Samsung held their summer time Galaxy Unpacked event this morning, featuring 4 product announcements. The company is going all in on foldable phones, with meaningful updates to the Galaxy Z line. There are also new watches running Wear OS 3.0 and some headphones. There is a lot to get to.
Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (the Fold 3 from here on) is the new king of the Samsung world. The successor to the Fold 2 features both iterative and meaningful upgrades that should result in a better overall package.
The core of the phone includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256 of 512 GB of storage. The Fold 3 has two displays, a 6.2” outer display and the 7.6” inner folding display. the outer display is a tall and narrow 25:9 aspect ratio, and this year features an upgrade to 120hz refresh rate that can scale down when there is a static display on the screen to save battery. This year that display is made from Gorilla Glass Victus, the strongest glass currently available on mobile devices. The inner display is 7.6” with a nearly square 5:4 aspect ratio. This display once again features Samsung’s ultra thin glass that is capable of folding. On top of the display is a plastic protective layer that Samsung says is 80% stronger than last year. Durability is the name of the game here as Samsung also says the hinge is more robust, and the phone has an IPX8, meaning it features water resistance, but not dust resistance.
The cameras on the Fold 3 are slightly disappointing, featuring mostly the same setup as last year’s Fold 2. There are three 12 Megapixel cameras on the back of the device, a standard, ultrawide, and 2x telephoto. The lenses themselves are likely improved, and the software and processing improvements year to year mean the phone should take excellent images, but it is a bit disappointing to see there isn’t more there. there is a 10 megapixel hole punch camera in the cover display, and a 4 megapixel camera that lives under the inner display. That means there is no hole punch. Now, based on images and video you can still see where the camera is, but the screen does extend over the camera. Early hands on from tech reviewers all say that the effect looks worse than it is when on camera, so I’m interested to see how this looks in person.
The battery on the Fold 3 is 4400mAH, which is slightly smaller than the battery in the Fold 2. But combined with the efficiency of the Snapdragon 888 and the adaptive refresh rate of the displays the battery life should hopefully be a full day, but we will have to wait for reviews.
Lastly, the increased durability means that Samsung is supporting the S Pen stylus on the Fold 3. There is a special version of the S Pen designed for the Fold 3, and the phone supports every function the S Pen provides. That Samsung is confident enough that a pointy stylus tip can be used on the Fold 3’s inner display is an encouraging sign of the durability of the display. Time will only tell.
The Fold 3 is also less expensive than last year’s Fold 2, with the Fold 3 starting at $2270 for 256 GB of storage. That is expensive, but a significant decrease from the nearly $2900 that the Fold 2 was last year. Samsung is also providing significant pre-order incentive, providing 1 year of extended warranty for free, a value of $265, $260 in Samsung Store credit for accessories, and 600 air miles for those who collect from that rewards program.
The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is available for pre-order now and will hit retail and virtual shelves on August 27th.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
The Z Flip3 5G (the Flip 3 from here on) is a clamshell folding phone, shaped and functioning like the flip phones most of us had in the early 2000’s. The Flip 3 features the same Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of ram, and either 128 or 256 GB of storage. The display is a 6.7” 21:9 aspect ratio folding display, and gets upgraded to 120hz this year. The Flip 3’s display is 30% stronger than the Flip 5G from last year, according to Samsung, and this phone does not support the S Pen.
Perhaps the biggest change to the Flip 3 is the outer display, which is now a 1.9” panel that is a massive upgrade from the nearly useless 1.1” strip from the Flip and Flip 5G. This display now allows notifications to be viewed and interacted with without opening the phone, and should have much more utility.
The cameras on the phone feature two 12 megapixel shooters, a standard lens and an ultrawide. No telephoto lens here. There is a 10 megapixel hole punch camera on the inner display.
The biggest question with the Flip 3 will be battery life. With just a 3300mAH battery, the Flip 3 features a smaller battery than most phones of a comparable size. The Flip and Flip 5G were not battery champions, and could be killed with heavy use, so the Flip 3’s battery life will need to be tested to know just how much endurance a buyer can expect.
But despite the shorter writeup on the Flip 3, it is the more exciting of the phones announced today because of the price. The Flip 3 starts at $1280 for 128GB of storage, which is actually a competitive price when compared to other flagship phones. the regular Galaxy S21 phone normally starts at $1129, and while the Flip 3 is a bit more expensive, the fact that the Flip 3 offers a new and unique design may be worth it to some. In some ways you’re paying an extra $150 for the ability to fold your phone in half, while potentially sacrificing a bit of battery life. There’s something compelling there. I think Samsung could sell a lot of these especially when the deals start.
The Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is available to pre-order now and will hit retail and virtual shelves on August 27th.
Galaxy Watch 4
The first Wear OS 3.0 watches are here. Bear with me: the Galaxy Watch 4 is the successor to the Galaxy Watch Active 2, while the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is the successor to the Galaxy Watch 3. Got it? No? Cool. Let’s move on.
The Galaxy Watch 4 features aluminum construction and comes in 40 and 44mm case sizes with 20mm straps. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has a stainless steel frame and the signature rotating physical bezel that Samsung’s higher end watches have had for years. This model comes in 42 and 46mm case sizes with the same 20mm strap size. Samsung claims up to 40 hours of battery life, which is honestly a bit disappointing as the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Watch 3 could go for upwards of 60 hours on a charge.
These watches feature every fitness sensor you can think of, though it remains unclear if all of that functionality will work in every market. The ECG sensor on the Galaxy Watch 3 was only enabled in certain markets, for example. But all models of the watches feature all the workout tracking you would expect, along with robust sleep tracking, especially when paired with a Galaxy phone.
The real star here though is Wear OS 3.0. This allows the Galaxy Watch 4 line to have access to apps made for Wear OS, which means apps like Google Maps, YouTube Music, Spotify, almost all of which were missing from the Tizen powered Galaxy Watches.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is $330 for the 40mm watch and $370 for 44mm. The Watch 4 Classic is $460 for the 42mm watch and $500 for 46mm. Those prices are less than I expected, and the 44mm Watch 4 seems like an extremely good value.
Just like the phones, the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are available to pre-order now and will hit shelves on August 27th.
Galaxy Buds 2
The Galaxy Buds 2 are successors to 2019’s Galaxy Buds+, not the Galaxy Buds Live from last year, or the Galaxy Buds Pro from earlier this year. We clear? Cool.
These headphones are more expensive than the Buds+ they replace, but feature active noise cancelling and an updated design. They are slightly smaller than the Galaxy Buds Pro, which may alleviate my issues with their fit, as smaller and lighter likely helps a lot there. The Buds 2 promise 5 hours of battery life with noise cancelling, 7.5 without, and up to 20 hours of battery life with the included charging case.
Sound and fit are going to be important here, as at $190, the Buds 2 are in a very crowded headphone market. Reviews for the Buds 2 have already hit and they seem good, but not substantially better than other headphones in the price range. The main differentiator appears to be the control the the Galaxy wearable app on Samsung phones. I’ll have to take reviewers word for these, as I don’t have any to play with.
The Galaxy Buds 2 hit shelves on August 27th, though oddly Samsung’s website does not list them for pre-order, merely “coming soon.”
For pictures and video of the devices, virtually every large tech news website got hands on with these devices. Alas, I am just one person who doesn’t get those things, so I will point you to https://www.theverge.com/ for some of the better photos and video coverage of the devices Samsung announced today.