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Is Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 8 one of the five most expensive things worth the money? Are you sitting down to film your Netflix documentary about the obscure thing that made you go viral on your Z Fold 8? Would you use the Z Fold 8 Ultra to record yourself slowly doing the Dougie to a remix of “favorite crime” by Olivia Rodrigo?
If you knew what any of those things meant, you’re probably chronically online like me. You may also, surprisingly, be the target market for Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones. The new Galaxy devices, released on Wednesday, have many new features and revamped software that seem to be directly aimed at content creators.
Which leads me to ask, in the parlance of the Very Online community: Is Samsung influencer-maxxing now?
The biggest sign is a new feature called My FanCam. If we can skate past the cringy name, it’s an interesting tool. You can use it to track a selected subject — like, say, the lead singer of a band when you’re at a concert — and Samsung will automatically reframe your video into your preferred aspect ratio. So the video you filmed horizontally can be easily remade into a vertical one without manually cropping or editing, thanks to Galaxy AI.
Camera updates are, admittedly, fairly standard for any new smartphone. More than half of US adults (54%) say a better camera is the most important feature when upgrading their phone, according to a recent CNET survey. So it makes sense that tech companies prioritize camera improvements with every new smartphone release. But there are even more tools in the new Galaxy Z line that continue to scream “influencer” to me.
On the Z Flip 8, the 50 megapixel camera and ProVisual engine power what Samsung calls its “most advanced selfie experience.” Samsung showed off how you can hold the device like an old-school camcorder, with a new horizontal lock option to capture stable video. Mirror view lets you use your camera on the cover screen as a mirror, theoretically to replace that last quick check you do in the mirror before leaving the house.
CNET senior reporter Abrar Al-Heeti declared the Z Fold 8 a good choice “for those of us who can’t stop scrolling,” and for good reason. It comes with dual recording capabilities, so you can capture video of what you’re looking at as well as your reaction to it, perfect for sharing on social media. On the premium Z Fold 8 Ultra model, you’ll be able to capture content in 8K resolution with APV codec — a nice option that isn’t available on iPhones and is usually limited to professional cameras.
These many small camera updates add up to much better photos and videos, which is the bread and butter of content creation. Over the years, influencers, social media marketers and small businesses have been able to forgo expensive camera equipment in favor of smartphones thanks to camera updates like these. Even some professionals are opting for iPhones or Galaxy phones for projects, like Olivia Rodrigo’s Get Him Back! music video, which was shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
And let’s talk about the pink elephant. Foldables are attention-grabbing phones. Despite the best efforts of Samsung and Motorola, the flippy smartphone is not yet mainstream in the US, and people will notice you when you have one. What says “influencer” more than having a shiny new toy that others don’t?
Frankly, it might only be the influencer crowd, with their $50,000 sponcon deals and lavish brand trips, that can easily afford Samsung’s expensive Galaxy phones. Those of us who want to embrace our main character energy by snapping shut our flip smartphone may have to wait for prices to drop.
You don’t have to be an influencer to enjoy the new Galaxy phones, and certainly, many people who buy them won’t be social media stars. But it’s noteworthy that this is what Samsung is choosing to focus on. At the very least, influencer-maxxing feels like a break from all the AI-maxxing. For now.
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