How to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5

Another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is in the books, and another deluge of Galaxy products has arrived in its wake. Most notably, Samsung used the event to announce its latest pair of foldable phones: the book-style Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 5, which start at $1,800 and $1,000, respectively. Those are joined by a trio of new tablets in the Galaxy Tab S9, Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra, as well as a pair of new smartwatches in the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Watch 6 Classic. We’ll have full reviews in the near future, but if you’re already looking to grab one of these new Galaxy devices, we’ve broken down what’s new and compiled all the appropriate pre-order links in one place.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is up for pre-order today at Samsung’s online store, with wider availability beginning on August 11. Like its predecessor, the device starts at $1,800 for a model with 256GB of storage. However, if you pre-order the device by August 10, Samsung says you can upgrade to the higher-capacity 512GB model for no extra cost. A 1TB variant is also available on Samsung.com, while all three SKUs come with 12GB of RAM.

You can read our hands-on preview for a full rundown, but the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s main upgrade centers on its “Flex Hinge,” which largely eliminates any gap between the phone’s halves when it’s folded. The device is slightly thinner in that mode as a result, though it’s still a bit thicker than Google’s Pixel Fold. The whole thing now runs on a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, and the main display has a higher peak brightness of 1,750 nits, up from 1,200 nits. (But it still has a visible crease.) There are some new gestures aimed at boosting the software’s multitasking chops, as well as a thinner S Pen stylus.

That said, the broad strokes of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 are similar to before. The camera hardware, displays and battery aren’t drastically different, and the price is still high. But if you’ve been looking to upgrade from an older Galaxy Z Fold, or if you’ve just been looking to hop on the foldable train, this looks to be a close follow-up to a premium device we recommend in our smartphone buying guide.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

The new Galaxy Z Flip 5 is also available to pre-order today, with an official on-sale date of August 11. It starts at $1,000, just like last year's Z Flip 4, but the base model now comes with 256GB of storage instead of 128GB. As with the Z Fold 5, you can upgrade to a 512GB unit for no extra cost if you pre-order by August 10. Both variants have 8GB of RAM.

The big upgrade here is a significantly larger cover display. Whereas the Z Flip 4 had a 1.9-inch external panel, now you get a 3.4-inch screen. That brings the device more in line with the Moto Razr+ from earlier this year. Samsung is touting improved widget support thanks to that expanded screen space, though only a handful of full-on apps are designed to run on the outer display for now. Still, it should be easier to preview photos, control music, reply to texts, view the weather, check notifications and so on without having to physically unfold the device. 

Like Samsung’s larger foldable, there’s a redesigned hinge that flattens the gap between the phone's two halves and makes the device slightly thinner when folded. Samsung has bumped this device up to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset as well, and it claims that some new processing tricks will help with low-light photos in particular. The rest of hardware isn’t much different outside of that, but you can check out our hands-on for more info.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

Beyond foldable smartphones, Samsung refreshed its Galaxy Tab lineup with a trio of new tablets: the 11-inch Galaxy Tab S9, the 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S9+ and the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Those start at $800, $1,000 and $1,200, respectively, with pre-orders available today and general availability starting on August 11. The base Tab S9 comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the larger two models include 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default. Pricier variants with 5G support are also available. 

Much like the foldables, those who pre-order the base Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra can upgrade to a variant with 512GB of storage for no extra cost. Samsung says anyone who pre-orders a Galaxy Tab S9 device can take $40 off a pair of the company's Galaxy Buds 2 Pro wireless earbuds as well.

While not radically different from last year’s Galaxy Tab S8 series, the new slates do bring a handful of meaningful changes. The entry-level Tab S9 now comes with a richer AMOLED display instead of a TFT LCD panel, while all three tablets now have an IP68 water resistance rating, so you can feasibly use them in the pool or shower with less worry. Each device now runs on a faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset as well.

In general, these are still high-end Android tablets, with slim aluminum frames, vivid displays and strong speakers. The question, as always, is whether you’re willing to pay this much for an Android tablet, even with Samsung’s usual modifications for productivity and multitasking. If so, the Tab S8 is the top Android pick in our tablet buying guide, and the Tab S9 appears to deliver similar pros and cons. Our hands-on has more details.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

Samsung also introduced two new smartwatches at Unpacked: the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. Like everything else unveiled today, both wearables are up for pre-order today and will be more widely available beginning on August 11.

The Galaxy Watch 6 starts at $300 for a 40mm case, which is a $20 bump over the Galaxy Watch 5. A larger 44mm model starts at $330. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is broadly similar to the standard model but brings back the physical rotating bezel of older Galaxy Watches, a mechanism many users preferred for navigating the OS. That one comes in 43mm and 47mm sizes, which start at $400 and $430, respectively. Samsung says anyone who pre-orders one of the new models will receive a bonus fabric watch band for no extra cost. Bluetooth and LTE variants will be available, and the company is keeping last year’s Galaxy Watch 5 Pro around for those who want a more rugged option.

The Galaxy Watch 6 comes with an extra 0.1 inches of display real estate compared to its predecessor, thanks primarily to bezels that Samsung says are 30 percent thinner. The smaller model of each device has a 1.3-inch, 432 x 432 resolution OLED panel, while the larger variants bump that up to a 1.5 inches and a 480 x 480 resolution. Both use sapphire crystal glass and are said to reach a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. On the Galaxy Watch 6, the screen sits flush with the lugs. 

Samsung has slightly increased the size of each watch’s battery: 300mAh for the smaller models, 425mAh for the larger ones. The company rates the overall battery life at up to 40 hours with the always-on display mode off, though, which is 10 hours less than the Galaxy Watch 5’s max estimate.

Beyond that, both devices come with faster Exynos W930 processors, 2GB of RAM (0.5GB more than before), 16GB of storage and an IP68 water resistance rating. They also run on Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch software, which, as previously noted, brings a heavier focus on sleep tracking, plus features like personalized heart rate zones and notifications for irregular heart rhythms. We currently recommend the Galaxy Watch 5 to Android users in our smartwatch buying guide, but we’ll give the new models a full workout soon to see how they stack up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-pre-order-the-samsung-galaxy-z-fold-5-and-galaxy-z-flip-5-110015244.html?src=rss

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on: Is Samsung squandering its head start?

Today at its Unpacked event, Samsung announced its latest flagship foldable – the Galaxy Z Fold 5 – which features a new hinge, an even sleeker design and a brighter main display. Samsung has also included a handful of new gestures for improved multitasking along with an updated chip. However, after multiple generations without any major design changes and a still extremely high price of $1,800, one has to ask if Samsung’s latest changes are really enough.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is centered around what Samsung is calling a Flex Hinge, which is said to have a more streamlined design while still boasting IPX8 water resistance. And thanks to that new hinge, Samsung has managed to get rid of the gap between the screen halves while also decreasing its overall thickness to 13.5mm. That’s a nice move toward everyday usability, though it’s thicker than Pixel Fold, which is only 12.1mm.

On the inside, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy for increased performance along with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. However, the Z Fold’s battery is staying pat at 4,400 mAh, so Samsung is really relying on power efficiency gains to deliver longer runtimes. As for its cameras, we’re looking at essentially the same general setup as on the Z Fold 4 highlighted by a 50-MP main camera, a 12-MP ultra-wide and a 10-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom. Though, Samsung says it’s added some new processing tricks.

The screens are also essentially the same. You still get a skinny baton-like shape with a 6.2-inch OLED Cover screen along with that big 7.6-inch main display on the inside, both of which sport 120Hz refresh rates. That main screen’s peak brightness is now the same as what you get on an S23 Ultra at 1,750 nits, which is rather impressive for a flexible display. That said, it still has a crease, which may be an issue for some. Those who can ignore the divot though, will find a few new gestures to make multitasking on that expansive screen just a bit easier.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When you want to quickly get into side-by-side app view, there’s a simple two-finger swipe in from the left or right. Alternatively, if you want to minimize an app into windowed mode, there’s a new diagonal swipe in from the corner of the display. You can also drag and drop files and photos from one app to another without being in multitasking mode by touching and holding on something, and then using a different finger to open a new app from the taskbar. Granted, this feels kind of clunky. Depending on where things are on the screen, sometimes it feels like you’re playing Twister with your fingers. But I like the direction Samsung is going, it reminds me of dragging a file down to the taskbar in Windows which gives you more of a taste of desktop-style productivity. And while the taskbar is largely the same as before, there are now four spots for recent apps (up from just two).

Finally, while there’s still no room for it inside the device itself, Samsung has created a new S Pen for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 that’s around 40 percent thinner than before that works with a revamped and more compact phone case so there’s somewhere to stash it when it’s not being used.

However, my issue with the Z Fold 5 is that while a lot of the changes are nice in a vacuum, for a company that has had such a head start in the foldable phone space, it seems like Samsung isn’t pushing that advantage as hard as it should. On the Pixel Fold, which is Google’s first foldable phone by the way, we got an interesting new design that’s even thinner than the Z Fold 5 while having a similarly sized screen plus a longer 5x optical zoom, not to mention Google’s superior photo processing. And other big foldables from China, like the Oppo Find N2, are doing a better job at eliminating the crease.

But perhaps more importantly, the Z Fold 5 still costs $1,800, which is ludicrously expensive. That’s kind of disappointing because after five generations, you like to see Samsung leverage its size to scale down the price of foldables. And for something like the Z Flip series, Samsung actually has done a decent job of that. The original Z Flip costs just shy of $1,500 dollars at launch, but Samsung has brought that price down to $1,000. Meanwhile, the first Z Fold started at just under $2,000, and has only come down by $200 over five generations.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Price is still by far the biggest barrier to entry when it comes to large flagship foldables. But if Samsung could bring the Z Fold line closer to $1,500 (even though that would still be very expensive), it would give Samsung a huge leg up on rivals like the Pixel Fold. So while I like the Z Fold 5’s sleeker design, brighter screen and improved multitasking, I still kind of feel like Samsung should be doing more.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be available in three main colors: Icy Blue, Phantom Black and cream along with gray and blue options which will be available exclusively from Samsung.com. The Z Fold 5 will start at $1,800 with pre-orders going live today ahead of an official on-sale date of August 11th.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-5-hands-on-specs-price-is-samsung-squandering-its-head-start-110009600.html?src=rss

CD Projekt Red is laying off nine percent of its staff

Though CD Projekt Red has a few games in the pipeline, the company behind the Witcher video game series apparently doesn't have enough work for all its employees. As a result, CD Projekt Red has announced it's cutting about 100 jobs or around nine percent of its workforce. This news follows layoffs in May and June when 29 people were let go from The Molasses Flood (owned by CD Projekt Red), followed by 30 people who worked on a Witcher card game that was scaled back.

"To meet our own high expectations and ambitions to create the best role-playing games, we not only want to have the best people but also the right teams," CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kiciński said in the announcement. "There's no easy way to say this, but today we are overstaffed. We have talented people on board who are finishing their tasks and — based on current and expected project needs — we already know we don't have other opportunities for them in the next year." The company will notify all impacted employees now, but layoffs will be staggered, with some not taking effect until the beginning of 2024.

CD Projekt Red had a rough last few years — especially with the mess that was the Cyberpunk 2077 launch. Sony Interactive Entertainment pulled the game from its PlayStation Store at the end of 2020 — only one week after it was released — due to widespread glitches. Customers were offered a refund, and CD Projekt Red's stock tumbled by over 20 percent, a drop of $1.8 billion. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, its follow-up starring Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba, will hopefully have a smoother launch when it comes out on September 26th.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cd-projekt-red-is-laying-off-nine-percent-of-its-staff-103509519.html?src=rss

Samsung Unpacked July 2023 event liveblog

It's that time of the year again. Samsung is ready to show off its next generation of foldable smartphones, but this year, we expect a barrage of Galaxy devices. Beyond hinged smartphones, rumors and leaks suggest at least one wearable and the successors to last year's Galaxy Tab S8 series. Before the show starts at a very early 4AM PT/ 7AM ET / 11AM BST tomorrow, grab a coffee and read up on everything we expect to see right here

This year, Samsung is broadcasting its Unpacked reveal event from its home in Seoul, South Korea, and we've got Engadget's Richard Lai on the ground there to capture what goes down. I'll support him here in London, UK, where it'll be a more sensible hour for a liveblog. Any questions? Pose them to me @thatmatsmith (X/Twitter or Threads, it's all the same?).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-unpacked-july-2023-event-liveblog-100031572.html?src=rss

European Union Finally Approves $47.5 billion Chips Act To Boost Chip Manufacturing

European Union Finally Approves $47.5 billion Chips Act To Boost Chip Manufacturing

The purpose of approving the new CHIPS act is to magnetize more investments and boost R&D in the EU nations

After several months of discussions, the European Union has finally approved the much-awaited $47.5 billion incentive plan to boost more fabs and escalate semiconductor manufacturing in the EU nation. The incentive plan is expected to augment the semiconductor industry’s market to 20 percent from the current 10 percent by the end of 2030. 

Staff Wed, 07/26/2023 - 13:57
Circuit Digest 26 Jul 09:27

Twitter's official handle is now @X

Twitter has changed its official handle from @Twitter to @X, as Engadget's intrepid reporter Kris Holt noticed ("Oof," he observed). If you attempt to access @Twitter, it now states: "This account is no longer active. Follow @X for updates." All past @Twitter tweets, (or X's, or whatever they're now called), are henceforth available in the @X account. 

That's not all. The Twitter Blue subscription service is now called @XBlue (Blue subscription) in the main description page. That means the majority of X née Twitter's handles have dumped the Twitter name or replaced it with X. For instance, @TwitterSupport, @TwitterDev and @TwitterAPI are now @Support, @Xdevelopers, and @API

Twitter didn't possess the @X handle yesterday, as it was in the hands of a user named Gene X Hwang, from a photography/video studio called Orange Photography, as Techcrunch reported. That changed as of today, though, and Hwang tweeted from a new handle "all's well that ends well," so hopefully he was compensated in some way for relinquishing the name. 

X has been working hard to remove all vestiges of Twitter branding, including partially taking down the Twitter sign at its San Francisco HQ before police intervened to due a lack of a permit. Twitter may still have to deal with IP issues, since Microsoft has owned an Xbox related X trademark for 20 years and Meta owns another trademark covering the letter X. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitters-official-handle-is-now-x-063237410.html?src=rss

The Honda E compact electric car might not get a follow-up

Honda's E electric car went on sale in the summer of 2020 in Europe and Japan, offering those who want a cute and compact vehicle a zero-emission option. The retro-styled EV could be the only model in its line, though, because the automaker apparently has no plans to produce more cars of the same size. At the launch event of e:Ny1, Honda's new electric SUV, Honda UK executive Rebecca Adamson told Autocar: "There won’t be more cars the size of the Honda E. I can say that confidently."

Adamson also said that Honda chose to focus on electric SUVs, because that's where the market demand in the UK is. "It's a market-led product line-up. As long as that’s where the market is, we will continue to be SUV driven," the executive said. Indeed, the car has several SUVs in its current lineup, which will soon include the e:Ny1. At a business briefing in April, Honda also said that it's building a mid-to-large-size EV based on its e:Architecture platform that will go on sale in North America in 2025. As another clue that Honda was going to put its focus on electric SUVs, it said it was further developing its vehicle OS for use with mid-to-large-size EVs.

The Honda E was relatively well-received for its stylish looks, but it has a small battery and has a pretty short range at 137 miles. It was meant for city and suburban use only, not for long stretches of road with no charging stations in sight. As for the e:Ny1, it's a compact SUV with a range of 256 miles and a fast charging capability that enables it to go from 10 to 80 percent in 45 minutes. It's only the brand's second pure EV after Honda E meant for release in the European market. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-honda-e-compact-electric-car-might-not-get-a-follow-up-051431133.html?src=rss

Twitter’s rebrand to X could worsen its legal and financial problems

Twitter’s rebrand to X is well underway. The name and iconic bird logo have been (mostly) stripped from the company’s San Francisco headquarters, and an “X” has replaced the blue bird atop twitter.com. Elon Musk has said the change is about more than just the name. He wants to turn the service formerly known as Twitter into an “everything app” that also encompasses banking and financial services.

But the rebrand could pose significant legal and financial challenges to the company, which has struggled since an advertiser exodus cut the company’s ad revenue by more than 50 percent. To start, there are hundreds of companies, including Microsoft and Meta, that own trademarks for variations of “X.” That could open the door to lawsuits and other legal headaches for Musk.

Shubha Ghosh, a law professor at Syracuse University, says that lawsuits are “quite common” when major companies rebrand and change their names and logos. “I'm kind of surprised he picked X because it's not that distinctive,” he says. “It's problematic in the sense that it's not something you can just suddenly do without anybody noticing and possibly suing.”

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Reuters that he counted almost 900 other companies with trademarks on “X.” And while not all of them will be able to credibly claim that the company formerly known as Twitter is interfering with their brand, it makes X an easy target.

“There is about a 100% probability that Twitter/X will be sued by both opportunistic and legitimate plaintiffs over the new name,” Gerben tweeted. “The company could easily spend tens of millions (if not $100+ million) in legal fees and settlement costs attempting to acquire trademark registrations for ‘X’ and in dealing with the litigation that is likely to result from the rebrand.”

For the same reasons, Twitter’s new X branding could also prove difficult to defend, especially internationally. “The chance that @elonmusk will be able to successfully register a trademark for ‘X’ for all the services he intends to provide, in every country he wants to provide them in, is very low,” Gerben wrote.

Even if Twitter is able to fend off legal challenges, there are serious business risks to doing away with a brand as globally recognizable as Twitter’s. Bloombergreported that some analysts have estimated the name change could wipe out billions of dollars in value from a brand that’s already been damaged by Musk.

Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media marketing at Carnegie Mellon University, says Twitter’s problems go far beyond potential legal headaches brought on by its rebrand. “There's a lot going on that is diminishing the value, the utility, the uniqueness, that Twitter, now X, has in the space,” he says pointing to the rise of Threads and other Twitter competitors. “Tweets are synonymous with this idea of blogging, or microblogging, it's going to be very difficult to resocialize a concept with the global population.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitters-rebrand-to-x-could-worsen-its-legal-and-financial-problems-233914973.html?src=rss

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2023: How to watch

Samsung Unpacked 2023

While Samsung already revealed its flagship Galaxy S23 phones earlier this year, summer is reserved for its foldable devices. This year, that event is taking place in South Korea, with the company teasing not just the latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 devices, but smartwatches and tablets as well — for more, check out our preview and video on what to expect. You'll have a couple of ways to follow along, so keep reading to find out more. 

When is Samsung Unpacked 2023?

Unpacked 2023 takes place in Samsung's home country of South Korea for the first time, and will be streamed live on July 26th at 7AM ET. 

How to watch Samsung Unpacked 2023

If yu can get up that early, Samsung is streaming the event on its website and YouTube channel and we've embedded the livestream above. If you'd rather have some in-depth commentary (or both), Engadget will be liveblogging the event starting at 7AM ET / 4AM PT / 11AM BST, and we have a reporter on the ground in South Korea. Follow all the activities by bookmarking our liveblog here, which will go live tomorrow morning.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-unpacked-july-2023-how-to-watch-220014632.html?src=rss

Amazon’s Kindle Kids e-reader is $40 off right now

Amazon has the company’s Kindle Kids e-reader on sale for 33 percent off right now. Its $80 price (usually $120) is nearly as low as it was on Prime Day, making it an ideal time to surprise your little one(s) with the gift of distraction-free reading. The device is an Engadget recommendation in our Best Educational Toys guide.

The discounted Kindle Kids model is the latest (2022) version. It includes a cover, bundled with your purchase, available in three designs resembling children’s book art: space whale, ocean explorer and unicorn valley.

The e-reader’s internal tech is identical to the standard 2022 Kindle, one of our picks for the best e-reader. Its specs include a high-res (300 ppi) display, 16GB storage, six weeks of battery life, USB-C charging and an adjustable front light. Each purchase comes with a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, including a library of thousands of kid-appropriate books and hundreds of audiobooks. (The membership will renew at $5 a month after that, so be sure to cancel before then if you only want the free year.)

Although the standard Kindle Kids is our top recommendation, you can also save on the Kindle Paperwhite Kids if you don’t mind spending more on an upgraded model. Compared to the cheaper Kindle Kids model, the child-focused Paperwhite has a larger screen (6.8 inches vs. 6 inches), more LEDs for better front-lit reading and an adjustable warm light that’s easier on the eyes. Amazon’s sale has the Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $114 (typically $170), only $10 higher than its Prime Day discount.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-kids-e-reader-is-40-off-right-now-192011410.html?src=rss