Latest news with #foldables
Phone Arena
3 hours ago
- Phone Arena
The Pixel Flip is nowhere to be found! Here's why
Samsung and Motorola are raking in sales with clamshell foldables — so why is Google still ignoring this booming niche? Google launched its foldable campaign back in 2023 with the original Pixel Fold. Since then, we've had the model morphing into the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and merging into the main lineup of Pixel devices. Now, just a couple of weeks ahead of the official Pixel 10 series debut, we're about to get another iteration of Google's book-style foldable—the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. But there's no Pixel Flip on the horizon, and with all the commercial success of the Galaxy Z Flip series, one would think Google should've explored this market niche long ago. What's going on? Here are some reasons why the Pixel Flip might still be years away. Reason 1: Google is playing the waiting game The screen was peeling off on the first iteration Razr | Image by CNET Just like the company did with the Pixel Fold , Google seems to be playing the "wait and see" game before committing to a clamshell device. The same approach was adopted with the Pixel Fold , and by doing so, Google was able to avoid many "early age diseases" that plagued devices such as the Galaxy Fold and the Motorola Razr, for example. Clamshell foldables also had their fair share of issues with durability, hinge mechanisms, cover screen utilization, and software optimization, so Google is learning from others' mistakes before going all-in and launching a Pixel Flip. Reason 2: Focus on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold The Pixel Fold lineup has been pretty successful | Image by PhoneArena After committing to the tablet-style foldable with the original Pixel Fold , Google has been focusing a lot of resources on the project, trying to perfect the hardware and software of this first attempt at the foldable market. Developing a clamshell phone from scratch requires a huge investment not only in money but also in engineering brainpower. Reason 3: Competition. Samsung and Motorola are killing it on the flip scene Motorola is getting traction with the Razr lineup | Image by PhoneArena The Galaxy Z Flip series has been quite successful for the past couple of generations. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is outperforming its predecessor, with total pre-orders increasing by more than 25%, according to Bloomberg. Motorola, on the other hand, gained a lot of market share with the Razr series last year. Motorola saw a 58% growth in European foldable sales between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, driven by the Razr 50 series, and according to an IDC analyst report, the company's market share in the first quarter of 2025 reached 40.4%, up from 32.6% in the same period the previous year. Trying to chip away a percentage of that growing market share might not be the best idea right now for Google. People would need a compelling reason to switch from the successful and, in the case of the vanilla Razr clamshell, quite affordable devices that Motorola and Samsung have been offering. Reason 4: Different approach to foldables Google started tailoring Android for tablets and book-style foldables with the 12L feature drop | Image by Google Google has been working hard to optimize Android for big-screen tablets and foldables. This push started back with the Android 12L feature drop, trying to offer the best user experience given the unique aspect ratio of foldables, and also a seamless transition from the cover screen to the main display. Tweaking the software or adapting it to suit a clamshell design might not be as easy as it sounds. It might take some time for Google to figure out the best UI solutions for a flip phone in order to make a useful and competitive device. Is the Pixel Flip doomed? We might get a Pixel Flip but we will have to wait a couple of years | Image by PhoneArena It's too early to say. Looking at what the competition is doing, namely Apple, it seems that Google and Apple are fine leaving the flip phone market to Samsung and Motorola and focusing on book-style foldables. And while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is just around the corner, and the iPhone Fold is expected to come next year, there are no Pixel Flip or iPhone Flip models on the horizon. However, we shouldn't rule out a potential attempt at the clamshell form factor by Google in the next couple of years. None of the aforementioned obstacles are unsurpassable; they're just time and market-dependent. As the foldable market share grows, there might be new opportunities arising, and as the flip design matures, the risk for Google getting it wrong on the first try is decreasing. What do you think about it? Would you like to see a Pixel Flip phone, and more importantly, would you buy one instead of opting for a Z Flip or a Razr?
GSM Arena
2 days ago
- GSM Arena
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 video teardown reveals poor repairability
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold7 has been a lot more successful than any of its predecessors, at least in some markets. If you're interested in it, don't miss our in-depth review. If you'd like to know how easy to repair the device is, then take a look at the video embedded below. The self-repair experts at iFixit have torn down a Galaxy Z Fold7 to see how easy it is to repair. Here's the spoiler: the Fold7 falls short in repairability, with a score of 3 out of 10, where 10 would be most repairable and 1 would be least repairable. So it's clearly not a great situation for the Fold7, with its exceedingly fragile folding screen that can be damaged by dirt particles and even pressure from your fingernail. You shouldn't expect to be able to just replace the screen on this device, it will have to be both the screen and chassis due to the design. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Samsung is also called out for a lack of spare parts for its foldables in general, not just the Fold7. Even the one-year old Z Fold6 is still lacking any spare parts availability. So Samsung is definitely not catering to those inclined to self-repair their tech with this line.
GSM Arena
5 days ago
- GSM Arena
Deals: Galaxy S25 series has accumulated big discounts, Poco F7 series also sees price cuts
Unless you are a fan of foldables, most of the exciting launches for the first half of the year happened months ago – and those phones have been steadily falling in price since. The initial S25 trio is crossing over into the second half of its first year and the price drops have accumulated to quite significant levels – the flagships are now well below their launch prices. This excludes the Edge model, which only arrived later. Starting with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, it's almost €500 off, pushing it under €1,000. It will remain the best camera phone from Samsung for 2025 – the only phone with S Pen support too. The Samsung Galaxy S25+ also has a major discount going on and can be bought for under €800. It's not as slim and light as the Edge, but it does offer longer battery life paired with faster charging. The Samsung Galaxy S25 has dipped under €600. It's one of the few remaining small flagships after Sony and Asus bailed on the market – and it's a good deal cheaper than an iPhone 16 Pro. The Poco F7 offers Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 performance at just €400. It has a large 6.83' display and it's a great quality panel – 1280p+ resolution, 12-bit colors with Dolby Vision and 3,200 nits peak brightness. And it has a massive battery with 6,500mAh capacity and 90W fast charging. And the camera... uh, did we mention how big the battery is? Then there's the Poco F7 Pro with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. It has a smaller 6.67' display but bumps the resolution up to 1440p+. And the 50MP camera has a larger 1/1.56' sensor (vs. 1/1.95'). The battery is a bit smaller at 6,000mAh, but that's still plenty and it keeps the 90W fast charging. Check out our detailed Poco F7 vs. F7 Pro comparison for a closer look. Instead, here we will focus on the OnePlus 13R. Unfortunately, it only has a token discount, but even so it is only €75 more than the F7 Pro and offers the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. However, it has a larger 6.78' display – a 10-bit LTPO panel for more flexibility in the refresh rate – and a comparable 6,000mAh battery with 80W charging. The camera, however, adds a 50MP 2x/47mm telephoto to the 50MP main (1/1.56') and 8MP ultra-wide, which may give it a leg up for some. OnePlus 13R €50 off Read our review 12/256GB - €550 at Amazon DE You have to go up to the Poco F7 Ultra to get a 50MP 2.5x/60mm telephoto lens in addition to a 50MP main (1/1.55') and a higher resolution 32MP ultra-wide. Admittedly, the biggest reason to pay up to the Ultra is to get the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Note that you lose some battery capacity (it's 5,300mAh), but you get both fast wired (120W) and wireless (50W) charging. The 13R lacks the wireless option. On the topic of Poco F7 Ultra vs. F7 Pro, we have this head-to-head comparison article. Then there's the new Nothing Phone (3), which is over €100 more than the F7 Ultra, even with the current discount. Now, the F7 Ultra is no beauty, but at least it doesn't look like the Nothing flagship. Some might challenge the 'flagship' label as this phone has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip and a non-LTPO 6.67' 1260p+ 10-bit display. At least the cameras are comparable with a 50MP main (larger 1/1.3' sensor), 50MP 3x telephoto and 50MP ultra-wide. The 5,150mAh battery is close in terms of capacity, but charging is slower – 65W wired and 15W wireless. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
GSM Arena
6 days ago
- GSM Arena
Deals: Moto Razr prices drop to compete with the Z Flip7 and FE, Galaxy S25 series also discounted
Peter, 01 August 2025 Samsung launched its next generation of foldables last week, but they are not without competition. Google will unveil the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (and the rest of the Pixel 10 series) on August 20 to compete with the Z Fold. Meanwhile, the two Z Flip models have to go up against Motorola's Razrs right now. The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 carries a $200 discount, which evens out with the free storage upgrade on the Galaxy Z Flip7, making the 512GB models cost the same - $1,100. The Razr Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, while the Galaxy has a Samsung Exynos – yes, even in the US this time. The 7.0' inner display of the Moto stands out with a slightly higher pixel density, higher brightness (4,500 nits vs. 2,600 nits), Dolby Vision support and higher refresh rate (165Hz vs. 120Hz). The cover displays are more evenly matched – 4.0' 165Hz 3,000 nits vs. 4.1' 120Hz 2,600 nits for the Moto and Samsung, respectively. The main cameras on both phones have 50MP sensors with 1.0µm pixels and f/1.8 lenses with OIS. The Motorola has the better ultra-wide (50MP vs. 12MP) and selfie cameras (50MP vs. 10MP), however. It also has a bigger battery (4,700mAh vs. 4,300mAh) with faster charging (68W wired, 30W wireless vs. 25W/15W). Both phones have the same IP48 rating, but the Razr Ultra is chunkier – it is 15.7mm folded, 7.2mm unfolded and weighs 199g, while the Z Flip7 is 13.7mm folded, 6.5mm unfolded and weighs 188g. We'll leave the choice between Hello UI and One UI to you. Motorola also refreshed the 2024 flagship as the Razr+ 2025. It gets the better ingress protection (IP48) and some new colors, but that's about it. You are still looking at a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 phone with 6.9' main (165Hz, Dolby Vision, 3,000 nits) and 4.0' cover displays and a 4,000mAh battery with 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. Unfortunately, the current discount is not very favorable – if you're spending near $1,000, you may as well spend a bit more and get a proper flagship. Motorola Razr+ 2025 $50 off Read our review 12/256GB - $950 at Amazon US Instead, have a look at the Motorola Razr 2025, the actual budget option this year. It's only $600 and measures up to the Razr+ 2025 pretty well in most categories except for the chipset – the Dimensity 7400X is well behind the Snapdragon in terms of performance. Motorola Razr 2025 $100 off Read our review 8/256GB - $600 at Amazon US The 2025 vanilla model is a fairly minor upgrade over the Motorola Razr 2024. The Dimensity 7400X is essentially an overclocked 7300X and the IP4X ingress protection only guards against large particles (1mm), not dust. So, you may be tempted to save $100 and go for the 2024 model, but be warned – it will only get 3 OS updates and 4 years of security patches. Considering that it launched with Android 14 and the Android 16 update should be coming soon, leaving you with only 1 OS update to go. At least security patches will keep rolling in until 2028. Motorola Razr 2024 $100 off Read our review 8/256GB - $500 at Amazon US Both of these phones are competing against the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. Itself a sort of re-release of a 2024 model, this one uses the Exynos 2500 – it's better than the Dimensity 7300X/7400X, but for this price you may be better off with the Razr+ and the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. The Z Flip7 FE has that weirdly-shaped 3.4' cover display, a smaller 6.7' inner display and a smaller 4,000mAh battery with 25W/15W charging. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE Read our review 8/256GB - $960 at Amazon US At this point you should be well familiar with the Galaxy S25 series, so we'll go over them quickly. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is $300 off, so the base 12/256GB model starts at $1,000. The thin and light Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is also $300 off, but note that only the 512GB variant is in stock. With a price of $920, it's $200 cheaper than the 512GB S25 Ultra. Check out our Galaxy S25 Edge vs. S25 Ultra article if you need help deciding between these two. The Samsung Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 just don't have particularly impressive discounts at the moment – the vanilla model especially. If you're looking at the Plus, make sure to check out our S25+ vs. S25 Edge article for a detailed comparison since they both cost practically the same at the moment. Samsung Galaxy S25+ $170 off Read our review 12/512GB - $950 at Amazon US Samsung Galaxy S25 $80 off Read our review 12/256GB - $780 at Amazon US Leaving the world of Android behind, let's wrap up with some MacBooks. This year Apple refreshed the MacBook Air 13.6' and 15.3' models with the M4 chip and an improved 12MP Center Stage camera (borrowed from the Pros). There are several RAM and storage configurations to choose from with the base 12/256GB 13.6' model starting at $800 and the 15.3' one starting at $1,000 after a $200 discount for both. The Apple MacBook Pro 14.2' and 16.2' come with a mix of M4 chips and even more options for RAM and storage. The Pro displays are sharper and have double the brightness (1,000 nits), plus they are ProMotion displays, i.e. they run at 120Hz instead of 60Hz. They are slightly larger too, but the Air laptops are thinner and lighter. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
GSM Arena
6 days ago
- GSM Arena
Deals: Moto Razr prices drop to compete with the Z Flip7 and FE, Galaxy S25 series also discounted
Samsung launched its next generation of foldables last week, but they are not without competition. Google will unveil the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (and the rest of the Pixel 10 series) on August 20 to compete with the Z Fold. Meanwhile, the two Z Flip models have to go up against Motorola's Razrs right now. The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 carries a $200 discount, which evens out with the free storage upgrade on the Galaxy Z Flip7, making the 512GB models cost the same - $1,100. The Razr Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, while the Galaxy has a Samsung Exynos – yes, even in the US this time. The 7.0' inner display of the Moto stands out with a slightly higher pixel density, higher brightness (4,500 nits vs. 2,600 nits), Dolby Vision support and higher refresh rate (165Hz vs. 120Hz). The cover displays are more evenly matched – 4.0' 165Hz 3,000 nits vs. 4.1' 120Hz 2,600 nits for the Moto and Samsung, respectively. The main cameras on both phones have 50MP sensors with 1.0µm pixels and f/1.8 lenses with OIS. The Motorola has the better ultra-wide (50MP vs. 12MP) and selfie cameras (50MP vs. 10MP), however. It also has a bigger battery (4,700mAh vs. 4,300mAh) with faster charging (68W wired, 30W wireless vs. 25W/15W). Both phones have the same IP48 rating, but the Razr Ultra is chunkier – it is 15.7mm folded, 7.2mm unfolded and weighs 199g, while the Z Flip7 is 13.7mm folded, 6.5mm unfolded and weighs 188g. We'll leave the choice between Hello UI and One UI to you. Motorola also refreshed the 2024 flagship as the Razr+ 2025. It gets the better ingress protection (IP48) and some new colors, but that's about it. You are still looking at a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 phone with 6.9' main (165Hz, Dolby Vision, 3,000 nits) and 4.0' cover displays and a 4,000mAh battery with 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. Unfortunately, the current discount is not very favorable – if you're spending near $1,000, you may as well spend a bit more and get a proper flagship. Motorola Razr+ 2025 $50 off Read our review 12/256GB - $950 at Amazon US Instead, have a look at the Motorola Razr 2025, the actual budget option this year. It's only $600 and measures up to the Razr+ 2025 pretty well in most categories except for the chipset – the Dimensity 7400X is well behind the Snapdragon in terms of performance. Motorola Razr 2025 $100 off Read our review 8/256GB - $600 at Amazon US The 2025 vanilla model is a fairly minor upgrade over the Motorola Razr 2024. The Dimensity 7400X is essentially an overclocked 7300X and the IP4X ingress protection only guards against large particles (1mm), not dust. So, you may be tempted to save $100 and go for the 2024 model, but be warned – it will only get 3 OS updates and 4 years of security patches. Considering that it launched with Android 14 and the Android 16 update should be coming soon, leaving you with only 1 OS update to go. At least security patches will keep rolling in until 2028. Motorola Razr 2024 $100 off Read our review 8/256GB - $500 at Amazon US Both of these phones are competing against the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. Itself a sort of re-release of a 2024 model, this one uses the Exynos 2500 – it's better than the Dimensity 7300X/7400X, but for this price you may be better off with the Razr+ and the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. The Z Flip7 FE has that weirdly-shaped 3.4' cover display, a smaller 6.7' inner display and a smaller 4,000mAh battery with 25W/15W charging. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE Read our review 8/256GB - $960 at Amazon US At this point you should be well familiar with the Galaxy S25 series, so we'll go over them quickly. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is $300 off, so the base 12/256GB model starts at $1,000. The thin and light Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is also $300 off, but note that only the 512GB variant is in stock. With a price of $920, it's $200 cheaper than the 512GB S25 Ultra. Check out our Galaxy S25 Edge vs. S25 Ultra article if you need help deciding between these two. The Samsung Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 just don't have particularly impressive discounts at the moment – the vanilla model especially. If you're looking at the Plus, make sure to check out our S25+ vs. S25 Edge article for a detailed comparison since they both cost practically the same at the moment. Samsung Galaxy S25+ $170 off Read our review 12/512GB - $950 at Amazon US Samsung Galaxy S25 $80 off Read our review 12/256GB - $780 at Amazon US Leaving the world of Android behind, let's wrap up with some MacBooks. This year Apple refreshed the MacBook Air 13.6' and 15.3' models with the M4 chip and an improved 12MP Center Stage camera (borrowed from the Pros). There are several RAM and storage configurations to choose from with the base 12/256GB 13.6' model starting at $800 and the 15.3' one starting at $1,000 after a $200 discount for both. The Apple MacBook Pro 14.2' and 16.2' come with a mix of M4 chips and even more options for RAM and storage. The Pro displays are sharper and have double the brightness (1,000 nits), plus they are ProMotion displays, i.e. they run at 120Hz instead of 60Hz. They are slightly larger too, but the Air laptops are thinner and lighter. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
