Month: June 2024
Here’s our best look yet at Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z foldables
New leaks may have spoiled the colors that will be available for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 devices. | Image: Evan Blass
While Samsung is gearing up to officially introduce the latest Galaxy Z foldable smartphones at its Unpacked event on July 10th, a new batch of leaked images have spoiled more of the surprise. The renders of the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 handsets come courtesy of established leaker Evan Blass and WinFuture, which show what colors may be available alongside sharing many similarities with previous leaks from SmartPrix, OnLeaks, and Ice Universe.
The images show a more squared-off design for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which was also seen in images of a prototype earlier this month. The hinge and bezels surrounding the outer display appear smaller, and black rings can be seen around the rear triple-camera lenses. Leaked specifications shared by Smartprix suggest that might be the only noticeable update to the Z Fold 6’s camera system, however, as it seems to be rocking the exact same setup as its predecessor.
Image: Evan Blass
Leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 suggest it’ll be available in Navy Blue (pictured), Silver, and Pink.
The renders supplied by Blass show two color variants for the Galaxy Z Fold 6: Gray and Navy Blue. The hues are slightly different to the Z Fold 5’s Gray and more vivid blue online exclusives, and the separate batch of leaked images shared by WinFuture (which match those provided by Blass) suggests the Fold 6 will also be available in light Pink.
The latest images of the clamshell-like Galaxy Z Flip 6, meanwhile, are nearly identical to the former Z Flip 5 model. The color options we’ve seen — Blue, Silver, Yellow, and Green — seem to have a more mattified “brushed metal” look, and it appears the rings around the two rear-facing cameras are color-coordinated to match the device. It’s a cute change, and the larger cover screen has thankfully been retained, but the lack of major design adjustments may disappoint Samsung users who are expecting a little more from a generational update.
Image: Evan Blass
The Z Flip 6 should get more colorful pastel options, including Blue, Silver (both pictured), Yellow, and Green, with matching rings around the rear camera sensors.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are expected to run new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors. Rumors also suggest the Z Flip 6’s main camera will be bumped to a 50-megapixel resolution from the current 12-megapixel variant, and come with an upgraded 4,000mAh battery instead of the 3,700mAh battery found on the Z Flip 5.
New leaks may have spoiled the colors that will be available for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 devices. | Image: Evan Blass
While Samsung is gearing up to officially introduce the latest Galaxy Z foldable smartphones at its Unpacked event on July 10th, a new batch of leaked images have spoiled more of the surprise. The renders of the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 handsets come courtesy of established leaker Evan Blass and WinFuture, which show what colors may be available alongside sharing many similarities with previous leaks from SmartPrix, OnLeaks, and Ice Universe.
The images show a more squared-off design for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which was also seen in images of a prototype earlier this month. The hinge and bezels surrounding the outer display appear smaller, and black rings can be seen around the rear triple-camera lenses. Leaked specifications shared by Smartprix suggest that might be the only noticeable update to the Z Fold 6’s camera system, however, as it seems to be rocking the exact same setup as its predecessor.
Image: Evan Blass
Leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 suggest it’ll be available in Navy Blue (pictured), Silver, and Pink.
The renders supplied by Blass show two color variants for the Galaxy Z Fold 6: Gray and Navy Blue. The hues are slightly different to the Z Fold 5’s Gray and more vivid blue online exclusives, and the separate batch of leaked images shared by WinFuture (which match those provided by Blass) suggests the Fold 6 will also be available in light Pink.
The latest images of the clamshell-like Galaxy Z Flip 6, meanwhile, are nearly identical to the former Z Flip 5 model. The color options we’ve seen — Blue, Silver, Yellow, and Green — seem to have a more mattified “brushed metal” look, and it appears the rings around the two rear-facing cameras are color-coordinated to match the device. It’s a cute change, and the larger cover screen has thankfully been retained, but the lack of major design adjustments may disappoint Samsung users who are expecting a little more from a generational update.
Image: Evan Blass
The Z Flip 6 should get more colorful pastel options, including Blue, Silver (both pictured), Yellow, and Green, with matching rings around the rear camera sensors.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are expected to run new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors. Rumors also suggest the Z Flip 6’s main camera will be bumped to a 50-megapixel resolution from the current 12-megapixel variant, and come with an upgraded 4,000mAh battery instead of the 3,700mAh battery found on the Z Flip 5.
The world’s toughest race starts Saturday, and it’s delightfully hard to call this year
Setting the stage for what could be a wild ride across France.
Enlarge / The peloton passing through a sunflowers field during the stage eight of the 110th Tour de France in 2023. (credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)
Most readers probably did not anticipate seeing a Tour de France preview on Ars Technica, but here we are. Cycling is a huge passion of mine and several other staffers, and this year, a ton of intrigue surrounds the race, which has a fantastic route. So we’re here to spread Tour fever.
The three-week race starts Saturday, paradoxically in the Italian region of Florence. Usually, there is a dominant rider, or at most two, and a clear sense of who is likely to win the demanding race. But this year, due to rider schedules, a terrible crash in early April, and new contenders, there is more uncertainty than usual. A solid case could be made for at least four riders to win this year’s Tour de France.
For people who aren’t fans of pro road cycling—which has to be at least 99 percent of the United States—there’s a great series on Netflix called Unchained to help get you up to speed. The second season, just released, covers last year’s Tour de France and introduces you to most of the protagonists in the forthcoming edition. If this article sparks your interest, I recommend checking it out.
Rocket Report: China flies reusable rocket hopper; Falcon Heavy dazzles
“I have a problem: Rockets are built and kept in stock but not finding customers.”
Enlarge / SpaceX’s 10th Falcon Heavy rocket climbs into orbit with a new US government weather satellite. (credit: SpaceX)
Welcome to Edition 6.50 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX launched its 10th Falcon Heavy rocket this week with the GOES-U weather satellite for NOAA, and this one was a beauty. The late afternoon timing of the launch and atmospheric conditions made for great photography. Falcon Heavy has become a trusted rocket for the US government, and its next flight in October will deploy NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on the way to explore one of Jupiter’s enigmatic icy moons.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Sir Peter Beck dishes on launch business. Ars spoke with the recently knighted Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, on where his scrappy company fits in a global launch marketplace dominated by SpaceX. Rocket Lab racked up the third-most number of orbital launches by any US launch company (it’s headquartered in California but primarily assembles and launches rockets in New Zealand). SpaceX’s rideshare launch business with the Falcon 9 rocket is putting immense pressure on small launch companies like Rocket Lab. However, Beck argues his Electron rocket is a bespoke solution for customers desiring to put their satellite in a specific place at a specific time, a luxury they can’t count on with a SpaceX rideshare.
We Scored a 6.25% Mortgage Rate. Here’s Why We Didn’t Take It
Our family learned that the lowest mortgage rate might not always be the best deal.
Our family learned that the lowest mortgage rate might not always be the best deal.
‘The Acolyte’ and the Long-Awaited Death of Review-Bombing
Leslye Headland’s new Star Wars show is getting positive reviews from critics and being trashed by audiences. Some are calling it review-bombing—but it’s more complicated than that.
Leslye Headland’s new Star Wars show is getting positive reviews from critics and being trashed by audiences. Some are calling it review-bombing—but it’s more complicated than that.
Elden Ring studio’s parent company suffers cyberattack
Kadokawa Group, the Japanese media conglomerate that owns FromSoftware, has been subject to a malicious cyberattack, the company confirmed. The… Continue reading Elden Ring studio’s parent company suffers cyberattack
The post Elden Ring studio’s parent company suffers cyberattack appeared first on ReadWrite.
Kadokawa Group, the Japanese media conglomerate that owns FromSoftware, has been subject to a malicious cyberattack, the company confirmed.
The group owns several game studios including FromSoftware, developers of Elden Ring, and Acquire Games, developers of Octopath Traveler. Outside of gaming, they are also involved in publishing and film. They also own the popular streaming service Niconico, which has been directly affected by the cyberattack.
On June 27, Kadokawa released a statement addressing the issue, which included the fact that the ransomware attack has been ongoing since June 8. They expressed “deep apologies for the significant inconvenience and trouble caused to its readers, users, writers, creators, business partners, shareholders, investors and other stakeholders by the system failure.”
They stated that their top priority is to restore their accounting functions due to how fundamental they are to business operations, and that they expect this to be concluded in early July. They are also prioritizing ” the manufacturing and distribution functions in the publication business,” due to how much revenue is generated by those functions.
What Kadokawa companies were affected by the cyberattack?
Kadokawa did not mention many of its subsidiary companies by name so it’s unknown how much of an effect the attack has had on specific companies. However, the statement mentioned several broad areas of its operations.
Judging by the statement, the publishing arm is one of the worst affected. The distribution of e-books was delayed due to the cyberattack, and shipment of existing (that is, not new) books is at one-third of the normal level while the company develops a solution to the attack.
The Niconico web services have also been affected, with all Niconico family services currently suspended and users left unable to log in to services that use their Niconico credentials. However, the media giant is working to resolve this and users will see services gradually returning to operation.
The gaming arm of Kadokawa was not mentioned in the statement, suggesting that these companies were not a target of the cyberattack. FromSoftware can continue celebrating the release of the best DLC ever made.
Kadokawa has confirmed that they do not retain any credit card information from customers, so while they are “investigating the possibility of information leakage with the support of external professional organizations,” no customer financial data is at risk, which should be a relief for many. They have not confirmed what information (such as player data or user data) might have been stolen by the attackers.
Featured image credit: generated by Ideogram
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CDPR thinks new Boston studio will make Cyberpunk 2077 sequel more authentically American
After a lot of hard work and a huge expansion, Cyberpunk 2077 became the game people wanted it to be,… Continue reading CDPR thinks new Boston studio will make Cyberpunk 2077 sequel more authentically American
The post CDPR thinks new Boston studio will make Cyberpunk 2077 sequel more authentically American appeared first on ReadWrite.
After a lot of hard work and a huge expansion, Cyberpunk 2077 became the game people wanted it to be, but CD Projekt Red thinks it still has space to improve in the sequel.
Codenamed Project Orion, the sequel to the sprawling RPG is being developed primarily by CDPR’s new studio in Boston, rather than its home base in Poland. In a recent episode of AnsweRED, the studio’s official podcast, the game’s acting Executive Producer Dan Hernberg spoke about why they feel this is the best thing for the game.
“I think Cyberpunk is obviously a uniquely American story. It’s got a lot of like punk energy, and it was written by an American, so it just seems right to do it in America,” he said.
Why is the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel being developed in America?
They also provided some specific examples of how the previous game not being developed in America by Americans led to some errors. Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko shared one story that went viral on Reddit, about the differences in manhole covers across the world.
“There’s this interesting story after the release of Cyberpunk 2077 that blew up on Reddit at some point, and it’s the manhole debacle. Like, the manholes that are covering the roads, right? There was this post with the guy saying that there is this immersive breaking bug in Cyberpunk, and the bug was about the fact that the covers for manholes for a sewer were the manholes that you use normally in Europe, in Germany, for a pavement. Those are not manholes that you normally cover in America on the streets.
“This is basically showing you the differences, right? When you go to America, there’s things like hydrants, where they are placed and how they look like. The street lights, the positions of that, the trash bins, right? They’re in the front of the house, right by the street. In Poland, in Europe, you don’t see it almost anywhere. There’s so much nuance. Dan, when we talk about it, he calls it the Americana.”
Hernberg then added that while the small differences between places aren’t necessarily immersion-breaking, they would be noticeable to people who lived in the place where the game was set. Having developers from America will allow for more “cultural touchpoints” with the audience.
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that they are also working on a sequel to The Witcher 3, codenamed Polaris.
Featured image credit: CD Projekt Red
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Apple Store Down in UK, Canada, and Other Countries Ahead of Vision Pro Pre-Orders
Apple’s online store is down in Germany, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada, as the company makes preparatory changes to its website ahead of Apple Vision Pro pre-orders in these regions.
Pre-orders begin at 5.00 a.m. Pacific Time, or the following local times. The starting prices given in local currency are for the 256GB model minus prescription lenses and other accessories.
Australia – 10:00 pm AEST – $5,999
Canada – 5.00 a.m. PT – $4,999
France – 2.00 p.m. – €3,999
Germany – 2.00 p.m. – €3,999
United Kingdom – 1.00 p.m. – £3,499Apple Vision Pro will launch in the above countries on July 12.
The Vision Pro is unquestionably Apple’s most technically advanced product and a remarkable engineering achievement that impresses at first glance. However, potential buyers should visit an Apple Store to try it out and thoroughly research its capabilities before making a purchase. Be sure to check out our dedicated Vision Pro roundup to learn more.
Apple is expected to produce fewer than 400,000 Vision Pro headsets in 2024 due to the complexity of manufacturing, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, Apple is said to be already working on a new version of the Apple Vision Pro for 2025 that will be priced more affordably. Related Roundup: Apple Vision ProBuyer’s Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)Related Forum: Apple Vision ProThis article, “Apple Store Down in UK, Canada, and Other Countries Ahead of Vision Pro Pre-Orders” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple’s online store is down in Germany, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada, as the company makes preparatory changes to its website ahead of Apple Vision Pro pre-orders in these regions.
Pre-orders begin at 5.00 a.m. Pacific Time, or the following local times. The starting prices given in local currency are for the 256GB model minus prescription lenses and other accessories.
Australia – 10:00 pm AEST – $5,999
Canada – 5.00 a.m. PT – $4,999
France – 2.00 p.m. – €3,999
Germany – 2.00 p.m. – €3,999
United Kingdom – 1.00 p.m. – £3,499Apple Vision Pro will launch in the above countries on July 12.
The Vision Pro is unquestionably Apple’s most technically advanced product and a remarkable engineering achievement that impresses at first glance. However, potential buyers should visit an Apple Store to try it out and thoroughly research its capabilities before making a purchase. Be sure to check out our dedicated Vision Pro roundup to learn more.
Apple is expected to produce fewer than 400,000 Vision Pro headsets in 2024 due to the complexity of manufacturing, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, Apple is said to be already working on a new version of the Apple Vision Pro for 2025 that will be priced more affordably.
This article, “Apple Store Down in UK, Canada, and Other Countries Ahead of Vision Pro Pre-Orders” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
6 Ways to Lower Your Energy Bills in a Texas Summer
Texans can save on electricity bills this summer with cost-saving tips and energy-efficiency upgrades. Here’s how.
Texans can save on electricity bills this summer with cost-saving tips and energy-efficiency upgrades. Here’s how.