Welcome to Tech Bytes! In this series, we bring you the biggest news hitting the Tech and Gaming fields, putting it into an excellent, simple brief for you to quickly catch up on so you’re up to speed over dinner and drinks.
Say goodbye to July, where we witnessed several new product launches from the likes of Samsung, Canon, and more! Indeed, this month is a pretty exciting one for tech fans, so check out what has been announced for July 2024 in our roundup here for Tech Bytes.
Samsung unveils its new Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6
A new generation of foldables arrives from Samsung in the form of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6, enhanced with the company’s latest AI innovation.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 receive minor changes spec-wise. They are a little more durable, thinner, and lighter than before and have been equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset inside. The Galaxy Z Flip6, in particular, sees its main rear camera upgraded to a new 50-megapixel sensor and receives a bigger 4,000mAh battery capacity.
Rather, the main difference from their predecessors is the inclusion of Galaxy AI. Introduced in the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, the new foldables now give people access to useful AI tools, like Generative AI. But there are some exclusive AI features as well. For example, you can have a unique two-way conversation with non-native English speakers through the folding screens when you use Interpreter Mode. There’s also a new “sketch to image” feature that turns drawings into art.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 are now widely available in Singapore and start at S$2,548 and S$1,648, respectively.
New Galaxy Buds3 series enters the Samsung earbuds ecosystem
In addition to the new foldable devices, Samsung has also refreshed its wireless earbuds and smartwatch lineup. Enter the Galaxy Buds3 series. The Galaxy Buds are now in their third iteration, and this edition comes with one key difference: stems.
Samsung has done away with its traditional in-ear design and added stems for the regular Galaxy Buds3 and Galaxy Buds3 Pro, which supposedly add comfort and provide better in-ear stability. The Galaxy Buds3 offers an open-ear design for those who don’t like feeling pressure in their ears. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro uses an in-ear fit with silicone tips. Something unique about the Pro version is that it comes with lights on each of the stems that users can opt to illuminate at all times. As of now, Samsung says that the ‘blade lights’ are merely for aesthetic purposes, but won’t rule out an update to add more functionality to them.
The company also touts the use of Galaxy AI in tandem with the earbuds. For example, the earbuds can listen in and translate foreign languages directly into your ears through the Interpreter feature. Other features include IP57 resistance and active noise cancellation (ANC) for both earbuds, which is enhanced with adaptive ANC and EQ. Galaxy Buds3 Pro will additionally have enhanced two-way speakers (compared to the regular’s single drivers) and Dual Amplifiers that will provide better audio performance.
The Galaxy Buds3 series is available to purchase in Singapore this month, with the Galaxy Buds3 priced at S$258 while the Galaxy Buds3 Pro will cost S$358.
Samsung smartwatch goes ultra with the new Galaxy Watch Ultra
Last on the Samsung announcement blowout is the Galaxy Watch7 and a new name in the company’s premium smartwatch line — the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is geared towards outdoor and workout enthusiasts. The big highlight is the addition of a Quick Button at the side, which acts as a quick launcher for the workout app or can be custom-mapped to other functions. Samsung has also made it extremely durable, giving the watch a Titanium Grade 4 frame, 10ATM water resistance, IP68 resistance, and a sapphire crystal lens.
Expect it to also be beefy when using it. Samsung says that the battery on the watch should last up to 100 hours with the power saving mode and 48 hours in Exercise Power Saving. Given that it is made for the outdoors, it also features a high-brightness 3,000-nit watch display for easy reading.
Galaxy Watch Ultra is available for purchase in Singapore right now. It comes in one size, 47mm, and is priced at S$988. Various band options are also offered that you can interchange with it.
Dyson returns to wearables with the new OnTrac headphones
Remember the Dyson Zone? It was Dyson’s unconventional debut headphone that, in addition to providing audio performance, also had air-purification capabilities. It was the era of COVID, so anything goes. But now, the company has returned to the wearables scene with something more traditional.
Say hello to the Dyson OnTrac headphones—and rest assured that they are an audio-only device. But there is something that makes them stand out from the crowd. The OnTrac touts itself as the most customisable headphones yet, with swappable ear cushions and ear cups that allow users to have over 2,000 unique colour combinations. Launching with four colourways, there will be seven different styles for the outer caps and ear cushions each.
But that isn’t to say audio performance is neglected. Coming with 40mm, 16-ohm neodymium speaker drivers, the OnTrac can produce frequencies as low as 6Hz to as high as 21,000Hz, which provides deep sub-bass and clear highs. Dyson also claims that its new headphones offer “best-in-class” ANC through its eight-microphone system, and using it with ANC turned on still gives users a generous 55 hours worth of use.
The Dyson OnTrac headphones are slated to arrive in Singapore sometime in September or October and will retail for S$699.
Canon launches EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II full-frame mirrorless cameras
This month, Canon unveiled two new camera devices in its full-frame mirrorless range, the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II.
The EOS R1 is the top of the EOS lineup, catered to photographers who covet performance. It comes with a 24-megapixel back-illuminated (BSI) stacked CMOS sensor, which is used in tandem with In-Camera Upscaling technology to elevate shots to 96-megapixel images. The camera will also be the first to feature the next-generation Dual Pixel Intelligent AF system, which helps to significantly power up AF and subject detection performance. With the Digic X processor, it can also achieve 40fps image shooting speeds and reduced rolling shutter distortion.
While the EOS R1 is focused on still image photography, the EOS R5 Mark II is an in-between for photos and video. If you’re a fan of the EOS R5, the Mark II might tempt you with improvements like the new 45-megapixel back-illuminated (BSI) stacked CMOS sensor, enabling it to capture images at a faster 30fps speed. For video, the camera now supports the 10-bit Canon Log 2 colour profile, which offers better dynamic range. Other videography-centric features include a waveform monitor, zebra display, four-channel audio, and HDR video.
The EOS R5 Mark II will arrive first in Singapore at the end of August, starting at S$5,999 for the body. It’ll be followed by the EOS R1 in November this year, where it will retail at S$9,599.
This marks July 2024’s edition of Tech Bytes, and we hope this round-up gives you insight into tech to be excited about. Check with us again in August 2024, as we bring you more byte-sized news every month!
Photos of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Buds3 Pro, and Galaxy Watch Ultra by Russell Loh of the DANAMIC Team. Additional visuals courtesy of Dyson and Canon.
