Samsung Shows Galaxy Z Fold 2; Apple-Split iPhone Release Dates; Apple- Two Watch Models; Walmart + Launches in 2 Weeks

Samsung rolled out its updated Galaxy Z Fold2 model today. Androidpolice.com reports that main features are a more durable design, a folding glass & polymer display, faster chipset, and bigger screens…both inside and out. It still commands a heart-stopping price…$1999! Preorders start at midnight, and it will be available on September 18th. The interior screen features a much smaller pinhole selfie cam, and it increases to 7.6 inches. The secondary outside screen grows, too…to a much more useable 6.2 inches. The phone has 256 gigs of storage, and a hefty 4500 mAh battery. Outside cams are 12Mp and there is a wide angle and a telephoto shooter. The selfie cam is 10 Mp. If you trade in last year’s Fold Z, they will credit up to $800, and up to $650 for other phones. Colors? Just two…Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black.

Apple may ship the two expected lower cost iPhone models earlier than the two Pro models. According to macrumors.com, the top tier of phones may not be available until November. This happened before, with the iPhone X, so it’s not unheard of. Also, a couple of leaks show the glass back panel of the iPhone Pro, and the square bump does indeed have 5 holes….3 for the cameras, one for the flash, and another that is widely expected to be a LiDAR scanner like the iPad Pro has. The LiDAR scanner is to ease depth and improve AR experiences on the phones. It is still unclear if Apple will hold their event in September, or bump it to October, but we should know very soon.

In other Apple news, it appears that they will change things up with the Watch. Last year, Apple dropped the prior year’s flagship Watch and kept the Watch 3 as a cheaper model. Businessinsider.com notes that the 3 may not be able to run the latest software, so it looks like Apple will release a Series 6 top line watch, and a cheaper Watch that they hope will compete with the likes of Fitbit. The top tier Watch is rumored to have the ability to measure blood oxygen levels and have better water resistance. It may have a new sleep tracking feature, but that hasn’t been as widely rumored, so is more iffy.

Walmart is launching Walmart + on September 15th. The new service will offer same day delivery, gas discounts, AND cashierless checkout for an annual feel of $98 a year. According to techcrunch.com, 2700 Walmart stores will offer delivery. One can also sign up for $12.95 on a month to month basis. There is a 15 day free trial period. Walmart says there will be over 160,000 items available for same day delivery with no per-delivery fee on orders over $35.