Technologies

Samsung’s New Mobile Display Is a Different Kind of Flex — That Slides

Ahead of CES, Samsung previewed its Flex Hybrid concept technology with a foldable, slidable screen.

Mobile gadgets of the future should have the ability to fold, bend and slide, according to Samsung‘s vision. To convey this message, the company provided a small taste of its latest innovations in display designs, such as the slidable and foldable Flex Hybrid, at CES.

The new concept can switch between 10.5- and 12.4-inch screen sizes, thanks to its slidable and foldable design. The left side of the screen folds, while the right side slides. In addition to changing the screen’s size, the prototype can also jump between 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios. Although the Flex Hybrid is just a concept, it shows that Samsung is investigating what the next evolution of foldable phones and tablets might look like.

In a Jan. 3 press release, Samsung summarized its new display concepts, but the company plans to showcase the technologies during an exhibition this week at CES. The Flex Hybrid is just one of several mock-ups. There’s also a 17-inch slidable display, which was previewed in September, and a digital cockpit concept meant for self-driving vehicles.

Concepts like these don’t always translate into real products, but the Flex Hybrid feels most in line with Samsung’s current product strategy. Foldable phones only account for a sliver of the broader phone market, but the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip have become well-established within Samsung’s mobile device lineup. The company’s early entry into the foldable phone space has given it an edge in terms of market share as Samsung accounts for more than 88% of the foldable smartphone market, according to Omdia.

TM Roh, the head of Samsung’s mobile experience business, suggested in an interview last August that the company is already thinking about what’s next after the Z Fold and Z Flip. The introduction of new concepts like the Flex Hybrid underscores that point.

«It’s everything you saw [at CES] plus more,» he said, referencing the display concepts Samsung showcased at CES last year.

But Samsung will also likely face more competition as foldable phones continue to evolve. Motorola and TCL have both shown rollable phone concepts of their own. Oppo’s Find N2, which the company introduced in late 2022, also shows a lot of promise thanks to its lightweight design, as my colleague Sareena Dayaram wrote.

Although Samsung is trying to make foldables a more regular fixture in our daily lives, its goal isn’t to replace regular phones.

«I would not see either just a bar-type, or just a foldable, or just another potentially new form factor dominating the market,» Roh also said during the previous interview. «But rather I see the different categories coexisting together.»

Technologies

Waymo’s Driverless Vehicles Are Hitting Tokyo Streets. Here’s Everything to Know About the Robotaxi Service

Here’s where Waymo’s self-driving vehicles are available now — and where they’re arriving soon.

Technologies

Amazon Scrubs Wednesday Rocket Launch for Its Starlink Satellite Service Rival

The weather hampers Project Kuiper’s launch, and no new date has been scheduled for its first full-scale satellite launch.

Amazon will soon launch 27 low-Earth orbit satellites as part of its Project Kuiper. The original launch window was set for Wednesday between 7 and 9 p.m. ET (4 to 6 p.m. PT), but poor weather forced the rocket launch to be scrubbed for the day.

«Weather is observed and forecast NO GO for liftoff within the remaining launch window at Cape Canaveral this evening, according to Launch Weather Officer Brian Belson,» United Launch Alliance said in its live updates Wednesday night. «The stubborn cumulus clouds and persistent winds make liftoff not possible within the available window.»

There’s no word yet on when it’ll be rescheduled, but there’s a mission page for updates on the launch and plans to livestream the takeoff. You can watch the rocket launch live on that page or YouTube.

The launch mission, KA-01 or Kuiper Atlas 1, will be on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

It’ll be a big step forward for the project, which Amazon announced in 2019 with promises of a $10 billion investment. Now the company is poised to enter the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon’s plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year.

More competition will improve internet services

The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other companies such as Viasat, Hughesnet, Eutelsat and China’s SpaceSail, could mean more internet service availability in far-flung and rural areas with limited broadband options. Though Starlink is the leader in space, some of these other companies are continuing to launch satellites and working to deploy high-speed internet in more markets, such as Brazil. With more players in the market, that could mean faster and cheaper internet in more areas, although whether that actually bears out for consumers remains to be seen.

Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research and adjunct professor at the Department of Computer Science at USC, said Amazon is well poised to compete with Starlink. «Amazon has made extensive launch agreements with major providers such as ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX itself, positioning Kuiper as a major challenger due to its expansive infrastructure and significant resources.»

He said, «While Starlink currently enjoys clear market leadership, it faces increasing competition from well-capitalized and strategically agile competitors, specifically from China, suggesting the market will become considerably more competitive in the near future.»

So far, Eslamimehr said, Amazon’s satellite efforts have been promising and successful, at least in the prototype stages. The company has also been testing Amazon Web Services in space. «These developments collectively underscore Amazon’s robust entry into the satellite internet market and reflect positive early momentum in its overall space strategy.»

Beyond how it fares against Starlink and other companies, the Amazon satellite launches are significant in other ways. Eslamimehr said, «Project Kuiper isn’t just about competition; it’s positioned as a critical step toward closing the global digital divide, promising to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.»

Correction, April 4: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the USC professor and Quandary Peak Research executive vice president. His name is Mahdi Eslamimehr.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 10, #199

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 199, for April 10.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. But if you’re tuned in to a specific tournament happening this week, the blue category should be easy for you. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Whoops!

Green group hint: Hut-hut!

Blue group hint: Fore!

Purple group hint: More than two.