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samsung-galaxy-z-flip-3

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Samsung’s new clamshell will have many new features, including a larger cover display and a sturdy frame. Read all about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 here!

As the introduction of Samsung’s new foldable smartphones gets closer, more and more is becoming known about the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Earlier this week, official promotional material from Samsung leaked, unveiling the design of both devices. The new Fold will be the world’s first foldable phone with an under-screen camera. In this publication, however, we will limit ourselves to the new Flip which gets a new two-tone design.

Like its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be a clamshell phone with a horizontal folding line. The dual camera and cover screen is covered in black, the rest of the housing is given a different color. This time Samsung seems to make a whole range of colors available.

The leaked photos show that at least a gray, beige, green and purple model will be released. In addition, there is talk about a black, white, blue and pink model. The available color variants will differ per region. Samsung will probably also offer some exclusive colors via their site.

Based on all the new information, graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli has created a series of highly realistic product renders for LetsGoDigital, in which the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is shown in all expected colors.

What is expected of the Samsung Z Flip 3?

The dual camera setup seems to remain unchanged in terms of resolution, it contains a 12 megapixel wide angle and a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle camera. The cover screen will be larger, the original Z Flip was equipped with a 1.1” display, the new model will likely feature a 1.83” cover display meaning some more content can be displayed – handy for incoming messages or when taking a selfie.

The 6.7” flexible screen will probably remain the same in size. What is new, the Samsung Z Flip 3 will support the 120Hz refresh rate. The centrally placed punch-hole camera will stay, presumably the same 10 megapixel image sensor will also be retained. As far as the camera is concerned, only software improvements are expected, the sensors and lenses of all cameras seem to remain unchanged – just as with the Galaxy S21.

For the first time Samsung will provide both the front and back of the clamshell with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, to make the foldable extra scratch and drop resistant. In addition, the frame also seems to be adjusted, the new “Armor Frame” will be stronger than before. The screen will also be extra reinforced by “Pro-Shield” technology – presumably a kind of counterpart to Apple’s Ceramic Shield.

This time Samsung seems to invest extra in the sturdiness and durability of its foldables. Not only does this result in a stronger frame and a more scratch-resistant display, the South Korean manufacturer also seems to provide the Galaxy Z Flip 3 with an IP rating for the first time. The folding phone is not expected to be completely dust and waterproof, but it will be splash-proof – which would of course be a step in the right direction.

Naturally, the hardware and software will also be renewed. Supposedly, the Samsung Z Flip 3 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which will guarantee extremely fast and stable performance. This 5nm chipset comes with an integrated 5G modem. In addition to a 256GB model, a 128GB model is also expected this time. This enables Samsung to lower the starting price. The device will run on the Android 11 OS, in combination with the One UI 3.3 user interface. It is a renewed interface compared to the UI that can be found on the Galaxy S21 models.

Will the Galaxy Z Flip 3 offer S Pen support?

Samsung seems to be working on S Pen support for its foldable devices. It’s almost certain that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be compatible with Samsung’s famous stylus pen. Some believe that this will also apply to the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Samsung recently registered a trademark for “Z Flip“, which made mention of a stylus pen. Nevertheless, that is no guarantee that the Z Flip 3 will actually offer S Pen support. I personally do not expect that the upcoming clamshell from Samsung will be made compatible with the S Pen. For this we will probably have to be patient until the Galaxy Z Flip 4. But who knows…

Regarding the battery and fast charging options, unfortunately no changes seem to be made. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G, like its predecessor, will be equipped with a dual battery with a total capacity of 3,300 mAh. A recent 3C quality certification has shown that the 15W fast charging function will also remain the same.

This seems to become the weakest part of Samsung’s new clamshell. After all, the battery life of the Z Flip was rated as “poor” in many expert reviews, the new model does not seem to change that. The maximum charging power of 15 Watt is of course also very minimal for a high-end device in the year 2021. It was expected that the fast charging functionality would be increased to a minimum of 25 Watt, some even hoped for 65 Watt. However, this does not seem to be the case; the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will only support 15 Watt wired / wireless charging.

Then the question remains: which accessories will be available for the new Flip? Last year a Leather Cover was released, which consisted of two parts. Samsung may have found a solution to also manufacture covers from one piece, so that the hinge is optimally protected. The South Korean manufacturer was recently awarded a patent for such a protective cover.

Price & Release date of the Galaxy Z Flip 3

Samsung will host a Galaxy Unpacked event around July, where both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be presented. A month later, another event is expected to be set up for the Galaxy S21 FE, this will be the cheapest model in the S21 line-up.

Last year, both the Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G -the latter was introduced five months later- carried a suggested retail price of € 1,500. If we are to believe the rumors, Samsung is doing everything it can to market the new model cheaper. This may also be the reason why the battery, fast charging functionality and the cameras will not be upgraded.

On the other hand, the South Korean manufacturer seems to be extra committed to the sturdiness and durability of its new foldable device. The larger cover screen and the many color variants should also make the Z Flip 3 extra attractive to buy. Moreover, Samsung seems to add an extra cheap 128GB model. This may result in a starting price of approx € 1,350 – € 1,400.

It will probably be possible to place a preorder order immediately after the official introduction. The actual release will then take place about two weeks later. Customers who purchase the Galaxy Z Flip 3 are expected to receive a set of Galaxy Buds 2 earbuds during the pre-order period. The new earbuds will probably be introduced simultaneously.

In terms of design, the Buds 2 are expected to be very similar to the Buds+, which was introduced at the beginning of 2020. It will a cheaper model than the Buds Pro, which was released at the beginning of this year at the time of the S21.

By the way, if you’re wondering what happened to the Galaxy Z Flip 2, don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything. Samsung will introduce their next Z Fold and Z Flip devices simultaneously, therefore the company seems to have decided to align the model names this year. Meaning there will be no Z Flip 2, instead there will be a Z Flip 3.

Note to editors : The 8K and 4K renders in this publication are created by in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli (aka Snoreyn).  The images are copyright protected. Feel free to use our pictures on your own website, but please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.

zte-blade-11-prime-review:-wireless-charging-for-under-$200

ZTE Blade 11 Prime review: wireless charging for under $200

The Blade 11 Prime offers a 6.5-inch screen and Qi wireless charging in a well-priced budget device.

If you’re already invested in a wireless charging lifestyle, the Blade 11 Prime is a budget phone to match it

The ZTE Blade 11 Prime offers one standout feature in a field of largely similar sub-$200 phones: wireless charging.

In the smartphone trickle-down economy, wireless charging is basically guaranteed on any flagship-level phone, but it’s still hit-and-miss among midrange phones and all but absent from the budget class. You’re much more likely to find a really big battery on a sub-$200 phone than wireless charging.

Outside of that feature, the $192 Blade 11 Prime’s specs are much the same as competing models like the Galaxy A12 and Moto G Play. Like those models, it offers a 6.5-inch 720p LCD, though it includes a little more RAM (4GB compared to 3GB) and a little less battery capacity (4,000mAh compared to 5,000mAh).

Choosing a phone that’s priced under $500 means you need to pick your priorities carefully, and that’s even more true of a $200 phone. If wireless charging is your chosen priority, then I have good news: the ZTE Blade 11 Prime is the budget-priced phone for you. If it’s not a major priority and more of a nice-to-have item, then I’d suggest looking elsewhere. You won’t do a lot better on any individual feature, like a better screen or camera, but you can do a little better.

The Blade 11 Prime supports the Qi wireless charging standard at 5W.

ZTE Blade 11 Prime screen, battery, and performance

The Blade 11 Prime is on the bigger side with a 6.5-inch display. Its 720p resolution is stretched a little thin here, and you’ll notice certain images looking a little pixelated if you look closely. The screen gets nice and bright, but its auto-brightness setting kept bringing the level down a little too dim for my liking. I also noticed faint repeating vertical lines on dark parts of the screen indicative of a low-quality panel — not a huge distraction but visible.

It doesn’t have the biggest battery in its class, but the Blade 11’s battery performance is generally good anyway. I got about two days of light, mostly Wi-Fi use on a single charge. Spending a full day out and about on LTE would drain the battery faster, but most people could expect to get through at least a full day of heavy use before needing to charge up again.

The Blade 11 Prime’s marquee feature, wireless charging, works well if a little slowly; the phone supports Qi charging at 5W. Taking it from 50 percent to a full charge took almost exactly two hours, during which the phone got warm but not worryingly so. As long as you don’t expect incredible speeds, wireless charging is a convenient option on the Blade 11 Prime, particularly if you’re the type of person who charges your phone overnight.

We don’t expect dazzling processing speed from a $200 phone, but the ZTE Blade 11 Prime falls a little short even considering its price. It uses a MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 chipset with a relatively healthy 4GB of RAM, but this combination struggles with even light tasks like scrolling through Instagram or Twitter.

Apps open quickly enough, but there was significant stuttering and hesitation just browsing my usual social media timelines or scrolling through the home screen app drawer. Some slowness is expected in this price bracket, but I didn’t see as much consistent stuttering using the Motorola Moto G Play recently.

The ZTE Blade 11 Prime ships with Android 11, which is nice — some of its slightly less recent competitors are still on 10 waiting for an update. ZTE says there’s no plan to offer any additional Android OS upgrades, only that it will offer security patches as needed. That’s not too surprising given the phone’s price point; the Blade 11 Prime just isn’t built for longevity past a couple of years of use. There’s also 64GB of built-in storage, which isn’t a lot. If you don’t download too many apps or store too many photos on your device, you’ll be able to get by, otherwise adding a microSD card for additional storage to your purchase is a good idea.

Camera hardware is modest: on the rear panel, you’ll find a 16-megapixel main and 8-megapixel ultrawide camera.

ZTE Blade 11 Prime camera

The rear camera system on the Blade 11 Prime includes a 16-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide, plus a 2-megapixel depth sensor. It’s a basic setup, and it does fine in good lighting conditions. It’s a little more prone to clipping very bright spots in photos than other systems I’ve used recently, but it does a nice job overall with exposures of high-contrast scenes. In moderate indoor lighting, some detail-smoothing noise reduction is visible, and low-light photos look smeary even at the reduced image sizes used for social sharing.









  • Taken with ultrawide



  • Taken with ultrawide



  • Taken with ultrawide

As for the other cameras, they’re just fine. The ultrawide doesn’t handle high-contrast scenes as well as the main camera, with some noticeable noise appearing in shadows. There’s also a short delay after pressing the shutter button before you can take another photo that isn’t present when using the main camera. The selfie camera thankfully avoids over-smoothing faces, and photos look good as long as there’s plenty of available light.

If you aren’t already a wireless charging devotee, it would be best to look elsewhere in the budget phone class.

If your budget is strict and wireless charging is a must-have, then the ZTE Blade 11 Prime is the right phone for you. But if you can make do without wireless charging, I’d strongly encourage you to look elsewhere. Iffy performance with basic tasks will be more of an inconvenience in the long run than having to plug in your phone every night to charge it.

This year’s Motorola Moto G Power would be a worthwhile alternative if you can spend a little more; you’ll get a faster processor and better battery life, though you should definitely plan on buying a microSD card to supplement its meager 32GB of storage. The G Play is a good alternative, too, even with a processor that’s a bit slower than the G Power’s.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge

tivo’s-first-android-tv-dongle-also-appears-to-be-its-last

TiVo’s first Android TV dongle also appears to be its last

Last May, TiVo attempted to muscle in on Roku and Amazon with an HDMI streaming dongle of its own — the $70 TiVo Stream 4K, which traded in the company’s traditional live TV + DVR functionality for the likes of Sling TV, Netflix, HBO and YouTube. It now appears that attempt was so unsuccessful, the company’s planning to abandon its Android TV dongle efforts entirely.

Xperi Holdings CEO Jon Kirchner explained in an earnings call (via Zatz Not Funny) that it no longer feels it can compete using Android TV — the company likes to think its differentiator is a content guide that surfaces and lets you search for shows and movies across a variety of apps, but now that Google’s already baked something like that into its new “Google TV” layer on top of Android TV and sells it for just $50, TiVo doesn’t see much of a future there.

Here’s Kirchner, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha:

Sure, so originally as we approached the combination, we have done a lot of planning around kind of a three phase approach, starting with the Stream 4K product, which is a dongle that attaches to TVs, moving into an embedded application, where we’ll be let’s say the preferred user interface choice on a broader platform but originally around the notion that it would live on top of Android TV.

And then thirdly, going all the way into a much deeper embedded solution, embedded OS where we’re a bigger provider, where we’re really the sole primary interface for the broader content search and discovery and engagement. What has changed is last fall, Google came out and said that they intend to go beyond their core OS level offering and really get into the UX business, and in so doing it eclipses one’s ability to I think reasonably be an alternative that might otherwise live on their lower level platform.

Instead, says Kirchner, he wants to embed TiVo smarts directly in TVs — a strategy that’s worked pretty dang well for Roku, and where Amazon has been competing with Fire TV Edition sets for a few years, too.

Here’s the thing, though: while the Stream 4K was well-reviewed, it wasn’t the user interface that reviewers liked. Some of its most glowing reviews called it cluttered or confusing compared to the competition, and most concluded that it was just fine compared to slicker offerings from Roku and Amazon at or under that price. TiVo dropped the starting price of the Stream 4K to $50 at launch, and reduced it to $39 in December after Google’s $50 Chromecast had arrived.

google-stadia-has-figured-out-a-way-to-ditch-the-fancy-gamepad-for-tv-play

Google Stadia has figured out a way to ditch the fancy gamepad for TV play

Today, there’s only one official way to play Google’s Stadia game streaming service on your 4K TV — the last-gen Chromecast Ultra, connected to the company’s proprietary Stadia Controller over Wi-Fi. That’s because Google hasn’t yet brought Stadia to the new-and-improved $50 Chromecast, and its predecessor didn’t support Bluetooth, meaning the only way to pair a controller was to loop through Google’s servers in the cloud.

But Google now has a workaround, 9to5Google reports. There’s a new “bridge mode” hidden in the latest version of the Stadia app on Android that should let you send controller signals from your phone — letting you play Stadia with your phone’s touchscreen, or even connect another gamepad to your phone. You’ll be able to use your phone to change your TV’s volume, too, according to text snippets buried in the APK.

9to5Google spotted this graphic in the APK to promote bridge mode.
Image: Google

The original Stadia Controller has been something of a thorn in the company’s side ever since Stadia launched on November 19th, 2019, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Google decides to move on. It took many months for buyers to be able to use Google’s wireless controller wirelessly with anything except the Chromecast Ultra — desktop web browsers and Android phones weren’t supported at first, meaning you had to physically plug in a USB-C cable. USB-C audio took a while too, and Bluetooth audio via the controller still has yet to materialize.

Thankfully, third-party controller support was quite robust on those other platforms, letting you easily sync a PlayStation or Xbox gamepad to play, and it’s unlikely you’ll even need this new Bridge Mode to play Stadia on the 2020 Chromecast whenever it arrives; the new Chromecast does support Bluetooth game controllers. Judging by a few Steam Link and GeForce Now sessions with my 8BitDo gamepad, Bluetooth gamepad support may work just fine.

Right now, it’s just a little unclear how much Google cares about Stadia; after it axed all its in-house game studios in February, I argued that the writing was on the wall; since then, Stadia has lost its head of product and at least six additional staffers, and been the subject of two reports about its internal struggles. Apparently, Google had to pay tens of millions of dollars to publishers like Ubisoft, per game, just to get games ported to Stadia.

google-assistant-will-sing-you-a-song-about-getting-vaccinated

Google Assistant will sing you a song about getting vaccinated

Many of us are excited that COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available in the US, and it seems like Google Assistant is joining in. In fact, it’s got a song to share about it (via Android Police).

You can listen to the song yourself by asking Google Assistant to “sing the vaccine song,” but I’ve also recorded it. Take a listen.

Okay, hmm… where to start? I’ll give the music some props. It’s got a fun beat with a kind of crispy-sounding snare. I’d also call the synths “tastefully restrained.” Assistant will also, I discovered, sing the song in either a male- or female-sounding voice, depending on your settings. The range!

Unfortunately, the lyrics aren’t great. If you’re not able to listen, here’s a sample:

To be fair, the subject matter doesn’t lend itself well to song.

Yeah, the presentation isn’t really helped by the emoji that punctuate each line. I can fully support the message: my hat’s off to the people who worked hard on developing the vaccines, and we should all get it so we can return back to normal. But I don’t think the best messenger is a digital assistant. I also doubt it’ll be that convincing to people who are distrustful of the vaccine.

(Also, who’s pining for handshakes to come back?)

I’m feeling a strong four to a light five on this one.

google-remembers-wear-os-long-enough-to-add-a-new-keyboard

Google remembers Wear OS long enough to add a new keyboard

In what feels like an increasingly rare occurrence, Google announced that it’s updating Wear OS with a new feature today — but don’t get too excited, it’s just a keyboard. In this case, Google is porting over Gboard, the swipeable, predictive text-powered keyboard that it offers for Android, iOS, and Android TV, as spotted by 9to5Google.

Like the larger phone version, Gboard for Wear OS supports multiple input methods on a keyboard that’s slightly more finger-friendly than the old version the operating system used. You can type by tapping, swiping, or speaking. The keyboard also has easier access to emoji and “enhanced suggestions” above the keyboard.

Along with the new keyboard, Google says it’s also introducing multi-language support for all of the languages offered on Wear OS. To switch languages, Gboard for Wear OS has a language shortcut at the bottom of the keyboard that will pull up a menu with options.

The update is minor, but Google is at least paying attention to an operating system that’s mainly received minor updates for a while. Google opened up Tiles on the OS to third-party developers earlier this year, and before that, promised to improve to CPU performance in August 2020. With Google I/O 2021 — the company’s developer conference — on the horizon, there’s a possibility Google has more improvements to share for Wear OS, but until then, be happy you can at least swipe to type on your wrist.

twitter-is-testing-a-new-tip-jar-feature-for-sending-money-to-your-favorite-accounts

Twitter is testing a new Tip Jar feature for sending money to your favorite accounts

Twitter has started rolling out a new Tip Jar feature on its Android and iOS apps, which (as rumored) will allow users to send money directly to their favorite accounts.

To use the tip jar, simply tap on the freshly added dollar bill icon next to someone’s username when viewing their profile on one of Twitter’s mobile apps. Users will be able to toggle the tip jar feature, too (for those individuals or organizations that don’t want people just sending them cash out of the blue). Android users will also be able to send money in Twitter’s Clubhouse-like Spaces.

Tip Jar supports a variety of payment options and links: Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, Paypal, and Venmo. Twitter is using those services’ external payment processors for transactions; it doesn’t take a cut. All English language Twitter users can send tips starting today, but only a select group (including “creators, journalists, experts, and nonprofits”) can turn on the feature to accept money for now.

Users have been using Twitter to solicit tips or Patreon follows for years — ending viral threads with a shoutout to a SoundCloud account is practically a meme at this point. So it makes sense that Twitter would be looking to streamline the feature as part of its own app.

Notably, the only way to access Tip Jar right now is through navigating to a user’s profile. That means sending someone some money for a truly fantastic tweet will still take a bit more effort than, say, just liking or retweeting it.

The announcement tweet from Twitter also promises “more coming soon,” so it’s likely that we’ll continue to hear more about how Twitter is implementing tipping in the coming weeks and months.

how-to-use-youtube’s-gestures-to-make-it-bearable-on-a-portrait-locked-phone

How to use YouTube’s gestures to make it bearable on a portrait-locked phone

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It isn’t enough to have great new devices, apps, and games — you also have to know how to use them. Here at The Verge, we offer step-by-step how-tos for experienced and new users who are working with online, macOS, Windows, Chrome OS, iOS, and Android apps, services, phones, laptops, and other tools. From simple instructions on how to install and use new devices, to little-known strategies on how to take advantage of hidden features and the best methods for adding power or storage, we’ve got your technological back.

If you use your phone in portrait lock all the time, it can be frustrating trying to get YouTube videos into full screen with the tiny button in the UI. Thankfully, there’s a better way, using the app’s built-in gestures: you can simply swipe up on a video to fill up the screen and swipe down on it to go back to portrait orientation.

We’ve actually written about this feature before, but it seems like it’s easy to miss; most of the people I’ve shown it to had no idea it existed.

Easy.

Of course, this feature works on Android phones as well, which I personally like better than having to hit the auto-rotate button built into the OS.

There is one obvious limitation: it only rotates one way. If you want to hold your phone with the left side facing up, you’re out of luck unless you turn portrait lock off. Still, it’s way better than having to tap on the video once to get the UI controls to show up, then trying to hit the tiny full-screen button.

Now all we need is this feature to be added to every other app (or for our phones to get smart enough to realize that if I’m watching a video and turn my phone, I probably want to see the video in full-screen, despite portrait lock).

android-tv-updates-home-screen-for-freeview-play-viewers

Android TV updates home screen for Freeview Play viewers

(Image credit: Android TV)

Android TV has rolled out a home screen update for Freeview Play designed to make it easier for viewers to explore content relevant to their tastes.

Users will now have access to a new ‘Discover’ tab that offers personalised suggestions based on viewing history, interests and Google trends. A forthcoming update will add recommendations from the 30,000 hours of on-demand content on Freeview Play. 

Additionally, the main interface’s  ‘On Now’ row has been simplified to give clearer programme information with a new tile providing quick access to the live TV guide. 

To make it easy for viewers to watch Freeview Play’s on-demand programmes, content rows have been updated with player tiles that will link viewers straight to the app they are interested in.  

Previously the integration of Android TV and Freeview Play hasn’t always made for the easiest of combinations, resulting in an interface that felt convoluted. Speaking about the changes Ed Corn, Head of Android TV Partnerships, said: “People in Britain cherish a helpful and smart TV experience. 

“We are glad that through our work with Freeview Play, more UK viewers will profit from an updated Android TV experience that makes it easy for them to find and watch their favourite shows.”

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