Was walking home from dinner last night with my wife in Soho when we saw a previously unoccupied storefront have a huge Samsung event going on, so we decided to check it out. Here are my takeaways:
-The Flip & Fold 7s are incredible. The Fold 7 is the first folding device that feels like not a beta to me... refined, feels solid, and when folded it's at a thickness that makes sense. The Flip is probably the device I would get if I was in the market for a phone. It is the safer, more practical choice in my opinion. Being able to fold that small in the pocket is incredibly useful. Honestly, seeing these two phones and playing around with them made me miss the Apple of yesteryear that took risk and was a bit more creative with their hardware. Samsung nailed it here.
-They had a whole section of the event focused on Samsung AI features. All I can say is they aren't for me. I think it's for Gen Z and newer... anyone that places higher value on their social media following over their 401k balance... adding over the top effects to photos & video, finishing texts with language models, etc. There was some cool technical abilities shown, but not for me. I don't need my portrait looking like some 90's Nickelodeon aesthetic.
-It's bonkers how huge Samsung tablets are... like... why? And why are they 16:9 aspect ratio? It feels like you are carrying around a skateboard. I would just get a laptop, honestly. Not for me. If someone can fill me in on what Galaxy tablets do better than iPads, that would be appreciated. Do they support hardware video in for desktop PCs or something? Is that why they are huge?
-Samsung Dex makes me disappointed in Apple. That's my favorite feature of Samsung devices. I know iPads are there now, but I really wish iPhones had this capability. Just plug into any monitor and have a desktop experience with all your files, apps, etc.
-I can only compare my Apple Watch Ultra as it's what I use daily, but the Galaxy watches feel incredibly cheap compared to it... The Galaxy Ultra feels like a plastic toy compared to it. You can do a lot more with it, and the software looks nice, but my wife and I both agreed that the Apple Watch was the superior feeling product, and for something on my wrist all day everyday, that I wear to board rooms for my career, swimming in the mediterranean, and hiking up in icelandic mountains... I'll take the Apple Watch any day.
-The Flip & Fold 7s are incredible. The Fold 7 is the first folding device that feels like not a beta to me... refined, feels solid, and when folded it's at a thickness that makes sense. The Flip is probably the device I would get if I was in the market for a phone. It is the safer, more practical choice in my opinion. Being able to fold that small in the pocket is incredibly useful. Honestly, seeing these two phones and playing around with them made me miss the Apple of yesteryear that took risk and was a bit more creative with their hardware. Samsung nailed it here.
-They had a whole section of the event focused on Samsung AI features. All I can say is they aren't for me. I think it's for Gen Z and newer... anyone that places higher value on their social media following over their 401k balance... adding over the top effects to photos & video, finishing texts with language models, etc. There was some cool technical abilities shown, but not for me. I don't need my portrait looking like some 90's Nickelodeon aesthetic.
-It's bonkers how huge Samsung tablets are... like... why? And why are they 16:9 aspect ratio? It feels like you are carrying around a skateboard. I would just get a laptop, honestly. Not for me. If someone can fill me in on what Galaxy tablets do better than iPads, that would be appreciated. Do they support hardware video in for desktop PCs or something? Is that why they are huge?
-Samsung Dex makes me disappointed in Apple. That's my favorite feature of Samsung devices. I know iPads are there now, but I really wish iPhones had this capability. Just plug into any monitor and have a desktop experience with all your files, apps, etc.
-I can only compare my Apple Watch Ultra as it's what I use daily, but the Galaxy watches feel incredibly cheap compared to it... The Galaxy Ultra feels like a plastic toy compared to it. You can do a lot more with it, and the software looks nice, but my wife and I both agreed that the Apple Watch was the superior feeling product, and for something on my wrist all day everyday, that I wear to board rooms for my career, swimming in the mediterranean, and hiking up in icelandic mountains... I'll take the Apple Watch any day.
