We’ll be honest: when we say Galaxy Ultra Unfolds was more than a movie night, we mean it.

Last July 29, GadgetMatch partnered with Samsung Philippines to host an exclusive media block screening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day at Cinema 8, Power Plant Mall.

The premise was simple: bring the best of Philippine tech & lifestyle media and creators into one room, put the newest Samsung foldables in their hands, and see what happens.

What happened was a really good night.

Guests arrived to a registration setup that made it clear from the start that this was not a standard press event. The Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 were ready to go alongside the newest Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2.

And unlike most launch events, you were encouraged to actually use them. Pick one up, pair it with the watch, and get comfortable trying them out. The screening wasn’t starting yet, and there was content to be made.

That content came in the form of our on-site contest, “Which Samsung Foldable is Your GadgetMatch?”

The idea was straightforward: pick the device that best represents you, pair it with the Galaxy Watch, and create something.

Static or Reel, polished or raw, the only rule was that it had to feel like you. Watching people make that choice and defend it turned out to be one of the best parts of the evening.

Then Spider-Man: Brand New Day happened, and for a couple of hours, everything else took a back seat. It delivered exactly what it needed to. Watching it with a full room of media guests who had just spent an hour arguing about foldables made the whole experience feel like a natural extension of the night.

The evening wrapped up at Aruga by Rockwell, where the post-film energy kept going well past the credits. Good food, good company, and plenty of opinions about both the film and the devices that carried everyone through it.

 

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It was the kind of night that reminds us why we love doing this. Our full reviews of the latest Galaxy foldables and wearables are on the way — and trust us, you’ll want to stick around for those.

GadgetMatch has officially made it back-to-back at the Henry Ford Awards, as our associate creative director MJ Jucutan won the Ford Launch Story of the Year plum at this year’s HFA for his  “What happens when the car you once loved returns as a Hybrid?” piece.

It is the second consecutive trophy for MJ, after also being recognized last year at the 24th edition of the HFA.

GadgetMatch entered the 25th HFA with two nominations, as news editor Luigi Leonardo also earned a nomination under the Automotive Vehicle Review of the Year (Article) category.

The 25th HFA was themed “Stars and Stories in Silver”, with Ford Philippines’ awards program marking a milestone.

In the landmark year, Ford Philippines honored 19 Silver Mile Luminaries, composed of 15 esteemed journalists and four media outlets, who have garnered the most awards throughout the HFA’s 25-year existence.

Here are the awardees:

Silver Mile Luminaries (journalists)

• Jason Ang
• Ulysses Ang
• James Deakin
• Manny de los Reyes
• Ronald de los Reyes
• Junep Ocampo
• Vince Pornelos
• Iñigo Roces
• Tessa Salazar
• Vernon Sarne
• Paulo Rafael Subido
• Dinzo Tabamo
• Niky Tamayo
• Eric Tipan
• Steven Edward Yu

Silver Mile Luminaries (publications)

• BusinessMirror Motoring Section
• Philippine Daily Inquirer Motoring Section
• Fast Times of The Manila Times
• Top Gear Philippines

Lifetime Achievement Award

The 25th HFA also handed out the Butch Gamboa LIfetime Achievement Award to Manila Bulletin Executive Editor Pinky Concha-Colmenares.

The prestigious award recognizes a journalist whose body of work has made profound and lasting impact on the industry, informing and inspiring audiences while elevating the standards of automotive storytelling.

Industry, Ford category award winners

Meanwhile, the Industry and Ford category awards saw five winners from close to 100 entries:

• Automotive Vehicle Review of the Year (Article) – “What the Mazda Miata means to my family despite never having owned one” by Carlo Chungunco for Top Gear Philippines
• Automotive Vehicle Review of the Year (Video) – “2025 Nissan Z NISMO Review | Sharper, Faster, Greater” by Earl Lee for AutoDeal
• Ford Launch Story of the Year – “What happens when the car you once loved returns as a Hybrid?” by MJ Jucutan for GadgetMatch
• Ford Automotive Video Feature of the Year – “2025 Ford Bronco Review | The Best Off-Roader Yet?” by Jack Gutierrez for AutoDeal
• Ford Automotive Short-Form Video of the Year – “FORD BRONCO: Can you tame this beast?” by Roy Robles for Zigwheels Philippines

GadgetMatch has earned two nominations at the 25th Henry Ford Awards.

The award-giving body has just announced its finalists for the five submission categories under the HFA, and nominated are our associate creative director MJ Jucutan and news editor Luigi Leonardo — both of whom cover the auto beat.

MJ won the Ford Automotive Article Feature of the Year award at last year’s HFA, and this time, he is nominated for the story, “What happens when the car you once loved returns as a Hybrid?”.

This is for the Ford Launch Story of the Year category under the Ford Category Awards.

Meanwhile, Luigi joins the cast of nominees for his “Starting the newly engaged life with the Kia EV9” piece.

This nomination is under the Industry Category Awards, which also honors content made by motoring journalists, regardless if it was about a Ford offering or not.

The Henry Ford Awards is the industry’s lone awards program that honors excellence and impact in Philippine motoring journalism.

All entries underwent two rounds of judging with respected members of the academe and leaders of business and allied industries.

In particular, audio-visual submissions were evaluated by special judges in creative industries, including:

• Ogilvy Executive Creative Director Chino Jayme
• brand filmmaker for Provill Studios and Sidekick Collective Sid Maderazo

The winners will be awarded on May 5, 2026, together with the Silver Mile Luminaries composed of motoring journalists who have won the most number of HFA awards over the last 25 years.

The award-giving body will also hand out the first-ever Butch Gamboa Lifetime Achievement Award.

25th Henry Ford Awards

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Industry Category

Automotive Vehicle Review of the Year (Article)

• “Starting the newly engaged life with the Kia EV9” by Luigi Leonardo (GadgetMatch)
• “What the Mazda Miata means to my family despite never having owned one” by Carlo
  Chungunco (Top Gear Philippines)
• “When my 87-year old mother rates the 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander” by Raymond Gregory
  Tribdino for (The Manila Times)

Automotive Vehicle Review of the Year (Video)

• “2025 Nissan Z NISMO Review | Sharper, Faster, Greater” by Earl Lee (AutoDeal)
• “2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 Review | Big and Bold” by Caco Tirona (AutoDeal)
• “BYD Seal 5 DMi Dynamic Full Review – Can this Sub 1M Sedan Change the Game?” by Alexander Zosa (Jaywalkur Motoring)

Ford Category

Launch Story of the Year

• “Ford Enters the Electrified Era with the Hybrid Territory and Mustang Mach-E” by
  Kristoffer Lim (Megabites)
• “The new Territory Hybrid is ready to usher in Ford’s electrified era in PH” by Leandre
  Grecia (Top Gear Philippines)
• “What happens when the car you once loved returns as a Hybrid?” by MJ Jucutan
  (GadgetMatch)

Automotive Video Feature of the Year

• “2025 Ford Bronco Review | The Best Off-Roader Yet?” by Jack Gutierrez (AutoDeal)
• “2025 Ford Ranger Raptor V6 | Better than Diesel? RAPTOR ADVENTURE with F-150
  and Bronco” by Roy Robles (Zigwheels Philippines)
• “2025 Ford Ranger Raptor V6 Review | An Exercise in Excess” by Caco Tirona (AutoDeal)

Automotive Short-Form Video of the Year

• “FORD BRONCO: Can you tame this beast?” by Roy Robles (Zigwheels Philippines)
• “Ford Mustang GT Fuel Eco Run” by Charles Banaag (Top Gear Philippines)
• “Not your ordinary Ranger Raptor” by Isaac Atienza (Go Flat Out PH)