I've watched Unpacked 2020. And I'm sad. But also excited.   I'm sad because I will no longer be able to humourously exclaim, "DJ is in the Houuuuse!" whilst watching Unpacked.   DJ will be somewhere else in the House...   DJ Koh's Unpacked appearances have always been a personal highlight for me: the empassioned speeches; the little smile and twinkle in his eye suggesting a knowing wizardry and desire to reveal wonderous visions made reality - in addition to the direction and leadership you'd expect from one of your top bosses.   DJ Koh has now moved on to a different role in Samsung; leaving a legacy in Mobile of boundary-pushing innovation, greater-than-ever connectivity, and the foundations of a fantastic future.    My heart... :( But we do have a Doctor in the House...   The Doc And I'm excited about that future.   Our new guy at the Mobile helm is Dr. TM Roh (or Dr. Tae Moon Roh, to say his full name). He's been at Samsung since 1997; playing instrumental, innovative and top leadership roles in R&D and Product Strategy - most notably for Galaxy devices - and part of the driving forces behind Samsung's ceaseless pursuit to create unparalled mobile experiences for users.   But, as impressive as his experience and credentials are, it's not them that I'm excited about. In an interview with Dr. TM Roh in 2016:   “Very simply, consumers drive Samsung’s innovation. They are our inspiration to move new technology, services and solutions forward. ... As such, we will relentlessly pursue the technological innovations that will help enrich people’s lives."   And he hasn't changed that outlook since then. A couple of quotes from his recent editorial on the Samsung Newsroom (from which I've shamelessly "borrowed" the title); an editorial where he touches on the past, present, and future of Samsung Mobile:   "Fifty years ago, Samsung Electronics was founded with a clear purpose: to use the power of technology to create a better world. Driven by our commitment to break down barriers and make what some thought impossible, possible."   "Now, here at the start of 2020, we are excited about the opportunity to define a new era. An era that is defined not simply for innovation’s sake but to truly enable experiences that are more personal, meaningful, private and secure; that will create more intelligent connections across devices, people, businesses, and communities."   Sounds pretty good, yeah?   (BTW, along with meeting our new boss, I still want to meet DJ Koh. Anyone out there who can arrange that?) ... View more

As I’ve said before, we get some interesting things sent to us on our various channels at Samsung - and along with that we'll also look for weird/wow/cool (they're pretty much the same in our world) tech stuff that's out there.   A new meaning to laundry cycle...   So, this article from 2016 came across my desk this morning: https://www.the-open-mind.com/exercise-and-wash-laundry-with-this-eco-friendly-washer-bike/   (Apparently, this article appeared on my colleague's social media newsfeed.)   Original Tuvie entry here: http://www.tuvie.com/bike-washing-machine-wash-your-clothes-while-riding-the-stationary-bike/      I'd have called it a 'Spin Cycle'...   Now, neither the concept pitch nor the article about it is new. (Much of the tech is practically Stone Age by today's standards: pedals, levers, gears, electric generator etc.)   And as my very Yorkshire uncle, who’s an AC and refrigeration engineer, might say: “Yes, but howz tuh watter cooming and gowing? ” (I.e. the designers appear to have overlooked that whole pesky water refill/drainage design challenge of this type of product concept.)   But I do love the eco concept behind it: using simple and/or leisure human activities to achieve multiple beneficial ends.   Something for the future?   I think as energy resourcing becomes an even bigger question for us (both on this planet; and if we're serious about any ambitions for longterm and deeper space exploration) that we'll see an increase in all sorts of hybrid-power and eco tech.   What do you think? Any other examples of eco-tech like this you'd like to share? And check out our Newsroom article on eco-lifestyle here too!  ... View more

In 2019 Samsung broke new ground with the Galaxy Fold. In 2020 we're adding to the foldable story with the Galaxy Z Flip!     So let's start with some Q&A type stuff!   Why a  "Z" in this case and not "Fold 2" or "Fold Vertical"?   A new naming convention has been adopted for the foldables to show our commitment to expanding the category to offer a variety of experiences. It was felt that "Z" intuitively communicates the idea of a fold while delivering dynamic, youthful feel.   Why the clamshell design?   Galaxy Z Flip’s compact, stylish design is created for those who see technology as a way to express themselves.   With its forward-folding design, it's our first foldable device designed for a convenient one-handed experience. When closed, Galaxy Z Flip is a stylish, compact, palm-sized device; and when opened, its screen size nearly doubles.   Is it true that it has a folding glass display?   Yes. Galaxy Z Flip features an Infinity Flex Display with Samsung Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) to deliver a sleek, premium look and feel and clear, immersive viewing experience.   (Oh, and beyond the folding glass, it has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display featuring a 21.9:9 aspect ratio. Glass on the front is Gorilla Glass 6.)   Aren't hinges a little, well, a little unsightly and can get dusty and dirty?   What?! There can be beauty in all sorts of things!   But as it happens, for the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung invented new, micro-height-cutting technology to help design a Hideaway Hinge system—meticulously-crafted and our smallest hinge yet. Featuring:   Dual CAM mechanism: small but sophisticatedly designed to ensure folding is stable and smooth. Freestop folding experience: so it can stay open at a range of points from open to close—just like a laptop. Samsung’s proprietary sweeper technology: uses nylon fibers crafted by micro-height-cutting technology to repel dirt and dust.   Freestop Folding: what can we do with that?   It enables a whole whole new mobile experience: Flex mode!  It automatically splits the display into two 4-inch screens when free-standing, so you can view content on the top half and control on the bottom. And, of course you can use it hands-free!   What are the camera specs and setup?   The bare numbers for the Galaxy Z Flip cameras:   Front Camera: 10MP Selfie Camera: F2.4 ; Pixel size: 1.22μm; FOV: 80˚ Rear Dual Camera: 12MP Ultra Wide Camera: F2.2; Pixel size: 1.12μm; FOV: 123˚ 12MP Wide-angle Camera: Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, OIS, F1.8 Pixel size: 1.4μm; FOV: 78˚; OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation); up to 8x digital zoom HDR10+ recording; Tracking AF Some camera feature highlights:   Work various angles using the freestop folding system to capture the best photo or video – shoot the perfect selfies from various angles you want, with less effort, and capture all your travel adventures, without lugging around a tripod or relying on an unstable surface. Low light? No problem . With Galaxy Z Flip’s freestop folding mechanism, you can create stunning Night Hyperlapse videos or more vivid low light shots with Night mode. Just open your device and place it on a table – no flash, no tripod needed. Enjoy seamless video recording with front camera at almost any angle with a new 16:9 ratio that’s ideal for uploading content to YouTube.   Does it have an outer screen like the Fold?   The Galaxy Z Flip has a small 'cover screen' to show the time, date, and battery status - although you can swipe right for Notifications and left for Music controls on it. (Can we call it a 'cute' screen?)   Does it have two batteries like the Fold?   The Galazy Z Flip has a 3300mAh optimised dual battery system that holds more power without taking up more space. It supports 15W fast charging   Can it be charged wirelessly?   The Galaxy Z Flip has wireless quick charge (12W), plus it has Wireless PowerShare, so you can charge your Wearables such as Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Watch, or even a friend's device.   Single or dual SIM? 4G or 5G?   The Galaxy Z Flip is single SIM only - although eSIM is also supported.   4G only.   Does it have a fingerprint sensor?   Yes.  The Galaxy Z Flip has a capacitive fingerprint sensor on the side.   What's the memory size? And does it support a microSD Card?   The Galaxy Z Flip comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. MicroSd Cards are not supported.   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   There's more to talk about! But what do you want to know about the Galaxy Z Flip? Ask away - and we'll update this post for you all! ... View more

As announced at Unpacked 2020: the Samsung Galaxy S20!   (UK Newsroom article here too.)                                                                                 Figured I'd kick off with some Q&A type stuff.   What’s with the name? Did the S’s 11 through to 19 get thrown out?   LOL! Nah. After celebrating 10 years of Galaxy it’s now about reflecting a new decade for the Galaxy S series. And hey – it matches the year we’re in! Which is nice.   Which one is 4G and which is 5G?   All three S20 devices support 5G; and are 5G Standalone ready - for hyperfast speeds and ultra-low latency. The future is 5G - and the S20 is fully equipped for it.     Is the camera any good?   Well, it’s got a lot of kit to take some awesome photos and videos with! Brace yourself!   Superhigh resolution: 108MP for the Galaxy S20 Ultra; 64MP for the Galaxy S20 and S20+ HUBBLE Ultra combines nine pixels into one at the sensor level for higher quality images in low light, using cutting-edge binning technology. (I’m reliably told this is called ‘nonabinning’ by supertechy types.) Groundbreaking Zoom Capability: Use up to 30X zoom on the S20 and S20+. The S20 Ultra’s Hybrid Optic Zoom's revolutionary folded lenses can give you 10x lossless zoom for 100x Space Zoom. Advanced crop-zoom technology: S20 users can also capture a shot, crop it and edit it more easily, while maintaining the amazing quality. Single Take, Multiple Possibilities: Uses multiple cameras to captures a number of scenes (such as live focus, cropped, ultra wide and more), and uses AI to recommend the best shots. AI shares all the raw photography and footage in up to 10 high quality photos and four videos so you can choose which ones you like best. Pro-Grade Filming Capability: 8K video shooting to capture the world in true-to-life color and quality. Even the bumpiest videos look like they were shot using a gimbal, thanks to Super Steady and its anti-rolling stabilisation and AI motion analysis. (*breathes*)   Anything new about the display and  touchscreen?   Apart from being bigger and having more screen-to-body ratio than before, the S20 has a display with an amazing 120Hz refresh rate and enhanced 240Hz touch latency for incredibly smooth gaming.   All that 5G, camera and display must eat the battery so quickly, right?   The S20 series is powered by a big, intelligent battery. 4,000 mAh for the S20, 4,500mAh for the S20+, and a whopping 5,000 mAh for the S20 Ultra.   All three devices come with 25W fast chargers, and the the S20 Ultra supports 45W Super Fast charging as well.   What about the memory?   The S20 series series starts at 128GB and goes up to 512GB of onboard storage. And if that’s not enough, all three devices support up to 1TB MicroSD.   As for RAM: 8GB; 12GB; 16GB - allowing you to run. say, 1, 3, or 5 designated apps in the background respectively without any compromise to performance.   Hybrid or dual-SIM?   For UK models, the S20 has a hybrid-SIM slot: either 2 Nano SIMs, or a Nano SIM and a micro-SD Card.   It also supports an eSIM, but this can only be used in conjunction with one Nano SIM.   Do any of them have a 3.5 audio jack, or are they all USB-C/Bluetooth?   None of the S20 series have a 3.5 audio jack, and they all support a USB-C/Bluetooth connection for connected audio devices instead.   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   There's a lot more that can be said, and I'd be interested in what you guys want to know. So ask away - and we'll add to this post! ... View more

  "In our increasingly plugged-in world, it can be easy to forget to take a moment every now and then to stop and smell the roses. Inspired by the simplicity of time spent outdoors and the calming sounds of nature, Samsung’s latest “Over the Horizon” remix is a fully acoustic version of the company’s signature sound designed to help bring you closer to the beauty of the world around us."   More about 'Over the Horizon 2020' on our Newsroom here. ... View more