What you should know about the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5

Hello there, welcome to another round of Global tech roundup; this instalment features foldable phones.

Samsung this week unveiled a range of new products at the Samsung Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea. The company introduced two new foldable smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Fold 5.

There have been reports of users abandoning the Threads app after initially joining it upon its launch. To improve the user experience and retain users, Threads, which Meta owns, has introduced new features. Recently, the platform launched a “Following” tab and other features.

TikTok has introduced an option to make posts in text on the platform. This unique format lets creators generate text-based content, giving up more opportunities for sharing ideas and exhibiting creativity.

Shopify, the eCommerce giant, announced this week that it now offers Shopify Credit, a business credit card designed exclusively for merchants.

We will bring you details of these news items and more on this week’s global roundup. Here is a summary of the bulletin

• 7 things to know about the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Z series
• Threads launches the “Following” tab and other new features
• TikTok introduces the option to make posts in text
• Shopify launches credit cards for merchants
• Netflix launches “My Netflix”

Read also: Here are the iOS 17 features Apple didn’t announce onstage

What you should know about the Samsung Galaxy Z series

Samsung is at the forefront of foldable smartphone technology, and it took almost half a decade for the competition to catch up with the Korean tech giant. 2023 is proving to be a year of revelation, as major Android OEMs are jumping on the fold and flip bandwagon, making foldable phones mainstream by making them accessible.

Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled and released two new additions to their range of foldable smartphones – the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5. Additionally, there have been some noteworthy updates to the Flip 4 and Fold 4 models, along with some new features you should be aware of.

The latest model of the Flip series, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, brings significant changes. Most notable is a larger external display measuring 3.4 inches, known as the Flex Window. This cover screen gives you a better feel of the experience you have on your Galaxy Watch’s user interface.

The phone’s performance is driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, which promises improvements in overall performance, battery efficiency, and low-light photography compared to the Flip 4, which uses the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1.

One of the most notable changes with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is its new Flex Hinge, effectively eliminating the gap seen with the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

Generally, the Fold 5 is slightly thinner and lighter than the Fold 4. The weight has dropped from 9.28oz to 8.92oz, while the slimmest point on the Fold 5 is just 0.53 inches. The main design change—long-awaited—is a new hinge that lets the device close flat. It helps to give the phone a much more polished look.

Samsung made a few changes to the camera setup on the Fold 5, and you get the same lenses whether you buy the new model or the outgoing Fold 4.

There’s a rear triple camera system and two other selfie cameras (one on the inner display and the other on the cover screen). The Z Fold 5 ships in Icy Blue, Phantom Black, Cream Gray, and Blue colours, while the Z Fold 4 sells in Graygreen, Phantom Black, Burgundy, and Beige.

Go deeper with this article.

Threads launches the “Following” tab

Meta has copied its competitors’ features before, and it was particularly successful in cloning Snapchat’s Stories—posts that disappear after a day—and integrating it primarily on Instagram and later on WhatsApp. It found similar success replicating TikTok’s vertically scrolling video feed with Reels, also chiefly integrated into Instagram, but failed to draw users away from TikTok.

But in both cases, Meta chose to integrate these copycats as features within their existing apps rather than build a new one. Threads faces more challenges as a standalone app, one of which is to keep users glued to the platform rather than go back to Twitter, which is the original, as reports suggest that over 50% of its users have dropped the platform already, a few weeks after trooping there.

However, to retain users, the platform launched a highly requested new feature Tuesday: a “Following” tab. The new tab allows users to see chronological posts from people they follow instead of the less cohesive, algorithmically curated content in the “For you” feed.

Meta said Tuesday that the Threads update will also allow users to sort their “Activity” feed by follows, quotes and reposts, allowing people to see their liked posts in their settings and translate specific posts that appear in a different language. Meta said it is working to deliver new features to Threads as quickly as possible.

TikTok introduces the option to make posts in text

TikTok, the popular social media platform, has introduced the option to make posts in text on the platform. This unique format lets creators generate text-based content, giving up more opportunities for sharing ideas and exhibiting creativity.

This new feature intends to push the frontiers of TikTok content creation by creating a dedicated space for the written creativity seen in comments, captions, and videos. TikTok users now have three alternative ways to express themselves -photos, videos, or text.

Before this extension, content creators could develop a wide range of content, including LIVE videos, photographs, Duets, and Stitches. On the other hand, as a new format, text allows creators to contribute their narratives, poems, recipes, and other textual content, providing them with another strong outlet for self-expression.

This move follows on the heels of the company’s other significant announcement: the launch of “TikTok Music,” a subscription-only music streaming service. TikTok Music, which was initially introduced in Brazil and Indonesia, allows users to connect the service with their existing TikTok accounts, allowing them to listen, download, and share songs seamlessly. Read more here.

Shopify launches credit cards for merchants

Shopify has entered the credit card game with the latest launch of its credit card. The commerce giant announced this week that it offers Shopify Credit, a business credit card designed exclusively for merchants.

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said the new product marks Shopify’s first pay-in-full business credit card. Stripe powers it, and it is issued by the Celtic Bank “and accepted everywhere Visa is,” he added.

“We designed Credit with the reality of an entrepreneur in mind. We recognized that having smooth cash flow is important for business owners, and as a business matures, entrepreneurs may find themselves looking for a credit line to maximize their working capital for expected (and unexpected) expenses,” Finkelstein told TechCrunch via email. 

It’s not the first time Shopify has teamed up with Stripe. The two companies have been partnered for nearly a decade, and Shopify also works with the company to power Shopify Payments and Shopify Balance, a money management account.

Netflix launches “My Netflix”

Netflix launched today a new shortcut option for mobile users who want to find their favourite and need-to-watch titles quickly. Dubbed “My Netflix,” the feature acts as a dedicated space for recently watched movies and TV shows, downloaded titles, trailers, reminders for upcoming titles, liked (thumbs up) titles, “Continue Watching,” the “My List” section and more, TechCrunch reports.

“My Netflix” is replacing the “Downloads” tab located at the bottom-right corner of the screen, the company says.

The new feature allows viewers to easily access all the series and movies they want to watch in one place. Plus, it’s our opinion that the location of My List on the home screen is way too far down and takes a lot of scrolling to find it. Going to the “My Netflix” tab could cut back time on endless swiping and browsing Netflix’s huge library of titles.

“Keep in mind that the more you interact with and tell Netflix what you like, such as saving more action-thrillers like ‘Extraction 2’ to My List or giving a thumbs up to every season of ‘Bridgerton,’ the more you’ll see on the My Netflix tab,” Netflix noted in today’s blog.

The new destination is available on iOS devices starting today and will roll out on Android devices in early August.