| Cult of Mac

Samsung recalls glitchy Galaxy Fold review units

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Galaxy Fold specs
The Fold isn't the precedent-setter Samsung may have hoped.
Photo: Samsung

Having pushed back the launch of its Galaxy Fold folding smartphone, Samsung is now supposedly retrieving all units it sent reviewers — without issuing replacements. While there’s disagreement on whether the original units were meant to be returned after 10 days, it seems things aren’t quite playing out as expected.

This comes after early reviewers noted that the $1,980 handset suffered some serious screen problems.

Slowing smartphone sales hit Samsung profits hard

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Galaxy A7
Samsung says that Q1 operating profits will be down 60 percent.
Photo: Samsung

The massive rise of the smartphone is coming to a close, and Samsung is bearing the brunt of it.

As well as a manufacturer of its own handsets, Samsung also provides memory chips and display panels to other companies. Due to slowing demand for smartphones around the world, Samsung today revealed that its operating profits have plunged. It expects that its first quarter takings will be down by 60 percent compared to last year.

40 million Android users have downloaded Apple Music

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
Apple Music is popular across the board.
Photo: Apple

You’d think that most of the subscribers to Apple Music would be firmly locked into the Apple ecosystem. That may be true, but new figures suggest that there are quite a few listeners on Android as well.

Figures shared by Sensor Tower‘s Store Intelligence platform suggest that 40 million Android users have installed the Apple Music app from Google Play. Not only that, but the analytics firm believes that the “current quarter will be the service’s best yet for new users on the platform.”

Take a peek at Samsung’s AirPods rival ‘Galaxy Buds’

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Galaxy Buds 2
Samsung is ready to take on the AirPods.
Photo: Winfuture.de

Apple’s AirPods have been a massive smash hit since they launched a couple years back. It’s therefore unsurprising that rival companies would be keen to get themselves some of the sweet wireless cash — by launching their own wireless earbuds.

One of these companies, Samsung, is reportedly set to show off its own “Galaxy Buds” at its upcoming February 20 press event. And thanks to a leaked image, we have a good idea of what they’ll look like.

Meizu Zero goes up for pre-order with eye-watering price tag

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Meizu Zero 1
This phone outdoes Apple on the whole getting-rid-of-ports thing.
Photo: Meizu

In its quest for minimalist perfectionism, Apple loves shaving ports off its products wherever possible. But even it has stopped short of creating a phone like the Meizu Zero.

Promising no buttons, no speaker holes, no Sim card slot, and no charging port, this sleek Chinese Android phone looked like a concept phone or, uncharitably, an early April Fool’s joke when it first popped up online last month. Well, it seems that that’s not the case at all — since pre-orders have just gone live on Indiegogo. Be warned: It’s not cheap.

Wifi Porter makes sharing your wireless network a breeze

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Connect to Wifi Porter by simply tapping your phone on it.
Connect to Wifi Porter by simply tapping your phone on it.
Photo: Ten One Design

Imagine letting a friend connect to your Wi-Fi network just by tapping a hockey puck-sized chunk of wood. That’s the promise of Wifi Porter, an accessory from Ten One Design that saves guests from having to type in a password to get on the net.

It uses NFC and doesn’t require users to install any software.

Android will have a big advantage over iPhone in 2019

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iPhone 5G
The clue is in the giant "5G" written in the middle of this iPhone's display.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple may not be planning to release a 5G iPhone until at least 2020, but don’t expect rival Android handset makers to be willing to hold on for so long.

According to Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon, by this time next year the market is set to be flooded with 5G Android phones. “Every Android vendor is working on 5G right now,” he said.

Busted! Samsung uses stock photos as proof of camera quality

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Samung tweets
Samsung Brazil said it accidentally used stock photos when trying to show off on Twitter the camera of the Galaxy A8.
Photo: Feliperas/Twitter

When Apple wants to show off the camera quality of its latest iPhone, it mines social media for user photos by searching the hashtag “Shot on iPhone.” Apple then has plenty of actual iPhone images it then licenses for advertising.

But when Samsung tried to tout the camera of the Galaxy A8 in a recent Twitter campaign, it used stock photos most likely shot with DSLR cameras.

A device called Palm brings back a once-promising name

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Palm
The Palm name will return to the smartphone market, according to federal documents.
Photo: desmorider - http://flic.kr/p/7KY6dt

Palm, once considered a darling of innovation, disappeared from hands thanks to a series of ill-fated mergers and game-changing smartphones, including the iPhone.

Now Palm, or least the name, is poised for a comeback with an Android smartphone later this year.

Samsung smack-talks iPhone X with more ‘Ingenious’ ads

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Ingenious
Samsung hits Apple with three more blows in commercials for the Galaxy S9.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung continues tyring to sell smartphones with advertising that gives more airtime to Apple.

Three more commercials in Samsung’s “Ingenious” campaign went public today with a belief in accentuating the negative. Each exploits a different criticism of the iPhone X – the need for a dongle, the lack of a fast charger and a camera that gets lower test scores than the Galaxy S9.