News
Samsung admits redesigned Galaxy Fold is still too fragile
Don’t press on the phone too hard!
Early in 2019, Samsung introduced the year’s most revolutionary form factor, the foldable smartphone. Naturally, the Galaxy Fold had its fair share of skeptics. Will the foldable smartphone hold up to durability standards?
Months after the launch, Samsung answered this controversial question. Early viewers discovered a fatal flaw in the Galaxy Fold’s first iteration, prompting a global delay. After months of reworking, Samsung has finally released the second version.
You’d expect a much stronger phone. In most cases, you’d be right. However, Samsung itself has released a critical disclaimer on the new Galaxy Fold’s durability. Despite getting a major rework, the Galaxy Fold still requires your tender touch.
In an official YouTube video, Samsung advises new users to “just use a light touch.” The warning specifically pertains to the phone’s inner spine. In its previous iteration, the inner hinge easily broke — the plastic film comes off, dirt slides underneath the screen. Worse, the screen shuts off after being infiltrated.
In this second iteration, Samsung has added plastic covers and an extended film for added protection. Despite the addition, you should still handle the new device with utmost care, particularly around the hinge. Further, Samsung advises against screen protectors which may interfere with the actual screen.
Also, Samsung has another disclaimer for the Galaxy Fold’s magnetic clasps. To keep it securely closed, the Galaxy Fold uses magnets on both panels. The device’s magnets are likely stronger than the normal smartphone. As such, the magnet might interfere with other metallic objects like credit cards or key cards. In the video, Samsung asks users to “be mindful of objects that may be affected.”
The Galaxy Fold is still a fragile beast. For a US$ 1,980 device, the foldable smartphone still requires extra care. At the disclaimer video’s conclusion, Samsung promotes its Galaxy Fold Premier Service, a training and support program specially built for Galaxy Fold users. According to Samsung, the care program is required “for the complete experience.”
Regardless, if you’re buying the new Galaxy Fold, you might want to trade the extra screen protector for cotton gloves.
Gaming
Ghost of Yotei gets a story expansion in October
The Complete Edition comes with the expansion and a roguelike mode.
Ghost of Yotei is a classic RPG experience set in the same universe as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. In my opinion, Atsu’s journey of revenge feels a lot more fun than Jin’s battle to save his homeland. If you’re in the same boat, Ghost of Yotei is coming back on October 1 with brand-new content.
Without delving too much into spoiler territory, Ghost of Yotei has a conclusive ending. Rather than shoehorning a forced epilogue, Echoes of Sekigahara, the title of the upcoming story expansion, explores Atsu’s past.
As with Tsushima’s expansion, Echoes of Sekigahara features a new map with new enemies, weapons, and collectibles. It will be set in two different time periods.
Besides the story expansion, the upcoming update also has a new mode called Most Wanted, which Sucker Punch Production describes as their “spin on a roguelike.” The mode explores Atsu’s experience as a headhunter, feeding her with bounties and earnable perks.
The two new content expansions will come with in the upcoming Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition. The new edition, coming on October 1, will also come with the co-op Legends mode. It also has a few perks and customization options. The edition will sell for US$ 70.
If you already have the base edition, you can grab an upgrade for only US$ 15. If you don’t want to pay for the upgrade, the game is still getting a few minor tweaks.
SEE ALSO: Ghost of Yotei review: A tale sharpened by vengeance
The HONOR Robot Phone may have officially launched, but don’t expect this version to immediately make its way to global markets.
HONOR told media in Shenzhen that it currently has no plans to bring the current Robot Phone outside China. The main hurdle isn’t the hardware. It’s the phone’s AI experience, which is currently optimized for the Chinese market.
HONOR believes a future generation of the Robot Phone would be better positioned for a true global rollout once its AI experience is ready for markets outside China.
That doesn’t mean HONOR is abandoning the idea. Quite the opposite.
More than a phone with a moving camera
The Robot Phone is HONOR’s attempt to introduce a new idea to the smartphone market. It combines a smartphone with a 4DoF mechanical gimbal, allowing its camera to physically move.
Its AI features take that concept further. YOYO Robot Mode can use voice commands, gestures, and AI tracking to control the camera. It can also automatically pan and tilt to keep a person in frame during vlogs, livestreams, and video calls.
The phone also brings selected elements of ARRI Image Science and professional cinema workflows to its camera system. Its 200MP gimbal main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording, while ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks give creators more control over their footage.
But HONOR isn’t treating the Robot Phone primarily as a volume-driving product.
The company says its bigger goal is to introduce a new concept to the smartphone market and see what kind of effect it can have.
That makes the Robot Phone an interesting experiment for HONOR. The hardware is already here. The company now wants to learn what happens when a smartphone can physically move, respond to its surroundings, and use AI to help operate itself.
For now, though, China is where that experiment begins.
News
HONOR Robot Phone’s camera can move on its own
Its built-in gimbal lets the camera move itself.
The HONOR Robot Phone’s biggest trick is also the easiest to understand: its camera can physically move.
Instead of keeping its cameras fixed inside the phone, HONOR built a mechanical gimbal directly into the device. The system can tilt, rotate, and reposition the camera, opening up movements that aren’t possible with a conventional smartphone camera.
HONOR calls it the Titanium Agile Gimbal, and the company says it is the industry’s smallest 4DoF gimbal system. It packs more than 100 precision components into a module that’s just 9.59mm thick.
A tiny gimbal inside the phone
The 4DoF mechanical system is designed to deliver the benefits of a separate gimbal without requiring users to carry another piece of equipment.
HONOR says it reduced the gimbal’s overall volume by 65% compared with traditional gimbals while increasing its structural strength by 200%. The system uses more than 100 precision components and is backed by more than 100 patents.
At its core is a 2.6-gram titanium gimbal motor that can rotate at up to 360 degrees per second. A separate HONOR Shield Steel Flip Motor provides a torque density of 120 Nm/L.
Those numbers sound impressive, but their practical purpose is straightforward: the camera needs to move quickly and precisely while remaining small enough to fit inside a smartphone.
The camera can move on its own
The Robot Phone’s gimbal isn’t limited to simply stabilizing the camera.
It supports six dynamic camera movement modes: AI SpinShot, Default Stabilization, Tilt Locked, Super Steady, FPV, and FPV Vertical. AI SpinShot, for example, can perform 90- or 180-degree camera rolls, while the other modes are designed for different types of movement and shooting.
The phone also has three smart tracking modes: Gimbal Tracking, Subject Tracking, and Pre-Composition. These are designed to help the camera follow a subject or maintain a particular composition while the phone moves.
That’s the important distinction between the Robot Phone and a conventional smartphone with image stabilization. The camera isn’t just correcting for your movement. It can actively move to create or maintain a shot.
You can tell it what to do
HONOR also gives the gimbal its own set of AI-powered controls.
Through YOYO Robot Mode, the Robot Phone can combine voice commands, gesture recognition, AI perception, and physical movement. Users can wake the mode and deploy or stow the gimbal with a flip gesture.
Voice commands can be specific, too. HONOR says users can tell the gimbal to turn left by a certain number of degrees, look toward the sky, or rotate for a specified amount of time.
The phone can also use AI Subject Tracking to automatically frame and follow people during video calls, vlogging, and livestreaming.
That makes the Robot Phone particularly interesting for people who regularly shoot themselves. Instead of setting up a phone and constantly checking whether they’re still in frame, the camera can do some of that work itself.
The real question is how naturally all of this works in practice. We’ll get to answer that when we spend more time with the Robot Phone.
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