The S Pen was,indeed,picked up faster on the screen than on the Note10,making for a much better,smoother experience. The 50x zoom was pretty blurry,but 30X was roughly able to pick up the face of a person three blocks away not wearing a mask,so make of that what you will.
Also announced was the Galaxy Z Fold 2,which offers big improvements overthe original Fold,Samsung's creatively-named first attempt at a folding phone. The biggest improvements were made to the hinge (it has a better sweeper now to get debris out),though the internal display is a little bigger and the cover screen now is now full size.
There's no pricing or availability yet for the Z Fold 2,but it does address a lot of the complaints about the original model,even if it does still leave out a headphone jack and stylus.
The Tab S7 (from $1149) and S7+ (from $1549) are Samsung's latest tablets. This new version brings the tablet range in line with the internal tech in the Note,no longer a year behind the times at release like previous models were.
They contain a Snapdragon 865+ processor to give it more grunt,and the same S Pen improvements as the Note range. That combined with the better multitasking,and a partnership with Canva,means they actually seem like very decent tablets that are better placed to compete with Apple's iPad and Microsoft's Surface.
The most obvious thing about the new Galaxy Watch 3 (from $649) is that it's just pretty. It still has the rotating bezel,and the faces look fantastic. It features fall detection,sleep score,PowerPoint control,and top personal trainers are making exclusive workouts for the watch so people can workout at home during COVID. Other features include ECG and blood pressure monitoring,but they won't be available in Australia until the TGA approves them,which we're still waiting on with the Apple Watch (so don't hold your breath).
Elsewhere,it turns out beans truly are the musical fruit,because the brand new Galaxy Buds Live look exactly like beans. The Samsung spokesperson said they had been inspired by jewellery,but I've seen jewellery,and these are beans. What's so remarkable about these true wireless earbuds isn't the adaptive noise cancelling that you can turn on and off (though that is nice),but the lack of ear tips.
After spending some time with the Buds Live,I’ve come to really like a lot about them. It’s great that there are still companies experimenting with the shapes and possibilities of ear buds. In my right ear the bean fits perfectly,creating a reasonable seal,feeling secure,and conveying a reasonable quality of sound (particularly in the strong bass response). The active noise cancelling puts in a valiant effort,but without being in-ear it would never stand up to the rigors of having actual noise to cancel on a plane or public transport.
In my left ear,however,I would never be able to chew or move quickly with it in:that bean wants out. That’s frustrating because there’s no way to customise the fit of the Buds Live,and extra frustrating because every time I touch the left bud to adjust it,the music pauses. With this style of bud,they either fit or they don’t. And for $319,you’d want to be pretty confident they fit before purchasing them.
Everything except the Z Fold 2 is available for pre-order now,and will release on August 21.