Samsung

Reliable leaker Evan Blass shared a pair of images of what he says is the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. The device supposedly has a 10.6mm profile when folded shut — potentially making it thinner than the 12.1mm Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The Premiere 9 and Premiere 7 share the same 4K resolution and HDR 10+ certification as their predecessor, but they come with Samsung’s gaming hub and an ambient mode that projects photos, videos, and widgets on your wall when you’re not watching anything.

While the triple-laser 130-inch Premiere 9 costs $6,000, the 120-inch Premiere 7 is priced at $3,000.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

“Simple, you throw the entire device away.”

So says iFixit of smart rings, including the new Samsung Galaxy Ring, in its teardown blog for the wearable. The site concludes that there’s “no question” that Galaxy Rings are unrepairable, destined to become part of our continued e-waste problem.

Korean business publication Aju News claims that Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae Yong is furious with the company’s mobile division over the Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Supposedly, the internal mood is bad and TM Roh, who heads the mobile division, may be in hot water. Granted, Aju News is vague with sourcing — which is common in East Asian journalism — but it wouldn’t be surprising if true.

We already knew that AI chip demand was driving crazy profits for Samsung. That’s good, because its earnings report shows that smartphone revenue and profitability both declined since last quarter, even as new AI features — it claims — helped buoy demand for its latest flagship devices:

The Galaxy S24 series achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in both shipments and revenue over its predecessor for both the second quarter and the first half of the year.

In the second half of 2024, Samsung says overall demand for its smartphones is expected to increase year-on-year, alongside “ecosystem products such as tablets, smartwatches, and smart rings.”

This teardown of the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a similar feel to Allison’s Z Fold 6 review — things inside are mostly the same as the previous generation. There are bigger batteries and other tweaks, but the similar layouts show how Samsung is iterating on the existing design, so hopefully, you think it’s already good enough.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Buds 3 revealed at Samsung’s Unpacked event went on sale globally today, though some regions / carriers may vary.

The exception is the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which are delayed (until August 28th in the US) due to quality issues with the removable ear tips.

Samsung gave 17,000 of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 phones to athletes and others around the Olympic and Paralympic games, and here’s one more unboxing.

The phone itself isn’t more impressive than anyone else’s, but British rower Imogen Grant chose a tough upgrade path — the phone she’s replacing was another freebie from Samsung that she picked up at the Tokyo Olympics.

Olympians unboxing folding phones is my new favorite video genre. Watch members of New Zealand’s swimming team unbox their new Galaxy Z Flip 6 phones — in gold, naturally — which were supplied by Olympic sponsor Samsung. Not only is it delightful when they discover the screen is on “both sides,” the guys and I agree that it’s time for a foldable iPhone, too.

According to a new Bloomberg report, the FBI’s initial attempts to break into the phone belonging to Thomas Matthew Crooks were unsuccessful.

But that changed once Cellebrite provided the agency with an unreleased, still-in-development update to its software. From there, it took just 40 minutes to access Crooks’ phone, which is described as “a newer Samsung model.”

The Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra, Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, and Galaxy Buds 3 and 3 Pro each made appearances at Galaxy Unpacked and are available starting on July 24th.

We’ve prepared a 12-minute supercut of the event for you, in case you missed the livestream.