One day to catch up with the rivals or get behind just as the pioneers.
The Vol. 2 of Galaxy Unpacked was dedicated for the Note series of flagships (RIP) but since its role’s now been took care by the Ultra line in the S series, Samsung has dedicated the 2nd leg of their exclusive event to their foldable Z series. These are the expectations surmounted on the pioneering devices in the Foldable and Flippable mobile space and the South Korean leaders have a lot to catch up as other American (*cough* Motorola) and Chinese devicemakers are hot on their heels this time.
The Z Fold 5:
Already being the best foldable experience money can buy, the Z Fold 4 has to catch up with the Google Pixel Fold, which has proved itself to be pretty rad for a first generation product, in the camera and the folding hinge departments. The hinge mechanisms have been improved a lot during its iterations but it still doesn’t fold with no gaps which the Pixel aced. Rumours say that this iteration can finally do that but no word on the the crease on the folding display which is right now an experience ruining gutter. Google has also annihilated the Z fold with its camera specifications and has an proper camera in the inner display with respectable bezels to hold it like a tablet, where the Korean has to retaliate since its candy bar Ultra phone packs the beefiest set of cameras mobile world has ever see till now and the Under-Display camera needs improvement. Other nitty-gritties where Samsung has to work on is the haphazard aspect ratio of both displays and the software. We know its miles ahead of its competition but it needs a polish since it will definitely retail beyond ₹1.5 lakhs (estimated) and ads or bloatware won’t be pretty to look at for that premium.
The Z Flip 5:
Now that the Chinese-Americana Motorola has almost dethroned the Samsung’s Z flip 4 with their nostalgic sentiment of the “Razr” moniker yet being a great phone for starters. Unlike the main fold, the flip needs a lot of revamp to annex the whole competition. Already mentioned, the Flip needs a flat-folding hinge (which it might eventually get). What accompanies with this is the need of certified dust repellency (FYI, the Razr 40 series IP52 level of dust and water protection so even if can’t dunk itself in water, it still withstands dust with proper assurance) as the Flip 4 only gets IPX8 water resistance which gives the ability to immerse the handset in water but not proven level of dust resistance, irrespective of the “micro-bristles” found within its hinge to brush off dust particles (Also applicable for the bigger Fold 5). While one can expect improves camera improvements as its a Samsung product, other place where Samsung lacks big time behind its rivals is the cover display where the Razr buries the Z Flip deep down. Its a lot to catch up as the Razr 40 Ultra (Razr+ in some markets) gets a display the size of the OG iPhone with 144 Hz refresh rate, 720p-ish (1056 x 1066) resolution, 1100 nits brightness and extremely flexible software which makes one to never open the inner flexible main display. While Samsung could catch up as it has all the resources to do so, achieving it without bloating the price is the task to get done in a single iteration. Even if it maintains the same price, Motorola takes the win as the entry level Razr 40 (Razr in other markets) is priced so affordably for a flippable that Samsung needs strong decisions to catch its reign back again. Just like the S22 series, these new foldables from Samsung mostly gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” from Qualcomm
The Galaxy Watch 6 series:
While these totally gets forgotten by getting shadowed under the canopy of foldables, The now WearOS powered Watches will get iterated this year too. The Watch 6 might become the first Samsung watch to get FDA approved ECG sensor out-of-the-box. It might also get the Body Composition scaling sensors approved by the FDA this time. While the Watch 6 Pro mostly will take on its feud against the Apple Watch Ultra this time by getting dive tracking, Multiple GPS bands and even more durability on its already tough build, the normal Watch 6 might get bigger battery this time around and both will get new WearOS software and might get new chip with more focus on efficiency. One can expect little to no change in prices
The Galaxy Tab S9 series:
As sneakily spotted on retail websites, Samsung is geared to launch the flagship Tab S9 series with more iterative improvements on the mind-boggling Tab S8 series. Have your eyes on the Tab S9 Ultra where things might get even weirder for a tablet where Samsung will definitely go for another bout against the Apple iPad Pro. Expect price bumps too for this flagship tablet lineup.
Maybe, the Galaxy Buds 4? (And other maybes)
Samsung always announce the new version of their truly wireless earbuds series, the “Buds” on the second volume of Unpacked and the Pro versions with the S series. So as per this tradition, one can expect the new “Buds 3” to get unveiled in this event. Rumour mill has churned nothing about this device but one can expect something surprising from the maker.
One can also expect the South Korean giant to strengthen its lineup of their laptops and notebook PCs. But there’s no assurance on this one as the Book 3 series were just launched last February.
The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (Vol.2) will be held on 26.07.2023 at 7 AM ET/4 AM PT/11 AM GMT/ 4:30 PM IST and is livestreamed from Seoul in Samsung’s official YouTube Channel.