It’s hard to believe that in just a matter of years, foldable devices have gone from the stuff of science fiction to actual usable daily drivers. Here we are today, checking out the third generation of Samsung’s foldables, which the company just launched at its Unpacked event. The Fold 3 is the bigger, more premium of the new pair of bendy offerings, and the Fold series has been around longer than any other folding phone. Since launching the original, Samsung has worked to improve durability and software, which continue to be the two biggest challenges for foldables.

The Z Fold 3 is also the first of its kind to support Samsung's S Pen, meaning you can write or draw on the larger canvas without breaking the screen.

In addition to stylus support, the Z Fold 3 features water resistance, a new under display camera in the larger screen and a stronger build that Samsung says brings an 80-percent increase in durability. Best of all, it starts at a cheaper $1,800. At a socially distanced preview event in New York, I was able to check out the Z Fold 3 and am so far pleased with what I've seen.

S Pen support

Given my limited time with the device, I focused on checking out things that are new, starting with the $50 S Pen Fold Edition and $100 S Pen Pro. For these versions, Samsung made the nib rounder than on older styli, so they’re less likely to tear into the screen. If you apply too much force with the pen, its nib will retract. For those who are concerned that the nib might be too sensitive and slide back into its housing at the slightest touch, I can say that it took a fair amount of effort for that to happen during my hands-on.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Though the 1.5mm nib is rounder and more than twice as thick as older S Pens, I didn’t find it too large and it was still very precise. I was able to draw fine lines and sketch thicker ones by applying more force, thanks to the 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Samsung said the durability and latency on this screen are better than any other pen-compatible device it offers, and while I can’t make a direct comparison yet, the stylus did feel responsive and fluid in my brief preview. You can spend a little more to get the S Pen Pro, which also works with the Fold 3. It’s bigger, longer and supports Bluetooth for remote controls. Unlike the Fold Edition, the Pro model needs power and has a USB-C slot at the top for charging.

You can only use either S Pen on the internal screen, by the way — the cover display does not support pen input. There's also no slot for the stylus so you'll have to find a way to make sure you don't misplace it.

Multitasking software and under display camera

With the unfolded display, you can use multiple apps at once. The 22.5:18 aspect ratio is uncommon, which is why on previous Folds, many apps like Instagram and Netflix didn’t completely fill the screen and were awkwardly flanked by empty space.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Samsung has worked on a few experimental features to make Android apps work better on the roomier canvas. Under Labs in settings, you'll find options to choose 16:9, 4:3 or fullscreen as the default aspect ratios that apps launch in. You can also enable Multi Window for all apps, which allows them to open in floating panels or split screen, even if they weren’t designed for those layouts. There are also options to auto rotate apps and use a Flex mode panel that makes better use of the screen space when the system detects that the Fold is half-open.

At my demo session, I launched the Camera app on the Fold 3 and it expanded to take up the whole screen when I opened the device all the way till the hinge clicked in place. When I folded it slightly, the app split in half, with thumbnails of photos in my camera roll on the left side and the viewfinder and controls on the right. As I snapped more pictures, they quickly showed up on the carousel on the left. I was impressed with how responsive the system was — the app switched between Flex and fullscreen modes with no delay.

There aren’t many apps that support Flex Mode at the moment, but Samsung said it’s working with developers to encourage adoption. One more thing the company did to make multitasking on the Fold 3 easier is add an option to pin the Edge panel on the side to get a taskbar-like experience a la Windows or Chrome. I can’t vouch for how useful this will be in the real world yet but I like the idea in theory.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

To make the larger screen feel more immersive, Samsung used a new Under Display Camera (UDC) on the Fold 3 that camouflages the 4-megapixel sensor under some pixels. At least, that’s the theory. I was confused at first when I looked at the Fold 3’s main screen with a dark wallpaper and could clearly see the camera. Then I opened Google Maps and the small dark circle that’s the sensor disappeared under the blues and greens of the world. Well, sort of. There was still a ring of pixelation, but it was only obvious because I was looking for it.

The distortion is there because that part of the display has spaces between its pixels to let light through to the sensor underneath. It was noticeable in Maps, but less so in Chrome, where the top row of the screen was more evenly colored. I didn’t find it too distracting when I jumped between apps or browsed the Engadget website, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I got used to it over time.

The sample photos I got with the UDC were decent, although I’d still prefer using the main sensors on the other side of the Fold 3 for selfies or landscapes. This under-screen option is mostly there for video calls.

Updated screens and stronger build

Software and a UDC aren’t the only improvements to the Fold 3’s screens. Both the 7.6-inch interior display and the 6.2-inch external one now support adaptive 120Hz refresh rates. For the cover screen, that’s twice what it was before. The front panel is still somewhat low-res at 2,268 x 832, while the bigger one inside is 2,208 x 1,768. At least they’re both AMOLEDs. That means colors look richer, blacks are deeper and contrast ratios are higher than on LCD smartphones.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

To support the S Pen, Samsung also redid the Fold 3’s display stack and added a Wacom layer. While it did that, it also used a new stretchable PET5 (Polyethylene terephthalate) material in the Fold 3’s factory-installed screen protector. Compared to its previous foldables, Samsung claims this screen is 80 percent more durable.

The Fold 3 also features a stronger build than previous versions, and for the first time since Samsung started selling foldables, this year’s Z-series phones are rated IPX8 for water resistance. I didn’t get to test this at our demo, but I appreciate the peace of mind that will give me when I inevitably get caught in the rain or accidentally spill water all over a review unit.

The company also used something it calls “Armor Aluminum” in the Fold 3’s frame and hinge. That’s “the strongest aluminum ever used on a Galaxy smartphone,” Samsung said. It also covered the Fold 3 in Gorilla Glass Victus, which it said is 50 percent hardier than what it used on its older devices. Again, I didn’t want to drop or scratch the demo unit under the watchful eyes of Samsung reps at my preview, so I can’t say how well these will withstand the bumps of daily life yet. But the hinge did feel sturdy as I opened and shut the device repeatedly. Plus, as I pushed my thumb into the middle of the edge to close the Fold 3, I didn’t feel like I was going to damage it.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Although it made the device more durable, Samsung was still able to shave off a few grams and millimeters. The Fold 3 weighs 271 grams (0.6 pounds) and measures 6.4mm (0.25 inches) thick, which is thinner and lighter than the Z Fold 2 (282 grams, 6.9mm). These are subtle enough differences that the new Fold doesn’t feel much smaller than its predecessor, but even an 11-gram weight loss can make it easier to use the device for longer.

A more noticeable change is the new slate of colors. The Fold 3 is available in silver, green or black, and my favorite of these is the green. It’s a muted forest green, unlike the pastel hue on the iPhone 12 or the understated jade of the Pixel 5. Compared to these shades, the Fold 3’s looked the classiest.

Wrap-up

Three generations in, Samsung has clearly learned a lot and the Z Fold 3, at least based on this preview, feels very refined. Plus, its lower starting price of $1,800 is more palatable than the Fold 2’s $2,000. But does that mean Samsung has perfected its foldable formula, and is the Fold 3 ready for the average consumer? Even at its new price, it’s probably still too expensive for most people. For early adopters curious about things like battery life and camera performance, I can’t gauge these till I can test the Fold 3 out in the real world. But for the first time since the original Fold, I can see a future where foldable phones will be embraced by a mainstream audience.

Follow all of the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event right here!

We knew the Galaxy Watch 4 was coming, and that it would run the new Wear OS Samsung co-engineered with Google. We even saw previews of what it would look like. But that doesn't mean there's nothing left to learn about Samsung's latest smartwatches. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch Classic 4, which launched today, feature a new 3-in-1 sensor, sharper screens and can even perform body fat scans. At a demo event in New York, I was able to check them both out and see what Wear OS on a Galaxy watch looks like.

Before we get too far ahead though, it’s worth noting that Samsung’s getting rid of the “Active” branding from its existing lineup — the Watch 4 is the spiritual successor to the Watch Active 2 (there wasn’t an Active 3). Meanwhile, it’s adding the “Classic” moniker to the previous “regular” Watch line, which the Watch 4 Classic is now the latest member of. Yep, not confusing at all.

The new Wear OS on Samsung is basically Tizen

Setting aside the frustrating rebranding, Tizen fans have nothing to worry about with the new OS on the Watch 4s. There’s barely any difference. The main change I noticed is that instead of All Apps being one of the pages that you come across when swiping sideways through the watch, you can now access them by pulling up from the home screen. Otherwise, you can still swipe horizontally to scroll through widgets and cards like Weather, Exercise, Heart Rate and Stress, while quick settings are above the home screen.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

This similarity to Tizen is something Samsung and Google are aware of. A Google spokesperson told Engadget that Wear OS 3 lets device makers add customized user experiences on top of the platform, like picking specific apps and services to be the default options. Though the two companies collaborated to “bring together the best of Wear OS and Tizen into one unified platform,” it’s becoming evident that smartwatch makers will still bring distinct identities to their devices.

To distinguish between different versions of Wear OS, there will be unique branding as well. For example, the Galaxy Watch 4 series is running “Wear OS powered by Samsung.”

It’s still unclear what Wear OS 3 will look like on other devices, but a Google spokesperson added that “while we expect many watches to have this experience in the future, there will start to be new consumer experiences introduced to the ecosystem.” Confusing? Potentially. But for now, it sounds like, while Google and Samsung did collaborate on a unified wearable platform, Galaxy smartwatches will run what amounts to a renamed version of Tizen with better third-party app support. 

There are updated Google Maps, Messages, Pay and YouTube Music experiences, along with new apps and Tiles from Calm, MyFitnessPal, Strava, Sleep Cycle, Spotify and more. The Play Store is also available on the Galaxy Watch 4 for wrist-based discovery and installation, while Samsung’s One UI interface makes it easier to keep your phone and watch themes and notifications in sync.

Minor cosmetic updates

On the Watch 4 Classic, you’ll find Samsung’s hallmark rotating the bezel for spinning through widgets. Like the Galaxy Watch 3, the mechanical wheel is lighter and less clunky than older models, while still getting into each notch with a satisfying click.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The larger variants of both the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic feature sharper 450 x 450 displays, while remaining basically the same size as before. The Classic now comes in 42mm and 46mm options versus 41mm and 45mm before, and the regular or Active models are still available in 40mm and 44mm. Also, Samsung is offering the Classic style in black, silver or green, and the standard edition in black, silver or pink.

In person, the black and silver Watch 4s looked like green and white, respectively, though that might have something to do with the warm lighting in our demo area. And though they have bigger faces than I like, the Watch 4 felt comfortable on my wrist — so much so that I forgot I was wearing one and almost walked out of our briefing with it on. Meanwhile, the Watch 4 Classic, which weighs 46.5 grams (or 52 grams in the 46mm size), felt heavier and more noticeable.

A new sensor and processor

Hardware improvements to the Watch 4 series don’t end at aesthetics. The biggest change this year is what Samsung is calling a new 3-in-1 BioActive sensor. The three here refers to optical heart rate, electrical heart rate and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). In addition to a smaller design that uses one chip to run the trio of sensors, this also enables a new feature: Body Composition measurement.

I’m super excited for this new service, since I like the additional insight that my body fat percentage brings to my understanding of my overall health. BMI is only one facet of your general fitness (and not a great one at that), and having a convenient way to get a body fat scan is something I’ve been looking for. I’ve been using Amazon’s camera-based tool in its Halo app to get a reading every month (the most accurate method would be to visit a doctor for a full DXA scan, but I’ve yet to take one).

Mat Smith / Engadget

I used the preview units of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic to take two separate readings of my body composition. It was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was fill in my gender, height and weight, then hold my middle and ring fingers against the two buttons on the watch for about 15 seconds. Both times, the smartwatches gave me a result of 30.8 percent, which is a little higher than what I usually get from Amazon’s app, but not too far off.

Other improvements to health-tracking include new snoring detection via a compatible smartphone, more accurate sleep-logging and faster auto-detection of workouts. Overnight, too, the Watch 4s will measure your blood oxygen level. Of course, I couldn’t test the sleep-related features at our brief preview session.

The Watch 4 series are also the first Galaxy Watches to sport 5nm processors, with a 20 percent faster CPU, 50 percent more RAM (16GB) and a GPU that’s 10 times speedier than the previous generation, according to Samsung. From my limited experience with them, the Watch 4s certainly felt fast, but I’d need more time in the real world to know how they hold up against the likes of Apple and Fitbit.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Samsung also promises up to 40 hours of battery life on the Galaxy Watch 4 series, though versions with LTE will likely have shorter runtimes. When you run out of juice, you should be able to get up to 10 hours of power in 30 minutes, too.

Along with the sleep-tracking features and overall performance improvements, battery life is another thing I look forward to testing on the Galaxy Watch 4 when we receive review units. The wearables go on sale on August 27th, though you can pre-order them today, with the smaller Watch 4 starting at $250 and the Watch 4 Classic costing $100 more. 

While I’m stoked about the body composition measurement feature, I’m not yet convinced that the new Galaxy Watches with Wear OS powered by Samsung can take on Apple’s watchOS. But, at least based on my early impressions, Samsung continues to have the best smartwatch for Android users, even if that’s not a very high bar.

Follow all of the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event right here!

This week, Cherlynn is joined by guest co-host Terrence O’Brien and senior tech correspondent at Insider Lisa Eadicicco to discuss Google’s own mobile chip Tensor and the Pixel 6. We share more insight from having seen and used the phones in person, too. Plus, we go over some updates from the Activision Blizzard case and a handful of new gadgets.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Google announces Tensor, its own mobile chip, will debut on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro – 1:47

• Activision/Blizzard hit with another lawsuit – 33:08 

• NLRB recommends a new union election for Amazon’s Alabama warehouse – 40:04

• Google Nest launches new battery-powered doorbell and security cameras – 43:06

• Amazon releases a soap dispenser that counts to 20 – 47:58

• R2-D2 Tamagotchi is coming later this year – 49:26

• Working on – 52:23

• Pop culture picks – 56:40

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Terrence O'Brien
Guest: Lisa Eadicicco
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Owen Davidoff, Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

If you’re a big Samsung fan, you’ve probably already marked your calendar for August 11th, when the company is holding its next Galaxy Unpacked event. Though it has held many events already in 2021, at least this time around it’s one that we’ve been anticipating. In recent years, Samsung has unveiled new Note phones every August. But at this coming Unpacked, the company will not be showing off a new Note. Thanks to the enterprising rumor mill and.. Samsung itself… We have a very good idea of what to expect on August 11th.

Foldables: The third generation

The company published a blog post this week in which its president TM Roh teased what’s to come. First up: Foldables. Yes, that’s plural. We’ll be seeing the third-generation of the Galaxy Z series, including the next Z Flip and Z Fold. If you’ll recall, the Z Flip is the smaller, Moto Razr-style phone that looks like a regular phone that you can close in half. Meanwhile, the Z Fold is more of a tablet-phone hybrid, where a 6.2-inch device opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch screen.

What might Samsung bring in new versions of these devices? Based on the leaks floatingaround the internet, the Z Flip 3 will possibly have a 1.9-inch outer screen, with a 6.7-inch internal flexible display. That external panel is significantly bigger than the 1.1-inch sliver on the older Z Flip, which could make it more useful when the device is shut. We’ve also seen reports that the inside screen will run at 120hz and sport dual 12-megapixel rear cameras and a 10-megapixel selfie shooter.

Chris Velazco / Engadget

Meanwhile, the Z Fold 3 is rumored to have a similar setup to the existing model, with a 6.2-inch exterior panel and a 7.6-inch version inside. It’ll probably have triple 12-megapixel cameras and two selfie cameras on either side. Both models are reported to be rated IPX8 for water resistance, though dust-resistance clearly still remains a challenge. These are all educated guesses based on what’s been leaked, so I’d take the details with a grain of salt.

What has been confirmed is that the foldables will support Samsung’s S Pen. The stylus has been a hallmark of the Note series and the company enabled support for it on its flagship S series earlier this year. In his blog post, Roh said the S Pen was specifically designed for its foldables.

A stylus made for the pliable screens on foldables has been a widely requested feature, and would make the larger, opened up displays more useful. Of course, Samsung shared little else about this S Pen besides the fact that it's coming, so there are plenty of unknowns at the moment. How will it avoid damaging the softer, flexible screen? What size is its nib, what is its pressure sensitivity and will the foldables have onboard slots to house it? Will it have Bluetooth support for remote control actions? Clearly, these are things we'll have to wait till Unpacked on August 11th to learn about.

Wearables: New headphones and Wear OS watches 

Samsung also already spilled the beans on its upcoming Galaxy Watch running the new Wear OS that it co-engineered with Google. We’ve also seen plenty of leaked renders of the purported Galaxy Watch 4, which is likely to come in an Active and a Classic edition. The latter might be available in three sizes instead of just two, and appears to feature the popular rotating bezel Samsung’s watches are known for. Expect to see more details about the hardware and the UI at Unpacked, in addition to pricing and availability.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

That’s not the only wearable that will make an appearance. We’ve also seen leaks indicating new Galaxy Buds 2 might show up at Unpacked. The company’s next wireless earbuds appear to have a more refined design and more color options. One report based on a beta version of an upcoming plugin on Samsung’s update server also indicated the possibility of active noise cancellation, touch controls and a simplified battery interface.

That’s pretty much all we know so far, though I wouldn’t put it past Samsung to have something else hidden up its sleeve for the event. Will Blackpink show up? I wish. But as for actual hardware, this is already a pretty long list of things to expect come August 11th. Samsung’s launch kicks off at 10am Eastern that day, and you should come watch it with us on Engadget’s YouTube channel. We’ll be starting at 9:40AM Eastern with a pre-show and hanging around after Samsung wraps to answer your burning questions. I hope to see you then!

Rick Osterloh casually dropped his laptop onto the couch and leaned back, satisfied. It’s not a mic, but the effect is about the same. Google’s chief of hardware had just shown me a demo of the company’s latest feature: computational processing for video that will debut on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The feature was only possible with Google’s own mobile processor, which it’s announcing today.

He’s understandably proud and excited to share the news. The chip is called Tensor, and it’s the first system-on-chip (SoC) designed by Google. The company has “been at this about five years,” he said, though CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a statement that Tensor “has been four years in the making and builds off of two decades of Google’s computing experience.”

That software expertise is something Google has come to be known for. It led the way in computational photography with its Night Sight mode for low light shots, and weirded out the world with how successfully its conversational AI Duplex was able to mimic human speech — right down to the “ums and ahs.” Tensor both leverages Google’s machine learning prowess and enables the company to bring AI experiences to smartphones that it couldn’t before.

Holding a diet Coke in one hand and gesturing animatedly with the other, Osterloh threw around hyperbolic marketing language like “We’re transforming the computing experience” and “It’ll be what we consider to be a pretty dramatic transformation overall.”

Google

He’s alluding to Tensor enabling experiences that previous chips (the company’s mostly used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in its prior phones) couldn’t deliver. Things like being able to run multiple AI-intensive tasks simultaneously without a phone overheating, or having enough power to apply computational processing to videos as they’re being captured.

That belief in Tensor’s significance is part of why Google chose to announce it today ahead of the Pixel 6’s actual launch in the fall. The company isn’t giving away all the details about the processor yet, nor is it sharing specific information about its latest flagships now. But “there's a lot of new stuff here, and we wanted to make sure people had context,” Osterloh said. “We think it’s a really big change, so that’s why we want to start early.”

Plus, there’s an added benefit. “Information gets out,” Osterloh added. “Nowadays it’s like, stuff leaks.”

A new chip design with AI infused

Thanks to those leaks, though, we’ve heard plenty of rumors about Google’s efforts to make its own mobile processor for a while, under the code name Project Whitechapel. While the company won’t publicly discuss code names, it’s clear that work on Tensor has been going on for a long time.

The chip’s name is an obvious nod to the company’s open-source platform for machine learning, TensorFlow, Osterloh said, and that should tell you how big a role AI plays in this processor. Though Google isn’t ready to share the full details about Tensor yet, Osterloh did explain that the SoC is an ARM chip designed around a TPU, or Tensor Processing Unit. The mobile chip was co-designed with Google’s AI researchers and the TPU is based on their larger versions in the company’s data centers.

Google

It’s not just designed to speed up machine learning tasks on your phone, either. Osterloh said they’ve also redesigned the image signal processor, or ISP. Specifically, he said there are a “few points in the ISP where we can actually insert machine learning, which is new.”

Google also reconstructed the memory architecture to make it easier to access RAM, and allow for data manipulation while processing images. There are also a few places where Osterloh said they’ve directly encoded their image processing algorithms into the hardware. He says this allows Google to do “stuff that was previously impossible to do on standard SoCs,” though he didn’t share specific details on what Tensor now enables that previous SoCs couldn’t.

Of course, with this being Google’s first mobile chip, Osterloh concedes people might see the company as unproven. Though he did push back by saying, “I think people are pretty aware of Google’s overall capability.”

It’s natural to wonder if the company can compete in areas like power efficiency and heat management. Osterloh said they’ve designed Tensor to perform some tasks more power efficiently than previous processors they’ve used while staying within a thermal threshold. Similar to existing processors, Osterloh said “the system has a bunch of different subsystems, [and] we can use the most power efficient element of it for the task at hand.”

Google

Though there’s an ongoing global chip shortage, Osterloh is confident that Google can manage demand. “Everyone’s affected by this, no doubt,” he said. “The positive thing about this is it’s under our control, we’re making this and we’re responsible for it. So we think we should be okay.”

Why make Tensor?

So what can Tensor do that other mobile processors can’t? Google is saving most of the juicy bits for the Pixel 6’s launch in the fall. But, it did offer two examples of areas that would see dramatic improvement: Photography and voice recognition (and processing). At our meeting, Osterloh showed off some demos of new Tensor-enabled features on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which also gives us our first look at the phones. The handsets feature a distinctive new look and bright color options. They also have a horizontal camera bump that spans the width of the rear, which is “a very intentional part of the design,” Osterloh notes. "We’ve really been known for photography, [so] we wanted to really emphasize this.”

Google’s upgraded the cameras themselves, but the promised photography improvements aren’t just from optical hardware. Tensor is behind some of it. With previous chips, the company kept running into limits when trying to improve photography on its phones. “These weren’t designed for machine learning, or AI, and certainly not designed to optimize for where Google’s headed,” he said.

Google

So where is Google headed? Towards a world of “ambient computing,” a vision that Osterloh and many of his colleagues have touted in the past. They see a future where all the devices and sensors we’re surrounded by can communicate with Google (sometimes via the Assistant) or the internet. But Osterloh knows that for most people, the most important device is still going to be the smartphone. “We see the mobile phone as the center of that.”

So when Google wanted to improve beyond the limits of contemporary processors, it had to do something different. “What we've done in the past, when we encountered these kinds of engineering, constraints and technical constraints, is we take on the problem ourselves,” Osterloh said.

Upgrading photo and video processing

With Tensor, the Pixel 6 can do things like concurrently capture images from two sensors, with the main one recording at normal exposure and the wide-angle running at a much faster shutter speed. Osterloh said the system runs a number of different machine learning models in real time to help figure out stuff about the scene, like whether there’s a face and is the device moving or shaking. The Pixel 6 will then combine all that info and use it to process photos so that if you’re trying to capture a hyperactive puppy or toddler, you’ll be less likely to get a blurry shot.

Tensor will also let Google perform computationally intensive tasks while you’re shooting video. Osterloh said that in the past the company hasn’t been able to apply a lot of machine learning to video, since it would be too taxing for a phone processor. But “that all changes with Tensor,” he said. One thing they’ve been able to run is an HDRnet model on videos, which drastically improves quality in tricky situations like when the camera is pointing at the sun.

Osterloh showed me demos of how the Pixel 6 did both these things, including a before-and-after example of a blurry photo of an active child and video comparisons of a campground at sunset. While there was a clear difference, I unfortunately can’t show you the results. Besides, these were controlled demos from Google. I can’t really gauge how impressive and useful these features are until we get to test them in the real world.

Improvements in voice and speech

I did get to see a more telling preview, though. Osterloh also showed me how voice dictation will work in the Pixel 6 on GBoard. On the upcoming phone, you’ll be able to hit the microphone button in the compose field, narrate your message and use hotwords like “Send” or “Clear” to trigger actions. You can also edit typos via the onscreen keyboard while the mic is still listening for your dictation.

This all works via a new Speech On Device API, and I was impressed that the system was smart enough to distinguish between when you say “Send” in “I will send the kids to school” versus when you’re telling it to send the message. Osterloh told me the algorithm is looking not just for the hotword but also your tone of voice and delivery before it triggers the action.

Finally, there are a couple more things that Osterloh showed me: Live Caption with Translate, as well as Android 12’s Material You design. Thanks to Tensor, Android’s Live Caption feature, which provides subtitles for anything playing through your device’s sound system, will be able to translate what’s being said in real time as well. This all happens on device, so the next time you’re watching a foreign-language TED Talk or your favorite international TV show, it won’t matter if they don’t have subtitles — Tensor will provide.

Google

A look at Material You

Meanwhile, Material You, which Google first unveiled at I/O this year, is what Osterloh called the biggest UI change in Android maybe since the beginning. I’ve been waiting to see the feature in the Android 12 public beta, but it’s still not available there. At our meeting, Osterloh showed me how it works — he changed the wallpaper of a Pixel 6 from something more rosy hued to a scene of a body of water, and the system’s icons and highlights quickly updated to match. App icons were painted to match as well, but something new I learned from this demo was that if you’re like me and prefer your icons to keep their original colors, you can opt to leave them untouched.

We’ve gotten a really good look at what’s coming in the fall, though Google is still keeping plenty of details under wraps. We don’t know yet if it plans to say if it had help from other manufacturers in coming up with Tensor, and details about CPU and GPU cores, clock speeds and other components will be shared later this year. But with the new chip, Google’s been able to realize a years-long dream.

“We kind of see this as The Google Phone,” he said. “This is what we set out to build several years ago and we’re finally here.”

Smartphone launch season is typically in the fall, but Google has unexpectedly early news to share today. The company just announced that not only is the Pixel 6 coming this fall, but it’ll feature the very first system-on-chip designed by Google. The chip is called Tensor and it leverages the company’s AI expertise to enable more powerful and better integrated machine learning on devices. At a demo event to show off Tensor’s prowess, I was able to check out the Pixel 6 with the company’s chief of hardware Rick Osterloh. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures or video, and Google hasn’t shared all of the phones’ specs, but I can tell you about a few new features.

First, there will be two lines: Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Google hasn’t shared the actual dimensions yet, but the Pro, which is larger, felt similar in size to a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. They both look like the leaked renders we’ve seen, except shinier and three-dimensional. There’s a band about an inch tall on the rear in black, lime green or peachy red, and below that sits a horizontal camera bump that stretches across the case. According to Google's blog post, the sensors and lenses were improved and "are now too big to fit into the traditional square."

Yes, when you place the Pixel 6 on a table there’s still a slope because of the bar, but since it’s not off to a corner like on prior Pixels (or Galaxy phones or iPhones), the phone won’t wobble from side to side. The rest of the back is black, pastel green or pastel peach correspondingly.

For the Pro line, the colors are more subtle with less contrast between the sections, but they have what Osterloh called “high gloss metal accents” along the edges. The camera bump also gets this shiny treatment on the Pros, which come in black, white and sort of a light orange. The regular Pixel 6 has a matte finish on its sides. All the phones I saw appeared to have glass on their backs, with screens that are slightly curved along the edges. Google also moved the selfie camera from the top left corner to the middle of the display.

Google

I loved the peachy pastel version of the Pixel 6, though the mostly black version would suit those who prefer something less flashy. (Google doesn’t have names for the colors yet, though Osterloh said their marketing team has fun with them.)

More importantly, Google’s upgraded the cameras themselves. It’s not sharing specific megapixel or sensor size information yet, but did say these are sharper and larger sensors than before. Osterloh said the Pixel 6’s main camera will let in about 150% more light than previous Pixels. There’s also an ultrawide lens for both models, and the Pro gets an extra telephoto option as well with 4x optical zoom.

In addition to the actual camera hardware improvements, the Pixel 6s promise better photo processing thanks to Tensor. At our meeting, Osterloh highlighted changes coming in how Google will process images and videos for clearer, better exposed images of moving subjects. The company was also able to apply things like an HDRNet to video as it’s recording a scene to ease tricky situations like shooting a campsite with the phone pointed at the sun.

Google

Google also redesigned its speech software, with a new platform called SODA (Speech On Device API) that lets apps leverage Tensor for data-center-level speech recognition. Better yet, Osterloh said this all runs at half the power it used to on prior Pixels. He showed me a new Live Caption with Translate feature that subtitles all audio playing through your phone’s sound system. With Tensor, the device can both transcribe and translate what’s playing at the same (ish) time, without needing to use the cloud for processing.

Dictation is also getting some major upgrades. In GBoard on the Pixel 6, you’ll be able to hit the microphone button in the compose field, narrate your message and use hotwords like “Send” or “Clear” to trigger actions. You can also edit typos via the onscreen keyboard while the mic is still listening for your dictation.

We don’t have all the details on CPU and GPU cores or clock speeds, RAM and battery life yet — those will come later. But Osterloh did say Google knows “users expect to get a day’s worth of battery life,” and that it’s aiming for that mark but to also “offer them a lot more capability in that period of time.” The devices will also support 5G, which “in the US means supporting all the different bands we have here,” Osterloh said. He declined to name any brands of 5G modems, though.

Though it’s not an official launch for the Pixel 6, this preview has shown us a lot. There will be new cameras, new design, new UI (in Android 12) and a new chip, among other things. Osterloh said he’s excited about the launch. “We kind of see this as The Google Phone,” he said. “This is what we set out to build several years ago and we’re finally here.”

After several quarters of continuallygrowingrevenue, Google's parent company Alphabet announced today that it made $61.9 billion in Q2 2021. That's a jump of 62 percent from the same period last year, when the organization's revenue dipped due to the onset of the pandemic. Last quarter, Alphabet posted $55.3 billion in revenue. Clearly, the company has long recovered from the slump it faced from the pandemic last year. 

Like it did last quarter, Alphabet's net income rose significantly, from about $7 billion in Q2 2020 to $18.5 billion in the same period this year. Most of its money continues to come from advertising and search, while Google Cloud and its "Other Bets" division saw modest revenue growth as well. 

CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement that "a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world" and "long-term investments in AI and Google Cloud" drove the results.

The company is hosting an earnings call at 4:30pm ET today on its YouTube channel, where CEO Sundar Pichai will make a statement regarding the results. We'll update this story with more details as we get it. 

This story is developing, please refresh for updates.

Ahead of its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung has published a blog post by its president TM Roh that basically tells us what it plans to announce next month. In addition to a new Galaxy Watch powered by Wear OS, the company will be launching the third generation of its Galaxy Z series and "the first-ever S Pen designed specifically for foldable phones."

A stylus made for the pliable screens on foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip has been a widely requested feature, and would make the larger, opened up displays more useful. Of course, Samsung shared little else about this S Pen besides the fact that it's coming, so there are plenty of unknowns at the moment. How will it avoid damaging the softer, flexible screen? How precise will the stylus be? What size is its nib, what is its pressure sensitivity and will there be the foldables have onboard slots to house it? Will it have Bluetooth support for remote control actions? Clearly, these are things we'll have to wait till Unpacked on August 11th to learn about.

Roh also confirmed that Samsung will not be launching a new Note handset at the event, saying that "Instead of unveiling a new Galaxy Note this time around, we will further broaden beloved Note features to more Samsung Galaxy devices."

Chris Velazco / Engadget

As for the third generation of the Galaxy Z phones we'll be seeing at the event, Roh said the company has "lined up even more partner apps that make the most of the versatile fold-out format." We can expect "hands-free optimized video calling with Google Duo and watching videos in Flex mode on YouTube," as well as "multitasking in Microsoft Teams." 

Specifically, too, the next Galaxy Z Flip will have "an even more refined style" and "more durable, stronger materials," while the upcoming Z Fold will "combine the very best that smartphones and tablets offer and [deliver] completely new ways of working, connecting and creating."

The language is unsurprisingly vague, as Samsung can't give away all the details ahead of Unpacked. But it clearly also wants people to be excited — excited enough that they might be temped to reserve one of the new Z series devices already. If you choose to go through the company's Reserve Now program, you can trade in up to two devices, including phones, tablets and wearables, towards a new Galaxy product. I'd recommend till we learn more about what's coming on August 11th before doing that, and you can join us on Engadget's YouTube channel to watch Unpacked live. We'll be kicking things off with a pre-show at 9:40am ET and answer your questions in a post-show after Samsung wraps. 

Samsung has just announced what feels like itszilliontheventthisyear. But at least this one's something we were expecting. The company just sent out invites to Galaxy Unpacked for August 11th at 10am ET, and the event will be held online only. 

In years past, Samsung's hosted August launches for its Note series of high-powered phones. This time, though, multiple reports have indicated that there won't be a new Note. That's become a more likely possibility now, after the company brought Pen support to its Galaxy S21 flagships this year. The stylus has been a hallmark of the Note line since its conception and has distinguished the series from its S-branded siblings. 

Samsung

Instead of a new Note, it's more likely we'll see new foldable phones like follow-ups to the Z Flip and Z Fold 2 based on the invite. Samsung showed off more flexible screen concepts in May, and though it might be awhile till we see those designs in a real product, the company is clearly continuing to work on the technology. Samsung also confirmed that it will be launching a new Galaxy Watch at this Unpacked, and the device will run a version of Wear OS that it co-engineered with Google. There's also a good chance Samsung will debut new earbuds since the "Galaxy Buds 2" has leakedtwice this month.

We'll be streaming Samsung's event live on our YouTube channel, where we'll host a pre-show and a Q&A after the company is done. Come join us to watch the launch together live and get your questions answered as quickly as possible. 

When Google introduced a new TV overlay last year, it promised to bring a modern interface to Chromecast and subsequently launched devices. It also caused a lot of confusion over what would happen to the Android TV operating system, which powers hundreds of models of streaming sticks, TV sets and more. Those older devices didn't get the new Google TV interface, but the company did begin to roll out some updates that made Android TV look more similar to the new layout, including a refreshed appearance and a Discover tab. Today, Google is adding new tools to Android TV to make it feel more like Google TV: Watchlist, recommendation tuning and detail pages.

With this update, you can now add titles to your watchlist across the Android TV system, either by long-pressing on your selection and hitting "Add to Watchlist" or pressing the Watchlist option in the show's detail page. You can also add to the list from your phone or laptop via Google Search or in the TV app. Your saved items will appear in a row on the Discover tab. 

The company also tweaked the detail pages of each show by adding trailers that autoplay when you dive deeper into each title, similar to how services like Netflix are set up. You can turn these off in the Settings (under Home Screen in Device Preferences by deactivating "Enable video previews"). 

Google

You'll also find a new way to tell Google what shows you like (and hate) in the Home Screen settings — look for Content Preferences and scroll through the titles that show up. Additionally, there's a card in the Discover tab that says "Improve your recommendations" that will let you tune your preferences too, and you can choose between "More like this" or "Less like this" for each show. Once you're done, the system will update its suggestions for you in the Discover page.

Those already using a Chromecast with Google TV will find these features familiar, and those with older Android TV devices don't have to wait long to get them. Google said the updates will arrive on Android TV devices "beginning this week."