Samsung may have already won the foldable game before the race has even started. TCL has just confirmed that its first foldable smartphone has been indefinitely postponed. The device, code-named Project Chicago, was supposed to be TCL’s first foray into the foldable smartphone world. Instead, in a statement to the press, TCL said it will be postponing the project indefinitely, citing component shortages and rising costs in foldable production.
“Although the foldable market is growing each year, it is still a premium product category. In combination with recent component shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising costs in foldable production, TCL has made the difficult decision to suspend the launch of its first commercially available foldable smartphone until the company can produce and bring it to market at a price point that’s accessible to as many consumers as possible,” said Stefan Streit, TCL’s marketing chief, in a statement to the press.
Last year, TCL launched its TCL 10 Series of smartphones aimed at bringing the smartphone world to consumers for a fraction of the cost of most devices. Project Chicago would have been its first foldable smartphone and was in development before the project was shelved.
While it’s unclear when TCL will release a foldable smartphone, the decision to build one was made before Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, which we reviewed and praised as the best foldable phone for most consumers. We similarly liked the Z Fold 3 for its design and durability refinements and focus on productivity and multitasking.
Where does that leave the rest of the foldable market? It’s currently completely dominated by Samsung, with no rivals in sight. There are some rumors about a prospective Pixel Fold, but Google hardly has the best track record when it comes to cutting-edge hardware, though that could be set to change with the new Tensor chipset. But until then, folding phones will continue to be a Samsung-dominated market for the foreseeable future.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.