Phones
Galaxy S25 Plus caught fire at night, Samsung says a drop caused it
A Samsung Galaxy S25+ reportedly caught fire while charging, creating a horrifying situation for a family in Qingdao, China. The phone had been purchased from LG Uplus about two years ago and was being used by the owner’s wife.
On the night of July 31, she connected the phone to the charger before going to sleep. Suddenly, she heard a loud pop, and smoke started coming from the phone. She woke up after breathing in the smoke and quickly managed to put out the fire.
The incident could have been much worse if the fire had spread while everyone was sleeping. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. However, the family was naturally worried about what caused the phone to catch fire while charging.
The owner reported the incident to Samsung on August 1. Since the phone was in China, Samsung first planned to have a Chinese service center contact his wife. Later, the damaged phone was brought to Korea through an acquaintance.
Image via Samsung Community
After that, the phone was given to Samsung’s Nowon Service Center for inspection. Samsung initially said that finding the cause could take around three weeks. On August 12, Samsung explained the result of its investigation. According to the company, the phone had been dropped, which damaged the battery.
Samsung said the battery developed a hole and later caught fire when the phone was being charged. The company therefore decided that the incident was caused by customer negligence. So, the company said it would not provide compensation for the damage.
However, the owner still has questions about the explanation. He believes the broken back glass could have been caused by the battery fire rather than the other way around. He wants clear evidence showing exactly what happened. According to him, Samsung refused to provide these documents. The case has therefore raised concerns about phone safety.
Popular YouTuber JerryRigEverything, known for his durability tests, has now published a full teardown of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, confirming several of Samsung’s boldest claims while also revealing just how complicated repairing this device would be.
The teardown also highlighted what separates the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 from the pricier Fold 8 Ultra. The regular model skips the copper vapor chamber and the third telephoto lens found on the Ultra variant.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown reveals three big hardware changes
During the teardown, Zack Nelson (AKA JerryRigEverything) confirmed the titanium is genuinely there, and it even reacts to heat the way Grade 5 titanium typically does.
The hinge mechanism also got a serious rework this year. Instead of the four-part vertebrae design used on last year’s model, Samsung has trimmed it down to fewer modular segments.
Battery technology is another area where Samsung made real progress. The Fold 8 uses silicon-carbon battery cells, a shift that allows more energy density within the same physical footprint.
Even though the batteries are still labeled as standard lithium-ion units, the composition inside tells a different story, and Nelson noted the two batteries came out fairly easily thanks to pull tabs.
Also check: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 passes brutal durability test as an impressive survivor
About the overall fitting:
The teardown counted 56 screws holding everything together, along with stereo speakers built around internal air chambers designed to boost sound quality, and a 20-watt wireless charging coil tucked inside.
Officially, replacing the inner display costs $579, while the outer cover screen runs $139, numbers that reflect just how expensive foldable repairs remain once you go beyond a simple screen protector swap.
Watch the full Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown by JerryRigEverything:
Samsung has clarified why some Galaxy owners are seeing their phones drop from 24MP to 12MP shooting even after turning on the option to keep 24MP active inside the Camera Assistant app.
The explanation follows a report filed by a Galaxy Z Fold 8 user on a Korean community forum, where a moderator initially said the complaint had been passed along to the relevant internal team before returning with a detailed breakdown.
Samsung 24MP camera fall back to 12MP
According to Samsung, this isn’t a bug. The camera automatically falls back to 12MP in specific situations where the company says stable shooting quality can’t be guaranteed at the higher resolution.
Those situations include zooming in, shooting in low light, using Motion Photo, firing the flash, taking close-up shots, and continuous shooting from the third frame onward.
Additionally, Samsung confirmed that surface temperature plays a role, and if the device crosses 45 degrees Celsius, the camera steps down to 12MP as a protective measure.
Some Galaxy S26 Ultra owners have brought up similar complaints on Reddit, describing the same unexpected drop to 12MP despite having the 24MP toggle switched on.
In the case that was actually investigated, the Fold 8 in question had been used outdoors in hot weather, and its surface temperature kept climbing during the shoot. That, Samsung said, is what triggered the fallback.
On top of that, the user had also been shooting several photos back to back, which separately triggered the continuous-shooting condition. So really, two different fallback triggers stacked on top of each other in that particular case.
How to retain 24MP photos
- Stick to 1x zoom instead of pinching in or out
- Keep the phone from overheating
- Leave a bit of breathing room between shots
Samsung hasn’t confirmed this is a broader software issue affecting every Galaxy device with the feature.
Phones
Apple iPhone Ultra camera design leaks alongside fresh details of 2nd and 3rd gen foldable models
Apple’s first foldable iPhone is getting attention again after a new leak revealed possible details about its camera design and colors. At the same time, fresh reports have shared information about Apple’s plans for the 2nd and 3rd generation foldable iPhones. The first model, rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra, could launch in September.
Tipster Sonny Dickson shared photos of camera protector accessories that appear to be made for the foldable iPhone. The accessories are shown in silver and dark blue, suggesting that Apple may offer the phone in only two colors. The dark blue option looks very dark and could be similar to Apple’s Midnight finish.
The leak also gives more clues about the camera setup. The iPhone Ultra is expected to have two rear cameras instead of the three cameras found on Apple’s Pro models. Apple may have chosen two cameras to save space inside the foldable phone.
The phone is also rumored to have a large foldable screen of more than 7.7 inches. It could come with a smaller 5.5-inch screen on the outside. This would allow users to use it like a normal iPhone when closed and enjoy a bigger display when opened.
These iPhone Fold camera protectors give us a look at two of the colors planned for the device: silver and dark blue. pic.twitter.com/KMaMu4JyZE
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) August 8, 2026
Aside from this, Apple is reportedly already planning future foldable models. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the second-generation iPhone Ultra could arrive in 2027, followed by a third-generation model in 2028. These models may have slightly larger screens.
The first foldable iPhone could be one of Apple’s biggest design changes in years. While Apple is late to the foldable phone market, the iPhone Ultra could help the company compete with Samsung and other foldable phone makers.
Samsung is getting ready to launch the Galaxy S26 FE, and a new leak has revealed almost all the important details about the phone. The new Fan Edition model is expected to launch in early September.
According to the information via WinFuture, the Galaxy S26 FE could come with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It is expected to have a 2340 x 1080-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen could reach 1,200 nits of normal brightness and up to 1,900 nits in high-brightness mode. It is expected to be 7.4mm thick and weigh 193 grams.
For cameras, the Galaxy S26 FE to have three cameras on the back. The main camera may use a 50MP sensor with optical image stabilization. It could be joined by an ultrawide camera and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. On the front, the phone could have a 12MP selfie camera.
The phone is expected to use Samsung’s Exynos 2500 processor. This is the same chip used in the Galaxy S25 series. The processor could be paired with 8GB of RAM. Samsung may offer the phone with 128GB and 256GB storage options.
The Galaxy S26 FE may feature a 4,900mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging. The battery is also expected to use silicon-carbon technology and could support up to 1,200 charge cycles.
Other features may include IP68 water and dust resistance, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and support for two physical SIM cards. The phone could also support up to two eSIMs.
The phone could run Android 17 with Samsung’s One UI. Its price is still unclear, but leaks suggest it could start at around €749 to €799. It may be available in Graphite, Pistachio, and Blueberry colors.
The most anticipated durability test by JerryRigEverything has arrived as soon as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 went on sale on August 7. As always, Zack didn’t wait long to conduct a one-of-a-kind brutal durability test on the latest foldable.
Zack’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 durability test has various stages, including a scratch test of the screen and body, dust and mud, flame test, bend test, etc.
Scratch test
Samsung has made its new foldable’s cover screen tough, as always. The panel stays scratch-free until the Moh’s level 5, with minor scratches starting to appear at level 6 and deeper grooves starting to show at level 7.
Well, the internal screen doesn’t stand at level 2 either. That said, the panel is vulnerable to anything expect of your finger tips. This is a technological limitation as the folding screen isn’t as tough as the cover panel.
Camera rings
Zack used his knife to scratch the frame and body of the device. Scratches appeared as expected, but the camera rings came out unexpectedly. They are simply glued to the phone’s body, but come out over time or by applying intense force.
Bend test
Galaxy Z Fold 8’s bend test involved bending the device in both folded and unfolded states. The phone passed the bend test like a champ. What impressed Zack was the bend test in the unfolded stage, which survived heavy bending pressure.
In addition, Zack also tested the screen resistance against flame using a lighter. Both the cover and internal screens developed permanent defects on the OLED.
Putting dust and mud on the screen and around the folding hinge area has also made no defect on the device, further cementing Samsung’s technological edge in folding devices.
The full video is worth watching this weekend, courtesy of JerryRigEverything.
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