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The Verge
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Vibe coding through the GPT-5 mess
Last week, we ran into an issue: no one on the show had ever vibe coded. So for today's episode, we set out to fix that. Everyone came prepared with a vibe coded project — and some misadventures to go along with it. This week on The Vergecast, we're discussing the fallout of the messy GPT-5 launch and why the new model isn't living up to the hype. We're also exploring one of GPT-5's big promises: vibe coding. OpenAI has put a lot of emphasis on the model's improved coding abilities and even suggested that the average user can prompt their way to a helpful interactive experience. We put that to the test and quickly learned the tool isn't quite ready for users as unprepared for coding as us. After that, we dive into a busy week of corporate shenanigans, sizing up whether some of the biggest moves are serious business strategies, time-wasting stunts, or a little bit of both. On the docket: Perplexity trying to buy Chrome, Apple suing Apple Cinemas, Apple refusing to settle with Masimo, and Elon Musk threatening to sue Apple. Finally, the Thunder Round returns for a lot of talk about smartwatches and the pitfalls of AI. Can you replace your phone with your watch? Can you trust what a chatbot says about itself? We have some strong feelings about it. If you want to read more about the stories we discussed, check out the links below. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jacob Kastrenakes Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Podcasts Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Vergecast
CNET
5 days ago
- CNET
Best Home Security Cameras With Floodlights in 2025: Illuminate Your Yard
Does the camera have night vision? Does it have extra features like color night vision? Does the floodlight camera have adjustable motion detection? Does it have motion zones or sensitivity options? Does it include objection recognition for people? Are there extra costs for these features? Do you prefer a wired or wireless camera? Do you have a junction box where you want to install a wired camera or are you willing to have one installed? Can you control the brightness of the camera's floodlights? Can then reach more than 2,000 lumens? Can you schedule the lights? Does the camera have a higher resolution to take advantage of its vantage point? CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Outdoor security cameras serve an important role in keeping an eye on your home and other AI-related benefits, but they also benefit from a little light -- or in this case, a lot of light. Floodlight cameras only turn on when they sense motion, with powerful LED panels that can shine a light on even the biggest, darkest yards. That could scare away a burglar or simply give you better visibility to see exactly what's going on. I've tested floodlight models from Eufy, Nest, Lorex, Arlo and plenty of other security companies to narrow down the best ones. Read more: Best Smart Home Gifts What is the best floodlight security camera? Eufy offers three LED panels to boost your brightness. Eufy After more than 120 hours of testing, I found the Eufy S330 Floodlight Camera deserves its place at the top of the list. What makes the Eufy camera model stand out is its high-resolution pan-tilt camera, three bright panels and other features, such as AI detection. With Eufy's adjustable brightness and color temperature, as well as smart home syncing, the camera is ideal for anyone seeking to be more aware of their neighbors, reducing the likelihood of neighborhood complaints while maintaining a strong commitment to keeping their property safe. That said, while we do have our favorite, you shouldn't ignore our other picks. Our list features top floodlight cameras, including no-cloud local storage options, a versatile wireless Arlo model and a budget-friendly Blink model variant. So, if you're still unsure, make sure to check out our other guides, which tackle topics such as the best security cam lights overall and the best outdoor home security cams. Best floodlight home security cams Eufy Photo Gallery 1/1 Eufy Best overall flood home security camera Eufy S330 Floodlight Camera Pros Bright 3-panel LEDs Panning camera with tracking Free object detection 2K resolution Free onboard storage Alexa and Google Assistant support Cons No two-way audio Expensive For maximum LED brightness, Eufy's S330 comes in swinging with not two but three LED panels added up to 3,000 lumens. The IP65-rated cam also has a 2K resolution panning cam that can view a full property from multiple angles, complemented by its free object detection and tracking capabilities to follow what's happening. The panels on the Eufy floodlight camera have customizable brightness options and many modes from night-only operation to turning on when a human is detected. Eufy's internal 8GB of storage isn't especially large, but it means you don't have to rely on cloud video storage subscriptions (although that's also available). Alexa and Google Assistant capabilities are also welcome. However, the camera does skip some common smart features like two-way audio, focusing more on illumination and excellent video. ... Show more Get it now $250 at Amazon Lorex/Amazon Photo Gallery 1/1 Lorex/Amazon Best no-subscription floodlight home security camera Lorex 2K Floodlight Camera Pros 2K resolution Free object recognition No-subscription storage Two-way audio Adjustable LED panels Color night vision Cons Not quite as bright as our top pick While Eufy took our top spot, it's a very close call with this Lorex cam, which can reach up to 2,400 lumens and has a 2K resolution for detail. It's another cam that offers free object recognition, spotting people, animals and vehicles, and acting accordingly to cut down on false alerts (and corresponding flares of lights). It also comes with expected smart home additions like two-way audio and night vision that the Eufy S330 skips, making it an excellent pick for those who want the complete package. Note you can adjust the angle of these panels to focus on the areas you want to guard most. Lorex is another company that offers free onboard storage with no subscriptions required. Everything is added in the upfront price. That includes support for Alexa and Google Assistant. ... Show more Get it now $220 at B&H Photo-Video $250 at Crutchfield $220 at Lorex (white) Arlo Photo Gallery 1/1 Arlo Best wireless floodlight home security camera Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera Pros Excellent wireless design 2K resolution Intelligent alerts Optional brightness boost with cable Optional Apple Home/HomeKit support Cons Many features require an Arlo Secure subscription While not every wireless design is a good fit for bright floodlights, which may drain battery life faster, Arlo makes it work with this compact camera that can reach 2,000 lumens on battery power. The wireless design makes it a lot easier to place in that one spot to really light up the dark corners. It also brings a hefty 2K resolution. Arlo's object recognition, activity zones and intelligent alerts work very well but you will need an Arlo subscription (starting at $8 per month) to activate many of these advanced features. And if you want to boost the brightness even more, you can purchase an outdoor cable to bump the LEDs up to 3,000 lumens. Finally, add in an Arlo hub and the cam is compatible with Apple HomeKit -- although all these extra costs may start to weigh the camera down for some buyers. ... Show more Get it now $236 at Amazon $250 at Arlo Specs & Configurations Setup Moveable, outdoor/indoor Resolution 2560 x 1440 (2K) Storage Cloud storage Google/Alexa Compatibility Google Assistant Field of View 160 degrees Learn more Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera review Add to compare Blink Photo Gallery 1/1 Blink Best budget floodlight home security camera Blink Outdoor 4 with Floodlight Camera Pros Affordable floodlight option Easy app management Built-in siren Optional local storage Affordable subscription Cons Alexa-only support Person detection only with a subscription Floodlight cams are expensive, there's no way around it. But if you'd like to save how much cash you drop on a model, this Blink Outdoor 4 option is one of the most affordable we've examined. At less than $100, it still brings plenty of lumens with its two LEDs, along with smart extras like two-way audio and a siren. We're also huge fans of the Blink app, which is one of the easiest to use and doesn't seem to run into the bugs that can sometimes plague other smart home apps. Blink cameras also have the option to add a Sync Module hub, which enables free local storage with a USB drive. Or you could pay about $3 per month for a Blink subscription, which adds cloud storage and person recognition. ... Show more Get it now $100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy Google Photo Gallery 1/1 Google Best floodlight home security camera with object recognition Google Nest Cam with Floodlight Pros Great AI recognition capabilities Free temporary cloud storage Capable 2,400-lumen floodlights Cons Expensive for the resolution Google's Nest Cam comes in a variety of forms, including this version with 2,400-lumen LED floodlights. Nest remains one of the best options for Google's AI-powered object recognition. It's incredibly accurate at identifying people versus animals or vehicles so you can choose exactly how you want the floodlight to respond. Plus it's free to use these detection features. The camera functions with Alexa and Google Home but you'll get extra usability out of it if you're a Google user. Object recognition isn't the only thing that's free either -- the cam offers 3 hours of cloud video storage when it records an event, giving you a window to view and download it. Otherwise, the Nest Aware plan at $8 per month adds more cloud storage and familiar face recognition. ... Show more Get it now $269 at Amazon $280 at Best Buy Learn more Google Nest Cam with Floodlight review Best floodlight home security cameras Best floodlight home security cameras Eufy S330 Floodlight Cam Lorex 2K Floodlight Camera Arlo Floodlight Pro 3 Blink Floodlight Camera Google Nest Cam with Floodlight Price $165 $250 $250 $70 $280 Resolution 2K 2K 2K 1080p/HD 1080p/HD Light 3,000 lumen, three-panel LEDs 1,500 - 2,400 lumen, two-panel LEDs 2,000 lumen panel wireless, 3,000 lumens with cable 2,600-lumen, two-panel LEDs 2,400 lumen, two-panel LEDs Field of view 360-degree panning 122-degree 160-degree 143-degree 130-degree Power source Wired Wired Wireless Wired Wired Motion detection Motion, human, tracking Motion, person, animal, vehicle Motion, package, person, vehicle, animal (with subscription) Motion, person recognition (with subscription) Motion, person, animal, vehicle Night vision N/A Color night vision Yes Color night vision Night vision with HDR Audio N/A Two-way audio Two-way audio Two-way audio Two-way audio Voice assistant Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit (with hub) Amazon Alexa Amazon Alexa, Google Home/Assistant Motion detection range Up to 40ft Up to 32ft Up to 25ft Up to 30ft Up to 15ft Review score N/A N/A 9/10 N/A 7.4/10 Other floodlight home security cameras we've tested Chris Monroe/CNET Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro: Ring's floodlight camera model includes Ring's excellent privacy zones and Ring extras like Bird's Eye view. However, we liked the design of our final picks a little more, and paying $5 or more per month for object recognition can be a tough sell when some of our other picks offer it for free. Eufy Floodlight Camera E340: This Eufy cam has an extra-high resolution for those who want even more detail. But overall we preferred the three-panel version, which adds extra light that's hard to find in these home models. Blink Outdoor 3 Floodlight Mount: We love the idea of a floodlight mount and this Blink model is an excellent choice for budget lighting when you want to save money, especially if you already have an existing camera. But it's bested by the greater power and features of the Blink wired model if you don't mind paying a little more. Best Wireless Home Security Cameras of 2025 See at CNET How we test At CNET, we use careful testing to review all the features of home security cameras, including clarity of the image, app usability, how well motion detection works and how easy the cams are to install. We walk test the audio communication features, how effective the motion zones are and how easily object detection can tell when a person leaves a package behind or picks one up before they leave. For more information, see our full list on how we test cameras. Factors to consider when choosing a floodlight home security camera Amazon Resolution Those bright lights work best when paired with a camera with a high resolution that can capture a lot of detail. A 1080p will get the job done but for the best clarity for these (often high-mounted) cameras, we prefer 2K resolutions, like a couple of our top picks. Brightness and customization Lumens is a great indicator of visible brightness (don't try to compare it to watts, especially with LEDS), and a few thousand lumens is a guarantee of bright lights that can fully light up a larger area. But we also like to see customization options for brightness, shade of light and scheduling. That helps keep lights from waking you up at night or angering the neighbors, allowing you to make adjustments as you need. Smart home support Smart home support with existing platforms is always nice to have, especially when setting routines with other smart lights or cams. We look for support for Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Apple support is much harder to find for security cameras at this time, although as the Matter standard continues to progress we hope that will change. Power options While careful use of batteries can lead to good power management for wireless floodlight cams, those floodlights do tend to take up some extra juice. They are also often mounted in high locations where getting them down for battery recharging can be a pain. Consider carefully if you prefer wireless placement or the no-charge wired option, which may take extra installation work. Please keep in mind that wired floodlight cams often need to be connected to a junction box. Motion detection Motion detection and object recognition are especially important for floodlight cams, because they help the floodlights to turn on only when there's a reasonable cause like a detected human figure. We favored a couple of cameras that offer free object recognition on this list but you may have to pay a subscription fee for advanced features. Eufy offers three LED panels to boost your brightness. Eufy Night vision Night vision isn't quite as important with broad floodlights but it can help improve clarity at the edges of the image when things are dark out. For the best clarity, consider looking for a camera that has color night vision too. Two-way audio and sirens Audio options can be very important if you want to question a stranger (or shout out to a friend) or sound a siren to scare off trespassers. They aren't quite as valuable on floodlight cameras as they are on video doorbells, for example, but it's still an important feature. Fortunately, most floodlight cameras now have these audio options. Where to place floodlight home security cameras The Ring Spotlight Cam Plus is a welcome iteration of Ring's outdoor cams. Ring Placing security cameras is always important but doubly so for floodlight cameras, which need careful positioning to make use of their bright lighting. For floodlight cameras, consider mounting them in a higher, central location, such as above a garage or patio. But also work to make sure they won't be beaming their LED panels over a fence right into a neighbor's windows. We have a full guide on some of the best spots for security cams here. Best Home Security Cameras Without a Subscription for 2025 See at CNET
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I'm Living Proof That an AI Coach Can Actually Make You More Productive
I've always been intrigued by performance coaching, but traditional coaches are prohibitively expensive—hundreds of dollars for a one-hour session. Frankly, it's way out of my budget. On top of the cost, finding a coach who is available in my area (Idaho) and familiar with my industry (tech journalism) adds another layer of complexity. When AI tools emerged, I began hearing about people using them for all sorts of personal applications, including therapy. I wouldn't use an AI as a shrink, but it seemed viable for performance coaching, which often doesn't require licensing. So for two months, I employed Gemini as my own AI performance coach. Below, I'll show you how I did it, from the files and prompts I provided the AI, to how I used the feature known as Gemini Gems. Meet My Coach: Google Gemini Pro For this experiment, I used Google Gemini. I was about 10 months into a 12-month trial of the subscription Gemini plan, recently rebranded as Gemini Pro, which unlocks advanced features like improved reasoning models, enhanced integration with Google Drive and Workspace, and multimodal capabilities. Advanced models, like Gemini 2.5 Pro, leverage enhanced reasoning to "think through" complex questions and provide insightful answers. This feature is crucial for a coach to move beyond superficial responses and deliver nuanced, actionable insights. I chose Gemini because my personal journals are in Google Docs, and Gemini allows me to give the chatbot direct access to those files and avoid a clunky upload process. Another big reason I went with Gemini is its impressive million-token context window. In AI terminology, a token is a fragment of a word, sort of a cluster of letters or characters, which it uses in the statistical model that undergirds large language model (LLM) technology. Every time you ask a question and get a response, the chatbot reviews the entire conversation, from start to finish, and uses that data to produce the next response. Larger context windows allow for richer, longer ongoing conversations. So I was able to use Google Gemini for weeks rather than days. Getting My Coach Up to Speed: Journals, Prompting, and Gem Setting up my AI performance coach was surprisingly simple. At the outset, I shared roughly 10 months' worth of journal data with Gemini. This gave it records of my day-to-day activities, like work tasks and exercise details, and just enough personal information. Sharing my journal was a big step, and I don't recommend it for everyone. If you're hesitant to get so personal with your AI coach, you'll need to frequently provide more context within the conversation. Once Gemini had my journal, I needed to give it the performance coaching persona. My initial prompt wasn't that sophisticated: "Act as a performance coach with a focus on productivity and personal development. Use my uploaded journals as background information to provide me with insights and actionable advice to enhance my performance in both work and life." I tweaked and expanded this prompt over time, but this was the nucleus of what I used throughout the experiment. As time went on, I found that I usually only got about two weeks out of a single discussion before the context window filled up enough to start losing track of details, requiring me to upload the journal file again and reenter the prompt to start the performance coaching function back up again. This was a bit of an inconvenience, especially when competitors like ChatGPT offer persistent memory. It also meant that these new instances of the performance coach persona, though based on similar prompts and materials, were all slightly different and required some tweaking to maintain a consistent tone and style. I was able to address this issue using Gemini Gems, a feature that lets you save a prompt and attach files for easy reuse. It let me save both my updated performance coach prompt and my journal documents. What I Gained Using AI as a Daily Coaching Tool Once I had the files and prompt in place, it was time to actually put Gemini to work. I found two main ways to engage with it: doing deep analysis that spanned the breadth of my journals, and then using it for real-time, day-to-day coaching. I could kick off deep analyses anytime, often by asking simple queries like, "Analyze my journal for patterns that negatively or positively impact my performance." These often yielded a goldmine of information. The persona identified my habits (good and bad), highlighted effective tactics I had already adopted (but maybe didn't apply as often as I could), and spotted triggers for undue stress. I also asked it to identify both explicit and implicit goals from my journals and notes, and requested a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Meanwhile, I'd check in a few times a day, updating my coach with new information as I went. I soon settled into a routine similar to my journaling habit, with a morning check-in where I laid out my plans and tasks for the day, a midday update where I'd log my daily workouts and update it with any new assignments or priority changes, and then an end-of-day report on how things went. As this routine continued, a few core functions of my AI performance coach became crystal clear. Actionable Insights My AI coach quickly zeroed in on a major problem: My sleep was a mess. In my journals, I'd often note when I had a late night. And as things continued with the performance coach, I began proactively recording my bedtimes. Whether due to external factors (a sick kid) or mundane issues (just plain staying up too late), a clear pattern emerged: A late night meant a tired morning, with ripple effects disrupting my work performance for days. It wasn't just helpful in pointing out problems; it also provided actionable advice. When it came to my inconsistent sleep, the coach not only suggested an earlier bedtime but walked me through the reasons for it, detailing observed patterns in my behavior and their potential impact on my health, stress, and cognitive performance. After making its case, my coach even offered suggestions, like creating an end-of-day wind-down routine and setting an automatic "sleep mode" on my phone. A Hybrid Journaling Tool and an Accountability Partner It became clear that my daily updates to Gemini contained the same information I was recording in my journals. This experiment helped me stay consistent with my journaling habit and usually resulted in better entries. Gemini became a hybrid journaling device and accountability partner, encouraging me to stick with my plans and align my daily tasks with broader goals. Unlike human coaches, an AI coach can check in and discuss things multiple times a day. This is invaluable for accountability as you build new habits (like staying hydrated) or avoid unhelpful behaviors (like staying off of YouTube). It's always available, patient, and nonjudgmental, helping you track your actions and results. When needed, it can provide reminders of your goals or prompt reflection to help you reframe challenges. Comprehensive Task Tracking Having another pair of eyes watching my to-do list was hugely helpful for me. As we tracked my tasks, the AI would suss out deeper patterns. For example, it pointed out that I often failed to protect my late afternoon "deep work" time, a crucial period for tackling big projects. The task tracking also made it easier to balance work and family life. (Though, at one point, Gemini made the awful quip "The juggle is real." Sometimes AI tries to be personable and just winds up being weird.) It seemed to understand that even though my work performance was a major motivator for this coaching, it wasn't the whole picture. I want to be a high performer in my personal life as well, staying on top of the many demands of marriage, fatherhood, and home ownership. An AI coach is also excellent at keeping tasks in perspective. As someone balancing multiple beats and a new AI column, bigger-picture goals can easily get lost. The coach consistently reminded me how individual projects fit into my overall objectives, warning when I seemed to drift off track. Daily and Weekly Reflection Beyond individual daily tracking, a user can ask for deeper reviews at any point. One of my coach's most insightful observations came as Gemini started to pick up on things not explicitly stated in my journals. Gemini noticed that much of my day-to-day stress didn't stem from inherently difficult projects, but from the tension between my morning plans and the inevitable disruptions—high-priority assignments, technical issues, or anything else that demanded immediate attention. These sorts of tasks are simply part of my job, yet they pull me away from high-impact projects. The AI not only identified this pattern of stress but gave excellent advice for rethinking it. It suggested framing things in terms of "offense" and "defense": my big, exciting projects were "offense," while "defense" was holding ground, focusing on those unavoidable tasks that pop up. Both are important, and defense is unpredictable, but this mental switch has genuinely helped me stress far less about the sometimes chaotic nature of my job. An Always-Available Sounding Board One of the most significant benefits of this setup is having a sounding board that understands your job and goals. While a managing editor might have an open-door policy, they aren't available 24/7 for every little thought. An AI coach, however, is available whether it's 2 in the afternoon or 2 in the morning, ready to help you talk through projects, brainstorm ideas, or even just vent frustrations, all without an hourly rate. Ghosted: My AI Coach Suddenly Disappeared Toward the end of my two-month performance coaching experiment, my 12-month trial of Gemini Pro expired. I thought I had another week or two, so this caught me completely off guard. Once that trial period ended, my performance coach went silent. The advanced reasoning model, the larger context window, the uploaded journal documents—all functionality that made the AI performance coaching work disappeared. Gemini struggled to follow prompts beyond a few back-and-forth exchanges. I quickly noticed the absence of capabilities I'd come to rely on daily, from task reminders and consistent check-ins to that ever-present sounding board. I missed a couple of days of journal entries and updates, and old habits that I thought I had tamed began to reenter my routine. My sleep patterns got messy again. I skipped my morning planning or let unimportant tasks intrude on my deep work time. This unplanned break inadvertently served as the ultimate proof of concept, demonstrating that the performance improvements I'd experienced were genuine, sustained gains directly supported by the AI's consistent presence. As someone with ADHD, I've long used different tools, strategies, and coping mechanisms to manage my time, energy, and attention. But this AI coach is the first thing I've ever used that actually made all of those disparate pieces feel like a truly cohesive system. It only took about a week of trying to go it alone before a crucial realization dawned on me: My AI performance coaching was no longer a short-term experiment. It was a valuable tool that I needed to continue using. I'm Sticking With It I consider my two-month experiment a resounding success. My wife commented that I seemed to have more energy at the end of the day and was more engaged with our kids, all while my work productivity remained unusually high. As a product tester and reviewer, I'm data-minded, so I tracked my performance. Before the coaching experiment, I averaged about six published articles per month. After starting with my AI coach in April, that number jumped to nine articles per month for the second quarter. The year-over-year comparison is even more telling: I published eight pieces in April 2025 compared with just two in April 2024. Before he learned about my coaching experiment, my boss noted a significant uptick in my productivity. He said that while my work had always been good, my sheer volume and overall performance had taken a noticeable jump. Ultimately, this experiment proves that AI can be far more than just a novelty. For me, it's become a genuine partner in personal and professional growth, and I've restarted the AI performance coaching. I'm sure I'll experiment with other approaches as time goes on, but for the moment, my AI performance coach has become an indispensable part of my daily life. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- The Guardian
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: the thinner, lighter and better folding Android
Samsung's latest flagship folding phone looks like it has been put on a diet. The result is a transformation into one of the thinnest and lightest devices available and radically changes how it handles, for the better. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 8.9mm thick when shut – well within the realms of a standard smartphone if you ignore the camera bump on the back. It easily fits in a pocket but opens up to turn into a folding tablet just 4.2mm thick. But at £1,799 (€2,099/$2,000/A$2,899) you pay an awful lot for such a fancy device. It is an expensive, cutting-edge gadget that can, in theory, replace your phone, tablet and PC in one pocketable device. The seventh-generation foldable solves most of the niggles of Samsung's previous foldables. It weighs only 215g, which is 24g less than last year's model and about the same as large slab phones, and is shaped just like a regular handset when closed. It fits better in your pocket. Typing messages, answering calls, getting directions and taking photos feel and work like a regular phone. Even the 6.5in screen on the front is top-notch – bright, colourful, crisp and 120Hz smooth – and the improved fingerprint scanner in the power button is accurate and rapid. Open it like a book and the Fold 7 is only a hair thicker than the USB-C port. It is impressively thin yet feels solid. It is difficult to see how a device can be made any thinner without ditching the charging port. The flexible 8in OLED screen is smooth, crisp, super bright and almost square, ready for running two apps side by side. The outside screen and back are protected by the latest technology in hardened glass, but the inside screen is still covered by a necessarily softer layer than a standard phone that picks up fingerprints easily and is relatively shiny. The crease down the middle of the screen where it folds is very nearly gone, only visible in glare. Main screen: 8in QXGA+ 120Hz (368ppi) Amoled flexible display Cover screen: 6.5in FHD+ 120Hz (422ppi) Amoled Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy RAM: 12GB Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB Operating system: One UI 8 based on Android 16 Camera: 200+12+10MP rear with 3x telephoto; 10MP+10MP selfie cameras Connectivity: 5G, dual sim, e-sim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, GNSS Water resistance: IP48 (1.5 metres for 30 minutes) Dimensions folded: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm Dimensions unfolded: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2mm Weight: 215g The Fold 7 does not skimp on processing power with the same flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 12GB of RAM as the S25 Ultra and S25 Edge. That means it flies along in everyday tasks and high-end games and is considerably more powerful than its closest rivals, such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The battery lasts just shy of two days using the two screens for about four hours each and spending several hours on 5G, which is about the same as its predecessors and similar to normal slab phones. It will last longer when just using the outside screen for phone usage, but most people are likely to need to charge it every other day. The Fold 7 is one of the first Samsungs to run One UI 8 (Android 16) out of the box. It has not changed that much since last year's software, which is a good thing all round as One UI 7 was great. It includes all the features from Samsung's S25 line, including the great Now bar at the bottom of the lock screen that shows live sports scores, music, timers and other regular tasks. Samsung does a better job than rivals at making the most of the multiple modes and multitasking possibilities opened up by the folding tablet form. You can have up to eight apps open on the internal screen at any one time, and have different home screen layouts for each screen. You can force apps into almost any size or shape, use apps in a partly folded mode, move them between the front and internal screens, and many other small features. The Fold 7 also has all the AI tools from the S25 series, including Google Gemini, Circle to Search, writing and drawing tools, transcription and audio editing tools, and so on. Some are good, others can be safely ignored just like most buzzy AI features. Samsung will provide Android and security updates until 31 July 2032. The large camera lump on the back holds the 200-megapixel main, 12MP ultra wide and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras. The Fold 7 also has two 10MP selfie cameras, one in each screen. The main 200MP camera is the best of the bunch, matching that from the S25 Edge. It is a top-drawer camera capable of capturing great images across a range of lighting conditions, and is a significant upgrade on previous generation Folds. The 12MP ultra wide camera is solid and capable of taking some very good closeup, macro photos, which is always fun. The 3x telephoto camera is equally good, producing great portraits, but it gets a bit soft and grainy indoors and can't match the 5x zooms on top slab phones. The selfie cameras are a similar story, with great detail in good light that quickly becomes a bit grainy indoors. You can shoot selfies with the main camera using the outside screen as a viewfinder when the phone is open, which produces much better results. The camera app has plenty of modes, is straightforward to use and shoots equally solid video. Overall, the Fold 7 has a great camera system that is not a significant downgrade on flagship slab phones, which is thoroughly impressive. The battery has an expected lifespan of at least 2,000 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is generally repairable. Inside screen repairs cost about £500. Samsung offers a self-repair programme, as well as Care+ accidental damage insurance that reduces the cost of repairs to £139. The Fold 7 is made from recycled aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, lithium, plastic, rare-earth elements and steel, accounting for 13.7% of the weight. Samsung offers trade-in and recycling schemes for old devices, and breaks down the phone's environmental impact in its report. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs from £1,799 (€2,099/$1,999.99/A$2,899). For comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip costs £1,049, the Galaxy S25 Edge costs £1,099, the S25 Ultra costs £1,249, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold costs £1,399. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an incredible, extremely expensive piece of technology that feels like a giant leap over previous models, removing many of the niggles and compromises that had become synonymous with foldables. By being so much thinner, lighter and normal-sized when shut, it feels just like a regular handset. Open it up and the internal screen is the best on a foldable yet. The crease is virtually gone, it is bright, crisp and makes the most of multitasking. The camera sticks miles out the back but generally doesn't get in the way except to make the phone wobble on a table – a compromise worth making for a top-quality camera system. You even get the same chip, solid battery life and great software as Samsung's top regular phones. That leaves the relative fragility of the folding form, lacking proper dust resistance and having a softer internal screen, and the eye-watering price, as the biggest compromises. If you are not sold on the idea of having a phone that is also a tablet in your pocket, I don't think this will convince you. But the Fold 7 is the best folding phone available and the major upgrade Samsung needed after a few rather repetitive years. Pros: a phone and tablet in one, super thin and light, just like a regular phone when closed, great software with powerful multitasking abilities, fantastic tablet screen, top performance, solid battery life, water resistance, long software support. Cons: extremely expensive, no dust resistance, more fragile than a regular device and costly to repair, limited zoom camera compared with the very best normal phones.
The Guardian
23-07-2025
- The Guardian
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: the thinner, lighter and better folding Android
Samsung's latest flagship folding phone looks like it has been put on a diet. The result is a transformation into one of the thinnest and lightest devices available and radically changes how it handles, for the better. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 8.9mm thick when shut – well within the realms of a standard smartphone if you ignore the camera bump on the back. It easily fits in a pocket but opens up to turn into a folding tablet just 4.2mm thick. But at £1,799 (€2,099/$2,000/A$2,899) you pay an awful lot for such a fancy device. It is an expensive, cutting-edge gadget that can, in theory, replace your phone, tablet and PC in one pocketable device. The seventh-generation foldable solves most of the niggles of Samsung's previous foldables. It weighs only 215g, which is 24g less than last year's model and about the same as large slab phones, and is shaped just like a regular handset when closed. It fits better in your pocket. Typing messages, answering calls, getting directions and taking photos feel and work like a regular phone. Even the 6.5in screen on the front is top-notch – bright, colourful, crisp and 120Hz smooth – and the improved fingerprint scanner in the power button is accurate and rapid. Open it like a book and the Fold 7 is only a hair thicker than the USB-C port. It is impressively thin yet feels solid. It is difficult to see how a device can be made any thinner without ditching the charging port. The flexible 8in OLED screen is smooth, crisp, super bright and almost square, ready for running two apps side by side. The outside screen and back are protected by the latest technology in hardened glass, but the inside screen is still covered by a necessarily softer layer than a standard phone that picks up fingerprints easily and is relatively shiny. The crease down the middle of the screen where it folds is very nearly gone, only visible in glare. Main screen: 8in QXGA+ 120Hz (368ppi) Amoled flexible display Cover screen: 6.5in FHD+ 120Hz (422ppi) Amoled Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy RAM: 12GB Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB Operating system: One UI 8 based on Android 16 Camera: 200+12+10MP rear with 3x telephoto; 10MP+10MP selfie cameras Connectivity: 5G, dual sim, e-sim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, GNSS Water resistance: IP48 (1.5 metres for 30 minutes) Dimensions folded: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm Dimensions unfolded: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2mm Weight: 215g The Fold 7 does not skimp on processing power with the same flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 12GB of RAM as the S25 Ultra and S25 Edge. That means it flies along in everyday tasks and high-end games and is considerably more powerful than its closest rivals, such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The battery lasts just shy of two days using the two screens for about four hours each and spending several hours on 5G, which is about the same as its predecessors and similar to normal slab phones. It will last longer when just using the outside screen for phone usage, but most people are likely to need to charge it every other day. The Fold 7 is one of the first Samsungs to run One UI 8 (Android 16) out of the box. It has not changed that much since last year's software, which is a good thing all round as One UI 7 was great. It includes all the features from Samsung's S25 line, including the great Now bar at the bottom of the lock screen that shows live sports scores, music, timers and other regular tasks. Samsung does a better job than rivals at making the most of the multiple modes and multitasking possibilities opened up by the folding tablet form. You can have up to eight apps open on the internal screen at any one time, and have different home screen layouts for each screen. You can force apps into almost any size or shape, use apps in a partly folded mode, move them between the front and internal screens, and many other small features. The Fold 7 also has all the AI tools from the S25 series, including Google Gemini, Circle to Search, writing and drawing tools, transcription and audio editing tools, and so on. Some are good, others can be safely ignored just like most buzzy AI features. Samsung will provide Android and security updates until 31 July 2032. The large camera lump on the back holds the 200-megapixel main, 12MP ultra wide and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras. The Fold 7 also has two 10MP selfie cameras, one in each screen. The main 200MP camera is the best of the bunch, matching that from the S25 Edge. It is a top-drawer camera capable of capturing great images across a range of lighting conditions, and is a significant upgrade on previous generation Folds. The 12MP ultra wide camera is solid and capable of taking some very good closeup, macro photos, which is always fun. The 3x telephoto camera is equally good, producing great portraits, but it gets a bit soft and grainy indoors and can't match the 5x zooms on top slab phones. The selfie cameras are a similar story, with great detail in good light that quickly becomes a bit grainy indoors. You can shoot selfies with the main camera using the outside screen as a viewfinder when the phone is open, which produces much better results. The camera app has plenty of modes, is straightforward to use and shoots equally solid video. Overall, the Fold 7 has a great camera system that is not a significant downgrade on flagship slab phones, which is thoroughly impressive. The battery has an expected lifespan of at least 2,000 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is generally repairable. Inside screen repairs cost about £500. Samsung offers a self-repair programme, as well as Care+ accidental damage insurance that reduces the cost of repairs to £139. The Fold 7 is made from recycled aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, lithium, plastic, rare-earth elements and steel, accounting for 13.7% of the weight. Samsung offers trade-in and recycling schemes for old devices, and breaks down the phone's environmental impact in its report. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs from £1,799 (€2,099/$1,999.99/A$2,899). For comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip costs £1,049, the Galaxy S25 Edge costs £1,099, the S25 Ultra costs £1,249, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold costs £1,399. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an incredible, extremely expensive piece of technology that feels like a giant leap over previous models, removing many of the niggles and compromises that had become synonymous with foldables. By being so much thinner, lighter and normal-sized when shut, it feels just like a regular handset. Open it up and the internal screen is the best on a foldable yet. The crease is virtually gone, it is bright, crisp and makes the most of multitasking. The camera sticks miles out the back but generally doesn't get in the way except to make the phone wobble on a table – a compromise worth making for a top-quality camera system. You even get the same chip, solid battery life and great software as Samsung's top regular phones. That leaves the relative fragility of the folding form, lacking proper dust resistance and having a softer internal screen, and the eye-watering price, as the biggest compromises. If you are not sold on the idea of having a phone that is also a tablet in your pocket, I don't think this will convince you. But the Fold 7 is the best folding phone available and the major upgrade Samsung needed after a few rather repetitive years. Pros: a phone and tablet in one, super thin and light, just like a regular phone when closed, great software with powerful multitasking abilities, fantastic tablet screen, top performance, solid battery life, water resistance, long software support. Cons: extremely expensive, no dust resistance, more fragile than a regular device and costly to repair, limited zoom camera compared with the very best normal phones.
