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Samsung events tend to be about as leaky as a 150-year-old faucet, so there weren't too many surprises coming out of the company's latest Unpacked event. As expected, the showcase shed more light on the Galaxy Ring, Samsung's latest foldables, two new smartwatches and a couple pairs of earbuds.
If you missed the livestream, you can catch up on demand. But in case you don't have time to watch it yourself, we've got all the big news for you right here. There's a lot to go through, so let's keep this preamble short and delve right into our look at everything that was announced at the July 2024 edition of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Kicking things off is a brand new product category for Samsung: a smart ring. The company had already made it clear that this device (much like the Oura Ring) is focused on health and wellness, and now we've got a clearer idea of how that might work, as well as how much you'll need to pay to snap up the Galaxy Ring.
Samsung claims it's been able to cram its existing sensor tech into the smaller form factor of a ring. The titanium Galaxy Ring has an accelerometer, PPG sensors to measure blood flow and skin temperature detection. It can track metrics such as sleep score, movement during your slumber, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Samsung will give you an overall Energy Score to help give you a snapshot of your overall health and offer suggestions on how to improve things. There's no subscription required for any of this, by the way, which is welcome news.
Along with automatic workout detection, the ring can deliver heart rate alerts and nudge you to move around a little if it hasn't picked up much movement from you recently. Oh, and you can use the smart ring to remotely snap a photo with your Galaxy phone.
The Galaxy Ring, which is said to run for up to seven days on a single charge and has a quick charging case, will run you $400. Pre-orders start today in the US. The wearable will start shipping on July 24. One other thing worth noting is that if you wear a Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch together, the battery life of the former will last for up to 30 percent longer, Samsung claims.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Samsung's foldable phones are getting their annual refresh just in time to take them to the beach, perhaps to test how well those creases hold up these days. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 are the slimmest and lightest models in their respective lineups yet, and Samsung says they're more durable than ever. The company says there's a strengthened folding edge to help support the dual-rail hinge, while "enhanced layers" for the main screen help improve the crease without diminishing strength. Both smartphones have Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to help make them more durable too.
The handsets run on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. On the cooling front, the Z Fold 6 has a larger vapor chamber than its predecessor. The Z Flip 6 is the first Z Flip to include a vapor chamber, which should improve cooling.
Because it's 2024, the phones have a ton of AI features (some of which appeared in the Galaxy Ultra S24), including a fully integrated Google Gemini app. They can generate a more detailed image based on a sketch and draft emails based on a prompt, while there are a bunch of AI-powered camera upgrades.
One admittedly cool feature for the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 is that the Interpreter app makes the most of the dual screen format, so both the main and cover screens feature translations with the aim of fostering more natural conversations. The translations are handled on-device, rather than through the cloud.
Speaking of the displays, those are slightly larger this year. The 7.6-inch main screen is 2.7mm wider, while the cover screen is 1mm wider. At 2,600 nits, the displays are also the brightest seen on a Galaxy Fold, matching that of the Galaxy S24.
When it comes to the Z Flip 6, one of the major upgrades is a new camera system. The foldable boasts 50MP wide and 12MP ultra-wide sensors (the same as the base Galaxy S24). The former has 2x optical zoom with artificial intelligence powering a zoom function of up to 10x. Samsung has also bumped up the base memory from 8GB to 12GB.
Both smartphones are available to pre-order today and general availability starts on July 24. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900, while the Z Flip 6 starts at $1,100. Those who pre-order a Z Fold 6 will get a storage bump from 256GB to 512GB or 512GB to 1TB, while you can get a free 256GB to 512GB storage increase with a Galaxy Z Flip 6 pre-order.
If you're interested in finding out more about the devices before taking the plunge though, you may be pleased to learn that we've had some hands-on time with them. You can read our first impressions of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 now or watch the video above.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Of all the possible words Samsung could have chosen for its new premium smartwatch, it had to plump for "Ultra." It's not like any of Samsung's major competitors has a smartwatch bearing that moniker or anything.
Anyway, there's a new high-end Samsung smartwatch in town and it's called the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The Wear OS 5-powered device employs a new cushion design to bolster protection and what Samsung calls "visual completeness." The Watch Ultra is designed for durability, perhaps with extreme athletes in mind.
For one thing, it's said to work at a wider range of altitudes, from 500 meters below sea level to 9,000 meters above it. It's water resistant to a depth of 100 meters and has a titanium frame. Adventurers should not have to worry about the device running out of juice in a hurry as Samsung says it will run for up to 100 hours in power saving mode and 48 hours when exercise power saving is enabled. Either way, it should have the longest battery life of any Galaxy Watch.
Other features include multi-course workout tracking (for things like triathlons), advanced Personalized Heart Rate Zone and an emergency siren to bolster safety. The screen has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so it should be visible in very sunny conditions, and there's a night mode too. Samsung says the Galaxy Watch Ultra can even look for signs of sleep apnea. On top of all that, there's a new programmable Quick Button.
For those who just want the latest Samsung smartwatch without too many bells and whistles, there's the Galaxy Watch 7. This model is the first with a 3nm processor, which Samsung says can deliver three times faster CPU performance and 30 percent better power efficiency. It has a dual-frequency GPS system to boost location accuracy, health tracking upgrades and the ability to control the device via double pinch gestures. Hmm, where have we heard that one before?
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is only available in a 47mm size and costs $650. As for the Galaxy Watch 7, that comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes. It starts at $300. It's the same deal as with all the other new gear: pre-orders are open now with shipments and general availability starting on July 24.
We've also had the chance to go hands on with the Galaxy Watch Ultra, so you can read all about our first impressions of Samsung's stab at a higher-end smartwatch.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
We have some new Galaxy Buds to go with the ring, watches and foldables. When the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro are paired with a Z Flip 6 or Z Fold 6, the Interpreter app can translate audio live into your ears. That might be helpful for anyone studying abroad or taking a foreign language class.
Both models use their mics to analyze internal and external sound to optimize audio quality and active noise cancellation. The Buds 3 Pro can automatically adjust for noise via the adaptive noise control, siren detect and voice detect features.
The in-ear Buds 3 Pro have a new blade (i.e. stem) design with lights built in. You'll be able to control the audio by pinching or swiping up or down. They boast dual amplifiers, planar tweeters and a super-wideband call feature too.
Once again, pre-orders for the earbuds are open today, with general availability starting on July 24. Galaxy Buds 3 start at $180, while a pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro will run you $250.
