amsung has sought to position itself at the frontier of the next generation of smartphones and ahead of its rival Apple with a new folding device and a suite of 5G-equipped handsets. The Korean electronics maker last night unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy S20, its updated range of flagship smartphones, claiming it would set the agenda for the next decade of smartphone designs. Samsung is attempting to recover from a difficult year that has seen Apple usurp it as the world’s biggest smartphone maker and the company reporting falling profits. It hopes that its new devices and designs will allow it to regain the initiative. Z Flip marks the company’s second attempt at launching a folding phone, following last year’s error-strewn launch of its Galaxy Fold device, which was the first folding phone from a major manufacturer, but which saw repeated delays due to production issues, and had a high price tag that put off consumers. While last year’s Fold featured a smartphone-sized design that opened to a second tablet-sized screen, the Z Flip functions like a traditional smartphone when opened, but has a “clamshell” shape that closes to a pocket-sized form. The company said its screen could be folded and unfolded over 200,000 times. It has a small screen on the outside for checking notifications and phone calls. Samsung’s Rebecca Hirst said this would allow people to “disconnect without missing out”, a nod to fears about growing attachment to our devices. The company said it would cost £1,299 when released this week, a high price for a smartphone but significantly below what last year’s folding phone cost. The Galaxy S20, the latest in Samsung’s flagship smartphone range, features an upgraded camera and compatibility with 5G networks across its three models, a sign of increasing support for the next-generation networks from manufacturers. Among the three different models of the S20, which will cost between £899 and £1,399 when they go on sale next month, the higher-priced versions feature a 108-megapixel camera with a “space zoom” of up to 100x. Samsung has endured a turbulent last year in which the chief executive of its mobile division was replaced and which saw it record consecutive declines in profits due to weaker sales of memory and display panels. At the end of the year, it lost its crown as the world’s biggest smartphone maker to Apple, according to estimates. The company has also continued to be hit by legal issues, with its vice chairman and effective boss Lee Jae-Young facing a retrial over corruption allegations that led him to spend a year in prison. Apple is expected to respond with a 5G iPhone later this year. Its chief executive Tim Cook said last month that the network technology was still in its “early innings”. Samsung sought to demonstrate the benefits of 5G by deeply integrating its phone’s software with the Netflix streaming service and Microsoft’s Xbox gaming service, which will allow owners to stream games directly to their phones. 10:19pm That"s all for now Thanks for reading along. We"ll have our hands on reviews with both the S20 and the Z Flip for you shortly. 10:18pm Bend - but no snap Have you been imagining flinging your Z Flip open to answer a phone call, hair swinging like a high-powered lawyer? Well you"re out of luck. The Z Flip does not so much snap open as creak. Here"s a table showing the prices and features of the four new phones side-by-side so you can compare. The S20 series definitely has more impressive specifications, including those high-resolution cameras, 8K video and impressive zoom capabilities. Customers will be asking whether the Z Flip is really worth the high price point. Is it truly revolutionary or just a gimmick? 8:27pm "So good it"s basically invasive" More videos are emerging of people trying out the 100x zoom. The verdict? So impressive it"s a potential privacy violation! Who could possibly have seen this coming... The presentation is over but James has managed to get his hands on a Z Flip! And so have a few other people, by the look of it. Apple"s AirPods have been one of its biggest success stories in recent years, and Samsung is scrambling to catch up. Its new Galaxy Buds+ have better audio and an 11-hour battery life, as well as a Spotify partnership which is supposed to make it easier to listen to the music you like without having to fiddle around with an app.