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The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung on Wednesday launched two new folding smartphones that are thinner and lighter than earlier models, as well as a tablet and two new smartwatches.

The South Korean electronics giant said its new phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Fold 5, come with more rigid hinges and brighter displays — but offered mainly incremental upgrades over last year’s models.

CNBC takes a look at some of the new features.

Galaxy Z Flip 5

The star of the show in Samsung’s new folding phone portfolio is its new Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The Flip 5 is a clamshell-style folding handset that, when shut, takes a square shape that fits more comfortably into your pocket. Flip it open, and it becomes a regular, rectangular smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s standout feature is a much larger cover display.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

It’s water- and dust-resistant, and has a three-stop, “zero gap” hinge to adjust the device’s angle. It’s a lot slimmer than its predecessor, with the hinge gap now barely noticeable when you fold it shut.

But the standout feature of the phone is a much larger cover display, which you can use to select a range of widgets, including your calendar and clock — and it allows for enhanced selfie-taking.

The screen on the front cover of the phone has a new “flex” window that allows users to expand its 1.9-inch display to a 3.4-inch one, so that you can customize it to more easily access notifications and widgets.

Though the hinge is tighter and the phone itself feels sturdier than previous iterations, there’s still a noticeable line that runs down the middle where the phone’s hinge is located.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Foldables, or phones that bend in half, remain a niche part of the smartphone market. But they’re growing fast.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Foldables, or phones that bend in half, remain a niche part of the smartphone market. But they’re growing fast.

Samsung faces competition in this category from a slew of rival phonemakers, mainly Chinese firms, that are challenging the company with their own folding devices.

In February, Chinese vendor Oppo launched the Find N2 Flip. And Honor, the spinoff brand from Huawei, launched its Magic Vs for international markets.

Motorola plans to bring out a new version of its foldable Razr device later this year. Lenovo owns Motorola.

Still, Samsung remains the market leader. The firm launched its first foldable handset in 2019. In 2022, it commanded an 80% share of global foldable shipments, according to Canalys.

The market expects foldable phone shipments to double to 30 million in 2023. But foldables accounted for just 1.1% of the total smartphone market last year, according to IDC data.

Still, that gives the industry ample room to grow. And, as people who’ve held on to their phones for longer near their chance to upgrade or trade their old phone in, they’re more likely to buy the top-of-the-range smartphones rather than older, less advanced ones.

“Currently, I think foldables will remain a lucrative niche with good margins and premium positions,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC via email.

“They resonate well with consumers that want to stand out from the crowd and have something different from the homogeneous mono-bloc black rectangle.”

The Flip 5, which is available for pre-order, starts at a price of $999.99. 

Galaxy Fold 5

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung also announced a new version of its Galaxy Fold phone lineup, the Fold 5.

The advances on the Galaxy Fold 5 are less noticeable than those on the new Galaxy Z Flip, with Samsung mainly offering more incremental updates.

The Fold 5 has a 6.2-inch display that can be folded out to reveal a bigger 7.6-inch main screen akin to that of a tablet. The main display is much brighter than the last, too, emitting 1750 nits, the industry measure for brightness.

It is 2.4mm less thick than its predecessor, according to Samsung. It also comes with an under-display camera so that you barely notice it when using your phone to message people or watch movies. It’s also compatible with the company’s S Pen.

The Galaxy Fold 5 starts at $1.799.99.

Foldables may be a niche part of the market, but they offer a number of benefits over the standard black slabs we’ve all become accustomed to — not least because of the ability to have more than one app displayed on a screen.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Foldables may be a niche part of the market, but they offer a number of benefits over the standard black slabs we’ve all become accustomed to — not least because of the ability to have more than one app displayed on a screen.

For instance, when using the Galaxy Fold 5, you can fold the device out to a tablet-like slab and display one app on one half, and another app on the other.

Google entered the market earlier this year, launching the Pixel Fold, its first folding phone.

That the launch was from one of the largest U.S. tech companies — and the owner of Android — lent some credibility to the market.

Still, Paolo Pescatore, co-founder of PP Foresight, said that all eyes remain firmly on what Apple will do in foldables. “In essence, Apple does not need to do anything right now,” he told CNBC.

“No doubt Apple is looking and working hard behind the scenes to bring novel devices to market. When it does, it will invigorate this segment and kickstart consumer demand for foldables.”

Samsung is doubling down on foldables even as the smartphone market more broadly is contracting. Global smartphone sales declined 11% year over year in the second quarter of 2023 amid gloomy demand, according to analyst firm Canalys.

But the market is showing some early signs of recovery.

“The smartphone market is sending early signals of recovery after six consecutive quarters of decline since 2022,” said Le Xuan Chiew, analyst at Canalys, in a report last week. 

“Smartphone inventory has begun to clear up as smartphone vendors prioritized cutting inventory of old models to make room for new launches.”

Galaxy Tab S9

(From left) The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Fold 5, Galaxy Watch 6, and Galaxy Tab S9.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung also launched its newest tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9. It comes in three versions: an 11-inch Tab S9, a 12.4-inch Tab S9+, and a 14.6-inch Tab S9 Ultra.

The Tab S9 has a 120-hertz display for smoother scrolling and can be viewed more easily outdoors, Samsung said.

It comes with an S Pen straight out of the box. There’s also a “creator edition” available for the S Pen that supports changeable tips for drawing and writing.

Samsung said the tablet comes with enhanced speakers that allow for more cinematic audio.

It can also act more like a desktop computer, with the ability to mirror apps found on Windows PCs.

The Tab S9 starts at $799.99.

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Tesla plans ‘friends and family’ car service in California, regulator says

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Tesla plans 'friends and family' car service in California, regulator says

A vehicle Tesla is using for robotaxi testing purposes on Oltorf Street in Austin, Texas, US, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Tim Goessman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In an earnings call this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased an expansion of his company’s fledgling robotaxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area and other U.S. markets.

But California regulators are making clear that Tesla is not authorized to carry passengers on public roads in autonomous vehicles and would require a human driver in control at all times.

“Tesla is not allowed to test or transport the public (paid or unpaid) in an AV with or without a driver,” the California Public Utilities Commission told CNBC in an email on Friday. “Tesla is allowed to transport the public (paid or unpaid) in a non-AV, which, of course, would have a driver.”

In other words, Tesla’s service in the state will have to be more taxi than robot.

Tesla has what’s known in California as a charter-party carrier permit, which allows it to run a private car service with human drivers, similar to limousine companies or sightseeing services.

The commission said it received a notification from Tesla on Thursday that the company plans to “extend operations” under its permit to “offer service to friends and family of employees and to select members of the public,” across much of the Bay Area.

But under Tesla’s permit, that service can only be with non-AVs, the CPUC said.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles told CNBC that Tesla has had a “drivered testing permit” since 2014, allowing the company to operate AVs with a safety driver present, but not to collect fees. The safety drivers must be Tesla employees, contractors or designees of the manufacturer under that permit, the DMV said.

In Austin, Texas, Tesla is currently testing out a robotaxi service, using its Model Y SUVs equipped with the company’s latest automated driving software and hardware. The limited service operates during daylight hours and in good weather, on roads with a speed limit of 40 miles per hour. 

Robotaxis in Austin are remotely supervised by Tesla employees, and include a human safety supervisor in the front passenger seat. The service is now limited to invited users, who agree to the terms of Tesla’s “early access program.”

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On Friday, Business Insider, citing an internal Tesla memo, reported that Tesla told staff it planned to expand its robotaxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment on that report.

In a separate matter in California, the DMV has accused Tesla of misleading consumers about the capabilities of its driver assistance systems, previously marketed under the names Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (or FSD).

Tesla now calls its premium driver assistance features, “FSD Supervised.” In owners manuals, Tesla says Autopilot and FSD Supervised are “hands on” systems, requiring a driver at the wheel, ready to steer or brake at all times. 

But in user-generated videos shared by Tesla on X, the company shows customers using FSD hands-free while engaged in other tasks. The DMV is arguing that Tesla’s license to sell vehicles in California should be suspended, with arguments ongoing through Friday at the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings in Oakland.

Under California state law, autonomous taxi services are regulated at the state level. Some city and county officials said on Friday that they were out of the loop regarding a potential Tesla service in the state. 

Stephanie Moulton-Peters, a member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, said in a phone interview that she had not heard from Tesla about its plans. She urged the company to be more transparent.

“I certainly expect they will tell us and I think it’s a good business practice to do that,” she said.

Moulton-Peters said she was undecided on robotaxis generally and wasn’t sure how Marin County, located north of San Francisco, would react to Tesla’s service.

“The news of change coming always has mixed results in the community,” she said. 

Brian Colbert, another member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview that he’s open to the idea of Tesla’s service being a good thing but that he was disappointed in the lack of communication. 

“They should have done a better job about informing the community about the launch,” he said. 

Alphabet’s Waymo, which is far ahead of Tesla in the robotaxi market, obtained a number of permits from the DMV and CPUC before starting its driverless ride-hailing service in the state.

Waymo was granted a CPUC driverless deployment permit in 2023, allowing it to charge for rides in the state. The company has been seeking amendments to both its DMV and CPUC driverless deployment permits as it expands its service territory in the state.

— NBC’s David Ingram reported from San Francisco.

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Mark Zuckerberg names ex-OpenAI employee chief scientist of new Meta AI lab

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Mark Zuckerberg names ex-OpenAI employee chief scientist of new Meta AI lab

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.

Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said Shengjia Zhao, the co-creator of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, will serve as the chief scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs.

Zuckerberg has been on a multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence hiring blitz in recent weeks, highlighted by a $14 billion investment in Scale AI. In June, Zuckerberg announced a new organization called Meta Superintelligence Labs that’s made up of top AI researchers and engineers. 

Zhao’s name was listed among other new hires in the June memo, but Zuckerberg said Friday that Zhao co-founded the lab and “has been our lead scientist from day one.” Zhao will work directly with Zuckerberg and Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI who is acting as Meta’s chief AI officer.

“Shengjia has already pioneered several breakthroughs including a new scaling paradigm and distinguished himself as a leader in the field,” Zuckerberg wrote in a social media post. “I’m looking forward to working closely with him to advance his scientific vision.”

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In addition to co-creating ChatGPT, Zhao helped build OpenAI’s GPT-4, mini models, 4.1 and o3, and he previously led synthetic data at OpenAI, according to Zuckerberg’s June memo.

Meta Superintelligence Labs will be where employees work on foundation models such as the open-source Llama family of AI models, products and Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research projects.

The social media company will invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” into AI compute infrastructure, Zuckerberg said earlier this month.

“The next few years are going to be very exciting!” Zuckerberg wrote Friday.

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Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S. companies, with stock more than doubling in 2025

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Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S. companies, with stock more than doubling in 2025

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, speaks on a panel titled Power, Purpose, and the New American Century at the Hill and Valley Forum at the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

Palantir has hit another major milestone in its meteoric stock rise. It’s now one of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies.

The provider of software and data analytics technology to defense agencies saw its stock rise more than 2% on Friday to another record, lifting the company’s market cap to $375 billion, which puts it ahead of Home Depot and Procter & Gamble. The company’s market value was already higher than Bank of America and Coca-Cola.

Palantir has more than doubled in value this year as investors ramp up bets on the company’s artificial intelligence business and closer ties to the U.S. government. Since its founding in 2003 by Peter Thiel, CEO Alex Karp and others, the company has steadily accrued a growing list of customers.

Revenue in Palantir’s U.S. government business increased 45% to $373 million in its most recent quarter, while total sales rose 39% to $884 million. The company next reports results on Aug. 4.

Earlier this year, Palantir soared ahead of Salesforce, IBM and Cisco into the top 10 U.S. tech companies by market cap.

Buying the stock at these levels requires investors to pay hefty multiples. Palantir currently trades for 273 times forward earnings, according to FactSet. The only other company in the top 20 with a triple-digit ratio is Tesla at 175.

With $3.1 billion in total revenue over the past year, Palantir is a fraction the size of the next smallest company by sales among the top 20 by market cap. Mastercard, which is valued at $518 billion, is closest with sales over the past four quarters of roughly $29 billion.

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