See What Happens When You Fold the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 200,000 Times
The stunt, which was livestreamed over the course of a few days, found that the phone would reboot every 6,000 to 10,000 folds. At 46,000 folds, the phone started to creak. At 75,000 folds, an unknown black liquid started to leak out of the hinge. At 175,000 folds, all speakers, including the earpiece, stopped working. At the end of the experiment, the folding mechanism did become smoother, and the ability to hold its shape at any angle still worked. The findings were uploaded to a publicly available Google Doc.
"Although it would have been possible to build a machine to do the folding, we chose not to," said Tech-it host Hyeonseo Chae, who goes by ITchelin, in a statement. "Machines apply consistent force, which doesn't reflect how people actually use foldable phones in their daily lives. To better simulate real-world conditions, I decided to fold it entirely by hand."
It seems that ITchelin has a point. Samsung advertises that the Z Fold 7 can withstand 500,000 folds. But that was likely done in a simulated environment.
Samsung didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Phones from companies such as Samsung, Apple, Motorola and Google undergo simulated durability testing. For folding phones, machines open and close phones thousands of times to see how they might hold up in the real world.
"One thing I learned from this project is that there can be a clear difference between lab test results and results from real-world scenarios," said ITchelin. "I also realized that in any durability test, it's important to assess not only the hardware but also how the internal software behaves over time."
Given that foldable phones have complex hinge designs and flexible displays, they are more prone to damage or failure than regular slab-style phones. Durability, along with battery life, is actually one major reason some consumers aren't jumping into the folding phone world.
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Android Authority
an hour ago
- Android Authority
The pixel that refused to die: LG Display's 15-year OLED journey and the screen that changed everything
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The Magnificent Obsession Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority In 2008, OLED was beautiful, exotic, and completely impractical for anything larger than a smartphone. Sony had crafted gorgeous 11-inch OLED displays that cost more than luxury watches. Samsung's labs were producing stunning prototypes that would never see mass production. The organic light-emitting compounds that created those perfect blacks and infinite contrast ratios were temperamental divas—brilliant performers prone to sudden collapse. LG Display engineers saw something different. Where others saw insurmountable manufacturing challenges, they saw a puzzle worth solving. While competitors pursued traditional RGB OLED structures—essentially trying to make phone screens television-sized—LG's team proposed something radical: adding a fourth, white subpixel to the mix. LG Display engineers saw something different in OLED technology. Where others saw insurmountable manufacturing challenges, they saw a puzzle worth solving. The WRGB architecture was counterintuitive. Why add white to a color display? But this wasn't about color theory—it was about molecular engineering. LG Display could reduce stress on individual organic compounds by distributing the brightness workload across four subpixels instead of three. The white subpixel became the workhorse, handling brightness while RGB subpixels focused on color accuracy. Provided by LG Building these panels required creating some of the cleanest environments on Earth. LG's fabrication facilities made hospital operating rooms look like dusty warehouses. In chambers where a single particle could destroy an entire panel, organic materials were deposited in layers thinner than the wavelength of visible light. The precision required was absolute—temperature variations of a fraction of a degree, vibrations from a passing truck, and even the static electricity from synthetic clothing could ruin yields. 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For fifteen years, blue represented OLED's Achilles' heel—less efficient, shorter-lived, the limiting factor in power consumption and longevity. The breakthrough came through hybrid architectures that balance phosphorescent efficiency with fluorescent stability. It's the kind of molecular engineering that makes rocket science look straightforward. However, the results speak plainly: 15% power reduction while maintaining current performance standards. For early adopters, this means longer battery life in portable devices, lower electricity bills for large displays, and panels that maintain color accuracy even longer. The State of the Art Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Today's flagship G5 and M5 series represent everything LG Display has learned in fifteen years of OLED development. Peak brightness touching 2,100 nits makes them daylight-viable while maintaining those perfect blacks. The META Multi Booster technology squeezes every photon of brightness from the organic materials. 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The Ecosystem Effect Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority LG's OLED success created an entire ecosystem. Sony's Master Series OLEDs, using LG panels, became the reference displays for Hollywood colorists. Panasonic's OLEDs brought Japanese picture processing perfectionism to LG's panels. Even Apple, notoriously particular about display quality, chose OLED for its flagship products. The automotive industry embraced OLED for its design flexibility. Curved panels that follow dashboard contours, transparent displays for heads-up information, screens that disappear when powered off—all impossible with traditional display technology. Mercedes-Benz's Hyperscreen, Cadillac's 33-inch curved display, and BMW's Theatre Screen all showcase OLED's automotive future. 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The transparent OLEDs turning windows into displays herald futures where the boundary between digital and physical dissolves entirely. The Future Burns Bright Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority As we stand fifteen years from that first glowing prototype, OLED's future appears even brighter than its perfectly illuminated pixels. The technology that critics dismissed as too fragile, too expensive, too limited has become the display industry's North Star. Every advancement—brighter quantum dots, mini-LED backlights, micro-LED promises—measures itself against OLED's benchmark. For early adopters, the journey continues to reward. Each generation brings capabilities that redefine what displays can achieve. Today's impossibilities—rollable tablets, stretchable phones, ambient displays powered by room light—are tomorrow's shipping products. LG's relentless innovation ensures that those who invest in OLED today are buying into a platform that will continue evolving for decades. Fifteen years ago, LG Display engineers created a prototype that shouldn't have worked, couldn't be manufactured profitably, and addressed a market that didn't yet exist. That forgotten screen in Paju reminds us that great technology isn't just about specifications or profit margins. It's about the stubborn pursuit of perfection, the willingness to invest billions in dreams, and the faith that if you build something extraordinary, the world will eventually understand its value. Fifteen years ago, LG Display engineers created a prototype that shouldn't have worked, couldn't be manufactured profitably, and addressed a market that didn't yet exist. Today, that prototype's descendants illuminate our lives with perfect blacks and infinite possibility. Tomorrow, they'll show us things we haven't yet imagined. The last pixel is still standing. The revolution it started has only just begun to glow. Follow
Android Authority
4 hours ago
- Android Authority
This is the first thing I set up after pairing my Samsung phone with a Galaxy Watch
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Samsung smartphones are crammed full of valuable features, from One UI's readymade tools to Good Lock's downloadable bounty. One example that I've taken full advantage of is Modes and Routines. First launched in 2022 as Bixby Routines, the feature allows users to create and initiate a series of settings based on conditions. This allows wide-ranging automatic control of one's phone and, more importantly for Galaxy Watch users, their smartwatches. Suppose you have just purchased a Galaxy Watch 8 series device or are still using one of the older Galaxy Watch models, like I am. In that case, Modes and Routines is the companion tool you should learn to master to bring the Samsung phone and the Samsung watch even closer together. And, if you need a few ideas on how to get started, here are three ways I use it daily. Is your Galaxy Watch paired with a Samsung smartphone? 0 votes Yes, I use a Galaxy Watch paired with a Samsung smartphone. NaN % No, I use a Galaxy Watch, but it's paired with another Android phone. NaN % No, I use a different smartwatch and smartphone setup entirely. NaN % I maximize my Galaxy Watch's battery life Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority My Galaxy Watch 4 is not the spring chicken it once was. Its battery life is a shadow of what it used to be, and even when it was new, it didn't last too long. I use Modes and Routines to boost it when and where I can. More specifically, I've created a mode that enables Power saving when I don't explicitly require my watch's complete feature set. Of course, I don't want this Mode to trigger when I'm exercising, sleeping, or driving, so I ensure that it triggers when I'm at my desk working and is overruled by alternative modes when required. Once I'm done driving, for instance, my watch goes back into power-saving mode. This ensures that it's always in its mode's efficient state without kneecapping its abilities. I've written about this in-depth previously, but here's the recipe: Open the Settings app on your phone, then select Modes and routines. Tap + Add. Give your mode a name and select its icon, then tap Done. Next, tap + When to start this mode. Tap Time period and pick your parameters. Once you're happy, tap Done and Done again. Next, tap + More actions for this mode. Tap Add action. Select Galaxy Watch, then select what you want the mode to address. As mentioned, I set Power saving to On. Once you're happy, tap Done, then Done again. Of course, this will benefit older Galaxy Watch models more than the current, freshly baked lineup, but Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025 owners will still see a modest battery bump with this trick. I switch up my watch faces automatically Ryan Haines / Android Authority If you don't have any issues with your battery life but want more visual diversity, you can use a mode to switch or rotate through your installed watch faces. There are two reasons you might want to do this. Firstly, if you own a gaggle of faces you want to put to use, this is a great way to do it. We recently found that Samsung is working on a watch face switching feature, but it's not yet available. Secondly, it's a great way to improve legibility in certain situations. I trigger a specific watch face when driving or exercising, but I also ensure an eye-friendly watch face is in session when I'm in bed. Notably, even if your Modes and Routines list will become convoluted quickly, you can create as many modes dedicated to specific watch faces as you wish. You can decide to trigger them hourly, daily, weekly, or with other modes like mine. Here's how to set it up: Open the Settings app on your phone, then select Modes and routines. Tap + Add. Give your mode a name and select its icon, then tap Done. Next, tap + When to start this mode. Tap Time period and pick your parameters. Once you're happy, tap Done and Done again. Next, navigate to Change appearance and tap Watch face. Select your preferred watch face to use in this period. The watch face you want must be installed to the watch itself before it appears on this list. Once you're happy, tap Done, then Done again. This feature still has plenty of room for improvement. There's no way to select multiple watch faces in a single mode, which restricts its versatility. I suggest experimenting with your favorite faces and the existing modes and determining how you can incorporate the two. I make my watch more useful while driving Andy Walker / Android Authority It's always a good idea to keep both hands on the steering wheel. With Modes and Routines, you can make content on your watch's screen more legible and easier to spy on at a glance. I use the native Driving Mode and set it to trigger when my Samsung phone connects to Android Auto. This enables various items on my Galaxy S24 FE, including mobile data (which is switched off automatically when connected to my home Wi-Fi network) and setting my phone's ring volume a little higher to overcome road and radio noise. I also use this mode to initiate settings on my Galaxy Watch, including: Enabling Always on display Enabling Sound mode Enabling Raise wrist to wake Selecting a more legible watch face, preferably one with a larger font If Modes and Routines allowed, I'd also trigger Hourly chime to sound while driving. This would make keeping track of the current time a little easier. Unfortunately, this isn't an option at the time of this writing. Beyond the exclusive fitness and health tracking features, Modes and Routines is perhaps the best reason to use a Galaxy Watch with a Samsung smartphone. This little piece of software brings the two products closer together and gives users even more control of integral features. Once you become aware of the potential and master the feature, you'll be rewarded with a highly customized wearable experience, whether you own a brand new Galaxy Watch 8 or an older Galaxy Watch 4. These three Modes help me get the most out of my Galaxy Watch and Galaxy smartphone pairing, but they're by no means the only ways to use Modes and Routines. If there's a particular way you use this tool, let me know in the comments. Follow
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
iPhone 16 Pro Max Price Slashed Ahead Of Apple iPhone 17 Launch
Unlike Samsung's repeated Galaxy S25 promotions and Google's constant Pixel 9 price drops, Apple discounts are rare, which is why Amazon's latest iPhone 16 deal is worth taking a look at. The retailer has slashed the price of all current iPhone 16 models in the U.K., including the iPhone 16e, a month before the iPhone 17 lands. They're not the most dramatic price drops, particularly when they're compared to Samsung's latest free Galaxy Watch 7 deal. But Apple fans will be happy to see any sort of discount for the resolutely expensive iPhone. These are obviously not huge discounts, but it is rare to see an unlocked, current-generation iPhone prices cut by more than this. Some extra money can be saved via Amazon's trade-in platform, which lets you trade in more than one device at a time. The used-phone valuations are almost competitive, which is an improvement on the paltry prices the company has offered in previous sales. Here's a selection of trade-in valuations against Samsung and Apple's current pricing. So the first thing is that Apple U.K. only accepts iPhones for trade-in. But the U.S. site has the Galaxy S22 Ultra priced at $160 (£118) and the Galaxy S23 Ultra at $250 (£185), both less than Samsung and Amazon's respective offers. Apple's trade-in pricing matches Samsung's numbers, which isn't a surprise considering they're in direct competition. But Amazon's prices remain significantly below those of Apple and Samsung. That is the price you pay for a cheaper upfront device. Apple Weighs Price Rises For The iPhone 17 There is a decent chance that the iPhone 17 series will be more expensive at launch than the iPhone 16 lineup was. A report from The Wall Street Journal in May stated that Apple was considering increasing prices to offset proposed trade tariffs with China, where the bulk of iPhone manufacturing happens. These price rises would be blamed on new features, with Apple weary of directly blaming any increases on tariffs. More recent rumours suggest that a $50 price hike is likely for the iPhone 17 Pro option, as my colleague David Phelan explains. 'Regular leaker Instant Digital has claimed, in a post spotted by MacRumors, that the next iPhone 17 Pro will cost $50 more than it does now. This chimes with previous reports that every iPhone will see a $50 price increase compared to current counterparts.' That $50 could be covered by raising the iPhone 16 Pro's base storage model to 256GB, up from 128GB. Doing this, though, could result in an effective price cut, as MacRumours explains. 'It's possible that Apple could increase the iPhone 17 Pro's base storage to 256GB, bringing it in line with the Pro Max, to help justify its $50 price increase. That would represent an effective price cut of $50 over today's iPhone 16 Pro with 256GB of storage and help to simplify the lineup.'
