Folding out for a hero...
SAMSUNG doesn’t have to try too hard with its range of folding phones – the lack of competition as we see the company’s latest iteration of the innovative devices is remarkable.
Even without that competition the South Korean tech giant continues to roll out upgrades, and this week the fourth versions of the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold arrived. They were not the only new arrivals to the Galaxy world.
Here’s what’s new from Samsung this week.
Z FLIP4
The Z Flip is the smallest of Samsung’s folding devices – about the size of a standard smartphone when opened, it folds in half into a compact square.
The material advantage is a second small screen on the back of the device, which remains in view when the phone is folded… and it’s here that Samsung has invested in this year.
The cover screen is bigger and able to show off more information than ever before.
You can now also use it to frame photos and video for the outside camera without unfolding.
The folding feature also allows the phone to be used for handsfree shooting from the inside and outside cameras.
The Z Flip 4 starts at £999.
Z FOLD4
The Fold4 has perhaps the most obvious advantage of the folding devices. It’s a regular smartphone when closed, but opens to reveal a larger 7.4in screen inside to provide a tablet-like experience.
One of the drawbacks with unique devices like this is that software isn’t really built to take advantage of the main features, and can even break. Samsung says it’s worked closely with Google and Microsoft to make sure their apps not only work on the Fold4, but adapt to the nature of the screen.
In fact, the Z Fold4 will be the first device to feature a special version of Android called 12L – it’s optimised for devices with larger screens.
The Z Fold4 will also feature faster performance than before – Samsung says it’s its most powerful smartphone yet. This performance upgrade is paired with upgraded cameras with bigger pixels on the sensors for optimised shooting in low-light.
Durability has also been enhanced with the addition of Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the cover screen. And both folding phones are water resistant.
The Z Fold4 starts at £1,649.
WATCH5 AND WATCH5 PRO
There are two new watches from Samsung – both running Google’s Wear OS with Samsung enhancements.
They are fairly standard devices offering the usual health and fitness tracking options, powered by the Bio Active sensor that measures all sorts of metrics, including heart rate and blood oxygen.
The Pro version offers the same features, but in a more robust package with a bigger battery for those who like to hit the trail hard.
The Watch5 starts at £269, with the Pro at £429.
BUDS2 PRO
The new earbuds from Samsung upgrade the audio quality, but bring a smaller form-factor. The design is 15% smaller than the previous Buds Pro for a more discreet fit. There are also a number of new colours, which are designed to match the new foldable.
The Buds2 Pro cost £219.
■ All the new devices are available to order now for an August 26 delivery date