On July 10, Samsung held a Galaxy Unpacked event full of exciting announcements, from new phones to the long-awaited Galaxy Ring.
Laptop Mag got an inside look at the line-up of new releases at a special event on Tuesday, but now Samsung has unveiled them for everyone. Many of the rumors we've been keeping an eye on panned out, from details on the Galaxy Ring to a refresh of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
If you weren't able to catch the July 10 live stream of this Galaxy Unpacked presentation, we've got you covered. Here's a recap of everything Samsung announced and where you can buy the new devices.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
As expected, the July Galaxy Unpacked event included the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, the latest iteration of Samsung's flagship foldable. It sports a Snapdragon8 Gen3 processor, 12GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, a 4,400mAh battery, and a Dynamic AMOLED display that measures 6.3 inches on the cover and 7.6 inches unfolded.
Samsung also claims that the Z Fold 6 is its lightest foldable phone yet, weighing just 239 grams (0.52 pounds). That's 14 grams (0.03 pounds) lighter than the Z Fold 5, which isn't much but still a decrease.
The Z Fold 6 also got a bit of an AI upgrade with some new features like Live Translate, Interpreter, the ProVisual Engine camera tool, Composer for generating text content, and Sketch to Image for making AI-generated images. Google Gemini is also baked into the Z Fold 6. The neural processing unit in the Z Fold 6 is 42% more powerful than last year's model, so Samsung is clearly serious about ensuring these AI features perform well.
One notable difference on the Z Fold 6 is the new color options. The Z Fold 6 was available in Icy Blue, Phantom Black, Cream, Blue, and Grey. Samsung has only revealed three colors for the Z Fold 6 so far: Silver Shadow, Pink, and Navy. The Navy is quite dark, though, so fans of all-black phones might not miss the Phantom Black colorway from the Z Fold 5. Unfortunately, there's currently no gold or cream option.
Regardless of your color preference, Samsung fans will be happy to hear that the Z Fold 6 didn't get much of a price increase. The base configuration is $1,899, which is certainly pricey but only $100 more than the base Z Fold 5.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is available now for pre-order and will launch on July 24.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 wasn't the only new foldable Samsung announced at the July Galaxy Unpacked event. It also unveiled the Z Flip 6, which got a spec bump and some minor design updates.
The Z Flip 6 sports a Snapdragon8 Gen3 processor, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, and a Dynamic AMOLED display that measures 3.4 inches on the cover and 6.7 inches unfolded. This year's model starts at $1049, which is an increase of $50 over the Z Flip 5.
Like the Z Fold 6, the Z Flip 6 also received an AI camera upgrade with the new ProVisual Engine. This feature uses AI to sense what's in the frame and optimize the focus, zoom, details, and lighting. The Auto Zoom feature could be particularly handy on the Z Flip 6 since its foldable form factor makes it great for taking remote shots.
The Z Flip 6 also includes some AI features specifically for its 3.4-inch cover display. The "FlexWindow" on the Z Flip 6 will include AI-generated and interactive wallpapers, such as AI-generated frames for your wallpaper photo.
The Z Flip 6 is available for pre-order now and will launch on July 24. Like the Z Fold 6, the Z Flip 6 has an updated selection of colors including Silver Shadow, Yellow, Mint, and Blue. You can also pick up a few online exclusive colorway options with this pre-order deal:
Samsung Galaxy Ring
Samsung's long-rumored competitor for the Oura smart ring is finally here: the Galaxy Ring. Samsung's debut smart ring is designed to be worn 24/7 with a battery life of up to 7 days on a single charge. It can monitor sleep patterns, activity, and heart rate, which are reported in the Samsung Health app. With 10ATM water resistance, you can safely wear it up to 100 meters underwater. It can monitor sleep patterns, activity, and heart rate, which are reported in the Samsung Health app.
It's worth noting that Samsung will not require a subscription for the Galaxy Ring. This is clearly intended to take aim at Oura, which requires a $5.99 per month subscription to unlock the full capabilities of its smart rings. Oura is the current leader in the smart ring market, but it might not hold that title for much longer with the Galaxy Ring around.
While Oura requires a subscription, its smart rings have a lower starting price of $299 compared to the $399 asking price of the Galaxy Ring. It would take roughly 17 months of paying the $5.99 subscription fee for the Oura ring to balance out that $100 price gap. So, the Galaxy Ring is still a better deal in the long run assuming you plan to use it for more than a year.
If you can't wait to get your hands on the Galaxy Ring... or in this case, get the Galaxy Ring on your hand, you can pre-order it now on Samsung's website.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Samsung took aim at Apple yet again at the July Galaxy Unpacked event by unveiling the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the premium version of Samsung's flagship smartwatch. The Watch Ultra features a larger, more durable 47mm chassis with titanium cushion frames and 10ATM water resistance.
The Ultra also sports a more advanced sensor, the "first of its kind" to receive US FDA authorization for detecting sleep apnea. You can wear it for days on end, too, since the battery can last up to 100 hours.
Those are some pretty impressive specs, but they won't come cheap. The Watch Ultra starts at $649.99, about $150 less than the starting price of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. If you want to save some money on the new Galaxy Watch Ultra, you can max out your trade-in value with this deal:
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
Where there's a summer Galaxy Unpacked event, there's a Samsung Galaxy Watch update, and this year was no exception. In addition to the new Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung also gave its base Galaxy Watch an update.
The Galaxy Watch 7 features some minor upgrades over last year's model including some new design details, new colors, and 32GB of storage (rather than 16). For the most part, though, it's just a refresh of the Galaxy Watch 6. If you currently have a Galaxy Watch 6, it's probably not worth the upgrade but could be a nice refresh for those with an older Galaxy Watch.
The Galaxy Watch 7 is available now for pre-order starting at $299, but you can potentially save hundreds on it with this deal:
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro
The July Galaxy Unpacked event was full of new accessories, including the new Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Both bear a striking resemblance to Apple's AirPods and AirPods Pro, especially the white version. There's also a metallic silver version that looks like something straight out of TRON.
The Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro are both IP57 water-resistant and include Adaptive EQ and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). However, there are some key differences. The Buds 3 feature an open design while the Buds 3 Pro have a canal-style design (meaning they use rubber tips). The Buds 3 Pro also have a subtle lighting effect on the side and an enhanced 2-way speaker system. The slightly different designs will likely make the biggest difference for users, though, since the different shapes impact fit and comfort.
The Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro are available for pre-order now with the Buds 3 priced at $209 and the Buds 3 Pro at $279 -- but you can save some money with this deal:
Outlook
This year's summer Galaxy Unpacked event was full of big announcements, from the new Galaxy Watch Ultra to the Galaxy Ring. The Z Fold and Z Flip received some minor upgrades and design updates, as well, but we didn't get any new laptops at this presentation.
Still, Samsung's new line-up looks pretty intriguing, particularly the Galaxy Ring. We'll have to wait and see if it can truly compete with the Oura ring in this niche of the wearables market.
For more news, rumors, and updates on everything related to the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Summer 2024 and all things tech, follow Laptop Mag on X, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest news as it arrives.
