Samsung will hold another Unpacked event on October 20th
Here’s everything Samsung announced at its August Unpacked event
Two new foldable phones were only the start of what the company had to show.
After a couple of less interesting events, Samsung’s latest Unpacked was a more jam-packed affair, with the company announcing a total of four devices. Here’s everything the company showed off during its August 11th livestream.
Galaxy Z Fold 3
Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Fold 3 headlined Samsung’s latest Unpacked event. One of the more noteworthy features of the foldable is that it includes an under-display camera. When it’s not in use, the Fold 3’s internal selfie shooter will attempt to blend in with the screen. While you can still see the component, particularly if your eyes drift to that part of the display, it helps make the device feel like more of a traditional tablet.
And speaking of tablets, you can use Samsung’s S Pen stylus with the Galaxy Fold 3. The company devoted an entire segment of its Unpacked event to detailing the time and effort it invested to make the two compatible with one another. In short, the $50 S Pen Fold Edition and S Pen Pro feature rounder tips that can automatically retract if you apply too much pressure to the Fold 3’s internal display. Samsung also made the screen protector 80 percent stronger.
Once you get past those upgrades, a more capable Cover Display and the addition of IPX8-rated waterproofing, the one thing that stands out the most about the Fold 3 is that Samsung plans to sell it for a more palatable $1,800. You can pre-order the Galaxy Fold 3 starting today before it goes on sale on August 27th.
Galaxy Z Flip 3
Samsung may have spent less time on the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but in many ways it was the more compelling of the two phones we saw today. A lot of that has to do with the fact Samsung plans to sell its latest clamshell foldable for $1,000 when it comes out on August 27th. That’s a $200 price cut from the $1,200 Samsung started selling the Galaxy Z Flip 5G at the start of 2021 and puts it more inline with other high-end phones.
Critically, Samsung also outfitted the Flip 3 with a more usable Cover Display that is four times larger than the one found on its predecessor. That means there’s more room for notifications and widgets, and you can do things like access Android’s quick settings menu and Samsung Pay without opening the device.
Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic
Once you get past the mouthful that is Wear OS powered by Samsung, the Galaxy Watch 4 looks like it has a lot going for it. In our hands-on, we found the Galaxy Watch 4’s software had more in common with Tizen than Wear OS. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. All of the usual flourishes that made the company’s previous wearables compelling were still there, with the added advantage of better third-party app support.
In terms of hardware, Samsung added a 3-in-1 BioActive sensor that can measure your body fat percentage, a new 5nm processor and 50 percent more RAM. Those latter additions should make the Galaxy Watch 4 feel faster. What’s more, the more expensive Watch 4 Classic features the return of the company’s much-loved rotating bezel. The Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic will start at $249 and $349 when they hit store shelves on August 27th.
Galaxy Buds 2
Before closing out the event, Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds 2. They’re smaller and lighter than the Galaxy Buds+ and include active noise cancellation. With the ANC feature, you have access to three adjustable ambient sound levels. Samsung also added a machine learning feature that will filter out noises when you’re using the Buds 2 to talk to someone over the phone. We had a chance to review them before today’s event and came away mostly impressed. The Galaxy Buds 2 are not perfect, but you get a lot of features for the $150 asking price.
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