Android Circuit: Samsung Confirms Galaxy X, Pixel 2 XL Launch Dates, Android Captures Bill Gates
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DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics unveils the Galaxy Note8 (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Samsung)
Samsung Confirms The Folding Smartphone
Of course the biggest clues to the folding phone come direct from Samsung, as Gordon Kelly discovers. Samsung Mobile’s president DJ Koh told Bloomberg that “for sure we will launch the [folding phone] product” during 2018. And that could be its trump card against Apple in 2018:
Whereas Apple’s headline act was its “bezel-less” display, the reality is Samsung has already been there and done that. Thanks to its notch, the incoming iPhone X has a screen-to-body ratio of 82.9% while the Galaxy S8 (83.6%) and Galaxy S8 Plus (84%) already beat that in March. Face ID may be a step ahead of Samsung’s erratic facial recognition, but the Galaxies also had Iris recognition plus the iPhone X’s selling points of OLED, a glass back, fast wired charging (not optional), wireless charging (also fast) and class leading cameras.
The Galaxy X isn’t looking to advance the battle the iPhone X is having with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s looking to play a whole new game.
The iPhone X debuts next month, but Samsung has already landed the first blow.
Avoiding The Galaxy S9
One thing that Samsung will have to pay careful attention to is ensuring the reveal of the Galaxy X does not have a material impact on the sales of the Galaxy S9. In my mind that’s why CES is key as it gives enough space before the reveal of the S9. But Samsung has another card it can play, one from the introduction of the curved edge:
Unlike Apple, which has decided to push the iPhone X out as the flagship handset, I think Samsung will play a cannier game with its X and draw inspiration from the Galaxy Note Edge. That phablet was launched alongside the Note 4, but it featured a new design tweak with its curved edge along the right-hand side. Launched to critical acclaim the Note Edge never pitched as a flagship, and it was only available in limited quantities in South Korea from September 2014.
Samsung proved the technology in a single market before expanding the technology out to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge launched in March 2015 alongside the vanilla Galaxy S6.
Pedestrians walk by the new Google pop-up shop in the SoHo neighborhood in New York City (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Pixel 2’s Latest Leaks Ahead Of Oct 4th Launch
Alongside the Pixel 2 XL, Google is expected to launch the smaller Pixel 2. A final raft of leaked details have come out this week and Forbes’ Gordon Kelly examines the details, starting with the camera:
No Dual Lens System - as was widely expected Russakovskii says his source believes there will be no dual camera Pixel 2 to compete with the systems in the Galaxy Note 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
Pixel Portrait Mode - despite using a single camera, the Pixel 2 will introduce a version of Apple’s Portrait Mode working entirely through software. Google’s image processing is class leading, so it would be a big scoop if it pulls this off.
More on the Pixel 2 details here.
">Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes Samsung confirming its folding phone, understanding the secret Galaxy X, the challenge facing the Galaxy S9, leaked details of the Pixel 2 before launch, Nokia 9 revealed, the latest offer for the OnePlus 5, the new Twitter Lite app for Android, and Bill Gates joins Team Android.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Is This The Galaxy X
Anticipation is building around the idea of Samsung releasing a foldable smartphone. Certification of various elements such as Wi-fi and Bluetooth are showing up, a mystery handset number has appeared. What is the SM-G888N0? Is it the Galaxy X?
All of this suggests that the ‘Triple Eight’ is being lined up for a release in Samsung’s home country. Assuming Taniyama-Shimura, the SM-G888N0 is the Galaxy X, Samsung’s long awaited bendable phone.
It won’t be the first phone with a curved screen, but it could be the first that allows the screen to be bent many times by the user into a smaller clamshell style format allowing for a device that fits better in a pocket but still offers the larger screens beloved by many.
DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics unveils the Galaxy Note8 (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Samsung)
Samsung Confirms The Folding Smartphone
Of course the biggest clues to the folding phone come direct from Samsung, as Gordon Kelly discovers. Samsung Mobile’s president DJ Koh told Bloomberg that “for sure we will launch the [folding phone] product” during 2018. And that could be its trump card against Apple in 2018:
Whereas Apple’s headline act was its “bezel-less” display, the reality is Samsung has already been there and done that. Thanks to its notch, the incoming iPhone X has a screen-to-body ratio of 82.9% while the Galaxy S8 (83.6%) and Galaxy S8 Plus (84%) already beat that in March. Face ID may be a step ahead of Samsung’s erratic facial recognition, but the Galaxies also had Iris recognition plus the iPhone X’s selling points of OLED, a glass back, fast wired charging (not optional), wireless charging (also fast) and class leading cameras.
The Galaxy X isn’t looking to advance the battle the iPhone X is having with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s looking to play a whole new game.
The iPhone X debuts next month, but Samsung has already landed the first blow.
Avoiding The Galaxy S9
One thing that Samsung will have to pay careful attention to is ensuring the reveal of the Galaxy X does not have a material impact on the sales of the Galaxy S9. In my mind that’s why CES is key as it gives enough space before the reveal of the S9. But Samsung has another card it can play, one from the introduction of the curved edge:
Unlike Apple, which has decided to push the iPhone X out as the flagship handset, I think Samsung will play a cannier game with its X and draw inspiration from the Galaxy Note Edge. That phablet was launched alongside the Note 4, but it featured a new design tweak with its curved edge along the right-hand side. Launched to critical acclaim the Note Edge never pitched as a flagship, and it was only available in limited quantities in South Korea from September 2014.
Samsung proved the technology in a single market before expanding the technology out to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge launched in March 2015 alongside the vanilla Galaxy S6.
Pedestrians walk by the new Google pop-up shop in the SoHo neighborhood in New York City (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Pixel 2’s Latest Leaks Ahead Of Oct 4th Launch
Alongside the Pixel 2 XL, Google is expected to launch the smaller Pixel 2. A final raft of leaked details have come out this week and Forbes’ Gordon Kelly examines the details, starting with the camera:
No Dual Lens System - as was widely expected Russakovskii says his source believes there will be no dual camera Pixel 2 to compete with the systems in the Galaxy Note 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
Pixel Portrait Mode - despite using a single camera, the Pixel 2 will introduce a version of Apple’s Portrait Mode working entirely through software. Google’s image processing is class leading, so it would be a big scoop if it pulls this off.
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