall when you’re not watching anything.
While the triple-laser 130-inch Premiere 9 costs $6,000, the 120-inch Premiere 7 is priced at $3,000.
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“Simple, you throw the entire device away.”
So says iFixit of smart rings, including the new Samsung Galaxy Ring, in its teardown blog for the wearable. The site concludes that there’s “no question” that Galaxy Rings are unrepairable, destined to become part of our continued e-waste problem.
7
Verge Score
Samsung’s first Copilot Plus PC is everything a thin and light laptop should be — but its performance is limited.
8
Verge Score
It’s not the most fun, but reliability goes a long way.
Korean business publication Aju News claims that Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae Yong is furious with the company’s mobile division over the Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Supposedly, the internal mood is bad and TM Roh, who heads the mobile division, may be in hot water. Granted, Aju News is vague with sourcing — which is common in East Asian journalism — but it wouldn’t be surprising if true.
We already knew that AI chip demand was driving crazy profits for Samsung. That’s good, because its earnings report shows that smartphone revenue and profitability both declined since last quarter, even as new AI features — it claims — helped buoy demand for its latest flagship devices:
The Galaxy S24 series achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in both shipments and revenue over its predecessor for both the second quarter and the first half of the year.
In the second half of 2024, Samsung says overall demand for its smartphones is expected to increase year-on-year, alongside “ecosystem products such as tablets, smartwatches, and smart rings.”
This teardown of the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a similar feel to Allison’s Z Fold 6 review — things inside are mostly the same as the previous generation. There are bigger batteries and other tweaks, but the similar layouts show how Samsung is iterating on the existing design, so hopefully, you think it’s already good enough.
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Verge Score
Samsung’s flagship foldable is as good as ever, but it feels anything but fresh.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Buds 3 revealed at Samsung’s Unpacked event went on sale globally today, though some regions / carriers may vary.
The exception is the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which are delayed (until August 28th in the US) due to quality issues with the removable ear tips.
Samsung gave 17,000 of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 phones to athletes and others around the Olympic and Paralympic games, and here’s one more unboxing.
The phone itself isn’t more impressive than anyone else’s, but British rower Imogen Grant chose a tough upgrade path — the phone she’s replacing was another freebie from Samsung that she picked up at the Tokyo Olympics.
Olympians unboxing folding phones is my new favorite video genre. Watch members of New Zealand’s swimming team unbox their new Galaxy Z Flip 6 phones — in gold, naturally — which were supplied by Olympic sponsor Samsung. Not only is it delightful when they discover the screen is on “both sides,” the guys and I agree that it’s time for a foldable iPhone, too.
