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For sure. And the funny thing is, the thinness of the Z Fold 7 is such a huge selling point and upgrade compared to previous models, in my opinion. But it makes sense for a Foldable, where were the slab phone, I just don't really get it.
I get it... from the perspective of the weight factor. Some folks want to carry around a much lighter phone and the Edge fits that bill... even when looking at reviews of the phone they like the experience in hand.

It's one of those situation we might not understand because we haven't fully tested it, but when actually using it day to day... the answer will reveal itself.
 
I get it... from the perspective of the weight factor. Some folks want to carry around a much lighter phone and the Edge fits that bill... even when looking at reviews of the phone they like the experience in hand.

It's one of those situation we might not understand because we haven't fully tested it, but when actually using it day to day... the answer will reveal itself.
I definitely do understand the weight factor too. The one thing that I really struggled with when I went back to the S25 Ultra before again switching back to the fold was that the Ultra was so heavy in comparison.
 
1000002546.jpg


This is a leak of the s26 Ultra.

What do you think?

I am really surprised that they brought back the camera island.

Compared to the hardware design of the Apple iPhone Pro Max or Pro I feel like the camera island on the iPhone looks a lot better. The Samsung looks like a modern version of old hardware design.
1000002548.jpg
In order to slim the design they have a really ugly camera bump. I would have preferred a thicker phone with more battery like 6000mah battery and the same design as the s25u cameras or maybe even made it flush. Think if the s26u have very minimal or flush cameras it would look so much better but instead we have the s21/22/23 design again???

So does the majority like or dislike the new hardware design direction Samsung is going in???
 
View attachment 2562885

This is a leak of the s26 Ultra.

What do you think?

I am really surprised that they brought back the camera island.

Compared to the hardware design of the Apple iPhone Pro Max or Pro I feel like the camera island on the iPhone looks a lot better. The Samsung looks like a modern version of old hardware design. View attachment 2562888 In order to slim the design they have a really ugly camera bump. I would have preferred a thicker phone with more battery like 6000mah battery and the same design as the s25u cameras or maybe even made it flush. Think if the s26u have very minimal or flush cameras it would look so much better but instead we have the s21/22/23 design again???

So does the majority like or dislike the new hardware design direction Samsung is going in???
Personally I don’t mind the Samsung design. It pretty much disappears when I put a case on it anyway
 
View attachment 2562885

This is a leak of the s26 Ultra.

What do you think?

I am really surprised that they brought back the camera island.

Compared to the hardware design of the Apple iPhone Pro Max or Pro I feel like the camera island on the iPhone looks a lot better. The Samsung looks like a modern version of old hardware design. View attachment 2562888 In order to slim the design they have a really ugly camera bump. I would have preferred a thicker phone with more battery like 6000mah battery and the same design as the s25u cameras or maybe even made it flush. Think if the s26u have very minimal or flush cameras it would look so much better but instead we have the s21/22/23 design again???

So does the majority like or dislike the new hardware design direction Samsung is going in???

Looks same but different!
 
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I think it looks nice but at the same time after the same basic setup for so many years it's time for a refresh, especially if the phones are going to continue to get thinner with larger camera bumps.
 

Edge isn't selling bad when you consider the Plus came out 5 months earlier:

S25 7.22 million units
S25+ 4.5 million
S25 Ultra 10.98 million
S25 Edge 1.01 million

But I don't think it really matters to Samsung if it is a Plus or an Edge next year. They just want to have a phone at every price point, so they need a third option. Four might be too much and muddy the decision-making process for some buyers. Apple has been trying to make 4 models of phones work since the iPhone 12 series and they haven't been able to pull it off very well either. (And yes, I know Apple makes a 5th phone. Samsung also makes a bunch of A-series phones. But we don't talk about Bruno.)
 
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Catch up to Google's call screening and Apple's live activities, then I'll consider the S26U.
I thought we were going to get a version of Live Activities with One UI 8? That never happened. While I like Android and plan to keep it, if I end up getting a new car and Car Play actually works, there is something tempting about going back to Iphone, especially if they have the foldable.
 
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I thought we were going to get a version of Live Activities with One UI 8? That never happened. While I like Android and plan to keep it, if I end up getting a new car and Car Play actually works, there is something tempting about going back to Iphone, especially if they have the foldable.
I actually like Android Auto better than CarPlay.
 
I thought we were going to get a version of Live Activities with One UI 8? That never happened. While I like Android and plan to keep it, if I end up getting a new car and Car Play actually works, there is something tempting about going back to Iphone, especially if they have the foldable.
Not only that, but Google promised it with Android 16. I believe QPR 2 beta on the Pixel 10 doesn't even have the features yet. Android has to catch up, it is almost 2026. I'd have to believe Samsung will implement it properly quicker than Google will on the Pixels, because OneUI is the best, imo.

I don't want to go off topic re: CarPlay vs. Android Auto, but it amazes me that Google maps on CarPlay has real-time speed info and Android Auto still does not have it. I have the toggle enabled in Maps settings on my phone but it has never worked. Am I doing something wrong?

Still love the Fold 7 but the novelty has worn off a bit. I don't use the inner screen as much as I thought I would and still would like a wider outer screen. Viewing some vacation photos I took this past summer with my S25U, I miss the camera as well. Hopefully Samsung will offer a good trade in value toward the S26U, we'll soon find out.
 
Not only that, but Google promised it with Android 16. I believe QPR 2 beta on the Pixel 10 doesn't even have the features yet. Android has to catch up, it is almost 2026. I'd have to believe Samsung will implement it properly quicker than Google will on the Pixels, because OneUI is the best, imo.

I don't want to go off topic re: CarPlay vs. Android Auto, but it amazes me that Google maps on CarPlay has real-time speed info and Android Auto still does not have it. I have the toggle enabled in Maps settings on my phone but it has never worked. Am I doing something wrong?

Still love the Fold 7 but the novelty has worn off a bit. I don't use the inner screen as much as I thought I would and still would like a wider outer screen. Viewing some vacation photos I took this past summer with my S25U, I miss the camera as well. Hopefully Samsung will offer a good trade in value toward the S26U, we'll soon find out.
That is weird about Google Maps. I didn't even know that was an option but hopefully it's fixed soon.

I don't know if I could ever go back to a slab phone but I use the inner screen probably 70% if the time, if not more.
 
Not only that, but Google promised it with Android 16. I believe QPR 2 beta on the Pixel 10 doesn't even have the features yet. Android has to catch up, it is almost 2026. I'd have to believe Samsung will implement it properly quicker than Google will on the Pixels, because OneUI is the best, imo.

I don't want to go off topic re: CarPlay vs. Android Auto, but it amazes me that Google maps on CarPlay has real-time speed info and Android Auto still does not have it. I have the toggle enabled in Maps settings on my phone but it has never worked. Am I doing something wrong?

Still love the Fold 7 but the novelty has worn off a bit. I don't use the inner screen as much as I thought I would and still would like a wider outer screen. Viewing some vacation photos I took this past summer with my S25U, I miss the camera as well. Hopefully Samsung will offer a good trade in value toward the S26U, we'll soon find out.
The implementation of ‘Live Activities’ on Android is going to be far more reliant on the app developers. Samsung adding the feature first to One UI won’t make a difference because devs aren’t going to code for it only on Samsung devices.

Google rolling the feature out is much more important to get the ball rolling. And don’t hold your breath for quick adoption. It was a good couple of years before we started seeing a decent amount of usable live activities on the iPhone and iOS devs are generally much quicker to add features to their apps, respectively.

Here's a perfect example. Was just watching this YouTuber's dilemma over choosing an iPhone 17 Pro vs. an iPhone Air and coincidentally just came upon this clip, illustrating exactly what we're talking about in regards to Live Activities and developer's focus on iOS. And he's not an Apple fanboy...uses a lot of Android devices.

 
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The implementation of ‘Live Activities’ on Android is going to be far more reliant on the app developers. Samsung adding the feature first to One UI won’t make a difference because devs aren’t going to code for it only on Samsung devices.

Google rolling the feature out is much more important to get the ball rolling. And don’t hold your breath for quick adoption. It was a good couple of years before we started seeing a decent amount of usable live activities on the iPhone and iOS devs are generally much quicker to add features to their apps, respectively.

Here's a perfect example. Was just watching this YouTuber's dilemma over choosing an iPhone 17 Pro vs. an iPhone Air and coincidentally just came upon this clip, illustration exactly what we're talking about in regards to Live Activities and developer's focus on iOS. And he's not an Apple fanboy...uses a lot of Android devices.


I think that's another argument in favor of Apple. For all the criticisms that Apple gets (And much of it is warrented), Developers still treat Android as the second fiddle to apple and as it costs a lot of overhead, I'm not surprised. Having to do this twice must be a loss-leader for them. I guess what Android gains in AI capabilities (And I barely use them), Apple gains is usability for those who are not interested in AI.
 
Live Activities are cool and all, but after not having them for almost a year, I didn't see myself longing for them. In some cases, like Yahoo Fantasy Football, it was aleays way behind to the point where I just preferred to open the actual app.
 
live activities is great on IOS but on car play for me it doesn't update automatically and you have to wake your phone for it to update.

screen calling is said to be coming with one UI 8.5
 
Well I’ve had the 17PM over a week now and I thinkI’m going back to my Samsung. I miss it in all honesty.

As someone who doesn’t really use the camera for anything remotely taxing, besides the much improved battery life, there’s not enough to warrant me keeping it over a 16 PM
 
Kinda disappointed with leaks that they are gonna name it “Pro” (it is soooo primitive and trivial, yet 17 Pro still has no Pro camera mode and controls! You can’t even disable camera processing completely), will include orange color and two other colors, and weird “plateau” of 26 Edge. I liked when Samsung bent their own line that was distinct from Apple’s. I mean I don’t mind they giving more color options, but why so obvious that it looks as if they copied it?

Well, good that camera stays same on Ultra. Maybe will think about this one because I kinda dislike “fat” camera rings on s25u, weird design choice. Though in my opinion best camera design was on S21 series, it was sleek
 
Well I’ve had the 17PM over a week now and I thinkI’m going back to my Samsung. I miss it in all honesty.

As someone who doesn’t really use the camera for anything remotely taxing, besides the much improved battery life, there’s not enough to warrant me keeping it over a 16 PM
We are at peak phone. Year-over-year incremental updates are rarely worth it with any brand (hides pile of new phones under his keyboard mat).
 
Samsung, start your copiers:


didn't Samsung have an orange first?

 
Samsung are doing that annoying thing again.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series, expected to go official next year in January, is rumored to comprise the Galaxy S26 Pro, Galaxy S26 Edge, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. A recent report said that the Pro model will have the Exynos 2600 SoC under the hood, which is now corroborated by SamMobile.

The publication claims to have found evidence that confirms the Galaxy S26 Pro will be powered by the Exynos 2600 chip in most countries. But in the US and China, the S26 Pro might come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC.

 
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