News

Samsung Galaxy S20 series now official, focuses on new experiences

Ready for the future

Published

February 12, 2020

Rodneil Quiteles

The leaks and rumors mostly got things right but there’s plenty about the Samsung Galaxy S20 series that wasn’t revealed yet, including but not limited to, where the S series is headed moving forward.

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way. Yes, the S series has three phones — Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. We’ll get to the finer details of what makes each one different from the other. For now, let’s go through some highlight features.

First of, all three phones will have support for 5G. That includes different 5G bands like MmWave, TTD, and FDDc. That means no matter what 5G infrastructure your area supports, the Galaxy S20 series should have you covered.

While 5G is still in its early stages, Samsung is making sure you have a device that’s ready for the tech once it matures.

Experience over numbers

Samsung is taking a slightly different approach with how they’re communicating the Galaxy S20 series. Make no mistake, the numbers on the phones’ cameras are still pretty outstanding, but the company says these only support the kind of experience they want to impart.

The main cameras on the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ are 64MP while the Galaxy S20 Ultra packs a whopping 108MP main shooter. That particular camera fuses every 9 pixels into one creating an image with plenty of detail. Samsung calls this process “Nona-Binning.” The company says the camera sensors are not only larger, they’re also smarter.

Those are some of the numbers but it’s the features that Samsung hopes will give you a better shooting experience. For instance, the zoom on the Galaxy S20 series should be the best among everything that Samsung has had on offer so far.

The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will have 3X lossless zoom and up to 30X hybrid zoom. Impressive. However, the Galaxy S20 Ultra takes things even further.

In a feature they call Space Zoom, the Galaxy S20 Ultra will give you 10X lossless zoom and up to 100X hybrid zoom.

Capture more at once

The feature Samsung is highlighting the most is called Single Take. What it does is it lets you take a 10-second clip with the phone also taking images of the “best moments” from that clip.

It takes away the anxiety of having to decide if you’d rather take a video or a photo. The company hopes it’s a feature that will help put you more in the moment instead of pouring too much energy into capturing it.

Speaking of video, the Galaxy S20 series is capable of capturing 8K video. If you happen to own a Samsung 8K TV, you can immediately stream your footage on that TV seamlessly.

Overall video taking also levels up with an improved Super Steady feature that uses anti-rolling stabilization and AI-motion analysis to eliminate shakes in your video. Mentioned in passing is the pro-grade level video that allows you to adjust aperture and other settings like you would on a DSLR.

Key partnerships

In keeping with the “creating better experiences” theme, Samsung partnered with Spotify to take full advantage of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+.

On the Galaxy Buds+, there’s a dedicated gesture to quickly launch Spotify. It even syncs with Bixby Music so it knows the right playlist to fire up depending on the time of the day and your activity.

The Galaxy Buds+ is a step up from last year’s Galaxy Buds. It offers a longer 11-hours of battery life and has 2-way dynamic speakers all in the service of delivering a better audio experience.

Google Duo — Google’s video calling app — is also built into the phone. This lets you make Duo calls straight from the contacts app — very similar to how FaceTime works on the iPhone. Additionally, if the calls are between two Galaxy S20 phones, you can have it in full HD. Neat.

The specs

As promised, to help differentiate the the Galaxy S20 series, here’s a quick table detailing the specs.

	Galaxy S20	Galaxy S20+	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Display	6.2″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz	6.7″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz	6.9″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz
Processor	Exynos 990	Exynos 990	Exynos 990
Storage and Memory	128GB + 12GB Expandable via MicroSD up to 1TB	128GB + 12GB 512GB +12GB Expandable via MicroSD up to 1TB	128GB + 12GB 512GB +16GB Expandable via MicroSD up to 1TB
Battery	4000mAh 25W charging	4500mAh 25W charging	5000mAh 45W charging (45W charger sold separately)
Cameras (Rear)	12MP, F2.2 Ultra Wide 12MP, F1.8 Wide-Angle 64MP, F2.0 Telephoto	12MP, F2.2 Ultra Wide 12MP, F1.8 Wide-Angle 64MP, F2.0 Telephoto Depth Vision	12MP, F2.2 Ultra Wide 108MP, F1.8 Wide-Angle 48MP, F3.5 Telephoto Depth Vision
Camera (Selfie)	10MP, F2.2	10MP, F2.2	40MP, F2.2

All three phones will have the usual sensors and security features like the Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor and Face Recognition. The phones also have an IP68 rating making them dust and water resistant.

Wireless charging is also available on all three devices. Another thing all three have in common is they no longer have a headphone jack. Last year, the Galaxy S10 still had that port.

Pricing and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S20 series will be available starting March 6, 2020 and pre-order period will start on February 21. It will come in different colors. Color availability will depend on where you live.

Galaxy S20: Cosmic Grey, Cloud Blue, Cloud Pink — US$ 999.99
Galaxy S20+: Cosmic Grey, Cloud Blue, Cosmic Black — US$ 1,199.99
Galaxy S20 Ultra: Cosmic Grey, Cosmic Black — US$ 1,399.99

News

The vivo X Fold6 is the first foldable to support teleconverter lens

Also boasts the biggest battery and the bestest cameras in any foldable to date

Published

June 26, 2026

Vincenz

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

While the rest of the smartphone space wants to divert your attention towards the upcoming wide-style foldables, vivo focuses more on bringing a better and smarter foldable experience with the all-new X Fold6.

The better multitasker

vivo’s software team has invested much of their hard, sweat, and tears by bringing improved multitasking features exclusive for the X Fold6 with the OriginOS 6 Fold.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Last year’s X Fold5 brought multitasking improvements with the Atomic Workbench feature. Serial Mode was the default layout with a main page and four tasks on the side all displayed in one screen

In this year’s X Fold6, they are introducing a newer “Parallel Mode” layout with in-your-face multitasking experience spliced in several customizable windows à la Mondrian grid.

GIF by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

And it’s not just your typical split-screen divisions with floating windows panes and an adaptive dock, OriginOS 6 Fold promises a more intelligent yet more efficient workspaces never done by other manufacturers in their foldables over the past few years.

GIF by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

There are four basic scenarios provided for the X Fold6:

AI Workbench
Office Workbench
Tourist Workbench
Shopping Workbench

GIF by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

vivo even promises “thousands” of Atomic Workbench app combos for “thousands” of people:

Stock Workbench
Creative Workbench
Watch the Game Workbench
Ticket-grabbing Workbench

If you feel limited by that foldable workspace, connecting the X Fold6 through several display devices such as your monitor or TV enables you a maximized PC mode as well as side-by-side interconnection and collaboration.

GIF by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Heck, even cross-compatibility between apps and other devices (regardless if iPhone, Android, Windows, or Mac) are all seamless with one another.

The possibilities are just endless with vivo’s latest X-foldable.

And while we’re at it, the vivo X Fold6 sports a 8.02-inch display when unfolded (alongside Samsung’s M14 inner screen luminous material) while 6.51-inch cover display when closed.

Both are LTPO 8T AMOLED adpative 120Hz displays that can reach up to 5000 nits of peak brightness — and as low as 1Hz and 1-nit when deemed useful.

Both screens also have a pixel density of 424ppi with support for 1.07 Billion Colors as well as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content.

Full-fledged flagship foldable

vivo went all out with the X Fold6 not just in terms of software experience, but also the core hardware found within.

For one, it’s powered by the Dimensity 9500 Super Edition 3nm 8-core SoC paired with an ultra-capable ARM G1 Ultra GPU. Very different from the notorious 2023-made chipset in last year’s X Fold5.

This joint effort by MediaTek and vivo is made to be super energy-efficient not just to support extreme multitasking, but also for these plethora of AI features to be faster and more stabler:

AI Cross-Window Drag and Drop
AI Conference Assistant
AI File Manager

Users also have to pick between 12 or 16GB of LPDDR5X Ultra memory. Meanwhile, its UFS 4.1 storage range between 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options.

While vivo didn’t dare to beat the likes of the HONOR Magic V6 and OPPO Find N6 when it comes to utmost thinness at 9.4/9.9mm (versus 8.8/9.0mm and 8.9mm respectively), the brand equipped the biggest battery in any foldable so far: a whopping 7000mAh battery capacity.

That’s a 1000mAh increase over last year’s X Fold5.

They even let go of the “lightest foldable” record last year in favor of packing all these flagship-grade components.

Charging speeds remain the same this year: 80W wired FlashCharge plus 40W wireless FlashCharge.

That port also supports the faster USB-C 3.2 Gen2 standard.

Other flagship features include powerful stereo speakers with Dolby Panorama, IP5X dust-resistance plus IPX8 / IPX9 water-resistance ratings. It can also withstand sub-zero temperatures as low as 20ºC or 68ºF.

There’s even vivo’s self-developed 1+4 communication chipset configuration that enhances connectivity even in enclosed or far-flung areas. Satellite Communication Services (in China) never forgotten.

Thrice the ZEISS

The vivo X Fold6 isn’t just a true multitasKING. It probably also boasts the best camera system you can get in any foldable right now.

On paper, vivo’s X Fold6 headlines the Samsung-made 200MP f/1.68 main camera based on their 1/1.14-inch HPB sensor. ICYMI, this is the telephoto module found on the X300 Pro.

The 16mm ultra-wide sensor wasn’t left behind as it’s a 50MP f/2.05 unit with a sensor size of 1/2.76-inch.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Last but definitely not the least, that 50MP ZEISS APO Super Telephoto camera is powered by Sony’s 1/1.95-inch LYTIA 602 (LYT-602). It features 3x optical zoom (75mm equivalent) and supports as far as 100x digital zoom.

This also doubles as a telephoto macro camera — up to 20x zoom.

The main and zoom lenses have a CIPA 4.5 Professional Grade which means better OIS in shaky scenarios.

All lenses feature the best in class ZEISS T* coating to block all that unwanted glare and flare.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

The once exclusive Blueprint Color Palette feature to the X300 Ultra also makes it debut to the vivo X Fold6.

Teleconverter on a foldable?!

vivo didn’t stop just by bringing that massive camera bump.

As shocking as it seems, the vivo X Fold6 also supports the all-new G2 Teleconverter Lens announced alongside the X300 Ultra and X300 FE.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Just a reminder that both the old and new 200mm teleconverter lenses will work on the X Fold6.

However, the longer 400mm G2 Ultra teleconverter lens is still exclusive to the X300 Ultra.

Pricing and Availability

The vivo X Fold6 is currently available for pre-orders in China along these colorways: Polar Night, Salt Lake, and Blue Hole.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

There’s also a special Black Gold Edition limited to 16+1TB models.

Pricing and configuration are as follows:

12+256GB = CNY 7999 (US$ 1180 / EUR 1030 / GBP 890 / SG$ 1525 / MYR 4899 / PhP 72,070 / INR 111,800)
12+512GB = CNY 8999 (US$ 1330 / EUR 1160 / GBP 1005 / SG$ 1720 / MYR 5515 / PhP 81,075 / INR 125,775)
16+512GB = CNY 9999 (US$ 1476 / EUR 1290 / GBP 1115 / SG$ 1910 / MYR 6125 / PhP 90,085 / INR 139,750)
16+1TB = CNY 10,999 (US$ 1639 / EUR 1420 / GBP 1225 / SG$ 2090 / MYR 6735 / PhP 99,095 / INR 153,725)
16+1TB with Professional Camera Kit Bundle = CNY 11,999 (US$ 1770 / EUR 1550 / GBP 1340 / SG$ 2290 / MYR 7350 / PhP 108,105 / INR 167,700)

As per usual, vivo didn’t state any availability outside Mainland China. Only time will tell how long global markets have to wait for the X Fold6’s global release.

Laptops

Apple raises the prices of iPad and MacBook lineups

Price hikes start at $100.

Published

June 26, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Hey, remember when Apple launched the MacBook Neo, and it had the most attractive price for an Apple-branded laptop? Those were good times. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. Responding to the ongoing RAM crisis, Apple has now increased the prices of its hardware, starting with the MacBook and the iPad lineups (via Reuters).

The “highlight” here is the price of the MacBook Neo. To be fair, the affordable MacBook is still the cheapest one of the lot, but that’s not saying much. From a starting price of US$ 599, the Neo now costs US$ 699.

Now, we’d love to say that a US$ 100 price hike is the most you can expect across the board. But that’s not true at all. Most will bring up the price by a few hundreds and up to a whopping US$ 1,300. Here’s a list of devices you’re going to see changes for:

Model	Original price	New price
MacBook Neo	$599	$699
MacBook Air (13-inch)	$1,099	$1,299
MacBook Air (15-inch)	$1,299	$1,499
MacBook Pro (M5)	$1,699	$1,999
MacBook Pro (M5 Pro)	$2,199	$2,499
MacBook Pro (M5 Max)	$3,599	$4,099
iMac	$1,299	$1,499
Mac Studio (M4 Max)	$1,999	$2,499
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)	$3,999	$5,299
iPad	$349	$449
iPad mini	$499	$599
iPad Air (11-inch)	$599	$749
iPad Air (13-inch)	$749	$949
iPad Pro (11-inch)	$999	$1,199
iPad Pro (13-inch)	$1,299	$1,499
Vision Pro	$3,499	$3,699

The current price hikes do not include the iPhone lineup. It might only be a matter of time, though. Recently, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple can no longer shoulder the expenses of the RAM crisis by themselves, essentially signaling a huge wave of price hikes. The brand will likely continue the increases heading into the iPhone launches in September.

News

Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.