Smartphones
ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe unboxing
It may be late to the market, but the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe is finally starting to trickle out, with Asia being the next stop for the Taiwanese manufacturer’s most premium — and most expensive — smartphone yet.
ASUS certainly took its sweet time releasing this one, and it shows: The Deluxe is luxe from the inside out and beyond the hardware. Its box alone is likely to elicit “oohs” before it’s even opened, enough to give the impression that what’s inside is valuable. (To be perfectly clear, it is; the $700 5.7-inch Deluxe costs as much as an iPhone 7 Plus or a Pixel XL.)

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Our 5.7-inch Deluxe in gold came in this sturdy navy blue box. The box features a magnetic flap that keeps it closed and holds the package together.

The inside of the box reveals a fancy interior (accentuated by ASUS’ concentric-circle detailing, of course); it is broken up into compartments with the unit up top, and the accessories and documentation stored underneath. There’s a pull-out tab for the hidden compartment.


The bundled charger (and Type-C cable) outputs at up to 9 volts and supports fast charging. We’ll reserve our judgment for the review, but so far we’ve been able to consistently get back to a full charge in a little over an hour.

The white-and-silver wired earphones are housed in a plastic casing. It comes with three sets of additional earbud attachments, so you’re more likely to find one that fits snug in your ear. We like them. A lot. Apart from the phone (duh!), they’re the highlight of this unboxing. We haven’t tested them thoroughly yet so we can’t be sure of their quality. Check back in the coming days.

The branded SIM eject tool is the same one you’ll find bundled with other ZenFone models released this year.

First impressions
By now, you must be wondering: “So, what about the handset?” Well, there’s certainly a lot to like about the the ZenFone 3 Deluxe. It’s lightning fast — absolutely the most powerful and responsive ZenFone we’ve used thus far, bar none; the AMOLED display is lovely and incredibly crisp; and the cameras take vibrant, detailed images.

Everything seems to be in order here. But, as you know, some phones — especially the most expensive ones — deserve a deeper dive than others. And we’ll be sure to take that plunge in the days to come. By then, we’ll be sure to arrive at a definitive conclusion as to whether or not this phone is worth the wait and high price of admission.
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News
Lionel Messi’s face just unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra early
Technically, it’s a custom Caviar phone with Messi’s face on it.
And just like that, the World Cup season is over. Spain prevailed over Argentina in a 1-0 caper. Despite the loss, however, Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi is (indirectly) leaving us a little surprise by spoiling the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra a few days early.
Technically, it’s not Messi himself doing the spoiling. Caviar, the infamous luxury smartphone company, has revealed an extravagant Lionel Messi-themed edition of the unannounced Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
As with the brand’s other creations, the special smartphone is covered in 24-karat gold plating. The design is styled to look like Messi and the colors of the Argentinian football team.
Now, before you say that this design is worthless now after the loss to Spain, the edition is meant to celebrate the 2022 win, exemplified by the badge on Messi’s shirt saying “2022”. And even then, Messi is still one of the most globally recognized sports personalities in the world, making this quite the collector’s item.
However, if you’re looking for any hardware leaks, you’re out of luck. The listing has no mention of specs, except for the storage, which includes options for 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. Other than that, you’ll have to wait like the rest of us.
Additionally, if you’re interested in the Messi-themed edition, it will cost you a fortune. Caviar’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will start at a whopping US$ 13,130.
Besides its nature as a special edition, this phone is the most official thing we’ve seen of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Samsung is still scheduled to launch the new foldable, along with other models, in a few days. The brand is also rumored to launch a wide version of this model.
SEE ALSO: New leak reveals first look at Samsung’s wide foldable
Smartphones
Samsung introduces Flex Titanium tech for foldable displays
To debut with Samsung’s next-gen Galaxy foldable devices
Samsung has unveiled the new Flex Titanium technology for its next generation of Galaxy foldable devices.
The redesigned display structure utilizes structural and material advancements to deliver a more refined viewing experience. This included enhanced durability and reduced crease visibility.
Flex Titanium integrates two titanium-based components: a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate. These work together to balance slimness, flexibility, and strength — all within the foldable display structure.
The new Flex Titanium technology will debut with Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy foldable devices, with details to be unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked.
Samsung said it took a new approach to structural design to create a display that provides an immersive viewing experience while withstanding everyday use for years and years.
Titanium offered the right mix to put check mark on all three factors: strength for external shock, flexibility for repeated folding, and thinness for device fit.
The titanium-alloy film is a component that supports the display from within, sitting below the OLED panel. This has a mechanical stiffness 20 times better than polymer film.
A precision rolling process makes the external material exceptionally thin, measuring roughly one-third the thickness of an average human hair.
Below the film is a robust titanium plate for tighter bonding with the display module. It eliminates air gaps between module and the adhesive on the plate through an advanced hole processing technology.
News
New leak reveals first look at Samsung’s wide foldable
It looks like there’s only one book-style foldable this year.
Coming in just a heartbeat, Samsung will unveil the next foldables during the upcoming Unpacked event. The spotlight, naturally, lands on the rumored wide foldable. Now, we don’t have an official look yet, but a new leak is spoiling that for us.
Leaked by Android Headlines, the upcoming foldable, purportedly named the Galaxy Z Fold 8, looks as advertised. The brand’s first wide foldable takes a few inches off the top to deliver a, literally, wide resolution for more display real estate.
There’s not much to say about the specs, but the model does have a camera setup with two shooters. It will also be available in three colorway options: black, white, and lavender. A limited-edition green variant might also make an appearance.
Among the scheduled devices this coming Unpacked, the wide foldable is the main event. Plus, the new leak reveals that a regular Fold isn’t debuting with this batch. Rather, Samsung might go all-in on the wide foldable format.
If that’s not your style, the leak also unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 8. The new model doesn’t look different from the usual Flips that we’re used to, so it’s not a big headline.
Finally, the leak reveals the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Watch Ultra 2.
It won’t be long before we see these devices for real. Samsung has officially scheduled the next Galaxy Unpacked event for July 22.
SEE ALSO: Samsung sets Galaxy Unpacked for July 22 in London
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