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Youtube
Want to see the inside of the Galaxy Z Fold 5?

iFixit just posted its video teardown — which includes throwing the phone in a bag with a bunch of bright green dust. The Z Fold 5 has an IPX8 rating, meaning it that it’s not rated for dust resistance, so you can imagine what happens with that bright green dust.


Samsung’s older folding devices are getting One UI 5.1.1 starting this month.

The Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 get the update this month, with other Samsung foldables getting it “sequentially,” according to Samsung. One UI 5 Watch is starting to officially roll out, too.

You can read more on Samsung’s website.


The Galaxy Z Fold 4, closed.
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Now everyone can post Telegram Stories.

After launching a few weeks ago as a Premium-only feature, Telegram rolled out Stories to all users starting today in celebration of its 10th birthday (via TechCrunch).

While lots of platforms have Stories posts (although Twitter / X isn’t one of them — we miss you, Fleets), this one allows editing of live posts. Also, one feature that’s staying Premium-only for paid users is a “Stealth Mode” that erases their views from anything watched for five minutes before and for the next 25 minutes after.


Animatiopn showing the process of editing a Telegram stories post, with text and stickers.
Image: Telegram
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External Link
How do places like SensorTower and SimilarWeb collect their usage data, anyhow?

We’re as guilty as any other publication in citing app usage data from data shops like SensorTower and SimilarWeb — it’s useful to rely on some data from a neutral source when talking about app and platform usage — but John Gruber dives into how that data is actually collected. And... maybe it’s not great!

So, I see three ways Sensor Tower collects usage information for apps and websites that aren’t their own: (1) ad-blocking web browser extensions, (2) screen-time monitoring apps for Android and iOS, which on iOS requires access to Screen Time, and (3) the Adblock Luna VPN. (Perhaps I’m underestimating how much data they can collect from users who play Melody Run.)

I am really thinking about this, however:

The user base for these apps must be comprised largely of technically naive, uninformed users. [...] So who is left? The ignorant but brazen. Perhaps such people’s web and app usage really is representative of the public at large. But there’s no way to know.

Most people are technically naive! In fact, computer literacy is getting worse for Gen Z in various ways. So it is possible that this data is being collected with icky methods, but still actually representative of what’s going on. I don’t know — but it would be good if there was some actual way to check it.


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The Verge
The last beta before the launch of Android 14 has arrived.

The release of Android 14 beta 5 mainly contains bug fixes, but it means we’re a step closer to the official launch of Android 14, which Google says is “just weeks ahead.”

In the meantime, you can check out all the new features coming to Android 14.


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The next Gboard update could include AI-powered proofreading and more.

As reported by 9to5Google, Google is gearing up for a big Gboard update that could let you use AI to check for spelling mistakes, grammar, and punctuation. It might also give you the ability to use AI to adjust the tone of your text — similar to the “Help me write” feature in Gmail and Docs — as well as generate emoji stickers using a text prompt.

Additionally, 9to5Google found that the update could include new stylus gestures when using Gboard’s handwriting feature, allowing you to cross words out to delete them and draw a caret to insert new text. Gboard 13.3 is still in beta, and it’s still unclear when it’ll be available to everyone.


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Verge Score

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review: a little better is just good enough

Samsung’s head start in foldables is paying off, but it’ll have to do more next time around to stay in front.

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Twitter
That’s a lot of cameras on Xiaomi’s new foldable.

Founder and CEO Lei Jun has announced a launch date for Xiaomi’s latest foldable, the Mix Fold 3, alongside a short teaser trailer. We’re not expecting the phone to be available outside of China given Xiaomi’s previous foldables, so we’ll have to appreciate its massive four-strong camera bump from afar.


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Youtube
Let’s see how durable these 2023 foldables are.

A YouTuber is livestreaming people repeatedly folding and unfolding two of this year’s biggest releases until they break. The Motorola Razr 40 Plus Ultra broke after just 126,266 folding cycles, but as of this writing the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still going strong at over 330,000. Not bad considering Samsung’s promotional materials say it’s rated for 200,000.


Two years later, Netflix is still experimenting with games

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals and The Queen’s Gambit Chess could not be more different, and yet both are key to understanding Netflix’s gaming philosophy.

OnePlus would like to remind everyone it’s also doing a foldable.

With all eyes on Samsung’s new foldables yesterday, Oppo subbrand OnePlus couldn’t help itself. “We OPEN when others FOLD,” the brand tweeted, in reference to the rumored name of its foldable. It confirmed its foldable plans in February, when it said it’d be releasing the foldable in the second half of the year.


An unofficial render of the upcoming OnePlus foldable.
An unofficial render of the upcoming OnePlus foldable.
Image: MySmartPrice / OnLeaks
Xiaomi enters the mix for hot foldable summer.

Less than a day after Samsung announced its new foldables, Xiaomi is teasing the Mix Fold 3, which will be announced in China next month with an interesting rear quad-camera setup and Leica branding.

Let this serve as a reminder that a) hot foldable summer is alive and kicking and b) China gets a lot of foldables that never make their way to the West.


A promotional photo showing a foldable phone in shadow.
Image: Xiaomi
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Twitter
Samsung’s Q2 profits down 95 percent.

The company’s terrible financial year continues though it says demand for its memory chips is showing signs of recovery, and its new range of premium foldables should also help turn the tide. But news that young Koreans are overwhelmingly choosing iPhones is surely troubling in the long term.


Unpacking the Samsung Unpacked event.

Slept in and didn’t watch Samsung’s summer Unpacked event this morning? I don’t blame you. This was an early one. As always, our video team has got you covered! Catch up on all the announcements in our 8-minute recap video.