The new phones of week 32

It’s the middle of August but Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola and OnePlus kept things busy with a slew of announcements. Here’s a recap of all the new phones launched during week 32.

It all started with OnePlus and its Ace Pro smartphone which was launched in China as a local equivalent to the OnePlus 10T. You can see the differences between the two come down to RAM/storage with the Ace Pro starting with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage and maxing out at 16/512GB. The other differentiator is the software with the Ace Pro getting ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12 while the OnePlus 10T runs OxygenOS 12.1 again based on Android 12.

OnePlus Ace Pro in Moonstone Black and Jade Green

Pricing and availability for the Ace Pro are as follows - the baseline 12/256GB model starts at CNY 3,499 ($518), the 16/256GB midway option is priced at CNY 3,799 ($562) while the top-tier 16/512GB model is CNY 4,299 ($636).

Samsung announced its fourth-generation folding phones with the Galaxy Z Flip4 and Z Fold4. The new foldables look similar to their predecessors but Samsung made a bunch of tweaks to both phones.

The Galaxy Z Flip4 is a tad shorter and narrower than its predecessor and gets slimmer bezels for a more modern look. The same improvements were made to the Z Fold4 which is now 3.1mm shorter than the Z Fold3 with its cover screen also 2.7mm wider that come at the expense of bezels.

Both phones get the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chips and slightly tweaked cameras. Z Fold4 gets a 50MP main shooter alongside a new 10MP 3x telephoto module and the same old 12MP ultrawide. Z Flip4 gets a 12MP main cam which has 1.8µm pixels - a significant improvement over the Z Flip3's main camera.

Galaxy Z Fold4 is the first phone running Android 12L which brings optimizations for large screen foldables while Z Flip4 runs regular Android 12 with One UI 4.1 on top.

Pricing for the Z Flip4 starts at $999/£999/Є1,099 and maxes out at $1,179/ £1,199/ €1,279. Galaxy Z Fold4 starts at $1,799/ £1,649/ €1,799 and runs up to $2,159/ £2,019 / €2,159 for the 1TB version.

Motorola announced four new phones headlined by the Razr 2022 – a direct rival to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4. The new Razr brings a more useful 2.7 cover screen which lets you use apps without needing to open up the main 6.7-inch OLED panel. The redesigned hinge on the Razr 2022 is now stronger and allows the phone to fold completely flat with no visible gap.

Motorola Moto Razr 2022

Motorola also brought a flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset this time around and a 50MP 1/1.55" sensor and OIS alongside a 13MP ultrawide module. The battery has grown to 3,500 mAh and the phone ships with a 33W charger. Pricing is set at CNY 5,999 ($890) for an 8/128 GB variant, CNY 6,499 ($965) for 8/256 GB, and CNY 7,299 ($1,085) for 12/512GB.

The other non-folding Moto phones include the Motorola X30 Pro – a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 flagship which is also the first phone announced with a 200MP main cam. Samsung’s 200MP ISOCELL HP1 gets a 1/1.22″ sensor size with f/1.95 aperture, OIS and 16-in-1 pixel binning. It can output 12.5MP shots with 2.56µm individual pixel size, 50MP stills with 1.28μm sized pixels or even full-blown 200MP shots at 0.64μm pixels.

Motorola X30 Pro in black and white

X30 Pro also brings a 6.67” OLED with 144Hz refresh rate and a 4,610 mAh battery with 125W wired fast charging. Prices in China start at CNY 3,699 ($548) for the 8/128GB trim and goes up to CNY 4,499 ($668) for the 12/512GB model.

Motorola S30 Pro is a Snapdragon 888+ device with a 6.67-inch OLED and a 144Hz refresh rate. It features a 50MP main cam with OIS, a 13MP ultrawide module and a 2MP depth sensor. The phone also gets a 4,400 mAh battery with 68W fast charging support. It starts at CNY 1,999 ($326) for the entry-level 8/128GB model and goes up to CNY 2,899 ($430) for the top-end 12/512GB trim.

Motorola S30 Pro in black and blue

The fourth new Moto phone is the Moto G62 which was launched in India. It gets a Snapdragon 695, a 6.5-inch LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 5,000 mah battery with 20W charging. The phone boots near-stock Android 12 and gets a 50MP main cam.

Moto G62 will be available from August 19 for ₹18,000 in its base 6/128GB variant.

Xiaomi held a big launch conference in China where it announced a worthy Galaxy Z Fold4 rival with its Mix Fold 2 as well as Redmi K50 Ultra. Both phones feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset though neither is confirmed to launch globally yet.

Mix Fold 2 is just 11.2mm thick in its folded state and 5.4mm when unfolded – for comparison the Z Fold4 is 15.8mm folded and 6.3mm unfolded. You get a 6.56-inch AMOLED cover display while the main screen comes in at 8-inches. Both feature a 120Hz refresh rate and support Dolby Vision and 1,000 nits brightness.

Mix Fold 2 also gets a triple camera setup co-developed with Leica – a 50MP main cam, a 13MP ultrawide module and an 8MP 2x telephoto shooter. The battery is rated at 4,500 mAh and supports up to 67W fast charging. Pricing starts at CNY 8,999 ($1,340) for the 12/256GB model and goes up to CNY 11,999 ($1,780) for the 12GB RAM and 1TB storage trim.

Redmi K50 Ultra offers a 6.67-inch 12-bit AMOLED with 1,220 x 2,712px resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone is equipped with a large 3,725mm² vapor chamber to help keep the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in check. You also get a 108MP main cam with OIS and an 8MP ultrawide module. The battery is rated at 5,000 mAh and supports 120W charging.

Redmi K50 Ultra in Black, Silver and Blue

Redmi K50 Ultra starts at CNY 3,000 ($445) in its 8/128GB trim and goes up to CNY 4,200 ($623) for the 12/512GB Mercedes F1 Edition.