Some apps, like Lightroom, simply refuse to acknowledge that second, bigger screen. When you launch it, it appears in the center of this display, looking just like it does on a smartphone. (Never mind the fact that Lightroom runs admirably on regular Android tablets.) AccuWeather treats the open Fold 2 screen as a tablet in landscape mode, so using the app requires turning the phone sideways. HBO Max, isn’t available for the Z Fold 2 at all right now. And Instagram — well, Instagram has always been notoriously bad adapting to different kinds of displays, so it’s no surprise it’s still pretty terrible here. The point is, unless you stick to a handful of known-good apps, expect a lot of inconsistency.

But what if you want to run multiple apps at the same time? A screen as big as this one just begs for clever multitasking tricks, and Samsung added quite a few of them. Multi-active window mode, which lets you squeeze up to three apps into an on-screen grid at a time, is back. (If you really want to go wild, you open up to five more in their own floating windows, but no human should ever need this.) This grid view can be tremendously helpful once you find the right combination of apps, and it’s relatively easy to save them as a preset in case you want to use them again later. You can also shuffle windows around so that one big app stretches along the bottom of the entire screen, with two smaller windows side-by-side above it. 

That improved flexibility is a welcome addition, but it still has its quirks. What if you wanted that big app window to take up the top half of the screen instead? Too bad. And some apps refuse to appear in those smaller app windows at all, which you’ll only ever discover after trial and error. The quirks don’t end there. One of the biggest software additions to the Fold 2 is the ability to copy and paste by dragging text or an image from one window and dropping it into another. It’s fantastic when it works, but — and tell if this sounds familiar — it just doesn’t work sometimes. 

Engadget

Dragging and dropping between multiple instances of the Office app works like a dream. So does dragging text from Chrome into Samsung’s Messages app. But trying to move a snippet of text from a browser into, say, Google Docs? Nope. Ditto for dragging and dropping into Notion, which I’ve come to rely on pretty heavily. There’s that pesky inconsistency again!

By now, it probably sounds like the Fold 2’s software is sort of a flop, and in some ways it is. But there are clever features that make use of the foldable gimmick. App continuity is a great example: it ensures that whatever you’re doing on that outer screen persists on the internal one when you open the Fold 2. Apart from the occasional compatibility issue, the transitions work well. This year, Samsung spent a little more time touting reverse app continuity, where the apps you’re using on the inside screen shift to the outer screen when the Fold 2 is closed. 

There’s no universal switch for it, though — you have to pop into the settings and select apps to make the inside-to-outside switch. That’s the right decision. I don’t want my PayPal information visible when I slam the Fold 2 shut, I do want to keep reading my Kindle book when I’m standing in line and suddenly need to use my other hand.

Then there are all those Flex mode features, which Samsung originally built for the Galaxy Z Flip.  Long story short, Samsung and partners like Google tweaked their apps to take advantage of that big display when the Fold 2 is propped open like a laptop. When you fold the phone while shooting photos, for instance, the viewfinder remains on the top half of the screen while the bottom half gives you access to camera settings and controls, along with a quick view of the photos you just took. Making video calls with Duo in Flex mode is a joy, too: The person you’re talking to fills half of the screen, leaving just the hangup button and some other options beneath it.

As if Samsung unveiling the Z Fold 2 plus an NVIDIA event weren’t enough to keep us busy this week, we also got a slew of news from companies all over the consumer electronics industry thanks to IFA 2020. Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by senior mobile editor Chris Velazco to discuss his impressions of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 after spending a day and a half with it. Then, our hosts geek out over NVIDIA and Intel’s latest processors, before blazing through the plethora of IFA news from companies like TCL, Qualcomm, Lenovo and Samsung (again).

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is officially official, but it’ll be a few weeks before Samsung starts shipping to the masses and we know some people just can’t wait that long. Since you’ve decided to click on this story, we’re assuming that means you, so why not join me and reviews editor Cherlynn Low this afternoon at 4PM Eastern/1PM Pacific — we’ll be cracking open a freshly delivered foldable and taking questions from straight from our audience. You get some answers and a first look at beautiful new hardware, and we get a better sense of what the people want us to focus on as we start working on our review. It’s a win-win!

There are just a few ground rules to keep in mind here. First, we’d love to hear from you in our chat, but be please be cool! Second, we won’t be drop-testing this thing on stream. This is our one review unit, and it’s in everyone’s best interest that it actually works while we’re evaluating it. Oh, and apologies to that one person who just keeps asking: We will not be tasting the phone. You know who you are.

There’s also a similar “sweeper” between the phone’s body and hinge housing to repel dust and dirt particles, Samsung said, though this time around the brush is thinner. Overall, too, Samsung said the Fold 2 was re-engineered to feature a “sleek, unified design” that indeed looks thinner and prettier than the original.

A lot of what we didn’t know about the Z Fold 2 came down to its software, and Samsung shared more details today around Flex Mode and App Continuity. We already saw Flex Mode on the Z Flip, which splits the foldable screen in half when the phone is bent, so your apps are positioned more intuitively across the hinge. App Continuity will allow you to open up the Fold 2 and see an expanded view of the app you were using on the smaller front display.

A new Capture View Mode lets you view your recently taken pictures in the bottom half of the screen while still in the camera app so you don’t have to launch the Gallery to see your shots. There’s also an Auto Framing tool that lets you set the Fold 2 up like a laptop, using the front camera to shoot videos, and the phone will keep your subject in the frame even as it moves. This is similar to what Google’s Duo already does on video calls via its Nest Hub Max smart display, or Facebook on the Portal.

Samsung

If you’re taking a photo of someone else, you can both see a preview of the shot — you on the larger main display and your subject via the smaller “Cover” screen. Like most of Samsung’s recent flagships, the Fold 2 also comes with Pro Video, Single Take, Bright Night and Night modes.

One of the biggest draws of that larger folding screen is improved productivity, and like most Samsung devices with bigger screens, the Fold 2 supports running multiple apps side by side at the same time. The company says this is “advanced” Multi-Active Window so you can better customize your screen layout. You can even open different files from the same app and view them at the same time in multiple instances of the app. Samsung also refined its MultiWindow Tray to let you launch several apps at one tap.

The best thing about having multiple windows open side by side is the ability to drag and drop text and files between them, which you can do on the Z Fold 2. There’s also a Split Screen Capture tool that lets you record what’s on one side of the screen then transfer that image to the other. Samsung’s also offering the wireless DeX syncing feature that it introduced on the Note 20 Ultra, which will make it easier for you to cast your phone’s content to a compatible smart TV. If you prefer using a tablet-friendly interface on the main (foldable) screen, you can go into settings to switch to a “large screen layout” or stick to a traditional phone view. App’s like Microsoft suite of Office tools support the flexible display layout by keeping the inbox list view on the left half, for example, while showing individual messages on the right. You can get a PC-like toolbar at the top of the screen in tablet mode for apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, too.

Samsung

It’s nice to learn about what the Z Fold 2 can theoretically do, though we’d have to wait for a full review to see how it truly holds up in the real world. Since the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus and 12GB of RAM, it should be capable of all that multitasking we’re about to throw at it. We already knew from Unpacked that the Fold 2’s battery comes in at 4,500mAh, and that we can expect it to last all day and support Super Fast charging. It’s also 5G-compatible, and will work with both sub-6 and mmWave technologies, so you can get fast download speeds where available.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 will come in Mystic Black or Mystic Bronze color options, and you can pick one of four hinge hues to go with either — Metallic Silver, Metallic Gold, Metallic Red or Metallic Blue. If you prefer something fancier, there’s also the Thom Browne Edition with the fashion brand’s signature multicolor stripe design. It’ll also feature a special lock screen and photo filter. But you’ll have to get it in the Thom Browne Edition package, which comes with the Watch 3 and Galaxy Buds Live in similar designs, with customized accessories.

Even a non-Thom Browne variant of the Z Fold 2 is pretty pricey at basically $2,000, and Samsung is throwing a sort of VIP service with every purchase of its foldable. The Galaxy Z Premier Service, which is also available for those who bought the Fold or Z Flip, provides on-demand concierge support. You’ll get tutorials with product experts, a Founders Card membership, “access to a prepared meal from a Michelin star restaurant,” “an elite fairway golf and country club program at clubs across the US” and one-time device protection against accidental display damage within a year or your purchase.

You can buy the Z Fold 2 5G via carriers or unlocked at Samsung.com and other retailers from September 18th, though pre-orders begin Sept. 2nd at 12:01am ET.

As you might imagine, though, the combination of a fashion imprint and the extras could easily make this one of the most expensive Samsung phones to date. The Thom Browne Galaxy Z Flip cost $2,480 when new, or well over the $1,380 price of the standard Z Flip. With the Z Fold 2 likely to carry a considerably higher starting price (the original Galaxy Fold was $1,980), there’s a real chance its Browne counterpart could crack the $3,000 mark — this really will be for the wealthy and style-conscious.

The Note 20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120 hertz refresh rate. What makes it stand out from devices like the Galaxy S20 Ultra is what’s on the inside: one of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865+ chipsets, currently Qualcomm’s fastest available offering. The Note 20 Ultra is also the first Samsung device to come with an ultra-wideband (or UWB) radio for short-range data transmission, and of course, it’s available in “mystic bronze,” the color Samsung pushed throughout today’s event.

The Note 20 is similar to the Note 20 Ultra, but it falls short in many ways. Overall, the hardware is considerably less impressive than the Ultra. The screen has a lower resolution and refresh rate, 2400×1080 at 60Hz, and memory is limited to 8GM of RAM and 128GB of storage. Even its cameras are toned down. Though, it does have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ chipset.

Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus

Samsung

Designed to “combine the power of a PC, the flexibility of a tablet and the connectivity of a smartphone,” Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus will be the first tablets to support 5G in the US.

They’ll come with 11-inch (LCD) and 12.4-inch (AMOLED) displays and a high 120Hz refresh rate. The keyboard cover, which has an improved trackpad, and useful software make the Tab S7 and S7 Plus strong 2-in-1 devices meant to compete with your PC. Both have the Snapdragon 865+ processor that’s in the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra and will run Android 10.

Like Samsung’s recent tablets, the Tab S7 and S7 Plus both come with the S Pen. This iteration reduces latency to just 9ms, making it a stronger Apple Pencil competitor. The S Pen now supports Air Actions, so you can use the pen as a remote control and do things like draw circles in the air, and updates to the Notes app allow you to mark up PDFs you import, tidy up your scribbles and more.

Galaxy Watch 3

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The Galaxy Watch 3 is the first new Samsung Galaxy Watch in years. The biggest changes are that the rotating bezel is back, the fitness companion is improved and there are new health features, like updated sleep tracking, an ECG, trip detection and blood oxygen monitor. ECG will only be available in South Korea to start, but Samsungs says the feature just earned FDA authorization, so it may arrive in the US before too long.

Beginning August 6th, the Galaxy Watch 3 will be available in 41mm and 45mm options, $400 and $430 respectively.

Galaxy Buds Live

Samsung

The Galaxy Buds Live were no surprise at today’s event, as they’ve leaked several times. Now, the earbuds are official. The standout features are an “open type” design and active noise cancelation (ANC), which is designed to allow important background noise. The noise-canceling feature focuses on low-frequency noises, like cars, transit and voices, while cutting out the background noise you don’t need. How well that works is debatable due to the lack of a seal in your ears.

Another notable change is that the Buds Live offer hands-free access to Bixby for the first time. Beyond that, the bean shape does make these more comfortable, and the battery will last up to eight hours with both ANC and always-on Bixby disabled (21 additional hours in the case).

Galaxy Z Fold 2

Samsung

Like the Buds Live, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 was widely leaked before today’s event. Still, the changes compared to its predecessor are notable. For starters, it’s bigger. The cover display measures 6.2-inches and the primary screen is 7.6-inches. 

Samsung is saving most of the device’s specs for its Fold 2 event on September 1st. But it did share that the Fold 2 has a 4,500 mAh battery and it’s thinner than the original thanks to improved miniaturization. New caps on the ends should prevent some of the trouble that the original Fold ran into, and Samsung has had plenty of time to work out some of the other kinks.

Notes and Reminders Syncing

Engadget

Samsung’s updated Notes App will sync with Microsoft’s more popular OneNote platform and play nicely with Microsoft Outlook. It will capture notes and audio simultaneously, and by clicking around in a note, you’ll be able to jump to audio bookmarks. The improved Notes app will automatically straighten your handwriting and keep things organized in a new folder system.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s Reminder app will sync with Outlook, Microsoft To-Do and Teams. You’ll be able to do things like drag and drop reminders into your calendar. 

Note 20 Ultra’s UWB Benefits

Chris Velazco/Engadget

In the near term, Samsung plans to use the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s UWB tech to power Google’s new Nearby Share, which will let you share files with nearby UWB-capable handsets.

In the future, UWB could turn your phone into a digital key that will sense when you’re approaching a door and unlock it. It might also guide you to items you’re trying to locate using AR.

Xbox Games Pass Bundle

PowerA / Samsung

Samsung says the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra work like a computer and play like a gaming console. To push the gaming aspect, Samsung is partnering with Microsoft to offer an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Bundle for the Galaxy Note 20. That includes Power A’s MOGA XP5-X+ Bluetooth controller, a clip to hold your phone in place and three months of Game Pass Ultimate service, which usually costs $15 per month.

The bundle will be available on August 21st. You’ll get a $150 Samsung Credit if you pre-order the Note 20, and you can use that towards the bundle. When xCloud goes live on Game Pass Ultimate on September 15th, you’ll be able to download a dedicated Game Pass app from the Galaxy Store.

Samsung hasn’t been shy about the fact that it has a ton of devices to show us at its upcoming Unpacked event, and that day is finally here. You can get excited with senior mobile editor Chris Velazco and myself right here as we head over to YouTube for a real-time reaction stream with a post-show to share our thoughts (and insider info) after. Come watch with us! We’ll start the pre-show at 9:40AM ET and stick around for a bit after Samsung wraps its event. Despite the ton of spoilers that have already leaked, I’m sure we’ll still have a lot to discuss, so make sure you tune in!

Based on the sneaky silhouette that Samsung has shared, we can tell there will be at least a foldable, a Note phone, a watch and what looks like wireless earbuds. Thanks to the flood of leaks, we’re pretty sure we can expect these to be the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the Note 20, the Galaxy Buds Live and the Galaxy Watch 3. But Samsung might not go over every little detail in an event that’s probably going to happen at breakneck pace, so let us help you keep those specs in check and put everything in context. How will the new products compare against their predecessors? Have other companies already done this?

Galaxy Buds Live

Let’s start with the most straightforward of the bunch: Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live. Samsung is no stranger to true-wireless earbuds, but these are a little different from the company’s earlier attempts. For one, they’re the first Galaxy-branded buds to pack active noise cancelation, which was conspicuously absent from the Galaxy Buds+. They also, uh, look like beans. 

These sleek, legume-like earbuds have touch-sensitive bodies so you can easily toggle through tracks, and WinFuture’s Roland Quandt reported earlier this year that they’ll also include a trio of onboard microphones that can be set to listen for your Bixby voice commands. Battery life is estimated to fall between 4.5 and 7.5 hours on a single charge — exactly how long these things will last depends on whether you’re using ANC and whether you’ve set those microphones to constantly listen for voice requests. (Noted leaker Ishan Agarwal has already started digging into the companion app, and it seems like turning those mics off just takes a few taps.) 

The Galaxy Buds Live are shaping up to be worthy AirPods competitors, especially when you consider their rumored cost. At $170 with noise cancelation, they’re priced to move compared to Apple’s $250 AirPods Pro. 

Galaxy Watch 3

Samsung has been getting a lot of mileage out of its fitness-focused Galaxy Watch Active 2, but it’s time the classic Galaxy Watch got a proper sequel. (Seriously, it’s been nearly two years.) Enter the Galaxy Watch 3, a device that some retailers around the world have already started selling, official announcements be damned. 

The Watch 3 will come in two sizes: A 45mm version with a 1.4-inch screen for people who prefer hefty timepieces, and a more petite 41mm model with a 1.2-inch display. (The latter already got the full hands-on treatment on YouTube.) 

Both versions will come in several finishes, but all of them will use Samsung’s classic rotating bezel for navigating home screens and menus. Frankly, this is the best thing that could’ve happened to these wearables: These physical controls are among the most clever interface choices Samsung has ever made, and the Galaxy Watch Active series felt less satisfying to use without them.