Technology - Google News

The foldable phones are coming
The PlayStation Classic Is Charming, But It Won't Blow You Away
Square Enix cancels Final Fantasy XV episodes as director quits company

Posted: 08 Nov 2018 04:50 AM PST

Futuristic-looking bendable tablets and smartphones have captured our imagination for years. Whether it's the folding tablets found in Westworld or the many book-like slates with foldable pages in Microsoft's future vision videos, a phone that folds out into a much larger device is dreamlike. Samsung is now trying to make these wild concepts a reality.

The Galaxy maker showed off its new Infinity Flex Display yesterday, a display technology that will allow a tablet-sized screen to fold into a device that approximates the size and shape of a smartphone. While we've seen flexible and bendable wearable devices, this is one of the first times we've seen such a display in a phone that's rumored to ship in 2019. Samsung's device was "disguised" by what appears to be a chunky case, and shown only under dim light, but it's far more than just concept art.

Samsung is actually using two separate displays to create its foldable phone — one on the inside, and a smaller display on the outside — unlike Royole's FlexPai, which uses a single folding display on the outside of the device. Samsung's internal display is 7.3 inches with a 1536 x 2152 resolution (4.2:3). It folds in half to reveal a second display on the front of the device. This second "cover display," as Samsung calls it, functions as a 4.58-inch phone interface with a resolution of 840 x 1960 (21:9). It's also flanked by much larger bezels at the top and bottom compared to the internal display. Although it looks very stocky, Samsung says the device hiding inside the disguise is actually "stunning."

This combination of displays has given us an early glimpse at what to expect from foldable phones in 2019 and beyond. As glass is not pliable, Samsung has had to develop new materials to protect its new display. The Infinity Flex Display uses a polymer that Samsung says is both "flexible and tough," meaning it can keep its strength even when folded and unfolded "hundreds of thousands of times." Samsung has combined this with a new adhesive that laminates the various display layers together to allow them to flex. None of this is glass, though, so it could feel a little different than what we're used to with modern phones, tablets, and touchpads.

Just as smartphones started off with plastic resistive displays and stylus input, before the iPhone showed that capacitive touch on glass was the future, this foldable era will include compromises before the technology advances. Samsung's device, while pocketable, didn't look particularly thin compared to modern smartphones. The bezels when folded for use as a phone are also giant compared to modern edge-to-edge flagships, and the folding display Samsung has chosen makes the device very tall when closed.

"Folding phones are the 3D TV of the mobile world," proclaimed Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims on Twitter. Samsung, LG, and many other TV manufacturers famously pushed 3D TVs to consumers at various annual Consumer Electronics Shows, but they never really caught on. They were seen as a gimmick to sell more 1080p TVs without offering a superior viewing experience. Not everyone agrees that foldable phones will flop, though.

"Few are debating 'if' foldable or rollable mobile displays are the future of smartphones, the only question is when and by whom," explains Patrick Moorhead, an industry analyst at Moor Insights and former AMD executive. "The core benefit of a foldable smartphone is that the user can have the benefit of a larger display but can still fit it into their pocket, coat, or purse."

In 2011, the giant 5.3-inch display on the Galaxy Note was met with guffaws in tech circles. Today we just call phablets, phones. Similarly, the curved display on the oft-ridiculed Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy Round eventually morphed into the Infinity Displays found on Samsung's modern S-series of flagships. If foldable phones follow a similar journey, then Samsung's first device won't completely capture the design's potential — instead, it'll mark the beginning of an emerging battle over this intriguing display technology.

"This isn't just a concept," says Justin Denison, SVP of mobile product marketing at Samsung. "The breakthroughs we've made in display materials have been matched by breakthroughs in manufacturing. As a result, we'll be ready to start mass production in the coming months."

The emergence of mass production means device makers will be able to pick this display just like they already do with Samsung's OLED panels. Huawei is reportedly planning to release a foldable handset next year. Lenovo and Xiaomi have also teased their own prototypes, and LG is also working on its own flexible OLED displays and TVs that roll up into a box. The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in January could be an initial battleground for foldable devices, fueled on by Android's official support for foldable displays.

Google's support will be key, as this type of new form factor will require a close coupling of hardware and software. Samsung is creating its own Multi Active Window software that will allow its foldable phone to display three apps at the same time. Multitasking is only one aspect of software, and Samsung together with Google will need to optimize the entire Android UI and experience for these types of devices. Apple has traditionally excelled at hardware and software integration. In fact, there are rumors that a foldable iPhone could appear within the next two years.

Foldable phones are the obvious initial market for this screen technology, but manufacturers will get far more ambitious as the display technology matures. Samsung is also promising rollable and stretchable OLED displays in the future. Imagine folding or rolling a 55-inch TV into something that will fit into your bag, or finally replacing pen and paper with a foldable tablet. It sounds unbelievable right now, but we're only at the very beginning of our flexible future.

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The PlayStation Classic Is Charming, But It Won't Blow You Away

Posted: 08 Nov 2018 05:01 AM PST

Nostalgia for retro consoles has been growing over the last several years. Nintendo kicked off a wave of plug-and-play style systems with 2016's NES Classic Edition, and followed up with last year's equally popular SNES Classic. Now Sony is throwing its hat into the ring with the PlayStation Classic, a small console that includes a collection of 20 original PlayStation games, set for launch on December 3. We spent some time with the system and have early impressions of the hardware, the menu system, and of the included library of games.

If you own an NES or SNES Classic, the PlayStation Classic will be very familiar to you. It's a miniature version of the original 1994 system, featuring an HDMI port and Micro-USB for power in the back, and a slot for two controllers in the front. The back of the console even features a nod to the first system's back panel with a non-functioning parallel port cover. The system also features the standard three physical buttons, some of which have been given slightly different uses. The power button does what you'd expect; it turns the system on and off. Just like Nintendo's systems, the reset button brings you back to the main menu.

However, the open disc button is where things get interesting. The original button on the PlayStation would open the optical disc tray, but it's now used for games that have multiple discs, allowing you to swap to the next one when prompted to by the game. It's certainly neat that Sony found a way to emulate the physical act of switching discs, rather then just having it happen automatically. It's also a nice reminder of how things were back in the day when some games were just too big for one disc.

As for the controllers, the classic Playstation pads now plug in via USB. These are the original gamepads that came before the DualShock, meaning they don't feature analog sticks or rumble support. We brought one of the original controllers with us for comparison and the classic's version feels very faithful. It's just a touch lighter in weight and the buttons feel more clicky, but that's probably because we are comparing them to a 20-year-old controller that's seen lots of use. Sony has stated, however, that other devices won't be usable, and you won't be able to use the included controllers elsewhere.

It's somewhat admirable of Sony for wanting to stick to the nostalgia of the original hardware, though you won't much argument against the clear improvements that Dualshock offered over the original design, and it's disappointing that we won't have the option to play with analog sticks or rumble. In fact, without rumble, it will be impossible to fully appreciate iconic moments like the Psycho Mantis fight in Metal Gear Solid. This will be especially apparent when the villain attempts to read your memory card to look for save files from other Konami games--MGS is only one in the collection.

The Lineup

The game select screen features many callbacks to the original PlayStation's aesthetic, sporting a cool blue background and that memorable rainbow paint splatter behind the text. When it comes to settings, the Classic is very barebones. The system runs at 720p with no options for alternate resolutions or aspect ratio adjustments. There are no borders or filters either--so forget about simulating the scanline look that other retro consoles offer. While scanlines are often a novelty feature for classic game bundles, many of these games haven't aged gracefully, and an option to place a filter could help make them look less harsh. The PlayStation Classic is designed to just plug in and work with no fuss, which is respectable. Though if you were looking for a bit more control in your presentation, you're not gonna get it here.

Thankfully, the Playstation Classic has support for save states. When you quit out of a game with the reset button, a suspend save point is automatically created that you can use to pick up where you left off. Unlike the NES and SNES Classic there's only one suspend save slot and each time time you reset you're asked if you want to overwrite that save. There are, however, internal memory cards that function like the original system. They even use the same game icons from the classic PS1 memory card interface, which is a great little touch.

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PlayStation Classic - Full Game Line-Up Trailer

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The PlayStation Classic comes with 20 games, and when you consider that there were over 2,500 games released during the system's 10-year lifecycle, there's no way everyone's favorite games would make the cut. Of course, there are big names like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Twisted Metal, Resident Evil Director's Cut, and even Tekken 3--which all hold up quite well. There are also some neat cult classics like Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and Wild Arms.

Even with that in mind, we can't help but be a bit disappointed in the selection, which is missing iconic games like Crash Bandicoot, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Tomb Raider. Games such as Destruction Derby and Cool Boarders 2 are fine, but they don't really shine when compared to other classics in the lineup. Revelations: Persona is one of the more niche games in this batch, showing the bizarre beginnings of Atlus' JRPG series--which easily earns its spot in the collection. Unfortunately, many of these early 3D games haven't aged well, and your nostalgia is gonna be a big factor in your enjoyment for games like Rainbow Six or Jumping Flash.

Thankfully, in our brief time with the PlayStation Classic, the available games seemed to run as we remember them. Polygonal models hold up when scaled on a modern TV, but the same can't be said for certain UI and other static images. The rendered backgrounds in Resident Evil suffer and text in Ridge Racer Type 4 is so blown out it can be difficult to read. This isn't really the fault of the PlayStation Classic but rather further evidence of how poor some of the early games of the 3D era have aged. Again, this is a case where a scanline filter might have helped out.

Overall our early impressions were pretty mixed. The PlayStation Classic does exactly what it's supposed to do; let you play a limited selection of PlayStation games at 720p over HDMI. However, it does feel a bit barebones, especially with the lack of DualShock controllers. With that said, it certainly did a solid job of evoking that sense of nostalgia when first booting up the Playstation, with the iconic system startup theme bringing you right back to a very special era of gaming.

There's much more to come for our coverage on the Playstation Classic. Check back with us in the coming weeks for our deep dive with the mini console, where we'll put it through its paces and test out each game.

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Square Enix cancels Final Fantasy XV episodes as director quits company

Posted: 07 Nov 2018 09:02 PM PST

Today, Square Enix hosted a livestream that was billed as a "Special Program" with exciting news about upcoming Final Fantasy XV content. But in an incredible plot twist worthy of the series itself, the news turned out to be inconceivably terrible: almost all of the DLC has been canceled, and game director Hajime Tabata has left the company altogether.

Square Enix had planned to continue the never-ending flow of Final Fantasy XV content all through 2019 with four DLC episodes centered on the characters Ardyn, Aranea, Lunafreya, and Noctis. Instead, only the Ardyn episode will be released — the other three have been abandoned. There'll be a collaboration event with Final Fantasy XIV next month, and the Comrades multiplayer mode will also be spun out into a standalone game for PS4 and Xbox One.

Tabata's departure is particularly surprising because he recently set up and took control of a new studio within Square Enix, Luminous Productions. Final Fantasy XV went through a famously troubled and protracted development, and Tabata is largely credited with turning the project around after taking over the directorial role from Tetsuya Nomura in 2014. The game was a critical and commercial success and has continued to be updated with new features, content, and versions.

"In regards to my next endeavors and near future, I have a project that I truly wish to solidify as my next challenge after FFXV," Tabata said on the stream. "For that reason, I have decided to leave my current position and start my own business in order to achieve my goal. As production of Episode Ardyn continues and Luminous Productions works on new projects, I felt that it was time for me to hand over the torch to the next-generation group of talented and trustworthy colleagues and believe that they will create something amazing."

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