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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 leak shows improved hinge design
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold2 has leaked out in full, high-resolution glory with a more sophisticated design and more robust-looking hinge.
Surface Duo may let you 'peek' at notifications
When it comes to the next generation of folding phones, Microsoft was right to choose dual displays over folding screens. But one thing some other foldable phones have that Microsoft lacks is a screen on the outside of the device. To make up for that, Microsoft appears to have a software feature that will let you preview calls and notifications by opening the Surface Duo just a crack.
Watch Samsung's Galaxy Fold fall woefully short of 200,000 folds
After a lot of hype and some notable delays, Samsung's Galaxy Fold is now available in the US. Even after upgrades to make the phone more durable, Samsung has cautioned users to be extra careful. So this week, CNET decided to put the phone to the test.
Our foldable future is running a little late, and that's OK
From the moment it was first teased last year, Samsung's Galaxy Fold convinced many that foldable phones were the next frontier to conquer. To no one's surprise, it wasn't long before competitors announced foldable plans of their own, feeding a cycle of hype that culminated at this year's Mobile World Congress. Samsung showed off the Galaxy Fold to the public (albeit, behind glass). Huawei unveiled its Mate X, a beautiful rival to Samsung's device that somehow cost even more. And Motorola, which had long been rumored to be working on a foldable, indiscreetly confirmed its plans to launch one this year. By this point, industry watchers and phone nerds had worked themselves into something of a foldable frenzy, and Samsung was supposed to be the first to scratch that itch. The Galaxy Fold was slated to launch in the United States on April 26th, but that, uh, clearly didn't happen.
Samsung chief says he pushed Galaxy Fold 'before it was ready'
Samsung hasn't commented much on its decision to delay the Galaxy Fold and address design flaws, but it's opening up a little today. The company's electronics division CEO, DJ Koh, told those at a media event that he "pushed [the phone] through before it was ready." The setback was "embarrassing," he added. While Koh didn't elaborate on what happened, the statement suggests that Samsung was in a hurry to get the Fold out the door and claim some bragging rights.
Huawei delays the launch of its foldable phone until September
If you were thinking about ditching the Galaxy Fold in favor of the Mate X after the former was delayed, think again. Huawei has told CNBC that is also pushing back the release of its folding phone to spend more time testing the hardware. The launch, originally pencilled in for this summer, will now take place in September. That will enable Huawei to ensure its mechanism is more reliable, and focus on other matters, like app compatibility.
Samsung still doesn't know when the Galaxy Fold will launch
Remember how Samsung said it would narrow down its plans to relaunch the Galaxy Fold sometime in mid-May? Well, it's been a month -- and now those rumors of an extended delay appear to be coming true. A spokesperson has reiterated to CNET that a new release date is still due sometime in "the coming weeks," suggesting that you might not get a new release date until July or later. Given that the phone was originally supposed to be in customer's hands in late April, would-be buyers might just face a delay of three months or more.
Lenovo stole a fan's video to promote the foldable Motorola RAZR
Yesterday, Lenovo shared a promotional video for the rumored foldable Motorola RAZR. While the 30-second teaser was shared with members of the media during a group interview and was accompanied by the Lenovo logo, it appears that the company used video from a fan and branded it as its own. The footage that was played by Lenovo was actually spliced together from a render created by tech YouTuber Waqar Khan. According to Khan, he didn't give Lenovo permission to use the concept images that he created. Engadget has reached out to Lenovo and Motorola regarding the video and will update this story if we hear back.
Lenovo shows off foldable Razr with a fan render (updated)
It's no secret that Motorola is working on a foldable phone. According to Sina Tech, Lenovo shared a video with media today that shows the new, RAZR-like phone in action -- Engadget has since learned the video was an edited fan render Lenovo was using for a press demo. The video offers a glimpse of the device folding in half and opening flat.
Samsung is reportedly delaying the Galaxy Fold due to display issues (updated)
If you were jittery about reports of broken Galaxy Fold review units, you might not be the only one. Wall Street Journal sources claim Samsung has delayed the release of the folding smartphone until "at least" May after reviewers mentioned display issues. A new time frame is due in the "coming weeks," according to the insiders. Samsung has reportedly linked the problems to the Fold's hing and extra pressure on the 7.3-inch internal screen.
Samsung Galaxy Fold review units are already broken
Early Samsung Galaxy Fold adopters might be in for a surprise, judging by some journalists who reported some serious issues with their review units. The Verge's Dieter Bohn claimed a bulge that appeared in the crease of the display broke the screen after just a day of use and CNBC's Steve Kovach tweeted that the display on his review unit has started flickering. Update: Samsung has responded, and said it will investigate reports of broken units.
Corning is working on truly foldable Gorilla Glass
Foldable phones arrived in a big way over the last month, but there's a fundamental problem that they haven't quite figured out. The buzzworthy phones introduced at Samsung's Unpacked and MWC aren't truly foldable; they're bendable. The good news is Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass, is hurrying to come up with a solution.
Motorola confirms its foldable phone is coming
By now, it's not much of a secret that Motorola is working on a folding phone of its own: A patent for such a device surfaced late last year, and a subsequent report in The Wall Street Journal basically confirmed the company's plans. Despite the ensuing hype, Motorola has mostly kept quiet about its progress, but in an interview with Engadget this week, Motorola VP of Global Product Dan Dery shed some additional light on the company's ambitions.
Watch Huawei's MWC event in 12 minutes
MWC 2019 isn't all about foldable phones and 5G. Eh, who am I kidding... it is pretty much all about foldable phones and 5G. Lucky for us, Huawei combines both with the Huawei Mate X, and peppered in some laptop news with the Matebook X Pro. If you missed any of the news from yesterday's event, including the official reveal of that folding model, we've condensed it all down to a 12-minute clip so you don't have to relive every second of the hour-long presentation in order to catch up. And when you're done watching, take a gander at our reaction to the Mate X and the challenges Huawei faces with it's foldable device. Spoiler alert: it ain't cheap.
Samsung's foldable phone is officially the 'Galaxy Fold'
To the surprise of absolutely no one who paid attention to Samsung's hype-building for Unpacked, it had more to reveal about its foldable phone. The device is now officially known as the Galaxy Fold, and much like the prototype we saw back in November, we're looking at a 4.6-inch secondary AMOLED display on the outside, followed by a much larger 7.3-inch Infinity Flex AMOLED screen when the device is unfolded.
TCL's folding phone projects include a watch-like bracelet
Multiple companies have ideas as to how they'll develop folding smartphones. TCL, however, isn't content to settle on one -- it's seemingly tackling them all. CNET has obtained images and patent filings that show TCL exploring five foldable designs. Four of them are ultimately variants on a theme (folding horizontally or vertically, inward or outward), but a fifth model would turn into a smartwatch-style bracelet. Effectively, it'd resurrect Lenovo's Cplus concept as a practical product.
Kyocera shows off preposterous, beautiful EOS folding OLED phone concept
We're big fans of reality and feasibility, we swear, but something like this "EOS" concept phone Kyocera was showing off at CTIA is just too good to pass up. The handset folds up into what could roughly be described as a wallet shape, but folds out into two configurations: portrait QWERTY mode (pictured), and full-on widescreen OLED display (after the break). Samsung was showing similar screen-folding folding abilities, but a much less impressive handset, at CES. Things get even wilder, tough, with Kyocera envisioning shape memory keys that can morph flat when not in use, and a kinetic charging method based on piezoelectric generators and Mary Poppins. Sure, our great grandkids are going to have a good laugh at us for thinking this is lovable, but they always were a bunch of theoretical brats. Kyocera plans on implementing some of the concept ideas into its "near future" lineup of devices. We'll see how that pans out.[Via Inhabitat, photo courtesy of Jeffrey Sass]
