Latest Andru Edwards Videos
Samsung Sold More Phones Than Ever and Still Lost Money
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News,
Here's a sentence that shouldn't make sense. Samsung sold plenty of phones last quarter, grew its mobile revenue year over year, and still managed to lose money doing it.
The number is 800 billion won, roughly $544 million, and it's the first operating loss Samsung's DX division has ever posted. DX is the half of the company that makes things you actually buy: phones, TVs, appliances. The loss came almost entirely from the mobile side. And the reason is the one everybody in tech has been bracing for since last year. Memory got expensive.
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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Is Samsung’s Best Foldable, and Its Own Worst Enemy
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Product Reviews,
Ultra is supposed to be the word that ends the argument. It's the phone you reach for once you've decided money is no longer the point, the one with the biggest battery, the longest zoom, the most of everything. So here's the strange thing about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: after a couple of hours holding it, the device that kept nagging at me was the cheaper one sitting right next to it on the table.
Don't get me wrong, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is a genuinely lovely piece of hardware. But Samsung has quietly built itself a problem. For the first time there's a standard Z Fold 8 and an Ultra sitting side by side, and the roughly $200 you pay to move up buys you less than you'd expect. Working out whether that gap is worth it is the whole story of this phone.
Samsung Is Betting Titanium Can Finally Flatten the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s Crease
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Design, Displays,
Every foldable phone comes with an asterisk, and it sits right in the middle of the screen. The crease. That soft valley where the display bends has been the one thing keeping foldables from feeling like the future they keep promising to be, the little dip your thumb finds every time you scroll. Samsung has spent seven generations trying to make it go away. With the Galaxy Z Fold 8, the company says it finally has a real answer, and its name is titanium.
Ahead of its July 22 Unpacked event, Samsung revealed a new display technology it’s calling Flex Titanium, built to flatten the crease on the Z Fold 8 and the higher-end Z Fold 8 Ultra. Notice the careful wording, though: Samsung is promising “reduced crease visibility,” not a crease that’s gone for good. That gap between “better” and “invisible” is the whole story here, so it’s worth understanding what the titanium is actually doing inside the phone.
The OPPO Find X9 Ultra Is a Warning Shot to Every Flagship (Video)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Product Reviews, Videos,
Every flagship phone has a compromise, but the OPPO Find X9 Ultra makes that compromise surprisingly hard to find. This is OPPO’s first Ultra model launching globally, and it arrives with the kind of hardware that makes the usual Samsung, Apple, and Google playbook feel a little too safe. A massive camera system, a 7,050 mAh silicon carbon battery, 100W charging, a 144Hz AMOLED display, and Hasselblad tuning all come together in a phone that feels more like a camera with apps than a phone with a good camera.
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Xiaomi 17 Review: The Compact Flagship That Forgot to Act Small
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Product Reviews,
The global Xiaomi 17 arrives in a market where “small phone” usually means “some compromises included.” Smaller battery. Smaller camera ambition. Smaller sense of occasion. Xiaomi clearly did not get that memo. This thing shows up with a 6.3-inch display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, three 50-megapixel rear cameras, and a 6,330mAh silicon-carbon battery, all in a body that still reads as compact by 2026 standards. It launched globally on February 28, starting at €999 and £899, which puts it directly in the ring with Samsung, Google, and Apple’s smaller flagships.
And that is the whole story of the Xiaomi 17. It is not trying to be the weird one in the lineup. It is not the camera monster, and it does not have the Ultra’s headline-grabbing hardware. It is the phone for people who want a top-tier Android device that still fits in a real pocket, and according to multiple reviews, it mostly nails that brief. The consensus is simple: excellent battery life, strong overall camera performance, a great display, and the usual Xiaomi software mess that stops the whole thing from feeling truly effortless.
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Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Long-Term Review: Still Worth It?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Product Reviews, Videos,
Imagine a phone so thin it rivals the latest iPad Pro, yet it's packed with Google's AI smarts and folds seamlessly in half. That’s the Pixel 9 Pro Fold—a cutting-edge device that redefines elegance and functionality in the foldable smartphone market. But does its second iteration live up to expectations? Let’s dive in and explore everything that makes this device stand out, from its impossibly slim design to its powerful AI integration.
Ultra-Slim Hardware That’s a Marvel of Engineering
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. At just 0.2 inches thick when opened, it’s one of the slimmest smartphones ever created, rivaling the thinness of the iPad Pro. Google achieved this feat with ingenious engineering, particularly the hinge mechanism. This hinge folds completely flat, ensuring smooth transitions between phone and tablet modes. It’s a small but impactful detail that enhances everyday usability.
Weighing in at 9.1 ounces, the device strikes a perfect balance between portability and durability. While it’s not the lightest foldable on the market, the weight distribution makes it feel sturdy and premium in hand. If you’ve ever struggled with a clunky foldable, you’ll appreciate the sleekness that Google has achieved here.
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iPhone 16e Review: Apple Just Killed the Budget iPhone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Product Reviews, Videos,
The days of a truly budget-friendly iPhone are over. With the launch of the iPhone 16E, Apple has redefined its entry-level iPhone lineup - but at a higher starting price of $599. The question is, does this new model deliver enough value to justify the cost, or are there better options available? Let’s break it all down.
Unboxing the iPhone 16e: What’s Inside?
If you’re familiar with Apple’s minimalist approach, you already know what to expect. The iPhone 16e comes in a slim box containing the phone itself, a braided USB-C cable (marking the end of the Lightning port), and eSIM setup instructions - no SIM ejector tool, charger, or wired headphones included.
Apple also introduced five silicone case options for the iPhone 16e: lake green, fuchsia, winter blue, white, and black. While the cases add some flair to the otherwise basic black and white phone options, neither the cases nor the phone support MagSafe, which is a notable omission.
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Apple’s C1 Modem: The Silent Revolution Inside the iPhone 16e
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Videos,
Every iPhone launch brings the usual fanfare - new cameras, brighter screens, and the inevitable comparison charts. But this year, Apple made a quiet yet monumental move: introducing the C1 modem inside the iPhone 16e. This is Apple’s first in-house modem chip, a shift that could redefine how iPhones connect to the world, just as Apple Silicon did for processing power.
Why Modems Matter More Than You Think
The modem is one of the most crucial components in any smartphone. It’s the bridge between your phone and the world, translating signals from cell towers into the data that powers your web browsing, video streaming, and even your voice calls. A great modem means faster speeds, better battery efficiency, and a smoother experience when networks get congested. Apple knows this, which is why the move to develop its own modem is such a big deal.
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How iPhone Thieves Can Ruin Your Digital Life in Minutes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Videos,
Imagine this: You’re at a bar with your friends, enjoying a drink and chatting. You take out your iPhone to check something and enter your passcode. You don’t notice the person behind you who’s watching your every move and memorizing your passcode. A few minutes later, they snatch your iPhone from your hand and run away.
You might think that’s bad enough, but it gets worse. Within minutes, the thief has used your passcode to gain access to your iPhone and change your Apple ID password, which enables them to disable Find My, make purchases using Apple Pay, gain access to passwords stored in iCloud Keychain, and scan through Photos for pictures of documents that contain a Social Security number or other details that could be used for identity theft.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. It’s a real threat that has been happening across the US. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern has been hearing from victims who have lost thousands of dollars and their entire digital lives after their iPhones were stolen with the thieves obtaining their passcodes.
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A Deep-Dive Conversation with Samsung about Powering the Future of Innovation
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Features, Transportation, Videos, Wireless / WiFi,
I had the opportunity to sit down with Jim Elliott, Corporate Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. at Samsung Tech Day last October. He runs Memory sales and marketing at Samsung’s North America Semiconductor subsidiary. We talked about how Samsung Semiconductor's technology is ushering the future of artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, super-fast 5G wireless networks, and more. Talking to Jim, it became clear that we're on the cusp of some major technological advancements that will drive forward a new age of innovation. This is similar to what we saw when 4G enabled us to carry devices in our pockets that let us order cars directly to our precise location, stream music and videos no matter where we happen to be, and the ability to post content to social networks for anyone to read or watch. So the question becomes, what's next?