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Tag: foldable

  • Honor’s slim Magic V5 foldable is fun to use, minus the huge camera bump | TechCrunch

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    There is a spec war going on among companies to claim the crown of thinnest foldable. Phone manufacturers are playing with fractions of millimeters to boast about their phone’s thickness.
    

    Honor is winning this race on a theoretical basis with its 8.8mm (when folded) thick Magic V5 foldable. I’m saying theoretical because there is a huge, camera-bump-sized caveat to this.

    Image Credits: Ivan Mehta

    The thin frame of the device looks and feels great as long as you hold it in a way that your fingers are wrapped around the bottom half of the phone. If your fingers brush against the massive bump, you might feel uncomfortable holding the phone. This adjustment took me a few days to get used to.

    Image Credits: Ivan Mehta

    When you lay the phone on a table, it creates a slant (like in the photo above). This is fine when the phone is folded, but when you unfold the phone, it creates a wobble, and it is not pleasant.

    Image Credits: Ivan mehta

    In the unfolded state, the frame is just 4.1mm thick, one millimeter less than the Oppo’s Find N5, but 0.5mm more than the Huawei’s triple-folding phone.

    The Phone’s thickness compared to the Pixel 10 Pro. Image Credits: Ivan Mehta

    Apart from that, the phone is a solid piece of hardware.

    It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is a top-tier processor. The front display is a 6.43-inch screen with 2376 x 1060 resolution, and the main (unfolded) display is a 7.95-inch screen with 2172 x 2352 pixels. The company said it’s using a carbon fiber reinforced inner panel for better fall protection. Plus, Honor has applied an anti-scratch material to the display. So far, I haven’t seen notable scratches on either screen.

    iMage Credits: Ivan Mehta

    The screen is very bright with a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. I enjoyed reading articles, PDFs, and long emails on the unfolded screen. Playing NYT Puzzles on the unfolded screen was one of my favorite things to do on the device.

    Both displays support LTPO, which means the refresh rate can dynamically switch to any value from 1Hz to 120Hz, and that makes navigation and scrolling a breeze. Most apps adjusted well to both the cover and main screen, though I noticed that the resolution became distorted when I tried playing “Diablo Immortal” on the unfolded screen, so I had to stick to the front screen for gaming.

    The build of the device is sturdy, and it has IP58 and IP59 ratings for dust and water resistance. The folding hinge, which uses the second-gen Honor Super Steel mechanism, felt solid during my week-long use of the Magic V5.

    The foldable has a massive 5,820mAh silicone carbon battery. With this capacity, you can get through a full day of usage with a bit of gaming easily. The device supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, but you need to buy Honor’s proprietary chargers to support that. Honor does include its 66W charger in the box. The company claims that you can charge the device from 0 to 50% in just 16 minutes with the wired charger and reach 100% charge in 43 minutes. Even if the phone doesn’t hit those theoretical limits, you can quickly add enough power to last you a few hours.

    Camera and AI

    The Honor Magic V5’s camera casing hosts three sensors: a 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.6 aperture, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The phone also has two 20-megapixel selfie cameras — one for each of the inner and outer screens.

    The phone takes good photos in all conditions, capturing details well with generally good color accuracy. However, I felt that in some conditions, the phone’s computational algorithm boosted reds. The Magic V5’s camera has a pretty good super macro mode that lets you take close-up photos of certain objects, like flowers, while retaining details.

    Since all companies have access to AI image models, many are introducing super zoom modes to capture a base photo and use generative AI to enhance the details. Honor’s 100x zoom tech is good enough to capture text at a distance and use AI to clear it up. However, when I tried to capture different objects, the AI-processed version looked very much AI-generated. This wasn’t the case with the Pixel 10 Pro’s 100x Zoom.

    Honor 100x ZoomImage Credits:Ivan Mehta
    Pixel 100x Zoom

    Like most China-made phones, this device also has a ton of AI-powered “beauty” features that let you smooth your skin, adjust your nose size and face size, brighten the picture, and more. You can easily turn these features off with a toggle if you want.

    There are a bunch of AI editing tools that Honor has included with the phone. There is an AI eraser that lets you draw on objects to remove them. The tool also has additional options, including removing passersby and removing reflections. The first option doesn’t always work well. Check out this photo I took at Wimbledon. While it removed some people in the background, it also removed the torso of one of the tennis players.

    Image Credits: Ivan Mehta
    Image Credits: Ivan Mehta (edited by AI)

    The phone has an AI cutout tool, which allows you to select an object from a photo and move it within the frame. When you move the object, the device uses generative AI to fill in the gap.

    This feature is also not perfect and at times leaves artifacts like shadows around the original position of the object, clearly indicating that you moved something in the photo. There are other tools like AI upscaling and AI outpainting as well.

    Image Credits: Ivan Mehta (Edited by Honor AI).

    The phone also includes an image-to-video function in the device’s photo app, which allows for three generations per 30 days. It creates videos using Google’s Veo2 model, but the output is not great and often feels uncanny compared to the original image.

    Software and availability

    Honor uses its MagicOS 9, based on Android 15 on this device. It is not cluttered, but I found pre-installing Honor apps for smart home devices, and the myHonor app (which is a community app), to be unnecessary. There is also an Honor Health app, which connects to smart health devices from Honor (if you have any), and includes has some pre-loaded exercise content.

    MagicOS handles media exchange with both Android and Apple devices well. The company offers a Workstation app for macOS, which makes it easy to send photos, videos, and documents to your Mac.

    The company also released a neat new on-device call translation feature, which lets you download a translation model directly to the phone and process the data locally. At the moment, it supports six languages, including Chinese, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. I tested this feature with a French-speaking friend, and the results were very good. Unlike the Pixel’s translation feature, which retains your voice, you get to choose between a male and a female voice.

    Honor is releasing the Magic V5 in Europe, APAC, and the Middle East. In the UK/Europe, the Magic V5 will start at £1,699.99/€1,999 for the 512GB version. This gives consumers an option to try a foldable at a price £200/€1,999 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. While this might not challenge Samsung’s top spot in the foldable market, it might help Honor’s market share amid growing interest in foldables.

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    Ivan Mehta

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  • Apple might opt for a curved glassed design for 20th anniversary iPhone | TechCrunch

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    Apple made a big splash in 2017 by introducing an all-screen iPhone with a notch and no physical home button for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. The company is now preparing to introduce another major overhaul for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary, featuring a new curved glass design, according to a Bloomberg report.

    The iPhone 20, set to be launched in 2027, will have curved glass edges all around, likely to suit the new “Liquid Glass” design philosophy of iOS, according to Bloomberg.

    The publication’s report also noted that before the 20th anniversary iPhone’s release, Apple will launch its first foldable phone in 2026. It said that Apple is in the process of switching screen technology for its upcoming foldable, which might result in a display that hides the crease well.

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    Ivan Mehta

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  • Samsung to launch a triple-folding phone this year | TechCrunch

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    Samsung just yesterday launched its newest slate of foldable smartphones, but that might not be the only foldable phones the company releases this year: The company is reportedly preparing to launch a triple-folding smartphone before the year’s end.

    Samsung’s consumer electronics head TM Roh told The Korea Times that the company aims to release such a device this year.

    “I expect we will be able to launch the tri-fold phone within this year. We are now focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not decided on its name. As the product nears completion, we are planning to make a final decision soon,” he told the publication.

    Separately, another unnamed executive confirmed to Android Authority that a tri-fold device by Samsung is ready to go into production.

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    Ivan Mehta

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  • Samsung is marketing Galaxy Z Flip phones as police bodycams

    Samsung is marketing Galaxy Z Flip phones as police bodycams

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    A new blog post from Samsung highlights how its Galaxy Z Flip series devices are being adopted by law enforcement. The line of foldable mobile devices was part of a pilot program at the Kimberling City Police and the Indian Point Police in Missouri two years ago to test how the electronics could improve the forces’ daily operations. According to Samsung, the program was the first time a foldable device was used by police as a bodycam. After the end of the pilot program, two more police departments signed on to use the Flip devices as bodycams. The solutions from those pilot tests are also being extended to 25 metro police departments in five states.

    The Flip devices used for the police testing were customized in a collaboration with Visual Labs, a company that repurposes mobile devices for use as body and dash cameras. The modifications, like remapping the volume button to start the camera, were intended to make it easier and faster to begin recording in the field, according to Samsung.

    It’s a surprising use case for Samsung to emphasize for its US audience. The Verge picked up on the blog post and was also quick to cite an investigation from ProPublica and The New York Times that demonstrated how local policies can negate the positive value of bodycams, either delaying or preventing footage from being released.

    That said, Samsung is hardly the only tech company that has gotten involved with making its products part of law enforcement. Amazon-owned smart doorbell company Ring had (and reversed) policies of how and what footage it would share with officers. There are also broader stories still unfolding around how law enforcement are using technologies such as facial recognition and drones.

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    Anna Washenko

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  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: The king, but for how much longer?

    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: The king, but for how much longer?

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    No one has been making foldable phones longer than Samsung. And for the first few years, the sheer number of improvements we got on the Galaxy Z Fold line meant it didn’t really have any competition. But more recently, the pace of innovation has slowed while new challengers like the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold have arrived. Now for 2024, Samsung has reinforced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with a stronger but significantly lighter frame, a new ultra-wide-angle camera and a bunch of AI-powered tools. Unfortunately, not much else has changed, leaving us with a very iterative upgrade. So while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 remains the best all-around big foldable on the market, it feels like complacency is eroding Samsung’s lead among flagship flexible phones.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    Even without a new main camera, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold’s sleeker design, brighter screens and native stylus support are enough to maintain its rank as the best big foldable phone on the market.

    Pros

    • Super bright and colorful display
    • Even lighter chassis
    • Great battery life
    • Native stylus support
    Cons

    • Even more expensive than before
    • Same main camera as the previous two Z Folds
    • S Pen not included
    • Charging speeds could be faster

    $1,900 at Samsung

    After eliminating the gap between the screen (when closed) on last year’s phone, Samsung has adjusted the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s dimensions again for 2024. But the changes are so small you have to measure them in millimeters. When closed, the phone is just over one millimeter thinner and when you open it up (in portrait), the main screen is 2.7mm wider but one millimeter shorter. It’s not a ton, but you do get a little more room for activities. And of course this also affects the exterior Cover Display, which is about 1mm wider as well — just enough to make using its on-screen keyboard more forgiving.

    Elsewhere, the entire phone is sharper, from its boxier edges to the more squared-off corners on both screens. Samsung also says the Enhanced Armor Aluminium used in the Z Fold 6’s chassis is about 10 percent stronger than before, but I hope you’ll forgive me for not dropping it on purpose just to find out. Holding everything together is a new dual-rail hinge. And this time, I think Samsung has nailed the perfect balance between something that’s easy to open but also holds its position when you want it to. But the biggest design upgrade is a 14-gram weight reduction compared to the previous model. Granted, that might not sound like much, but now the Z Fold 6 only weighs around 4 grams more than its non-foldable cousin, the S24 Ultra. And on an already heavy phone, this change makes a big difference.

    As for the displays, as someone who’s been using the Pixel Fold a lot recently — which has a solid screen in its own right — can I just say, Samsung’s panels are so choice. Not only has peak brightness improved to 2,600 nits for both displays just like on the standard S24 family, Samsung has subtly shrunk and flattened the bezels, so the phone looks even more like a magazine come to life. And until I see something better, this is simply the best screen on a big foldable right now.

    On the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung increased peak brightness for both of its displays to 2,600 nits, which is the same as on the standard Galaxy S24 line. On the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung increased peak brightness for both of its displays to 2,600 nits, which is the same as on the standard Galaxy S24 line.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    The Z Fold line has never been slow and this year we got the same upgrade to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip as we saw on the S24, while base RAM is staying pat at 12GB. And as you’d expect, the Z Fold 6’s performance is fast and responsive. There’s no lag when doing pretty much anything and thanks to the addition of a larger vapor chamber on the inside, the phone stays cooler during longer sessions, which is a nice bonus to all the gamers out there who like playing on a truly big-screen device.

    When it comes to photography, I’m a bit disappointed with the Z Fold 6, not because it can’t take a decent pic, but because I know Samsung can do better. For this go around, Samsung has stuck with a trio of rear cameras, opting for a new 12-MP sensor for the ultra-wide lens — and it’s pretty good. But at the same time, the ultra-wide lens is the one I use the least in daily use, and it’s not close.

    The only significant change to the Z Fold 6's photography is the addition of a new 12-MP sensor for the phone's ultra-wide lens.The only significant change to the Z Fold 6's photography is the addition of a new 12-MP sensor for the phone's ultra-wide lens.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    The other two cameras – the 50-MP main and 12-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom — are solid, but they’re the same ones Samsung used on at least the previous two generations. In a photo of some strawberries, the Z Fold 6 produced a delicious pic with deep saturated hues and great details. At the same time, though, you can also see the slightly exaggerated warm tones you often get from Samsung cameras. And at night, the Z Fold produced a beautiful pic of a flower in a very tricky backlit environment.

    The issue is that after Google released the Pixel Fold, Samsung doesn’t really have an excuse for saddling the Z Fold 6 with downgraded photography when compared to the S24 Ultra. The Pixel Fold has a longer 5x optical zoom and an edge in overall photo quality. Just take a look at two zoom shots taken by the Z Fold 6 and the Pixel Fold. In a vacuum, Samsung’s photo doesn’t look bad. But then take a look at the Pixel’s image. It’s noticeably sharper and more detailed.

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    And it’s the same thing in really low-light situations, like the one I took of some Bluey figurines, where the Pixel Fold captured a less grainy, sharper and more well-exposed pic. And after being pleasantly surprised with the cameras on the S24 Ultra, it’s a shame Samsung’s most expensive phone sits in second place when it comes to photography.

    As we saw back at the beginning of the year, Samsung has brought the Galaxy AI suite it launched on the S24 to the Z Fold 6. And by and large, a lot of the features are the same including things like Chat Assist which you can use to generate social posts or emails while selecting a variety of tones. There’s also support for Google’s Circle to Search along with translation and summarization tools. A couple new tweaks for the Fold is that now the phone can translate text in place instead of spitting it out into a big unformatted blob, which is nice but kind of situational. And I should mention, Google Lens already offers similar functionality. Perhaps the more important one is the ability to do dual-screen translations, so each person can see text in their language in real-time, depending on what side of the phone they’re looking at.

    One of the new features in the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung's Portrait Studio tool, which uses AI to generate a new image in a range of styles based on an existing photo of a person. One of the new features in the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung's Portrait Studio tool, which uses AI to generate a new image in a range of styles based on an existing photo of a person.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    Some new additions are the Portrait Studio tool that can create an AI-generated drawing of someone based on a photo and a range of styles like comic or watercolor. It’s fun and it’s good for a laugh or two, but I’m not sure how useful it will be on a regular basis. There’s also the Sketch to Image feature that allows you to add a simple drawing to an existing photo and then have the phone generate a more realistic rendition of it in your final image. I still think Samsung’s basic AI photo editing tools are the most useful of the bunch, as they make it easy to delete distracting objects or do simple touch ups. But once again, all of this feels more like bonus content rather than core essentials.

    While Samsung didn’t increase the size of the 4,400 mAh cell in the Z Fold 6, the phone does have slightly better battery life due to improved energy efficiency from its new chip. On our video rundown test, it lasted 20 hours and seven minutes when using its large main screen and 25 hours and 19 minutes when using its exterior cover display. That first number is even better than we saw from the Pixel Fold (15:22) and OnePlus Open (19:19), so if you need a big-screen phone with ample longevity, the Z Fold 6 is the easy pick.

    Sadly, the Z Fold 6's battery size and charging speeds are unchanged from the previous model. Sadly, the Z Fold 6's battery size and charging speeds are unchanged from the previous model.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    Unfortunately, its charging hasn’t changed much. You still get 25-watt wired charging and 15-watt wireless charging, which are both pretty mediocre figures in 2024. And while I wasn’t expecting to see support for Qi2 magnetic charging on the Z Fold 6 after Samsung opted not to add it to the main S24 line, I’m still a bit miffed that a phone this expensive is cutting important features off the spec sheet.

    It wasn’t long ago when practically every component on the Z Fold line was unmatched by its competitors. But now phones like the Pixel Fold exist, which offers better overall photography. Then there’s the OnePlus Open, which weighs the same as the Z Fold 6 even after its recent diet. And let’s not forget, both of those rivals are 2023 models. Plus there are Chinese competitors like the Honor Magic V3 and the upcoming Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, which are both thinner and lighter than Samsung’s champion.

    The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 14 grams lighter than the previous model, which makes a big difference on an already large device. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 14 grams lighter than the previous model, which makes a big difference on an already large device.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    Don’t get me wrong, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is still a good foldable, a great one even. It’s got excellent performance, strong battery life and handy features like native stylus support. But it feels like after all this time sitting fat and happy on its throne, Samsung has a diminished hunger for total domination. Instead of long-awaited features like a built-in S Pen or an improved under-display camera, we got a bunch of AI-powered tools and tricks, which are fun but not true highlight attractions. And at $1,900 — which is $100 more than last year — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the most expensive it’s been since the Z Fold 3. But I guess that’s the price you pay Samsung for having such a long reign on top.

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    Sam Rutherford

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