News

Samsung Galaxy Fold6, Flip6 launch with minor changes + AI

Buds3 series refreshed

Published

July 10, 2024

Rodneil Quiteles

After launching the Galaxy Fold5, Flip5 and more in their home country, South Korea, Samsung decided to go West again to launch the Galaxy Z Fold6, Flip6 and more in Paris, France. What’s new? Not a lot.

Same old, brand new Fold

It’s pretty hard to spot what’s new with the Galaxy Z Fold6 at first glance. The changes are mostly internal with some tiny external touch-ups, and of course, the addition of Galaxy AI.

Let’s start with what’s new on the outside.

Tiny changes, matte finish

Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold6 has a slightly smaller overall footprint but the dimensions have been altered slightly. It was done so that when folded, you get a more standard bar-type viewing experience. It’s not something you’ll notice at a glance, but on hand it definitely feels like a lighter device.

The biggest noticeable change is the matte finish on the back. No longer glossy like the previous generations. And the cameras at the back now have a circular highlight that shares the same color of the device.

Latest Snapdragon for Galaxy

This is the biggest contributing factor to it being an actual upgrade. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. It’s a similar top-end chip found in other Android flagships of 2024 but especially tuned for Galaxy.

More than the usual performance boosts, what the chip allows is on-device AI. That means all the magic happens inside the phone without needing to connect to the world wide web.

Speaking of AI, the Galaxy Z Fold6 will get all the Galaxy AI features introduced in the Galaxy S25 series. But there are some tweaks and some new ones.

Live Translate

Live Translate has been enhanced with the Galaxy Z Fold6. Simply swipe down and right on the quick access panel until you get to the live interpreter app. That’s the default method, but you can also make a shortcut of it on your homescreen.

The Live Translate app gives you two translation options: Conversation and Live Listening. Those are pretty straightforward.

Conversation is best used in Flex mode where the translation is displayed on the cover screen, making it easier for the person you’re speaking with to see the text translation.

Meanwhile, Live Listening sounds exactly what it means. It’s best used for when you’re watching something in a language you don’t understand or if you’re at some conference that’s in a language foreign to you. The Galaxy Z Fold6 will pick up the audio and then after about a 3-second delay, will show you the live translations on the app.

This feature is also available on the Galaxy Z Flip6 and the Galaxy Buds3 Pro (more on this later).

ProVisual Engine, Portrait Studio, and more

The ProVisual Engine AI feature lets you do a bunch of things. There’s Photo Assist that looks even better on a larger screen. And then there’s Portrait Studio that lets you snap a pic of anybody and then choose from a handful of different art styles like 3D Cartoon and more. If you enjoy playing with video, Instant Slow-mo will add frames to your existing footage for a more smooth looking slowed down video.

On the inside, Samsung increased the Vapor Chamber to provide better cooling for better overall performance. You should feel that even more when you play your favorite mobile games – some of which may now take advantage of Ray Tracing support on the device.

Specs:

Main screen: 7.6-inch QXGA+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Infinity Flex Display (2160 x 1856, 20.9:18), 374ppi, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

Cover screen: 6.3-inch HD+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display (2376 x 968, 22.1:9), 410ppi, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy

Rear triple camera: 12MP Ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP Wide angle
Cover camera: 10MP
Under-screen camera: 4MP
***Same as previous generation

RAM and Storage: 12GB+1TB, 12GB+512GB, 12GB+256GB

Battery and charging: 4,400mAh dual battery, Fast Wired 25W, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare

The Flip cam gets an upgrade

The Galaxy Z Flip has been a darling for content creators who shoot on their phones and on their own. Coming from a 12MP main camera, it’s now been bumped up to match the Fold’s main with a 50MP main shooter on the Galaxy Z Flip6.

That enables an overall better quality whether you’re taking clips or images in front of you, or when you’re shooting yourself in FlexMode.

When in FlexMode it goes into FlexCam which now comes with the Auto Zoom feature. What it does is adjust the zoom on its own depending on the subjects available on this display. When you go up close, it’ll zoom out to make sure your face is in the frame. When you go further away, it’ll zoom in and adjust the framing instantly so you can capture the perfect shot. It should work whether you’re alone or with a group.

On the AI front, it gets the same knick-knacks as the Galaxy Z Fold6. Yes, it also has Live Translate, Portrait Studio, and more.

Samsung also went out of their way to include a vapor chamber in the Galaxy Z Fold6. Previous generations did not have this. So, much like the Galaxy Z Fold6, you should expect a better overall performance and chip efficiency.

The battery also gets a bump from the previous 3,700mAh to now’s 4,000mAh.

Specs:

Main screen: 6.7-inch FHD+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz Adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz), Infinity Flex Display (2640 x 1080, 22:9)

Cover screen: 3.4-inch Super AMOLED 60Hz Display, 720 x 748, 306 PPI

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy

Rear dual camera: 12MP Ultra-wide,, 50MP Wide angle

Front camera: 10MP

RAM and Storage: 12GB+512GB, 12GB+256GB

Battery and charging: 4,000mAh dual battery, Fast Wired 25W, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare

Galaxy Buds3 series

You know what’s also getting Galaxy AI? The Galaxy Buds3 series. As mentioned earlier, Live Translate will also work on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro. You can turn on Interpreter in Listening Mode to make use of the feature. Like the Live Translate on the Z Fold6 and ZFlip6, expect about a 3-second delay before the translation kicks in.

Voice Command is smarter than ever. Simply saying two words will let you have music control like stop, pause, play, and skip to next.

The Buds3 Pro, which now has a stem design, is also getting a bunch of new features with AI. This includes Adaptive EQ and Adaptive ANC. These analyze your listening environment and will adjust accordingly. When you’re out and about, it’ll be just enough to make sure you hear your surroundings while still keeping the audio crisp and clear.

For an even smarter and hands-free experience, these adjustments are done with the help of Adaptive Noise Control, Siren Detect, and Voice Detect.

Price and availability

The Galaxy Z Fold6 comes in the following colors. Some are online exclusive: Silver, Pink, Navy, Crafted Black and White.

The Galaxy Z Flip6, likewise will have online exclusives as well as standard colors: Crafted Black, White, Peach, Silver Shadow, Yellpw, Blue, Mint.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Buds3 series will come in Silver and White.

In the USA,The Galaxy Z Fold6, Z Flip6 and Buds3 series will be available for pre-order starting today, July 10, with general availability starting July 24 at Amazon, Best Buy, Samsung.com, and carriers nationwide.

Pricing are as follows:

Galaxy Z Fold6 starts at US$ 1899.99
Galaxy Z Flip6 starts at US$ 1099.99
Galaxy Buds3 is priced at US$ 179.99
Galaxy Buds3 Pro is priced at US$ 249.99

In the Philippines, pricing are as follows:

Galaxy Z Fold6 starts at PhP 105,990
Galaxy Z Flip6 starts at PhP 70,990
Galaxy Buds3 is priced at PhP 8,990
Galaxy Buds3 Pro is priced at PhP 14,990

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.