005930.KS - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
| Previous Close | 56,500.00 |
| Open | 56,300.00 |
| Bid | 56,000.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 56,100.00 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 55,500.00 - 56,900.00 |
| 52 Week Range | 40,850.00 - 62,800.00 |
| Volume | 17,028,497 |
| Avg. Volume | 13,715,674 |
| Market Cap | 373.66T |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 0.94 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | N/A |
| Earnings Date | Apr 28, 2020 - May 05, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 1,416.00 (2.45%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Dec 27, 2019 |
| 1y Target Est | 54,903.00 |
- Engadget
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review
- Financial Times
Coronavirus disruption at Samsung could threaten S Korea economy
Weeks after the coronavirus first swept through China, causing widespread disruption to some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, the deadly disease is now threatening to wreak havoc on South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. South Korea, a country of 51m people, has been shaken as the number of confirmed cases skyrocketed to over 1,500 from fewer than 50 just days earlier. , South Korea’s most important company — the world’s biggest producer of smartphones and computer chips — is now facing the prospect of sudden and potentially damaging disruption.
- MarketWatch
China factories struggle to get back online amid virus outbreak
Factories that make the world’s smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled China’s economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal.
- Reuters
Samsung Electronics says UK website error exposed data of 150 customers
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday a "technical error" on its U.K. website temporarily exposed the personal data of about 150 users. The South Korean manufacturer said it stopped all users logging into the site after it became aware of the error, which it said has since been resolved and only affected the U.K. Samsung did not say for how long the data was exposed.
- Bloomberg
Tesla’s Autopilot, Cell Phone Use Blamed in 2018 Fatal Crash
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. crash investigators faulted Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot system and the driver’s distraction by a mobile device for a fatal accident in 2018 and called on Apple Inc. and other mobile phone makers to do more to keep motorists’ attention on the road.Tesla was heavily criticized for not doing enough to keep drivers from using its driver-assist function inappropriately. American regulators, which have guidelines but no firm rules for the emerging automated driving systems, were also attacked by the safety board.“It’s time to stop enabling drivers in any partially automated vehicle to pretend that they have driverless cars, because they don’t have driverless cars,” National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.The hearing was a searing critique of how Tesla and other carmakers have introduced new technologies that automate aspects of driving but still require constant human supervision, and of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s light-touch approach to regulating the safety of those systems.Even though the Tesla SUV in the 2018 crash in northern California had previously veered toward a concrete barrier, the driver, an Apple employee, allowed the semi-autonomous system to essentially steer itself as it passed that same location and moved toward a highway barrier, the NTSB concluded. The driver failed to intervene because he was distracted, likely because he was playing a game on a mobile phone provided by his company, which lacked a policy prohibiting employees from using devices while driving, the NTSB found.The NTSB has for years issued warnings about distracted driving and its deadly toll on the roadways. During the hearing, it called on Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers to develop protections to prevent misuse of electronic devices behind the wheel as a default setting.The agency also urged the NHTSA to conduct a fresh evaluation of Autopilot and take enforcement action if necessary if the agency finds defects.“We urge Tesla to continue to work on improving their Autopilot technology and for NHTSA to fulfill its oversight responsibility to ensure that corrective action is taken when necessary,” Sumwalt said.The death of 38-year-old Apple engineer Walter Huang in March 2018 in Silicon Valley prompted the NTSB to issue its strongest findings to date on safety risks posed by automated driving systems and driver distraction by mobile devices.“Limitations within the Autopilot system caused the SUV to veer towards the area with a concrete barrier that it ultimately struck, which the driver didn’t attempt to stop due to distraction,” the board found.NTSB recommended that both mobile device manufacturers such as Apple, Google and Samsung Electronics Co., as well as employers more broadly, do more to combat distracted driving.Mobile phone manufacturers should lock out features on the devices as a default setting, rather than as an optional feature that must be activated manually, the NTSB said. Employers should adopt policies banning non-emergency mobile phone use by employees when behind the wheel.The NTSB posted a document on Monday in its public record on the crash showing Apple didn’t have a policy on distracted driving.“I checked around with various groups and we do not have a policy related to phone use and driving,” wrote an Apple representative in an email response to the NTSB, which was posted to the safety board’s public investigative files on Monday.An Apple spokesman said the company expects its employees to follow the law. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment but has said it has updated Autopilot in part to issue more frequent warnings to inattentive drivers and that its research shows drivers are safer using the system than not. Tesla has also repeatedly stressed that drivers must pay attention while using Autopilot.The combination of growing mobile device use in semi-autonomous cars, in which drivers can take their eyes off the road for long periods, is a combustible mix, said NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.“What this crash illustrates is not only do we have the old kind of distraction” Lansberg said. Partly-automated driving systems present “yet another kind, which is the automation complacency of the system almost kind of always works, except when it doesn’t.”NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy criticized the NHTSA for issuing a recent statement saying it was trying to limit regulations to make cars more affordable.“What we should not do is lower the bar on safety,” Homendy said. “That shouldn’t even be considered for an agency that has the word safety in its name.”NHTSA said in a statement it was aware of the NTSB’s report and would review it. It also said distracted driving remains a concern and that drivers of every motor vehicle available currently on sale are required to remain in control at all times.It is also conducting more than a dozen of its own investigations into Tesla crashes linked to its semi-autonomous system known as Autopilot. Tesla is one of the leading developers of automated driving technology.Warnings to DriverHuang’s Tesla struck the concrete highway barrier at about 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour. His hands weren’t detected on the steering wheel for about one-third of the drive and the car twice issued automated warnings to him.A protective barrier on the highway designed to reduce the crash impact wasn’t in place, the NTSB found.In addition, Tesla and government agencies haven’t bothered to respond to NTSB’s recommendations related to an earlier, similar crash.Smartphone manufacturers and software developers have taken some steps to address distracted driving. Apple’s iPhone, for example, has a feature to block text message and other notifications when driving that a user can activate in the phone’s settings.“The challenge is that they’re all passive systems. They require you as the owner of the phone to take that action, and many won’t or don’t because they don’t have to,” said Kelly Nantel, vice president of roadway safety at the National Safety Council.While the safety board stopped short of concluding that NHTSA’s lack of actions were part of the cause of the crash, it found that the regulator hadn’t done enough to set safety standards and called its approach to semi-automated vehicles “misguided.”Separately, the NTSB is prepared to cite the highway-safety regulator’s actions in another fatal Tesla crash as a contributing factor.In a March 2019 crash in Delray Beach, Florida, a Tesla drove into the side of a truck without braking, killing the driver. The conclusions of the investigation haven’t been published, but were read by Homendy during Tuesday’s meeting.(Updates with details from hearing, beginning in the fourth paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Ryan Beene in Washington at rbeene@bloomberg.net;Alan Levin in Washington at alevin24@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
British Startup Graphcore Hits $2 Billion Valuation
(Bloomberg) -- Graphcore Ltd., the British semiconductor firm whose chips are used to run artificial intelligence programs, has raised $150 million, bringing its valuation to $1.95 billion.The company now has $300 million in cash, which it will use to invest in research and development and global expansion, Bristol, England-based Graphcore said in a statement on Tuesday.After it raised $200 million in 2018, Graphcore was approached by additional investors who wanted to put money into the company, Chief Executive Officer Nigel Toon said in an interview.While the company has no immediate plans for an initial public offering, several of its investors, such as Baillie Gifford, have experience investing in publicly traded technology companies and are the types of shareholders the company would try to target if it were to go public at some point in the future, Toon said.“Having this additional capital on hand allows us to accelerate our investment and allows us to be in a position to support the really large customers who we’re building business with,” Toon said.Read Businessweek’s profile of Graphcore here.Programs running artificial intelligence have different requirements from traditional software. Instead of telling machines what to do step-by-step, AI learns from pools of data, making greater demands on a computer’s memory and a processor’s energy use. Chips built to run artificial intelligence programs, therefore, have to prioritize efficiency.Graphcore’s chips are designed for “less precise” computing, mimicking the way human brains work, and helping artificially intelligent machines draw conclusions more like we do. They also need more processing power.Late last year, Graphcore announced a deal with Microsoft Corp. to offer its processing units on the U.S. company’s Azure cloud platform, with financial services giant Citadel an early customer.Graphcore has been adding engineers, expanding its operations in Asia and the U.S., and ramping up its customer service force and software development arm. The firm is also building out a team in Oslo that’s creating large-scale systems connecting thousands of its processors that can take on increasingly complex problems, like those raised by natural-language processing, which is important for the digital assistants proliferating on home speakers and smartphones, and self-driving cars.The current round includes Baillie Gifford, Mayfair Equity Partners, and M&G Investments. The firm, founded in 2016, has also previously gotten investment from Microsoft, BMW and Samsung Electronics Co.To contact the reporter on this story: Amy Thomson in London at athomson6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Molly SchuetzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Huawei’s New MatePad Looks a Lot Like Apple’s iPad Pro
(Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co. reaffirmed its bet that expensive folding smartphones will excite consumers into upgrades, and that Apple Inc.’s iPad Pro is a design worth imitating for a new line of tablet computers. The Chinese company on Monday announced a second-generation version of its Mate X folding phone, which up to now has been sold mostly in its home country. This time Huawei’s bringing it to Europe, and said the product’s more durable than the first version and has a faster processor and 3D graphics.When folded, the Mate Xs has a 6.6-inch display, which is just slightly larger than Apple Inc.’s iPhone 11 Pro Max. But when opened out, Huawei’s device becomes an 8-inch tablet computer. It has three rear-facing Leica Camera AG-branded lenses, which double as selfie cameras when flipping the phone around in its folded form.It’ll cost 2,499 euros ($2,704) when it goes on sale worldwide in March.The market for smartphones is slowing, and manufacturers are trying to find new ways to convince consumers they should upgrade their devices. Bendable products are an increasingly popular strategy being tried out by some of the world’s biggest device makers.Samsung has been selling a foldable smartphone for as many months as Huawei, and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, Lenovo Group Ltd. showed off an updated prototype of a folding ThinkPad computer. The Motorola Razr brand is also due to make a comeback later this year, and it too will bend.Huawei also showed off a new line of tablet computers for Europe -- the MatePad Pro 5G -- aimed at the same buyers of products like Apple’s iPad Pro. It’s not without its physical similarities, either.The MatePad Pro has a 10.8-inch display compared to the iPad’s 11 inches; it includes a stylus that, like the Apple Pencil, connects magnetically to the outer edge of the tablet for recharging, and is dubbed the Huawei M-Pencil. The bezel around the screen is slimmer than that of Apple’s, but uses the same rounded screen corners that differentiate the iPad Pro from its cheaper brethren. At a briefing with reporters ahead of the launch on Monday, Huawei championed the MatePad Pro’s use of split-screen multitasking to run apps side-by-side and its optional magnetic keyboard case.It does have innovations of its own, however. The tablet can mirror the display of certain Huawei smartphones if they’re nearby, letting you control the phone virtually -- a bit like using a remote desktop app to use a PC from another computer. The tablet also has fifth-generation 5G wireless -- something no iPhone or iPad offers yet -- and it can be used to wirelessly charge other products, such as phones, headphones or computer mice.Prices will start at 549 euros for a Wi-Fi-only version from April.However, due to the U.S. government blacklisting Huawei -- which it accuses of aiding Beijing in espionage -- last year, the company’s new Mate Xs and MatePad run on versions of Android that’s free and open-source, meaning they don’t have apps such as Google Maps, YouTube or the Google Play Store. Samsung’s Android-powered tablets do not suffer such restrictions.Huawei’s been battling global scrutiny over its telecom equipment, but often overlooked is the company’s rapid growth as a smartphone manufacturer. In 2018, it surpassed Apple to become the world’s second-largest maker of smartphones, according to data from market research firm IDC. (Updates with MatePad Pro pricing)To contact the author of this story: Nate Lanxon in London at nlanxon@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Some Samsung, Hyundai workers self-quarantine as Korea Inc braces for virus impact
Some South Korean workers at Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor are staying home as a precautionary measure as corporate Korea scrambles to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from causing widespread disruption in its home market. About 1,500 workers of Samsung Electronics' phone complex in the southeastern city of Gumi have self-quarantined after one of its workers was infected with the disease, a person familiar with the matter said. The southeastern city of Daegu - the epicenter of the virus outbreak in South Korea- and nearby cities are an industrial hub in South Korea, Asia's fourth-biggest economy, and home to factories of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and a number of others.
- Bloomberg
South Korea Firms Prepare for Worst After Samsung Virus Case
(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and other companies in South Korea are taking precautions against the coronavirus after a rising number of cases in the country, including the infection of a Samsung employee at a local production facility.The country’s largest technology company shut down operations at a plant in Gumi City over the weekend after the employee tested positive for the virus, but resumed operations around 1:00 p.m. local time Monday. Samsung Electronics shares slid as much as 3.7% in Seoul.While the novel coronavirus originated in China, it is now spreading to other countries, including Korea with more than 750 confirmed cases. Companies from Japan to Singapore are taking steps to limit the spread among employees and within their facilities.South Korea warned its fragile economic recovery is under threat from the coronavirus that has spread dramatically across the country over the past week, and pledged action to minimize the fallout. The won dropped to a six-month low and stocks plunged after South Korea raised its infectious-disease alert to the highest level as the outbreak worsened.The nation’s Centers for Disease Control said Monday there are 161 more virus cases, bringing the total to 763. The death toll rose by 2 to 7 people. The city of Daegu has seen a spike in cases in recent days.Read more: South Korea Braces for Economic Pain as Virus Cases SoarThe Samsung case is troubling because Gumi has a collection of facilities operated by Samsung, LG Electronics, LG Display, Toray Group and other companies. Samsung has two production lines in Gumi, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Seoul, for some of its smartphones.“We’ve been worried about disruptions in the tech supply chain that are causing delays in importing parts from China,” said Lee Hang-koo, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade. “But the problem is getting serious as infections are soaring near the Gumi Industrial Park, a home-ground of plants producing core parts of electronics devices.”“Companies have shifted most of their production to China and Vietnam for cost cutting but still high-tech electronic parts are produced at home because of concerns about leaks in core technology,” Lee added.LG Electronics, which has TV plants in the Gumi industrial complex, told workers who commute from Daegu to work from home. LG Display has instructed workers who have visited the Daegu area to not come into the office for two weeks, while headquarters staff are restricted from visiting the region without approval from management. An LG Electronics spokesperson said its research center in Incheon was shut after the company found out an employee’s family member was infected.Samsung has shifted more than half of its smartphone production to Vietnam but still produces some of its premium models at the Gumi complex. The stoppage at the plant may affect production of Samsung’s high-end models including the foldable Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Fold.Read more: In South Korea, Opaque Sect Draws Scrutiny With Virus Spike(Updates with share action and plant resumption from the second paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Sohee Kim in Seoul at skim847@bloomberg.net;Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- MarketWatch
Will the shows go on? Coronavirus, MWC cancellation hang over tech conferences
The abandonment of a show as big as Mobile World Congress stings economically for the host city, mobile industry and entrepreneurs from across the globe who attend in hopes of doing deals. And it could just be the beginning.
- MarketWatch
The 5G rollout is already behind, and coronavirus could slow it even more
Two seemingly different issues — the ongoing 5G network rollout and the coronavirus — are causing confusion and disappointment for many tech investors this earnings season so far and they are now becoming intertwined.
- Reuters
Samsung Electronics confirms coronavirus case at phone factory complex in South Korea
Samsung Electronics said on Saturday that one coronavirus case had been confirmed at its mobile device factory complex in the southeastern city of Gumi, causing a shutdown of its entire facility there until Monday morning. Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, said the floor where the infected employee worked would be shut down until the morning of Feb. 25. "The company has placed colleagues who came in contact with the infected employee in self-quarantine and taken steps to have them tested for possible infection," Samsung said in a news release.
- Reuters
Samsung Electronics confirms coronavirus case at phone factory complex in S.Korea
Samsung Electronics said on Saturday that one coronavirus case had been confirmed at its mobile device factory complex in the southeastern city of Gumi, causing a shutdown of its entire facility there until Monday morning. Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, said the floor where the infected employee worked would be shut down until the morning of Feb. 25. "The company has placed colleagues who came in contact with the infected employee in self-quarantine and taken steps to have them tested for possible infection," Samsung said in a news release.
- Reuters
WRAPUP 1-China reports fewer cornonavirus cases outside epicentre, cases surge in S. Korea
SHANGHAI/SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China reported another fall in the new coronavirus infections outside of its epicentre on Sunday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections and fears of contagion increased elsewhere. China's health commission confirmed 648 new infections on Sunday - higher than a day earlier - but only 18 were outside of Hubei province, the lowest number outside of the epicentre since authorities started publishing data a month ago.
- Bloomberg
White House to Host Huawei Rivals at 5G Meeting, Kudlow Says
(Bloomberg) -- The White House plans to hold a conference with Huawei Technologies Co. rivals to try to accelerate development of affordable competing 5G wireless technology, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said Friday.“We’re working carefully, closely with Nokia and Ericsson,” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters. “We’re going to be holding some kind of a conference in about a month. I’m sure the president would join us in part, that would include Samsung, that will include all of our guys.”He later told Fox Business that the meeting “might take place” in early April, and that companies including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. would be represented.The U.S. has engaged in a campaign to persuade other countries not to use Huawei equipment in emerging 5G networks, but the effort has faltered due to a lack of competing technology. Attorney General William Barr suggested recently the U.S. government or American companies should consider investing in Huawei competitors Nokia Oyj of Finland and Ericsson AB of Sweden to try to prevent the Chinese company’s technology from being widely adopted.Kudlow called the U.K. government’s attitude toward Huawei in particular “sub-optimal.” Trump has spoken repeatedly this month with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, berating him in at least one phone call for refusing to ban Huawei gear.“They have made some concessions about putting the lid on Huawei, but I’m an optimist, I believe we can work through it, they are our great allies,” Kudlow said.The U.S. alleges that the Chinese government will use equipment from the Shenzhen-based company to spy on nations that install it in their networks. Huawei has denied that the Chinese government controls the company or has access to its products.(Updates with details of conference in third paragraph. An earlier version corrected a misspelling of Huawei in the first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Virginia Van NattaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Vietnam reports supply chain issues from virus, says may hit Samsung output
Vietnam's manufacturing sector is suffering supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus epidemic, which may delay production of Samsung Electronics' new phones, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Reuters on Friday. "Vietnam relies much on China for materials and equipment, which makes the country become vulnerable when such outbreak happens," it said. Vietnam on Thursday eased some health-related restrictions on cross-border trade to prop up economic activity, but some strict measures are still in place.
- Reuters
Samsung Electronics names non-executive director as board chairman in company first
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday it has named a non-executive director as board chairman for the first time, to increase transparency and independence. Former Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan replaces Lee Sang-hoon who was jailed in December for interfering with union activities. The appointment, which is effective immediately, comes as Samsung heir apparent Jay Y. Lee and former executives face trial for alleged involvement in a bribery scandal linked to impeached President Park Geun-hye.
- Bloomberg
Review: Can Samsung’s New Z Flip Convert iPhone Fans?
(Bloomberg) -- Many iPhone users are wed to Apple Inc.’s ecosystem, but the latest Galaxy device from Samsung Electronics Co. may finally get them to turn a curious eye.The Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung’s second try at a compelling foldable device after last year’s Galaxy Fold. This sophomore effort costs a less astronomical $1,380, fits into much smaller pockets and opens and closes just like the flip handsets of years past.The reactions -- at least in Samsung’s home base of South Korea -- to the foldable Z Flip have been instant and infectious. For a gadget intended to attract attention, this rethinking of the Android smartphone is off to a solid start. The Flip was released on Valentine’s Day and sold out on the first day in several key markets. It’s out of stock now on Samsung’s website, which went down for two hours around midnight Friday after a limited edition designed by Thom Browne went on sale. Posts of creative Flip accessorization are gaining traction on Twitter and Instagram. In a world of me-too mobile devices, the Z Flip is eye-catching. But it’s also an absolute fingerprint magnet that requires tender use and care.“I’ve always stuck to the iPhone, but this is the most tempting moment to consider switching to Galaxy,” said Kyuhee Kang, a 29-year-old designer in Tokyo who’s been an Apple loyalist since the iPhone 4.Read more: Samsung Bets on Big Camera Upgrade in Galaxy S20, Unveils Z FlipThe 6.7-inch screen of the Galaxy Z Flip collapses into a palm-sized square akin to a Chanel compact -- and Samsung encourages that luxury association with high-gloss finishes and a limited edition in collaboration with designer Browne.Priced between the upgraded versions of Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro Max and 11 Pro, the Flip is a premium offering that Samsung wants to differentiate. There’s a certain nostalgic tug about answering calls by opening the gadget, then hanging up by snapping it shut. At the same time, it’s such a large device that if I were to operate it single-handedly every time I’d quickly develop thumb or wrist strain. Two hands are required for safety.The still-nascent foldables category has two huge hurdles to overcome: proving its durability and offering sufficient, not necessarily superlative, specs. Motorola’s Razr, a close competitor to Samsung’s Z Flip, is thought to be fragile by at least one reviewer and is a step behind on almost every front: the camera, battery life, processor and display are all underwhelming.Motorola’s $1,500 Razr Reboot Feels More Prototype Than PremiumTrue to its spec-obsessive pedigree, Samsung made sure the Z Flip is well stocked in most categories, though the Z Flip is noticeably behind on battery life. It has a large display but its battery is segmented in two because of the space requirements of its hinge, so it’s smaller. That hinge applies lessons learned from the Galaxy Fold and feels rigid and strong. One early Z Flip owner, however, managed to break his device’s display by merely flipping it open, and there’s been a controversy online about how easily the Flip’s ultra-thin glass gets scratched. Samsung says there’s a protective layer atop the glass and that’s what testers are able to scuff.The hinge enables the Z Flip to stand at a variety of angles much like a laptop. This has allowed me to record my four-month-old puppy’s first bathing moment and shoot time-lapses of snowy scenes without a tripod. Couples may like the split-screen mode that lets them message each other on one half of the screen while watching or playing something on the other. The phone also becomes its own stand for watching videos and taking selfies.Samsung still has room for improvement on the design of its foldables, which feature a chunky bezel that doesn’t sit flush with the display and thus prevents smooth swipes from the edge of the screen -- required by Samsung’s own user interface. The Z Flip also has an underwhelming mono speaker. Last but not least, the 1.1-inch front display is too small to show anything more useful than an icon signifying the type of notification received.Will iPhone fans end up abandoning their iMessages and Apple Music playlists? Probably not that many for this Flip generation, as the balance between price, benefits and compromises still has a way to go. But Samsung has crafted the most refined and fully featured foldable device to date. It won’t move the entire market just yet, but it’s stirring the interest that may yet make the foldable category a success.(Updates with Samsung website outage in the third paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Sohee Kim in Seoul at skim847@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
