Naital Technologies

Uncontented with one foldable phone, Samsung is trying its hand at another — this one with a flip design as opposed to the Galaxy Fold’s clamshell style. Today at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the company announced the Galaxy Z Flip, a handset with an outward-facing display that unfurls to reveal a bendable panel within. It’s Samsung’s answer to Motorola’s reimagined Razr and TCL’s DragonHinge concept, and while its internals are middle-of-the-road, its price is more reasonable than might be expected.

The Galaxy Z Flip will begin shipping to customers who preorder on February 14. Here’s what you need to know.
Design
The Galaxy Z Flip is a smartphone in two congruent parts: A top portion housing the external display — the Focus Display — above which sits twin cameras and an LED flash, attached to a bottom portion via a hinge that supports the tall internal screen. In a briefing in early January, Samsung Telecommunications CEO DJ Koh said that the design was inspired by Lancôme’s makeup compacts, and that 20-something women are one of the target demographics.

The outward-facing Super AMOLED panel measures 1.06 inches diagonally with a resolution of 300 x 112 and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 shielding, which is rated to withstand up to 15 consecutive drops from 1 meter onto rough surfaces. Taking a page from the Motorola Razr, the screen dims when it’s not in use and otherwise displays the time, battery, charging status, and notifications. And when a phone call comes in, it shows the caller ID, as well as sliders for rejecting or accepting the call.

The cameras above the display — which double as selfie cameras, with the screen serving as a viewfinder — share a resolution (12 megapixels) but not a field of view. One has a 123-degree wide-angle field of view and an f/2.2 aperture and optical image stabilization, while the other has a 78-degree field of view and an f/1.8 aperture. Both can shoot video in up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, and they benefit from Samsung’s Pro Video Mode, which offers fine-grained control over each clip.
The cameras are one of the few distinguishing features on the otherwise feature-less Galaxy Z Flip, save a capacitive fingerprint sensor and a volume rocker on the right side and a USB Type-C port and speaker grille toward the bottom.

Unfurling the Z Flip reveals the 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex primary panel, which has a 2,636 x 1,080 resolution (425 pixels per inch), a 21.9:9 aspect ratio, and a top-center hole-punch cutout to accommodate the front-facing camera. The camera in question is 10 megapixels in resolution with an f/2.4 aperture and an 80-degree field of view, and it features a software-defined auto-focusing algorithm that hones in on the faces it detects.

‘Ultra Thin Glass’
Durability questions rightly abound about bendable displays, these days — the new Razr survived a test by CNET only for 27,000 folds and the Galaxy Fold was plagued with problems that forced its temporary removal from store shelves. But if Samsung is to be taken at its word, the Z Flip’s display glass technology — Ultra Thin Glass — will stave off the issues foldable phones have faced so far.

How? Well, according to Samsung, Ultra Thin Glass is pre-creased in the middle to strengthen it against abuse that might lead to artifacting. (It’s rated to last up to 200,000 folds.) It’s also made of glass as opposed to plastic (as the name implies), which is noteworthy — both the Razr and the Fold have plastic screens.

Beyond the improved robustness, Samsung says Ultra Thin Glass enabled it to shave millimeters off the phone’s thickness and ounces off its weight. The Z Flip is just 7.2 millimeters when opened and 15.3-17.33 millimeters when closed, and it weighs 6.9 ounces — 0.3 ounces lighter than the new Motorola Razr (7.2 ounces).
The hinge, too — Samsung calls it Hideaway Hinge — is less damage-prone thanks to nylon microfibers designed to prevent dust particles from entering. (Before it was reengineered and rereleased, the Galaxy Fold’s panel had a habit of developing bumps after particles crept in underneath, eventually damaging the display.) It also features what Samsung is calling a Free Stop design, which allows the two 4-inch halves to bend and stay in place at any angle up to 180 degrees.

Connectivity, processor, and audio
The Galaxy Z Flip packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+, a capable system-on-chip that’s the successor to the Snapdragon 855. The 7-nanometer eight-core chip can achieve download speeds up to 2Gbps over cellular, and it supports Wi-Fi 6 (aka 802.11ax), along with 802.11ac Wave 2 for superior wireless performance on pre-802.11ax networks.

Four 64-bit ARM Cortex cores based on Qualcomm’s in-house Kryo 485 handle the heavy lifting — one prime core clocked at 2.95GHz and three performance cores at 2.41GHz — while four 1.78GHz efficiency cores handle less performance-intensive tasks. Somewhat uniquely, the Snapdragon 855+ diffuses AI capabilities across multiple components (including a tensor accelerator) for a theoretical capacity of trillions of operations per second.
Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 855+’s graphics chip is substantially faster than the Snapdragon 855’s, and it supports HDR (along with APIs like Vulkan 1.1) and algorithms designed to reduce dropped frames. The system-on-chip also supports physically based rendering (PBR) to replicate the way light reflects off of real-world materials. And its redesigned camera pipeline moves computer vision features directly into the ISP, such that the Spectra ISP, which sports multiple CV-ISPs, allows for video capture and object classification in addition to real-time segmentation.

AKG-tuned speakers
The Galaxy Z Flip plays play stereo sound through the earpiece and a bottom-firing loudspeaker. They’re both tuned by AKG Acoustics and support the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format (64/128) and Dolby’s Atmos 3D simulated surround sound technology in supported apps.

Battery life, memory, storage, and connectivity
Like newer entries in Samsung’s Galaxy S and Notes series, the Galaxy Z Flip supports Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging tech and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (at 12 Watts) via Qi. Hardware acceleration for H.265 and VP9 codecs, courtesy of the Snapdragon 855, improves power efficiency by 7 times compared with the Snapdragon 845. Plus, Samsung’s software-defined Adaptive Power Saving tech optimizes battery performance based on app use.

That will hopefully compensate for the Galaxy Z Flip’s middling dual battery capacity (3,300mAh), which is about three-fourths of the Galaxy Fold’s (4,380mAh). But to be fair, the Z Flip delivers more power than the new Motorola Razr (2,800mAh), and it boasts Samsung’s wireless power-sharing feature — PowerShare — allowing it to recharge accessories when they’re placed on the phone’s rear cover.

Elsewhere inside the Z Flip, there’s 8GB of RAM paired with 256GB of storage, and chips that support Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Wi-Fi 6) and Bluetooth 5.1. Dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) is present and accounted for, meaning that Z Flip’s SIM and eSIM can work simultaneously. But 5G compatibility is a no-go — it’s strictly a 4G affair.

Software
Samsung says it worked with Google to optimize Android for the Z Flip’s foldable screen. The phone behaves somewhat like a tablet unfurled, with an enhanced multitasking Multi-Active Window feature that takes advantage of the added real estate. If you’re looking at Google Maps, for example, the top-down view expands to show a larger area on the internal screen, while supported video conferencing apps let you bend the Z Flip at a 90-degree angle for a hands-free experience.

In point of fact, the two halves of the Z Flip act independently in many scenarios, somewhat like a split-screen interface for using two apps side by side. Not unlike the LG G8 and G8X, which debuted alongside a Dual Screen accessory that added a secondary screen, one display on the Z Flip optionally functions as a separate viewing area while the other serves as a control area.

To further shore up early software support for the form factor, Samsung is making available an emulator that allows developers to test things like how apps change when they transition from a “folded” to an “unfolded” state. It’s also partnering with a select group of partners to build bespoke experiences for the Z Flip.

OneUI 2.1
Like the Galaxy S10 series before it, the Galaxy Z Flip runs One UI 2.1, Samsung’s redesigned overlay atop Android 10.

OneUI 2.1 brings with it quality-of-life improvements like a screen recorder with controls that let you adjust the resolution, record external and internal microphone audio, and more, in addition to an enhanced dark mode that works with a wider selection of apps and time-based triggers. In other news, One UI 2.1 adopts the iOS-like navigation gestures introduced in Android 10, including a one-handed mode that can be accessed with a swipe down on the gesture bar.

The camera app is a bit easier to use in OneUI 2.1, thanks to a streamlined design with a drag-and-drop gesture that puts photo and video modes at your fingertips. And thanks to Samsung’s ongoing partnership with Microsoft, the Gallery app now integrates with OneDrive.

In other improvements, non-app shortcuts can now be added to the lock screen, including for Do not disturb and the flashlight. OneUI 2.1 ships with the latest version of Google’s Digital Wellbeing, which features a focus mode that disables all notifications and apps so you can focus on work and other things. Plus, the revamped Device care section of the settings menu lets you decide when Wireless PowerShare should stop charging other devices.

Samsung teamed up with Google to optimize Google Duo video calls on the Z Flip, the companies said. You’re able to launch a chat with up to eight friends in 1080p quality from the dialer app. And thanks to an ongoing collaboration with Spotify, the Z Flip’s default keyboard lets you quickly search and share songs, albums, and playlists from Spotify via a generated link, and Samsung’s clock app lets you choose a song to wake up to.

Bixby
One UI isn’t the Galaxy Z Flip’s only spotlight software feature. There’s Bixby Vision, which taps computer vision to recognize and classify objects in photos, much like Google’s Google Lens and Amazon’s Flow. As for Bixby Voice, Samsung’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, it works just as it does on Samsung’s other flagship devices — say “Hey, Bixby” or hold down the Bixby key to prime it for commands like “What’s the weather forecast?” and “Call John.”

Bixby, like any modern voice assistant, recognizes requests to add items to your calendar, queue up tunes, place calls, and launch apps, and it can answer basic questions about sports scores, movie showtimes, business hours, and more. Additionally, thanks to newly released developer tools (Bixby Developer Studio, Bixby Templates, and Bixby Views) and a digital storefront (Bixby Marketplace), it supports a greater number of third-party apps and services than ever before.

Bixby also boasts Bixby Routines. Much like Alexa Routines and routines on the Google Assistant, Bixby offers preset and personalized routines, such as Driving and Before Bed routines, which can be customized based on your habits.

Pricing and availability
Most foldable phones on the market aren’t cheap — the Galaxy Fold starts at $1,980 — and Samsung isn’t bucking the trend with the Galaxy Z Flip. At $1,998, it’s hardly within striking distance of the new Motorola Razr ($1,500), which has a weaker system-on-chip (the Snapdragon 710), and it’s only slightly less pricey than Huawei’s flagship Mate X (about $2,403). Time will tell whether it’s a price point the average customer is willing to reconcile; Samsung reported in early January that it had only managed to sell 400,000 or 500,000 Galaxy Fold units. It’s reportedly aiming to sell 2.5 million Galaxy Z Flips.

The Galaxy Z Flip is available in three colors at launch — Mirror Black, Mirror Purple, and in select markets Mirror Gold — and it starts at $1,380. (Access to YouTube Premium is included with every purchase.) An edition of the Galaxy Z Flip designed in collaboration with Thom Browne is forthcoming, with details to come later this week.

Puzzle games lend themselves to mobile’s touchscreen controls. And they’re profitbable, too — look at how King Entertainment has been a top-earning app store title with Candy Crush Saga. Cookie Jam has been making SGN Games the big bucks for years.
But when it comes to puzzles, it’s really about match-3. One of the best puzzle game franchises has yet to appear on smartphones. That changes later this year when Enhance Games releases Lumines on mobile for the first time. The series fuses beat-driven music with the block-clearing action of Tetris, and it’s been a mainstay on PlayStation consoles since its debut in 2004.

Mobile games rule Enhance’s home country, Japan. But nothing like the series exists on mobile. Lumines creator and founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi sees this as a great opportunity to branch out.
“Lumines just seems like the perfect fit for mobile — it’s a casual-feeling game that can be played in small bursts, and the connection with music makes it perfect for people who walk around with their headphones in all the time anyways!” Mizuguchi said in an email interview with GamesBeat. “The reception from the Lumines player community so far has been humbling, and we can’t wait to bring the game to our loyal fans soon.”
Lumines fans may worry that the touch controls of mobile may not fit the past-paced gameplay. This would’ve been a concern in the past, but Mizuguchi has watched the evolution of touch, and he sees that it’s ready for Lumines.
“Fortunately, touch controls have come a long way, and we were able to learn a lot from the experiences of other developers and the many games before us since the dawn of touchscreen smartphones,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s a challenge that we wanted to take on in bringing Lumines to iOS and Android, and we’re confident that we’ve created something that works really well with touch controls while retaining the original feel of the game that people love.”
Enhance spent months tuning these controls, learning from its failures along the way — and the lessons from other developers.
“All told, it took us about 7 months to get the controls to a point where we were happy with them. But the process is never-ending — we will continue to calibrate the feel of the controls to make sure they’re as good as they can possibly be,” Mizuguchi said. “The development process was constant trial and error — we experimented with individual factors like swipe speed, angle, and distance, as well as hold times. We were trying to find the best balance of factors to make the controls feel good, and we’re confident that we’ve done precisely that!”

- Venture Beat

Apple Watch teardown reveals deactivated blood oxygen sensors

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A teardown of the Apple Watch by iFixit reveals that the device indeed does contain the sensors needed to measure blood oxygen levels, not just heart rate.

Apple reportedly seriously cut back the biometric functions of the watch because of doubts about the accuracy of the measurements. The company believes that arm hair, sweat, and dirt could prevent the infrared light sensors on the back of the Watch from accurately measuring blood oxygen levels.

Those sensors are supposed to send pulses of light down through the skin and measure the number of oxygen molecules that reflect the light back.

If the engineers at Apple figure some why of accounting for the interruption of those pulses of light by physical objects (hair, dirt, etc.) it’s possible the function could be turned on via a software update.

The blood oxygen sensors were just one of the highlights of iFixit’s teardown of the Watch

Why Amazon paid for 2,000 employees to take classes in things like airplane mechanics and nursing

Rarely do you see the CEO of a $180 billion company care much about its warehouse workers.

But Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos takes a pretty unique approach in providing career help to its employees at the company’s fulfillment centers, where Amazon’s orders get packaged and shipped.

Since 2012, Amazon has offered a program called “Career Choice,” where the company pays 95% of tuition for its fulfillment and customer service center employees to take courses in non-work related fields, such as airplane mechanics, nursing, and medical lab technologies.

And according to Bezos’ annual shareholder letter published Friday, more than 2,000 employees from 8 different countries took advantage of this program. In fact, demand has been so high that Amazon now offers onsite courses at 8 of its fulfillment centers, with plans to expand even further to other regions.

The idea behind this is to “enable choice” for his employees, Bezos writes. While some fulfillment center employees will carve out a long career at Amazon, some might take it as a temporary stop to a different position that, in some cases, may require specific skills. Bezos writes:

“We believe Career Choice is an innovative way to draw great talent to serve customers in our fulfillment and customer service centers. These jobs can become gateways to great careers with Amazon as we expand around the world or enable employees the opportunity to follow their passion in other in-demand technical fields, like our very first Career Choice graduate did when she started a new career as a nurse in her community.”

In fact, this isn’t the first time Bezos offered a “choice” to his fulfillment center employees. In last year’s shareholder letter, Bezos talked about the “Pay to Quit” program, where workers in the fulfillment centers are given the option to take up to $5,000 to leave the company.

Bezos wrote at the time that the idea was to encourage people to really think about their careers. “In the long run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company,” he wrote.

The “Career Choice” program offers up $3,000 a year for 95% of the tuition, in addition to another 95% of textbook costs. You can learn more about Amazon’s “Career Choice” program here.

This story originally appeared on Business Insider.

It is true faceboook was down...The alert from the Associated Press buzzed across mobile around the world, delivering the shattering news: “Facebook suffers outage affecting users worldwide.”

The social media apocalypse was here. Instagram was out, too, leaving teenagers confused and scared. Babies wept. Parents sought refuge in shelters they had built for a zombie outbreak or the eventual robot war.

And then, in the ultimate act of desperation, people turned to Twitter. In this moment of panic and despair, began to trend:

Facebook’s mobile app uses ten times less data and is ten times faster than it was just a year-and-a-half ago.

That can help people in parts of the world with limited or slow Internet access have the best possible Facebook experience, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today.

Zuckerberg addressed the idea of what it’s like to use the Internet in different parts of the world during the live public Q&A he held today in Bogota, Colombia.

He also said that because it’s hard for engineers in Silicon Valley to understand what users of Internet-based services experience in other parts of the world, Facebook hosts a lab that mimics the Internet speeds found in other countries, which it makes available to other technology companies.

In countries like India, Internet speeds are slower than in places like Silicon Valley, while the experience could be far better in a place like Korea. Either way, Zuckerberg said, tech companies building apps need to understand what their users are experiencing.

Zuckerberg took questions during a visit to Bogota, Colombia, where he was visiting for a launch in that country of Internet.org, the nonprofit dedicated to bringing the Internet to the “two-thirds of the world not yet connected.”

As during past Q&As, Zuckerberg answered user questions that had received the most likes after being posed on Facebook’s “Q&A with Mark” page.

In June, Facebook addressed the question of its Android app performance. At the time, the company said that it had managed to reduce start time and News Feed load time on the Android app by 50 percent, and that it had found significant data savings on image compression by using the WebP format — 25 to 30 percent over JPGs and 80 percent compared to PNGs.