Technologies

Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Other Samsung Gadgets to Look for in 2023

If history is any indication, Samsung may have new foldable phones and wearables in its pipeline for 2023.

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The Galaxy S23 launch may be far behind us, but Samsung likely has plenty more to announce in 2023. That’s if history repeats itself. Should Samsung stick to its annual routine, we can expect to see new foldable phones and wearable devices in August. The company also previewed new designs for bendable phones and tablets earlier this year, hinting that the company may be planning to expand beyond the Z Fold and Z Flip in the near future.

Though Samsung regularly releases new products across many categories, including TVs, home appliances and monitors, I’m most interested in where its mobile devices are headed. Samsung is one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers by market share, meaning it has more influence than most other tech companies on the devices we carry in our pockets each day. Wearables have also become a large part of how Samsung intends to differentiate its phones from those of other Android device makers. It’s a strategy to create a web of products that keep people hooked, much like Apple’s range of devices.

Here are the rumored Samsung products I’m most excited to see this year, based on rumors, leaks and the company’s usual product launch schedule.

Galaxy Z Fold 5

A Galaxy Z Fold 4 on a yellow couch — The Galaxy Z Fold 4

Patrick Holland/CNET

Samsung’s next phone-tablet hybrid will likely support the S Pen just like the current version. But the question is whether the S Pen will be included with the device, or if Samsung will continue to sell it separately.

A report from The Elec suggested the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could be the first to have an embedded S Pen. That not only means the stylus would be included free of charge, but the phone would also include a slot for storing it, just like on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra. If you want to use an S Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, you have to purchase it separately, and there’s no mechanism for attaching it to or storing it in the phone without buying a case.

It’s a seemingly small addition, but one that could make the Galaxy Z Fold 5 much more useful as a productivity device. It would also give the Galaxy Z Fold 5 a clearer purpose and could boost its appeal among early adopters, artists and notetakers. Samsung could target the same audience of shoppers that’s usually interested in the Galaxy Ultra or its previous Galaxy Note devices.

But a more recent report from ET News indicates the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will not include a storage slot for the S Pen.

Among the biggest changes, however, is expected to be a new hinge that could result in a thinner design. Korean news outlets The Elec and ET News, as well as prolific leaker Ice Universe, have reported that Samsung will implement a new water-drop-shaped hinge for the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Samsung typically releases new foldable phones in August, so we expect to hear more around that time frame. In addition to the rumors around an included S Pen, the Z Fold 5 will likely have the routine upgrades to the processor and camera. What I’m really hoping for, however, is new software that makes better use of the phone’s giant screen, along with a foldable display with a less noticeable crease. That’s especially true now that Google has announced the Pixel Fold, giving the Galaxy Z Fold some fresh competition.

Galaxy Z Flip 5

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 closed in someone's hand — The cover screen is identical to the one on the Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Patrick Holland/CNET

Samsung’s pocket-friendly foldable will also likely get an upgrade around August, just like the expected Z Fold 5. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 already gets a lot of things right, and it’s one of the most practical and affordable foldable phones available. Yet there are plenty of ways Samsung can and should improve the Z Flip. Samsung’s flip phone could benefit from a larger cover screen, longer battery life and an upgraded camera that brings it closer to those found on the Galaxy S series, for example.

But the biggest reason I’m interested in seeing what’s next for the Z Flip is because of its price. The phone starts at $1,000 and is often available for less with an eligible trade-in, making the price similar to that of a standard, non-foldable premium phone. Samsung also kept the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in its lineup and dropped its price by $100 following the Z Flip 4’s launch. That further suggests the Z Flip is shaping up to be Samsung’s more affordable foldable phone option.

A Galaxy Z Flip 5 with a newer processor, better camera and larger cover screen for the same price as the Z Flip 4 (or perhaps a little cheaper) could be one of the most compelling foldables yet.

Galaxy Buds 3

Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 — Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2

Lexy Savvides/CNET

If Samsung’s history is any indication, the Galaxy Buds 3 could arrive this August. Samsung released the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in August 2022 while the standard Galaxy Buds 2 launched in August 2021. That timeline suggests Samsung’s regular, non-Pro earbuds may be due for an upgrade.

We haven’t seen many leaks about upcoming Galaxy Buds yet. However, given that the regular Galaxy Buds are meant to be a more affordable alternative to the Pro model, we can probably expect them to cost significantly less than the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Those earbuds are usually priced at $229 compared to the $150 Galaxy Buds 2. Although we don’t know what to expect, the Buds 3 could benefit from better water resistance and noise cancellation.

Galaxy VR headset

Samsung Gear VR 2017 — A photo of Samsung’s Gear VR headset, which required a smartphone to work, from 2017.

Sarah Tew/CNET

It’s already shaping up to be a big year for virtual and augmented reality headsets. Apple is expected to introduce a VR headset, and the PlayStation VR 2 just arrived in February. Samsung has been surprisingly absent from the VR space in recent years, but that could change soon.

Samsung announced in February that it’s working with Qualcomm and Google on a new mixed-reality platform. The company did not mention whether any specific products are in development, nor did it provide a timeline for future mixed-reality hardware or services.

«It’s more of a declarative announcement about how we are going to get it right in trying to build the XR ecosystem,» TM Roh, president of Samsung’s mobile division, said through a translator in an interview with CNET ahead of the announcement.

The reveal comes after a report from ETNews suggested Samsung would release an extended-reality headset for developers in 2023, according to an English translation of the story.

Since there aren’t many details, it’s difficult to know what to expect. But Sameer Samat, Google’s vice president of product management for Android, said during Google I/O 2023 that the company will share more about its «immersive XR» partnership later this year.

A new type of Galaxy foldable

Samsung showcased its display concepts at CES 2023.

David Katzmaier/CNET

Samsung hasn’t mentioned plans for future foldables beyond the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip series, but it certainly has plenty of ideas to choose from. At CES 2023, Samsung showcased its line of «Flex» display concepts, including the appropriately named Flex Hybrid. That device has a foldable, tablet-size screen that extends by sliding out when opened to provide even more screen space.

The Flex Hybrid caught my eye, though, because I can understand the potential behind foldable tablets. Tablets are inherently larger than phones, so the ability to make them more portable by folding them in half seems more necessary. Tablets are also usually used as secondary devices for tasks like watching movies, reading, or getting work done. Having a display that could morph to fit different circumstances seems interesting.

Samsung also showed off some concepts as part of SID Display Week in May, including the Rollable Flex, which expands up to five times its length when unfolded.

It’s unclear whether any of these will graduate into real products. But it’s important to remember the Galaxy Z Fold started as a concept, too.

Galaxy Watch 6

The Galaxy Watch 5 on someone's wrist with a yellow background — The Galaxy Watch 5

Lexy Savvides/CNET

Samsung hasn’t said much about its future smartwatch plans, aside from revealing that its new One UI 5 Watch software will debut on new watches later this year. There also haven’t been many leaks or rumors about the Galaxy Watch 6 yet. But if the company follows its usual schedule, we should see new Galaxy Watches in August.

One of the few leaks to have surfaced so far comes from a well-known leaker who goes by the Twitter avatar Ice Universe, who says the beloved rotating bezel will return to the high-end version of the Galaxy Watch 6. Otherwise, the upcoming watches will likely have the same health sensors found in the Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro, which include those for measuring body composition, blood oxygen and taking an ECG among others. There’s also a skin temperature sensor that still isn’t active yet in the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro.

Samsung’s Exynos W920 chip that powers the Galaxy Watch 5, enabled better performance for 3D graphics like emoji avatars and faster app launches. It’s unclear whether Samsung will develop a new chip for the Galaxy Watch 6, but I hope to see longer battery life regardless. Since Apple and Qualcomm have both made efforts to expand the functionality of smartwatches in low-power mode, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Samsung take this route, too.

Samsung is already experimenting with different opportunities for its wearables and phones to work together in new ways. For example, it recently announced a software update for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro that will enable the buds to capture 360-degree audio when recording video with a Galaxy phone. It also expanded the Camera Controller app for the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 to include zooming support. Hopefully we’ll see more of this with the Galaxy Watch 6.

We’ll know more about Samsung’s future plans as August gets closer. But if Samsung’s 2023 launch cycle is anything like last year’s, we can expect to see new foldables and more.

Technologies

I’ve Seen It With My Own Eyes: The Robots Are Here and Walking Among Us

The «physical AI» boom has created a world of opportunity for robot makers, and they’re not holding back.

It’s been 24 years since CNET first published an article with the headline The robots are coming. It’s a phrase I’ve repeated in my own writing over the years — mostly in jest. But now in 2026, for the first time, I feel confident in declaring that the robots have finally arrived.

I kicked off this year, as I often do, wandering the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and its hotel-based outposts on the lookout for the technology set to define the next 12 months. CES has always been a hotbed of activity for robots, but more often than not, a robot that makes a flashy Vegas debut doesn’t go on to have a rich, meaningful career in the wider world.

In fact, as cute as they often are and as fun as they can be to interact with on the show floor, most robots I’ve seen at CES over the years amount to little more than gimmicks. They either come back year after year with no notable improvements or are never seen or heard from again.

In more than a decade of covering the show, I’ve been waiting for a shift to occur. In 2026, I finally witnessed it. From Hyundai unveiling the final product version of the Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robot in its press conference to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s focus on «physical AI» during his keynote, a sea change was evident this year in how people were talking about robots.

«We’ve had this dream of having robots everywhere for decades and decades,» Rev Lebaredian, Nvidia’s vice president of Omniverse and simulation told me on the sidelines of the chipmaker’s vast exhibition at the glamorous Fontainebleau Hotel. «It’s been in sci-fi as long as we can remember.»

Throughout the show, I felt like I was watching that sci-fi vision come to life. Everywhere I went, I was stumbling upon robot demos (some of which will be entering the market this year) drawing crowds, like the people lining up outside Hyundai’s booth to see the new Atlas in action.

So what’s changed? Until now, «we didn’t have the technology to create the brain of a robot,» Lebaredian said.

AI has unlocked our ability to apply algorithms to language, and it’s being applied to the physical world, changing everything for robots and those who make them.

The physical AI revolution

What truly makes a robot a robot? Rewind to CES 2017: I spent my time at the show asking every robotics expert that question, sparked by the proliferation of autonomous vehicles, drones and intelligent smart home devices.

This exercise predated the emergence of generative AI and models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but already I could see that by integrating voice assistants into their products, companies were beginning to blur the boundaries of what could be considered robotics.

Not only has the tech evolved since that time, but so has the language we use to talk about it. At CES 2026, the main topic of conversation seemed to be «physical AI.» It’s an umbrella term that can encompass everything from self-driving cars to robots.

«If you have any physical embodiments, where AI is not only used to perceive the environment, but actually to take decisions and actions that interact with the environment around it … then it’s physical AI,» Ahmed Sadek, head of physical AI and vice president of engineering at chipmaker Qualcomm told me.

Autonomous vehicles have been the easiest expression of physical AI to build so far, according to Lebaredian, simply because their main challenge is to dodge objects rather than interact with them. «Avoiding touching things is a lot easier than manipulating things,» he said.

Still, the development of self-driving vehicles has done much of the heavy lifting on the hardware, setting the stage for robot development to accelerate at a rapid pace now that the software required to build a brain is catching up.

For Nvidia, which worked on the new Atlas robot with Boston Dynamics, and Qualcomm, which announced its latest robotics platform at CES, these developments present a huge opportunity.

But that opportunity also extends to start-ups. Featured prominently at the CES 2026 booth of German automotive company Schaeffler was the year-and-a-half-old British company Humanoid, demonstrating the capabilities of its robot HMND 01.

The wheeled robot was built in just seven months Artem Sokolov, Humanoid’s CEO, told me, as we watch it sort car parts with its pincerlike hands. «We built our bipedal one for service and household much faster — in five months,» Sokolov added.

Humanoid’s speed can be accounted for by the AI boom plus an influx of talent recruited from top robotics companies, said Sokolov. The company has already signed around 25,000 preorders for HMND 01 and completed pilots with six Fortune 500 companies, he said.

This momentum extends to the next generation of Humanoid’s robots, where Sokolov doesn’t foresee any real bottlenecks. The main factors dictating the pace will be improvements in AI models and making the hardware more reliable and cost effective.

Humanoid hype hits its peak

Humanoid the company might have the rights to the name, but the concept of humanoids is a wider domain.

By the end of last year, the commercialization of humanoid robots had entered an «explosive phase of growth,» with a 508% year-on-year increase in global market revenue to $440 million, according to a report released by IDC this month.

At CES, Qualcomm’s robot demonstration showed how its latest platform could be adapted across different forms, including a robotic arm that could assemble a sandwich. But it was the humanoids at its booth that caused everyone to pull out their phones and start filming.

«Our vision is that if you have any embodiment, any mechatronic system, our platform should be able to transform it to a continuously learning intelligent robot,» said Qualcomm’s Sadek. But, he added, the major benefit of the humanoid form is its «flexibility.»

Some in the robotics world have criticized the focus on humanoids, due to their replication of our own limitations. It’s a notion that Lebaredian disagrees with, pointing out that we’ve designed our world around us and that robots need to be able to operate within it.

«There are many tasks that are dull, dangerous and dirty — they call it the three Ds — that are being done by humans today, that we have labor shortages for and that this technology can potentially go help us with,» he said.

We already have many specialist robots working in factories around the world, Lebaredian added. With their combination of arms, legs and mobility, humanoids are «largely a superset of all of the other kinds of robots» and, as such, are perfect for the more general-purpose work we need help with.

The hype around robots — and humanoids in particular — at CES this year felt intense. Even Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter acknowledged this in a Q&A with reporters moments after he unveiled the new Atlas on stage.

But it’s not just hype, Playter insisted, because Boston Dynamics is already demonstrating that they can put thousands of robots in the market. «That is not an indication of a hype cycle, but actually an indication of an emerging industry,» he said.

A huge amount of money is being poured into a rapidly growing number of robotics start-ups. The rate of this investment is a signal that the tech is ready to go, according to Nvidia’s Lebaredian.

«It’s because, fundamentally, the experts, people who understand this stuff, now believe, technically, it’s all possible,» he said. «We’ve switched from a scientific problem of discovery to an engineering problem.»

Robot evolution: From industry to home

From what I observed at the show, this engineering «problem» is one that many companies have already solved. Robots such as Atlas and HMND 01 have crossed the threshold from prototype to factory ready. The question for many of us will be as to when will these robots be ready for our homes.

Playter has openly talked about Boston Dynamics’ ambitions in this regard. He sees Atlas evolving into a home robot — but not yet. Some newer entrants to the robotics market — 1X, Sunday Robotics and Humanoid among them — are keen to get their robots into people’s homes in the next couple of years. Playter cautions against this approach.

«Companies are advertising that they want to go right to the home,» he said. «We think that’s the wrong strategy.»

The reasons he listed are twofold: pricing and safety. Playter echoed a sentiment I’ve heard elsewhere: that the first real use for home humanoid robots will be to carry out care duties for disabled and elderly populations. Perhaps in 20 years, you will have a robot carry you in and out of bed, but relying on one to do so when you’re in a vulnerable state poses «critical safety issue,» he said.

Putting robots in factories first allows people to work closely with them while keeping a safe distance, allowing those safety kinks to be ironed out. The deployment of robots at scale in industrial settings will also lead to mass manufacturing of components that will, at some point, make robots affordable for the rest of us, said Playter (unlike 1X’s $20,000 Neo robot, for example).

Still, he imagines the business model will be «robots as a service,» even when they do first enter our homes. Elder care itself is a big industry with real money being spent that could present Boston Dynamics with a market opportunity as Atlas takes its first steps beyond the factory floor.

«I spent a lot of money … with my mom in specialty care the last few years,» he said. «Having robots that can preserve autonomy and dignity at home, I think people will actually spend money — maybe $20K a year.»

The first «care» robots are more likely to be companion robots. This year at the CES, Tombot announced that its robotic labrador, Jennie, who first charmed me back at the show in 2020, is finally ready to go on sale. It served as yet another signal to me that the robots are ready to lead lives beyond the convention center walls.

Unlike in previous years, I left Vegas confident that I’ll be seeing more of this year’s cohort of CES robots in the future. Maybe not in my home just yet, but it’s time to prepare for a world in which robots will increasingly walk among us.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 29, #1685

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 29, No. 1,685.

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 was a tough one for me. I never seem to guess three of the letters in this word. 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.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel and one sometimes vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with F.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with Y.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a pastry that breaks apart easily.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is FLAKY.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 28, No. 1684 was CRUEL.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 24, No. 1680: CLIFF

Jan. 25, No. 1681: STRUT

Jan. 26, No. 1682: FREAK

Jan. 27, No. 1683: DUSKY

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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 29 #697

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 29, No. 697.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a bit of a puzzler until you realize the theme. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Talk of the town.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: What a legend.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

ROIL, CLAIM, RARE, HELP, PEAR, PEARS, MORE, COIN, SPEAR, SPEARS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: