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Samsung today announced the launch of its latest flagship foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold6 and the Galaxy Z Flip6, plus it introduced new Galaxy earbuds, new smart watches, and more.


The Galaxy Z Fold6 is Samsung's larger foldable device, featuring a 6.3-inch cover display when folded and a 7.6-inch display when opened up. The new model is the slimmest and lightest to date, with a slightly larger cover screen. Samsung designed a new dual rail hinge that is more durable, and there is a strengthened folding edge that better distributes the shock of external impacts. Enhanced layers on the main display improve the crease while boosting strength, and Samsung says it is using Gorilla Glass Victus 2, all of which make this the most durable Galaxy foldable device to date.

samsung-galaxy-z-fold6.jpg

There's a 10-megapixel selfie camera, a 4-megapixel under-display camera, and a triple rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens. Other features include 12GB memory, up to 256GB internal storage, a 4,400mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile chip, which is optimized for AI processing.

Galaxy Z Fold6 AI features include a Notes app with translation, summaries, auto formatting, and Composer for the keyboard that generates suggested text and can mimic your tone by analyzing past content. A sketch to image feature for the S Pen turns sketches into more detailed drawings, similar to how Apple's Image Playground feature works in the Notes app on the iPad.

Samsung partnered with Google to integrate the Google Gemini app into its new smartphones, and accessing Gemini can be done by swiping from the corner of the display. AI photo tools include Portrait Studio for creating a variety of portrait styles for images, and Instant Slow-mo for slowing a video by generating additional frames.

The smaller Galaxy Z Flip6 also has a thinner, more durable display, and the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. It features a 3.4-inch FlexWindow that unfolds into a 6.7-inch smartphone. There's a 10-megapixel selfie camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera.

dan-samsung-galaxy-z-fold6-flip6.jpg

An AI-based suggested replies feature can be used on the Z Flip6 to respond to texts from the cover screen. The feature analyzes your latest text messages to suggest tailored responses. The FlexWindow can take advantage of many Galaxy AI features such as Samsung Health, and there's support for additional widgets. An AI-powered Photo Ambient wallpaper is able to change in real-time based on the time and weather, and the FlexCam has a new Auto Zoom feature for finding the best framing for a shot.

Other Galaxy AI features on the new smartphones include instant translation for PDFs, equation solving much like Apple's Math Notes, browsing assist for providing translations and summaries of webpages, interpreter for one-way or continuous transcription, and real-time phone call translation.

Alongside the new smartphones, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Buds3 and the Galaxy Buds3 Pro, which have been redesigned to be more comfortable and more AirPods-like. The Buds3 have an open design, while the Buds3 Pro are in-ear with silicone tips and block out ambient noise.

samsung-galaxy-buds-3.jpg

Both models have ANC, but the Pro model offers adaptive noise control much like Apple's AirPods Pro. Samsung says the Buds3 Pro continually identify surrounding sound and adjust the optimal level of noise and sound. Samsung added Blade Lights LED to the Galaxy Buds3 Pro for swipe-based music and volume control.

There are two new Galaxy watches, the Galaxy Watch7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The Watch7 is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, while the Ultra model is larger at 47mm. The Ultra model is equipped with a titanium casing. With the Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung beat Apple to a rumored Apple Watch feature, sleep apnea detection. The feature is able to check for potential sides of moderate to severe sleep apnea.

samsung-galaxy-watch-7-ultra.jpg

Sleep apnea detection, ECG functionality, and heart rate monitoring use a new BioActive Sensor that Samsung says is more accurate. The Galaxy Watches includes a feature for measuring the production of glycation end products (AGEs) from the wrist using light sensors. Samsung explains that AGEs are a reflection of the overall biological aging process and an indication of metabolic health.

Samsung also provided more detail on the Galaxy Ring, which was first introduced earlier this year. The Galaxy ring is a smart ring that can be used alongside a Galaxy smartphone in lieu of a smart watch. It is made from titanium, comes in black, silver, or gold colors, and is available in nine sizes starting at size five. The ring has a seven day battery life and 10ATM water resistance, so Samsung says it is durable enough to wear anywhere without worry.

The ring tracks several sleep metrics, including movement during sleep, sleep latency, heart rate, and respiratory rate to provide a nightly sleep score, plus it is able to use Galaxy AI to generate an energy score. The energy score uses sleep, activity, sleeping heart rate, and sleeping heart rate variability to provide health insights. Samsung is not charging a subscription fee for the Galaxy Ring, and it has access to all data and insights from the Samsung Health app.

Samsung's new product lineup will be available on July 24, with preorders available starting today. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is priced starting at $1,900, while the Galaxy Z Flip6 is priced starting at $1,100. The Galaxy Ring is priced starting at $400, the Galaxy Watch7 is priced starting at $300, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra is pric... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Samsung Launches New Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 Smartphones, Earbuds, and More
 
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I wish that Apple would experiment a bit and bring us something different than the same basic iPhone design we've had since 2007. Keep the cash cow iPhone and iPhone Pro lines but bring something, anything different to inject some excitement in the smart phone market.
 
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Might order the Fold 6 together with the watch if it comes with some nice pre-order deals here. It is time to try something new and I'll still have my iPhone 15 Plus. I hardly touch my iPad anymore so this is a nice combination of both.

The Samsung Ring also seems cool. Say what you want, at least Samsung is trying new things and I say this as someone that has owned almost every iPod, iPhone since iPhone 3G and multiple iPads over the years
 
I wish that Apple would experiment a bit and bring us something different than the same basic iPhone design we've had since 2007. Keep the cash cow iPhone and iPhone Pro lines but bring something, anything different to inject some excitement in the smart phone market.
I do wonder if smartphones have actually just run their course.
 
It amazes me that they are actually allowed to get away with such blatant unapologetic plagiarism.

It's beyond embarrassing.
There’s a difference between Imitate and Steal. A bad artist imitates and a great artist steals. These are merely an imitation, and says a lot about Samsung and innovation. They have a lot of technical knowhow, but they copy copy copy. When was the last time they came up with a genuine idea outside of the lab?
 
and yet Apple still does it
When did Apple plagiarise an idea for a device?

A bad artist imitates and a great artist steals

Homepod mini as an example. They turned the crappy echo dot (which has the sound of an internal PC speaker) into a genuine speaker. Thats how you take an idea and make it your own. And no one yet has a device as cheap that is as good. And it’s been years.
 
I'm just surprised how Samsung just doubled down on copying the Apple Watch Ultra. But not so surprised.

THAT BEING SAID, the Samsung Watch Ultra seems to have far better battery life, which is good. As a serious athlete, the Apple Watch Ultra's battery life endurance leaves much to be desired.
 
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Pre-ordered a Z Fold 6. I doubt I will keep it over my OnePlus Open, but I always have to try out new foldables. I'm excited to try the Pixel Fold 2 and the OnePlus Open 2 as well. Once you've owned a foldable, it is very difficult to go back to a slab phone. I know I never will, outside of using one as a backup phone.

Edit: After watching the hands on video from Unbox Therapy, I've cancelled my pre-order due to the crease still not improving over the past two generations. Once you've owned a foldable without a crease, you cannot go back to one with a noticeable crease again. So it goes...
 
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It feels like the Flip got more upgrades than the Fold in this generation. Though the Flip is even more ridiculously expensive for what it is compared to the other S models.
 
It amazes me that they are actually allowed to get away with such blatant unapologetic plagiarism.

It's beyond embarrassing.

What amazes me is how we only and consistently see this ONE way: the world copying Apple... and yet, it only takes a little digging to see who was "there" first with any given "brilliant new feature." Yes, sometimes that is Apple. Other times, that's "the rest." But too many of us can only see this "plagiarism" working in one direction. I'm sure that's a more popular stance around here but it's ignoring the reality of history.

It's quite fine for competitors to figure something out first. If it is indeed better, Apple will "copy" it sooner or later. And vice versa. All boats rising means each player must try harder to keep differentiating their offerings from the rest. In a world where whoever is first with something is granted some kind of "non-compete" lock on that feature, we'd all be still trying to spin how our 4", NFC-less iPhones are indeed "perfect"... and that's just 2 big obvious ones taken from competitors.
 
I'm just surprised how Samsung just doubled down on copying the Apple Watch Ultra. But not so surprised.

THAT BEING SAID, the Samsung Watch Ultra seems to have far better battery life, which is good. As a serious athlete, the Apple Watch Ultra's battery life endurance leaves much to be desired.
It isn't even remotely a copy. It is a development/refinement of their own Galaxy S3 Frontier design from 2016. And before Apple released their 1st Watch ever, Samsung had already released 3 squarish watches..
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra VS Apple Watch Ultra 2 -.png
 
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I really don’t care if they copy as they iterate, but it’s a bit much as they are one of the most vocal critics of Apple. Just dial back the lazy attack ads Samsung and copy all you want. Everyone can see it and it won’t affect anyone’s decision to buy, aside from those that don’t like the design. At this point, it’s a choice of ecosystems and most have already made up their minds which they prefer.
 
Come on. The complete iOS 18 is a copy of One UI, including all AI features. And the same goes for IOS 17 and IOS 16.
 
The crease on the flip phone is quite apparent. 😂 An iPad mini Pro might blow a creased Samsung flip phone out of the water.

Samsung's smartwatch with the orange strap looks more like a Tissot T-Touch Connect Sport than it does Watch Ultra. I'll definitely stick with my Ultra. Macrumours podcasters can finally have the round watch they whined about in their last episode.
 
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