Technologies

Samsung’s Flip Phone Concept Gives You a Dual-Folding Experience

Samsung’s Flex In & Out Flip concept is like a Galaxy Z Flip you can fold in both directions.

At CES 2024, I watched a Samsung representative open the shiny Flex In & Out Flip concept device and fold it in both directions. Unlike the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and other flip phones you can buy today, it folds completely backwards so that you use the phone’s 6.7-inch screen even when the device is shut.

I wasn’t allowed to bend the Flex In & Out Flip concept device myself, but it’s a standout concept from Samsung’s Display team that could provide a glimpse at where foldables are heading. Samsung Display’s entire booth was full of foldable concepts in all shapes and sizes, and it’s all part of an ongoing effort to make devices that roll, flex, bend, fold fit more interestingly into our lives.

When the Flex In & Out Flip is bent backwards, one side of the device is shorter than the other, to avoid covering the camera. The larger side was big enough to show several icons in the phone’s quick settings menu, media playback controls and the time and battery level. The phone was running a looped demo video rather than actual software, but the simulation still provided a sense of how the user interface would adapt to the phone’s movements.

Read more: The Most Eye-Catching Mobile Tech at CES 2024

The low-hanging fruit would be a more flexible Samsung Galaxy flip phone. That said, the Flex In & Out Flip is only a concept for now, so there’s no indication that the technology will ever show up in a real product just yet.

But it shows that Samsung may be thinking about ways to make its nearly 4-year-old flip phone line more versatile and potentially more useful. Samsung has shown concepts of its larger book-shaped Galaxy Z Fold-like design that can bend all the way backwards, but this is the first time it’s showing a flip phone with that capability publicly.

Read more: Best Flip Phones

Based on the limited time I’ve had to check out the concept so far, it seems like the biggest benefit would be having one screen that can be used consistently whether the device is opened or closed. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a reasonably large external screen, making it much more useful for using apps and reading notifications than the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and other older models. But since it’s a separate screen, you still have to customize it to your liking and choose which apps you’d like to use on it.

I’m curious about whether using the same screen on the inside and outside could provide a more consistent experience. However, since the Flex In & Out Flip is just a concept and not a product, who knows whether I’ll ever get that answer.

The company also says it’s tested the concept’s durability by folding it in extreme temperatures ranging from -20 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius and bouncing basketballs on its foldable panels. Over the summer, CNET got a closer look at how Samsung tests the durability of its foldable phones on a visit to the company’s headquarters in South Korea.

Samsung also showed several other flexible and foldable display concepts during CES, including the Flex Liple, another flip phone prototype with a display that curves around its top edge. There was also the Rollable Flex, which can expand its screen up to five times in size by unraveling like a scroll, and the company also showed new high resolution displays for mixed reality headsets.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Motorola Razr Plus, which has a similarly spacious front screen, both show the promise of having a phone with a secondary screen that can fit in the palm of your hand. The Flex In & Out Flip concept, should it ever surface in a product, feels like it could be another step in that direction.

Samsung Concept Flip Phone Lets You Bend It in Both Directions

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Dec. 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 27.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s pretty long for a Mini Crossword, and some of the clues are tricky. The answer to 10-Across is not an expression I use, for sure. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Fashionable
Answer: HIP

4A clue: Product sold on «The Office»
Answer: PAPER

6A clue: One writing a performance review
Answer: MANAGER

8A clue: With 5-Down, redundant synonym of «outcome»
Answer: END

9A clue: Quiet ___ mouse
Answer: ASA

10A clue: Gives constant compliments, in slang
Answer: GASESUP

12A clue: Ski mountain bump
Answer: MOGUL

13A clue: Uneasy feeling
Answer: ANGST

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Personally involved
Answer: HANDSON

2D clue: Hoppy beer, for short
Answer: IPA

3D clue: Mythical horse whose name is an anagram of 10-Across
Answer: PEGASUS

4D clue: Last word in the palindromic sentence «A man, a plan, a canal …»
Answer: PANAMA

5D clue: See 8-Across
Answer: RESULT

6D clue: Ryan of «When Harry Met Sally …»
Answer: MEG

7D clue: Genre for Playboi Carti and Cardi B
Answer: RAP

11D clue: Something in an Easter basket
Answer: EGG

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 27, #460

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 27, No. 460.

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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a real challenge. That purple category wants you to hunt out something related in four different words, and it’s a toughie. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Something you save.

Green group hint: An Olympic sport.

Blue group hint: Toronto pitchers.

Purple group hint: Think about the alphabet and look for something hidden.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Memento.

Green group: Types of wrestling.

Blue group: Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award.

Purple group: Ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is memento. The four answers are collectible, keepsake, memorabilia and souvenir.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is types of wrestling. The four answers are arm, freestyle, Greco-Roman and sumo.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Blue Jays to win Cy Young Award. The four answers are Clemens, Halladay, Hentgen and Ray.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a homophone for a letter of the alphabet. The four answers are batter’s eye (I), blue jay (J), golf tee (T) and pool cue (Q).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 27, #1,652

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 27, No. 1,652.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle came together pretty quickly for me this time. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.