Latest news with #foldabletech
CNET
09-07-2025
- CNET
Gen Z Deserves a Cute Flip Phone. Samsung's Cheaper Foldable Is Too Pricey to Be It
Every young person today should get to experience the specific fun, flirty pleasure of having a quirky flip phone that is both a fashion accessory and a cutting-edge piece of tech. It's the noughties tech experience in a nutshell – or a clamshell, if you will. But even though folding phones are now more sophisticated than ever thanks to advances in flexible screen technology, the devices on the market are usually extortionately expensive. Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, announced Wednesday at Galaxy Unpacked, starts at an eye-watering $2,000, for example. That's way beyond what most adults are willing to spend on a phone, never mind teens. By contrast, Samsung has long targeted its cheaper Galaxy Flip series at a Gen Z audience – enlisting Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney to endorse the phone and making its front-facing selfie camera a key part of the device's promotion strategy. But two years ago, at the launch of the Galaxy Flip 5, I pointed out that even though the phone was around half the price of the Fold, it was still too expensive. That observation still applies to the latest iterations of the Fold and Flip. Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 2:45 Loaded : 7.20% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 2:45 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 I was thrilled, though, when Samsung announced it had at last added an even cheaper model to its foldables family in the form of the Galaxy Flip 7 FE. The FE has a slightly smaller screen and footprint than the Flip 7, along with a less sophisticated camera system, which has the Flip 7's wide-angle 50-megapixel lens, but not its 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. "Samsung is now offering a broad portfolio catering for different segments and most importantly those price-conscious users," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. At first glance, the Flip 7 FE looks like the flip phone Gen Z has been waiting for. That is, until you look at the price tag. Even though it's cheaper than the $1,100 Flip 7, it's only $200 cheaper at $900. That's still a flagship price for a nonflagship phone. It's not giving affordable, as the kids might say. I'm not the only one to balk at the price of the Flip 7 FE, either. "Extending its foldable portfolio to include the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is a move in the right direction, but it is likely not priced affordably enough to have a significant impact on the market," said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. Foldable phones remain a tricky sell. Market researcher IDC notes that while the market is growing, companies are failing to shift as many devices as predicted. Pricing, it says, is often the No. 1 thing standing in the way of people buying these phones. Demand for foldables remains "stubbornly low," said Wood. "Samsung will still need to overcome consumers' nervousness about foldables as an alternative to a traditional smartphone." So will this be the year the teens get to discover the joy of flip phones? I suspect the hinged devices might still be out of their financial grasp for now. But if Samsung can find a way to make foldables genuinely affordable and not such a big risk, I believe there's hope yet for the flip phone to delight another generation, who deserve the opportunity to melodramatically end a call by snapping shut their phone, before dropping it into their stupidly small clutch bag and heading to an indie-sleaze club night to make some bad decisions.
CNET
09-07-2025
- CNET
I Was Excited About Samsung's Cheaper Folding Phone. Then I Saw the Price
Every young person today should get to experience the specific fun, flirty pleasure of having a quirky flip phone that is both a fashion accessory and a cutting-edge piece of tech. It's the noughties tech experience in a nutshell – or a clamshell, if you will. But even though folding phones are now more sophisticated than ever thanks to advances in flexible screen technology, the devices on the market are usually extortionately expensive. Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, announced Wednesday at Galaxy Unpacked, starts at an eye-watering $2,000, for example. That's way beyond what most adults are willing to spend on a phone, never mind teens. By contrast, Samsung has long targeted its cheaper Galaxy Flip series at a Gen Z audience – enlisting Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney to endorse the phone and making its front-facing selfie camera a key part of the device's promotion strategy. But two years ago, at the launch of the Galaxy Flip 5, I pointed out that even though the phone was around half the price of the Fold, it was still too expensive. That observation still applies to the latest iterations of the Fold and Flip. Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:02 / Duration 2:45 Loaded : 7.20% 0:02 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 2:43 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 I was thrilled, though, when Samsung announced it had at last added an even cheaper model to its foldables family in the form of the Galaxy Flip 7 FE. The FE has a slightly smaller screen and footprint than the Flip 7, along with a less sophisticated camera system, which has the Flip 7's wide-angle 50-megapixel lens, but not its 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. "Samsung is now offering a broad portfolio catering for different segments and most importantly those price-conscious users," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. At first glance, the Flip 7 FE looks like the flip phone Gen Z has been waiting for. That is, until you look at the price tag. Even though it's cheaper than the $1,100 Flip 7, it's only $200 cheaper at $900. That's still a flagship price for a nonflagship phone. It's not giving affordable, as the kids might say. I'm not the only one to balk at the price of the Flip 7 FE, either. "Extending its foldable portfolio to include the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is a move in the right direction, but it is likely not priced affordably enough to have a significant impact on the market," said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. Foldable phones remain a tricky sell. Market researcher IDC notes that while the market is growing, companies are failing to shift as many devices as predicted. Pricing, it says, is often the No. 1 thing standing in the way of people buying these phones. Demand for foldables remains "stubbornly low," said Wood. "Samsung will still need to overcome consumers' nervousness about foldables as an alternative to a traditional smartphone." So will this be the year the teens get to discover the joy of flip phones? I suspect the hinged devices might still be out of their financial grasp for now. But if Samsung can find a way to make foldables genuinely affordable and not such a big risk, I believe there's hope yet for the flip phone to delight another generation, who deserve the opportunity to melodramatically end a call by snapping shut their phone, before dropping it into their stupidly small clutch bag and heading to an indie-sleaze club night to make some bad decisions.
CNET
09-07-2025
- CNET
Samsung's Cheaper Folding Phone Still Has an Affordability Problem
Every young person today should get to experience the specific fun, flirty pleasure of having a quirky flip phone that is both a fashion accessory and a cutting-edge piece of tech. It's the noughties tech experience in a nutshell – or a clamshell, if you will. Unfortunately, even though folding phones are now more sophisticated than ever thanks to advances in flexible screen technology, the devices on the market are usually extortionately expensive. Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, announced today at Galaxy Unpacked, starts at an eye-watering $2,000, for example. That's way beyond what most adults are willing to spend on a phone, never mind teens. By contrast, Samsung has long targeted its marginally cheaper Galaxy Flip series at a Gen Z audience – enlisting Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney to endorse the phone and making its front-facing selfie camera a key part of the device's promotion strategy. But two years ago, at the launch of the Galaxy Flip 5, I pointed out that even though the phone was around half the price of the Fold, it was still too expensive – an observation that still applies to the latest iterations of the Fold and Flip. I was thrilled, though, when Samsung announced it had at last added an even cheaper model to its foldables family in the form of the Galaxy Flip 7 FE. The FE has a slightly smaller screen and footprint than the Flip 7, along with a less sophisticated camera system, which has the Flip 7's wide-angle 50-megapixel lens, but not its 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. "Samsung is now offering a broad portfolio catering for different segments and most importantly those price-conscious users," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. At first glance, the Flip 7 FE looks like the flip phone Gen Z has been waiting for. That is, until you look at the price tag. Even though it's cheaper than the $1,100 Flip 7, it's only $200 cheaper at $900. That's still a flagship price for a non-flagship phone. It's not giving affordable, as the kids might say. I'm not the only one to balk at the price of the Flip 7 FE, either. "Extending its foldable portfolio to include the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is a move in the right direction, but it is likely not priced affordably enough to have a significant impact on the market," sid Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. Foldable phones remain a tricky sell. Market researcher IDC notes that while the market is growing, companies are failing to shift as many devices as predicted. Pricing, it says, is often the No. 1 thing standing in the way of people buying these phones. Demand for foldables remains "stubbornly low," said Wood. "Samsung will still need to overcome consumers' nervousness about foldables as an alternative to a traditional smartphone." So will this be the year the teens get to discover the joy of flip phones? I suspect the hinged devices might still be out of their financial grasp for now. But if Samsung can find a way to make foldables genuinely affordable and not such a big risk, I believe there's hope yet for the flip phone to delight another generation, who deserve to the opportunity to melodramatically end a call by snapping shut their phone, before dropping it into their stupidly small clutch bag and heading to an indie sleaze club night to make some bad decisions.
GSM Arena
19-05-2025
- GSM Arena
Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate is an 18" all-screen laptop that folds to the size of a 13" laptop
An 18-inch display in the body of a 13' laptop – Huawei is bringing its foldable tech to the laptop form factor with the MateBook Fold Ultimate. It runs HarmonyOS PC and can adapt to several different modes of operation. The device can be opened 90° and show a virtual keyboard, something like a traditional laptop. It can be opened fully too, giving you an 18' vertical or horizontal display to work with (there's a built-in kickstand). Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate The Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate is thin and lightweight. It tips the scales at 1.16kg (2.56lbs) and measures 14.9mm when closed. When opened, it's only 7.3mm thick – Huawei used an ultra-thin PCB and a three-layer aluminum structure to fit everything and make sure it's rigid. A vapor chamber leads to two super-slim fans to cool the chipset. Which chipset is that? That's to be determined. All we know is that there is 32GB of RAM and 1TB/2TB SSD. The display is quite impressive – it has 4:3 aspect ratio when opened (3,296 x 2,472px) and 3:2 when in laptop form (2,472 x 1,648px resolution of the 'display'). It's a dual-layer OLED LTPO panel that pumps out a powerful 1,600 nits and has 1,440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming. The dual-layer structure reduces power usage by 30% while tripling the expected life of the panel. It is protected by a non-Newtonian fluid and a carbon fiber support layer. HarmonyOS PC adapts to different screen modes You don't have to use the virtual keyboard, by the way, Huawei has built an ultra-thin 5mm wireless keyboard with 1.5mm keyboard travel. It is made of an aluminum alloy and weighs 290g (0.64lbs), bringing the total to 1.45kg (3.19lbs). Not bad for an 18' display, huh? Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate with the wireless keyboard The Fold Ultimate is available in three colors with different textures on the outside, the wireless keyboard has matching options: Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate colorways The wireless keyboard in matching colors The laptop has a 74.69Wh battery inside and two USB-C ports (one on top and one on the right side). It also has six speakers and four microphones on board, so it's ready to work in any orientation. Connectivity includes dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (ax) and Bluetooth 5.2. The laptop comes bundled with the keyboard and carrying cases for both, plus a 140W USB-C charger and cable. The Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate is on pre-order on Vmall in China right now and will be available from June 6. The 32GB/1TB model costs CNY 24,000 ($3,330/€2,950/₹284,300), while the 32GB/2TB variant is CNY 27,000. Additionally, the Huawei MateBook Pro was announced today. It's a 14.2' laptop (3:2, 3,120 x 2,080px OLED display) with 24GB/32GB of RAM and 512GB/1TB/2TB SSD. It has a 70Wh battery and three USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 ports (up to 66W charging on one). It weighs just 970g (2.14lbs) and measures 13.5mm thick. Huawei MateBook Pro The Huawei MateBook Pro also launches on June 6 starting at CNY 8,000 ($1,110/€985/₹95,000) for the 24GB/512GB model. Source
