Samsung has announced a number of new products at their annual Unpacked event.  There is a lot to cover here, so I’ll be holding onto the other news from the last couple days, and saving that for the Friday update.

Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra

The stars of the show were the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra.  These are usually Samsung’s highest end phones of the year, and The Note 20 Ultra definitely fits the bill.  The Ultra has a Snapdragon 865+ processor, 128 or 512 GB of storage with a slot for a MicroSD card, 12GB of ram, a 6.9” 1440p panel capable of 120Hz high refresh rate, a 108 megapixel main camera, a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 12 megapixel 5x telephoto camera.  It also supports features you would expect from a Samsung flagship phone like 45W fast charging of it’s 4500mAh battery, wireless and reverse wireless charging, 5G connectivity, and maybe even a tiny kitchen sink.  You definitely pay to get this phone, as it starts at $1818.  This phone is *very* expensive, but comes with almost every feature you can think of.

The smaller Note 20 makes some big compromises to reduce the price.  The phone sports a plastic back instead of glass, is capped at 128GB of storage, comes with 8GB of ram, and has a 6.7” screen that is limited to 1080p and 60Hz.  The battery on this phone is a smaller 4300mAh.  The cameras are also more of a downgrade, with the main camera being 12 megapixels and the telephoto lens being limited to 3x optical zoom.  This phone is $1400.

Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+

The next up was the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+.  These are 11 and 12” tablets.  Android tablets are already a very tough sell because of Google’s lack of support for Android on large, widescreen displays, and these tablets will be no different.  These tablets feature 16:10 aspect ratio displays are a downgrade from the 4:3 displays found on last year’s Tab S6.  It offers a more natural aspect ratio for content consumption, but for productivity and application support, the narrower, wider display is a disadvantage compared to 4:3.  These are high end tablets that sport the Snapdragion 865+ processor and have choices of 6GB of ram and 128GB of storage or 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.  The 11 inch model has a LCD display and a 7000mAh battery, while the 12.4 inch model has a higher resolution OLED display and a 10,000mAh battery.  These are expensive devices, with the 11 inch model starting at over $900, and the 12.4 inch model starting at over $1000.  These are slightly cheaper than the iPad Pro, which is what Samsung positions them against, but there is little reason to spend this much money on an Android tablet when the iPad OS ecosystem is so much better. 

Galaxy Watch 3

Next up, the Galaxy Watch 3.  The replacement for the two year old Galaxy watch, these watches are marketed as the higher end watched, priced above and head of the more sport focused Galaxy Watch Avtive 2 series.  Starting at $550, these are watches that are designed to look like classic time pieces, complete with the signature rotating bezel.  The smaller 41mm watch promises 1-2 days of battery life while the larger 45mm watch promises 2-3 days.  The Tizen operating system has been updated with bettery workout detection and sleep tracking, and these watches should be very similar to the Watch Active 2’s workout tracking, just in a more premium looking package.

Galaxy Buds Live

The Galaxy Buds Live are new wireless earbuds with a unique earbud shape, almost like a kidney bean.  These earbuds have active noise cancelling, but not like you might expect.  Because of the shape and lack of earbud tips that seal your ear canal, these earbuds are designed to let sound in, even with Active Noise Cancelling on.  Combined with 6-8 hours of battery life in the earbuds, and these do not seem like an upgrade on the existing Galaxy Buds+ that Samsung will continue to sell.

Galaxy Z Fold 2

Lastly, Samsung teased the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the updated version of last year’s Galaxy Fold.  The full announcement is coming September 1, but the company teased some of the phone today.  It has a larger outer screen that now covers the entire front of the phone, the inner display is made of the same ultra thin glass that the Z Flip has, and the large corner camera cutout has been replaced with a hole punch camera.  The hinge has been redesigned to do a better job of keeping dust out and protecting the inner screen.  Most of the other details have been held back for the September announcement, including the price, but it can be assumed this phone will be significantly more expensive than the Note 20 Ultra.

Samsung and Microsoft

While that was it for the hardware announcements, Samsung also announced a number of partnerships with Microsoft, furthering the exclusive integrations Samsung devices have with Microsoft products.  There is now integration between some Samsung apps like Samsung Notes and Microsoft apps like OneDrive, as well as unique actions with the S Pen in Microsoft Office apps.  There is also a new exclusive integration with the Windows 10 Your Phone app, which combined with the Note 20 will allow users to launch android apps from the phone on their Windows computer.

There is also integrations with Xbox Game Pass and the coming cloud gaming feature.  There will be an exclusive version of the Game Pass app in the Galaxy App store which allows for in app purchases, something the Game Pass App in the Google Play store does not, and people who preorder the Note 20 can get 3 months of Game Pass for free, as well as a controller that allows playing of cloud games on the Note 20.

Microsoft and Samsung have had an interesting relationship, with Microsoft promoting Samsung Android phones, and Samsung integrating Microsoft services.  It is a way for both companies to try to extend their ecosystem and product their users want, and there is a very interesting benefit.