Now that many kids are about to go back to school, Google thinks it can offer a helping hand — including after class. It's introducing Assistant and search features to help parents coordinate in morning and kids to learn more (or at least, stay entertained). To start, Family Bell is coming to mobile devices. Accordingly, it can soon start a checklist on a Nest Hub to remind kids to make the bed and brush their teeth before they fly out the door.
Kids will also have more ways to improve their education at home. Search now has an interactive periodic table that uses augmented reality and 3D to help children visualize atoms and learn useful tidbits about the elements. On their phones, young ones can tap a Live Translation button in search to recall a particular phrase. Assistant will also offer more diverse educational stories from The English Schoolhouse, while Harry Potter fans will have the option of listening to Fantastic Beasts stories on Android or Assistant smart displays.
And yes, there's something for the parents who need to get moving. You'll soon have the option of starting your morning Assistant routine the moment you dismiss your alarm, making it easier to focus on your kids or just getting dressed for the day.
The feature additions might be particularly apt in a year where back-to-school will be complicated. Many kids will finally return to in-person classes as the pandemic subsides, but some will still have to learn remotely for some or all of the school year. In theory, Google is covering both bases.
Owlet, the company best known for its smart sock wearables for infants and babies, has just released the Smart Sock Plus. The new product is designed to monitor the same stats as the previous versions — heart rate, pulse ox and sleep metrics — but can now be used on children up to five years old or 55 pounds.
Owlet says that one of the most frequent requests they received from parents was the ability to use the sock past the 18 month cut off period. The company has updated the algorithms to measure older children as they grow, but otherwise works much the same as before.
A sock with a sensor is fastened around your child's foot and readings are sent to a base station that will alert parents and caregivers if your child's heart rate or pulse ox drop below a preset zone. The app also tracks sleep metrics and will work along side the company's camera to provide a complete picture of your child's well being as they sleep.
The Smart Sock Plus includes three sizes of the fabric sock to fit your kiddo as they grow and is available now for $359. Existing Smart Sock 3 customers can purchase an expansion pack for $69 which provides users with two additional sock sizes. The Owlet Cam retails for $149 on its own, or you can get the bunlded package with the Smart Sock Plus for $459.
After the introduction of the Galaxy Buds Pro earlier this year, Samsung finally had a true wireless lineup that covered all of the bases. Ambient sound, wireless charging and other premium features were already standard on the company’s earbuds, but with the Pro it added true active noise cancellation (ANC), 360 audio and more. Now Samsung is circling back and redesigning its entry-level buds. With the Galaxy Buds 2, the company brings features typically reserved for its pricer models to a set of $150 earbuds, reducing the number of tradeoffs that are usually required if you want to spend a little less.
Design
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For the Galaxy Buds 2, Samsung ditched the triangular touch panel and fit wing for an oval shape that’s reminiscent of the Galaxy Buds Pro. The outer panel is seamless, so you can’t tell where the touch controls are exactly. There’s no button or frame outlining them; the only things visible on the outside are two of the three microphones, one of which replaces the tiny grille on the Pro model.
Samsung says the Galaxy Buds 2 are 15-percent smaller and 20-percent lighter than the Galaxy Buds+ which were already quite tiny. This makes them noticeably smaller than the Galaxy Buds Pro as well, even though the overall design is similar. The Galaxy Buds 2 aren’t as deep, which accounts for their more compact stature. Indeed, Samsung’s smallest and lightest earbuds yet are also some of its most comfortable. These earbuds are among the tiniest I’ve tested and the size helps them nestle snugly in your ear without the burden of extra weight or the protruding design you get with larger models.
Like the Galaxy Buds Pro, the outer touch panel area of the Galaxy Buds 2 has a glossy finish, although this new model is clearly made of plastic. The Pro version has a bit of metallic character, giving them a more premium look. Samsung kept the same IPX2 rating, which means you should be fine if you get caught in some drizzle, but frequent splashes and sweaty workouts might cause problems.
The cases for both the Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds Pro are nearly identical. They’re the exact same size and shape: a small square with rounded corners. With the Galaxy Buds 2, Samsung opted for a glossy finish over the previous matte exterior. Plus, every case for this new model is white, no matter which color bud you choose. Only the interior cradle that holds the earbuds and the thin seam where the case closes matches your hue preference. A single LED up front keeps you aware of the charging status while a USB-C port around back is available for wired top-ups.
Software
Billy Steele/Engadget
Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app is where you access all of the controls and settings for the Galaxy Buds 2, just like it was for the company’s other recent earbuds. This includes the ability to switch between ANC, ambient sound and both off as well as adjusting ambient sound levels, reassigning the touch and hold gesture, selecting an EQ preset, activating hands-free Bixby and checking battery percentage. It’s also where you can employ Samsung’s Find My Earbuds feature should you misplace a bud.
Touch controls are mirrored on both sides by default with a single tap for play/pause, a double tap to skip tracks ahead and a triple tap to return to the previous song. A touch and hold function switches between active noise cancellation and ambient sound. You can’t adjust the level of environmental noise you let in on the earbuds; this just returns to your last selection. There is the option to set this to toggle between ANC and off or ambient sound and off if you dive further into the settings. You can also choose to disable all of the touch controls entirely or one or more of them individually.
Samsung gives you the ability to reconfigure the touch and hold option, but you have limited alternatives. You can set it to activate Bixby, give you one-touch access to Spotify or on-board volume control. If you choose that last option, you can only assign volume down to the left earbud and volume up to the right. As was the case with previous Galaxy Buds, a full suite of volume controls means you lose access to something handy like ANC/ambient sound.
Similar to lots of other companies, Samsung has once again included an ear tip fit test in its app. This short diagnostic plays a few seconds of sound to ensure optimal audio quality and noise cancellation.
Samsung offered deep iOS integration on the Galaxy Buds+. In fact, you got nearly all of the same features on your iPhone as someone with a Galaxy device. The company backed off of that with its recent products and continues to do so with the Galaxy Buds 2. You’ll need an Android phone to dive into all the Galaxy Wearable app offers. Samsung also has a Galaxy Buds app for Windows, but if you’re hoping to use these new earbuds with an iPhone, iPad or Mac, just know you’re stuck with the default settings.
Sound quality
Billy Steele/Engadget
The audio quality hasn’t ever been mind-blowing on Samsung’s more affordable Galaxy Buds. It was a huge disappointment on the original model, but the company made some improvements to the low-end on the Buds+. Still, overall sound quality needed work. With the Galaxy Buds 2, the company has made some strides that bring its $150 model more in line with the pricier Galaxy Buds Pro. This new version doesn’t have the same clarity and depth as its more expensive sibling, but the dynamic range is at least comparable.
Things definitely sound compressed on the Galaxy Buds 2. There’s ample bass and enough treble for certain details to cut through, but low-end tone lacks punch and tracks that are meant to sound big and bombastic are somewhat subdued. On the Buds Pro, songs like CHVRCHES “How Not to Down” are nicely layered creations of drums, piano and other instruments with airy vocals sitting on top. That all sounds noticeably flatter when I switch to the Galaxy Buds 2. It’s better than the Galaxy Buds+, but it’s worth noting that although the Galaxy Buds 2 are balanced, the company could do better when it comes to details and depth.
The EQ presets in the Galaxy Wearable app don’t offer any improvement over the default (Normal) mode. All of the options seem to pipe in too much bass, mids or treble depending on which one you select, and a few of them feel muffled.
Billy Steele/Engadget
For the first time, Samsung is offering active noise cancellation on its most affordable Galaxy Buds. The Buds+ had an ambient sound mode, but they didn’t do anything to block environmental ruckus beyond passive noise isolation. The ANC on the Galaxy Buds 2 will help reduce distractions but it's not as powerful as pricer earbuds can muster. Samsung says the setup on this model can reduce 98 percent of background noise, but things like a white noise machine and box fans cut through to varying degrees. It’s definitely better than passive isolation on its own, but if you’re interested in earbuds that block out nearly everything, you’ll want to look elsewhere. Lastly, there’s also only one setting here where the Galaxy Buds Pro offers options for high and low noise cancellation.
Like the Pro model, the Galaxy Buds 2 is equipped with adjustable ambient sound. However, where the Galaxy Buds Pro has four levels, these new earbuds only have three. It’s basically a volume adjustment for how much environmental noise you’re letting in.
One other new feature with the Galaxy Buds 2 is available on the new Galaxy Watch 4. With that wearable, a new Buds Controller puts noise controls on your wrist. This gives you the ability to switch between ANC and ambient sound. It will come in handy if you decide to remove that option from the earbuds’ touch controls. You can also view battery status on the Watch 4 as well as disable the touch controls entirely if needed.
Call quality
Billy Steele/Engadget
Samsung is once again making big promises about call quality on the Galaxy Buds 2. The company says the combination of machine learning alongside three microphones per earbud and a voice pickup unit (VPU) "maximizes call clarity in all conditions." In practice, the earbuds actually do combat background noise to a degree. They don’t entirely get rid of it, but they can reduce things like background conversations and the TV a low roar, according to the person on the other end of my calls. My wife noted that while I still sounded like I was on speaker phone, the noise around me was subdued when either of us began to talk. It’s not pristine call quality, but at least Samsung delivers on some of its claims here.
Battery life
Samsung is promising up to five hours of battery life on the Galaxy Buds 2 themselves with an additional three charges in the case (20 hours total). That’s with active noise cancellation turned on. If you disable that feature, the company says you can expect up to seven and a half hours on a charge (29 hours total with the case). Like all of the previous Galaxy Buds devices, the case supports wireless charging via Qi-certified devices and Samsung’s Power Share feature on the back of its phones. There’s a quick charge option on the Galaxy Buds 2 as well that gives you an hour of non-ANC listening time after five minutes.
While five hours isn’t exactly impressive, the range for the Galaxy Buds 2 is on par with a lot of true wireless earbuds I’ve tested recently. It may not be enough to last an entire trans-continental flight, but it might get you through a full day of work, especially if you can disable noise cancellation for a spell. During my tests, I managed just over seven hours of what I’d consider “regular” use. That’s a mix of ANC, ambient sound at varying levels, calls and only using one earbud at any given time.
The competition
Billy Steele/Engadget
The playing field at the $150 price point is getting increasingly crowded as more companies have solved the riddle of how to cram premium features in affordable earbuds. The Beats Studio Buds are a recent entry, offering nearly identical battery life to the Galaxy Buds 2. The only difference there is Samsung gives you one more charge in the case. The Studio Buds don’t support wireless charging and there are no options for customizing the sound, but the audio is balanced and the earbuds are tiny and comfy. Beats tossed in quick pairing support for both Android and iOS, and with the latter, you get hands-free access to Siri. They’re also the exact same price as the Galaxy Buds 2, unless you can find them on sale.
For around $150, I’m also a big fan of the Jabra Elite 75t. These earbuds are getting a little long in the tooth after a late-2019 debut, but the company added active noise cancellation through a firmware update last fall. If you purchase a set now, they’ll ship with ANC already installed. You’ll have to pay extra for a wireless charging case, but once again, battery life is nearly identical to the Galaxy Buds 2. Jabra also massively improved the audio quality on the 75t and a new design is smaller and more comfy. Although the Elite 75t debuted at $180, you can find them nowadays for around $150, but some colors are available on Amazon for as little as $90.
Wrap-up
With the exception of the Galaxy Buds Live, Samsung has a solid track record with its recent earbuds. That’s true once again with the Galaxy Buds 2 where a tiny curved design keeps things comfy even for long periods of time. The company brought all of what made the Buds+ a solid affordable true wireless option back and added active noise cancellation to what is now its cheapest model. Sure, the audio could be better, but the combination of features and price make the Galaxy Buds 2 a solid option for Android users. And if you own a Samsung phone, you’ll get even more out of them.
WhatsApp is finally addressing one of the biggest problems with its chat histories: the inability to carry them over when you switch platforms. The Facebook brand has used Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event to introduce the option of importing your WhatsApp chat history between Android and iOS. It'll initially reach Android phones, starting with Samsung phones running Android 10 or newer (including the new foldables), but it'll eventually be available on both operating systems.
The transfer includes photos and voice memos, and should reach users in the "coming weeks."
The implementation was difficult, according to WhatsApp. As the messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored on-device, migrating them demands "additional work" from WhatsApp, OS developers and phone makers. It took a collaborative effort to enable transfers like these, in other words.
It's not surprising that WhatsApp would announce the news at Unpacked. Samsung is clearly hoping this will rope in iPhone users who were hesitant to lose their WhatsApp histories when switching to a Galaxy phone. However, this will also be useful for people switching to iPhones, or anyone worried about losing an important conversation thread when they hop from one platform to the other.
Unlike years past, this August did not bring a new wave of Samsung Note devices. Instead, the company just announced a couple of new foldable smartphones along with a revamped smartwatch and new wireless earbuds. Samsung showed off the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G during a virtual event today, reiterating how serious the company is about complementing its standard, slab smartphones with these flexible devices. But as to be expected, these unique smartphones come with high prices — the Z Flip 3 starts at $999 while the Z Fold 3 will set you back $1,799. If you're willing to pay the price to have a not-so-typical smartphone, here's how you can pre-order all of Samsung's latest devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G
Samsung
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G starts at $1,799 and is available to pre-order today from Samsung's website. It comes in three colors: black, green and silver. If you pre-order between August 11 and August 26, you can get a $200 Samsung credit that you can use towards another purchase.
Samsung improved upon the foundations of the Z Fold 2 with this new handset while also lowering the starting price by $200. The Z Fold 3 has a 7.6-inch, 2208 x 1768 Infinity Flex AMOLED display plus a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED cover screen — both of which have 120Hz adaptive refresh rates. The main screen uses new eco technology that makes it 29 percent bright than its predecessor while consuming less energy. We thought the Z Fold 2 already had a decent battery life, and this new display technology could help the Z Fold 3 last even longer.
Samsung also brought its S Pen technology to its foldables this year, allowing you to take notes, scribble and the like on the Z Fold 3. The company has two new styli — the S Pen Fold and the S Pen Pro — and both have a retractable tip with "force limit technology" that should protect the Z Fold 3's main screen even while you're using it.
As far as specs go, the Z Fold 3 5G runs Android 11 on an octa-core processor, 12GB of RAM and either 256GB of 512GB of storage. It has a 4,400mAh battery and supports wireless charging. The handset has 10-megapixel selfie camera, a 4MP under-display camera plus a triple rear camera array that includes a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a 12MP wide angle lens and a 12MP telephoto shooter.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G
Samsung
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G starts at $999 and is available to pre-order today from Samsung's website. It comes in seven colors — cream, green, lavender, black, gray, pink and white, with the latter three colors being exclusive to Samsung.com. If you pre-order between August 11 and August 26, you can get a $150 Samsung credit that you can use towards another purchase.
Last year's Z Flip was an ambitious departure from the slabs we're used to, but that also meant it came with a lot of uncertainty. While the Z Flip 3 probably won't be completely free of uncertainty when it comes to staying power, Samsung did try to rectify some of the problems with the previous model. The cover screen on the Z Flip 3 is four times larger than that of its predecessor, which means it'll show more information and be more useful overall. Samsung also created new widgets for the cover screen that provide glanceable information about your schedule, the weather and more.
The main screen is a 6.7-inch, 2640 x 1080 Infinity Flex AMOLED panel with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Samsung hasn't provided additional information about the screen's durability, but we hope it's more resistant to scratches than the previous Z Flip's screen was. Flex Mode remains a feature for the screen as well, and it appears you'll be able to do more things with Flex Mode on the Z Flip 3 like watching a video on the top half of the display while being able to access controls for brightness and volume on the bottom half.
On the specs side, the Z Flip 3 5G runs Android 11 on an octa-core processor, 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. It has a 3,300mAh battery and supports wireless charging. The handset also has a 10MP selfie camera along with a dual-lens setup on the rear that includes a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens and a 12MP wide angle camera.
Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
Samsung
Both the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic are available for pre-order today from Samsung's website and will be available widely on August 27. The Galaxy Watch 4 starts at $249 while the Watch 4 Classic starts at $349. If you pre-order between August 11 and August 26, you can get a $50 Samsung credit that you can use towards another purchase.
The latest Galaxy Watches are the first devices to come out since Samsung and Google teamed up to revamp WearOS. The watches run on Google's operating system but use the new "One UI Watch" interface. The new system does things like automatically install the watch version of an app when the mobile app is installed on your smartphone, and automatically sync phone and watch settings like do not disturb.
The Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic also have Samsung's new "BioActive sensor," which combines optical heart rate, ECG and bioelectrical impedance analysis in one sensor. That means the watches monitor heart rate — including irregular heart rate — blood oxygen levels, body composition and even blood pressure (although the latter is not available in the US). The BioActive sensor accompanies a GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer and geomagnetic and light sensors inside the watches. A bevy of additional fitness features are available on each watch as well, including guided workouts, sleep tracking and more.
The differences between the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic are mostly in design. The Watch 4 has a more minimalist look and comes in fun colors like pink gold, green and silver. The Watch 4 Classic has a more traditional design and comes in black and silver. Both models have the same full-color, Super AMOLED, always-on touchscreens, but their cases sizes are a bit different. The Galaxy Watch 4's aluminum case comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes, while the Watch 4 Classic's stainless steel case (which features a rotating bezel) comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes.
Under the screen, you'll find a 5nm Exynos processor in both the Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic, along with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. LTE is available on both wearables, but WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC are standard features.
Galaxy Buds 2
Samsung
The Galaxy Buds 2 are available for pre-order today on Samsung's website for $150 and they come in graphite, white, olive and lavender colors. These are the follow-ups to the Galaxy Buds+, which came out in 2020. The Buds 2 are Samsung's smallest and lightest yet and they support active noise-cancellation with three adjustable ambient sound levels. Samsung also added new machine learning technology that filters out noises when you're taking calls with the buds so your voice will come through more clearly.
Of all the devices Samsung launched at its Unpacked event today, I find the Z Flip 3 the most interesting. It’s a smartphone that folds in on itself to become half its size and features a new external display that’s four times larger than the one on its predecessor. Though it lacks the S Pen support offered on the Z Fold 3, the Flip 3’s bendable screen still delivers a 120Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling and animation rendering smoother. It’s also water resistant and can process contactless payments when it’s shut, making it more useful in its smaller mode. Just as important, it now costs $1,000, down from $1,300, making it not affordable, exactly, but on par with other flagship smartphones. At a brief hands-on event in New York, I was able to check out the Flip 3’s upgrades and am cautiously hopeful that this is the first foldable I’m ready to buy.
The Flip 3’s non-sequential name might be slightly baffling (the last two models were the Z Flip and Z Flip 5G), but for the most part, all of its upgrades feel self-explanatory. The most obvious is the larger external screen — or, as Samsung calls it, the Cover Display. Instead of the 1.1-inch sliver from the original Flip, the new Cover Display measures 1.9 inches diagonally, giving users four times the screen real estate. This means you can see more of your notifications or widgets at once (up to four lines, according to Samsung). You can also swipe through up to six widgets on this screen, and the options available include things like Samsung Pay, Weather, Alarms, volume control, media playback and step count.
As before, you can tap and swipe to interact with this screen, and I scrolled vertically on the Flip 3’s Cover Display to toggle through clock, volume control and Samsung Pay widgets. It was nice being able to drag the slider on this screen to make the phone louder, but I could also use physical keys on the side. Other widgets are probably more useful, and Samsung will need to encourage developers to create them for their apps. There weren’t any notifications on my demo unit, though, so I didn’t get to see how that would look. Side-swiping on this panel also didn’t do anything, though this likely depends on what the widgets themselves are designed to support.
The other benefit of a larger Cover Display is when you’re using it to frame a selfie with the Flip 3 closed. Of all the nostalgic value that using a flip phone brings, snapping a selfie with a tiny outside screen and camera is the one thing that immediately brings me back to the 2000s. (I was one of many who used a pink Motorola Razr V3 circa 2003-4.)
Mat Smith / Engadget
Of course, I’m not suggesting you rely on the Flip 3’s relatively cramped Cover Display and 10-megapixel selfie camera as your primary means of shooting portraits. But in a pinch, the new larger window is more useful than its predecessor’s in gauging what you’re snapping. I used it to capture a couple of selfies at my demo session using the volume buttons on the phone’s edge as triggers. Though I couldn’t see all of the scene in the viewfinder, it was enough to get my colleague and I centered in the frame.
Open up the Flip 3, set it up in a half-folded mode, and you’ll see the Camera app expand to take up the whole 6.7-inch screen. Samsung calls this view Flex Mode, and compatible apps automatically rearrange themselves so that their layouts align with the top and bottom halves of the display. In the Gallery app, for example, the bottom section becomes sort of a navigation pad where you can swipe sideways to scroll through your pictures in a carousel. In the Camera app, the viewfinder takes up the top half while controls sit on the bottom.
I didn’t have time at our briefing to try out every app, but so far I’ve noticed that Camera and Gallery supports Flex Mode while Photos, Maps and Chrome do not. The ones that do also switch between Flex Mode and full-screen very quickly, which is a promising sign of the Flip 3’s processor’s performance. The device will have the same chipset as the Fold 3, which in the US is the Snapdragon 888, and it’ll come with 8GB of RAM along with 128GB or 256GB of storage.
Samsung said it’s working with developers to optimize more apps for Flex Mode and that it has already enabled at least 50 percent of the most popular options. Thankfully, it’s not like you can’t use your favorite app if it’s not optimized for Flex Mode; it just won’t be laid out as nicely.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
In addition to the larger cover display, the Flip 3’s upgrades over its predecessors include support for adaptive 120Hz refresh rate on its internal screen. This made quickly scrolling through the list of articles on Engadget’s homepage look smooth, and will likely make the system feel faster overall. Though the 22:9 aspect ratio is taller than most phones today, I didn’t find it too jarring. Meanwhile, images looked colorful and crisp on the Full HD+ display.
One more improvement that Samsung made on the Flip 3 is its water resistance rating of IPX8. There weren’t any setups at the demo event for me to test this out, so we’ll have to take Samsung at its word for now.
Like the Z Fold 3, the new Flip features some overall durability improvements. Samsung used a new “Armor Aluminum” in its metal frame and hinge that makes the phone 10 percent stronger, while the company said the Gorilla Glass covering the device is 50 percent more durable than previous models. The main screen also uses a new protective film that’s said to be stronger and more scratch resistant. These durability claims aren’t something I can vouch for yet as I didn’t try dropping or scratching our demo units, but I can say that the Flip 3’s hinge moved smoothly and stayed open at various angles. I was also able to close the phone with one hand, albeit without the same satisfying thunk that Razrs made.
Despite all its durability upgrades, the Flip 3 is about just as light and thin as the Flip 5G, though the new phone is slightly smaller. Samsung is offering the Flip 3 in seven colors this time around, and while I still love the purple version, the green option is also gorgeous. Oh, and don’t forget the Thom Browne edition that will also be available in a Team USA color scheme in a nod to the Olympics.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Everything else about the Flip 3 is pretty much the same as before. You’ll still get a 3,300mAh battery, a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 10-megapixel one for selfies, which produced nice enough samples during my hands-on. But battery life and image quality are among the many things we’ll need proper review units to test out in the real world.
Though I’m excited that Samsung has managed to drop the Z Flip 3’s price down to $1,000 while adding water resistance, improving the overall build and Cover Display, I’d like to see how the software updates add to its experience as a daily driver. But from my brief preview, the Z Flip 3 might be the first foldable device I’m ready to invest in and could finally make the category ready for the mainstream.
Follow all of the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event right here!
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.
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Samsung's two most recent sets of true wireless earbuds included an "open-type" design that elicited a bevy of bean jokes and a full-featured noise-cancelling option. The company's more affordable Galaxy Buds+ debuted in early 2020 and Samsung is introducing the follow-up to that model today with the Galaxy Buds 2. The new entry-level option in the Galaxy Buds lineup remains $150, but the company added active noise cancellation (ANC) to a design that's similar to pricier Galaxy Buds Pro.
Samsung ditched the triangular design from the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+ in favor of a more ergonomic egg-shaped earbud. The Galaxy Buds 2 are also 15 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the Galaxy Buds+, and those were already quite small. Of course, the smaller size helps keep things comfy and it means that there's less earbud to stick out from your head. However, like the Galaxy Buds Pro, the Galaxy Buds 2 are only IPX2 rated against water droplets. That means you should be okay if you get caught in the rain, but extra sweaty workouts and splashes could be a problem.
The company's curvy square charging case returns as well, though this time the case is white no matter which color earbuds you choose. Only the interior of the case and a small band around the seam matches the buds inside. Quick pairing is back for compatible devices, where all you need to do is open the case and follow the pop-ups on your phone to get started. If you need to switch to another phone, tablet or computer, an easy pairing mode is activated by touching and holding both earbuds for three seconds while they're in the case.
Samsung
Inside, Samsung says two-way drivers offer "crisp, clear high notes and a deep bass" when it comes to music. The company also included ANC for the first time on its most affordable earbuds, which it claims can reduce background noise by up to 98 percent. There's an adjustable ambient sound mode as well, giving you the option to select from three different levels of environmental noise. This configurable ambient audio feature has become a staple on the Galaxy Buds line as we've seen it on previous models.
Those changes are accessible inside the Galaxy Wearable app on Samsung and Android devices. There's also a Galaxy Buds app for Windows on PCs. Like before, this software allows you to see battery levels, choose an audio preset, adjust ambient sound and reconfigure the long press touch controls. Plus, a handy Find My Earbuds tool can help you locate a misplaced bud and a fit test will ensure you're getting the best seal for audio quality and ANC performance. If you also have a Galaxy Watch 4, a new Buds Controller feature allows you to toggle between ambient sound and active noise cancellation alongside battery level info and an option for disabling touch controls — all right on your wrist.
As always, Samsung is making big promises about call quality on the Galaxy Buds 2. The company says the combination of machine learning, a three-mic setup per earbud (two beamforming) and a voice pickup unit (VPU) "maximizes call clarity in all conditions." This is something we'll have to test the merits of ourselves as claims of pristine call quality can vary widely from the real-world results.
Samsung says the Galaxy Buds 2 will last up to five hours with ANC on and up to 7.5 hours with noise cancellation turned off. The case holds three additional charges and can power up wirelessly via Qi-certified accessories. The earbuds are also equipped with a quick-charge feature that will give you an hour of non-ANC play time in five minutes.
The Galaxy Buds 2 will be available August 27th for $149.99 in white, grey, green and light purple.
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.
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The employees of Typhoon Studios, the developer behind Journey to the Savage Planet, are reforming under the name Raccoon Logic. In an announcement, the team says that they are “to boldly go back to where they were before,” Google’s doomed acquisition of the company. Raccoon Logic has also revealed that the team has reacquired the rights to Savage Planet, enabling them to “hit the ground running on new adventures in the action adventure space.”
Typhoon was founded in 2017 by a group of Montreal-based game executives, including Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinson and Arkham Knight executive producer Reid Schneider. Their first title was Journey to the Savage Planet, a satirical sci-fi game for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch first released January 2020.
That decision would, in the short term, prove problematic, as Journey to the Savage Planet experienced some game-breaking bugs that Google had to race to work out how to fix. And left the future of both the Savage Planet franchise and the careers of those Typhoon staffers in the balance.
In a statement, Raccoon Logic says that it has received a “pivotal investment” from Tencent which will bankroll its as-yet unannounced debut project. Alex Hutchinson says that Tencent’s backing is a “huge boost, meaning we can do significant work on our own before we start talking to publishers.” Reid Schneider, meanwhile, thanks 505 Games, which published Savage Planet, and added that he’s planning to “build upon the Journey to the Savage Planet franchise in the future.”
