The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked product showcase has been quite revealing. There’s a new list of Galaxy foldablea Galaxy Watch UltraAnd improved Galaxy BudsBut of everything announced on Wednesday, this is the most notable and memorable announcement ever. The Lord of the Rings fan is the long-awaited $399 Milky Way Ring that comes in gold (And in the darkness, bind them). Everything comes out on July 24th, with pre-orders starting today.
Samsung’s latest offerings seem perfectly positioned to take on Apple at Galaxy Unpacked, especially with the new $179 Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that feature a stick design similar to your AirPods ProAs we finally get a look at the new and improved Galaxy Watch 7 with its renewed health sensor array, the most intriguing item is the Galaxy Watch Ultra. It’s a rugged watch with a programmable action button that looks like the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
It wouldn’t be Galaxy Unpacked without foldable devices, and so, as expected, we’ve gotten our first look at the $1,899 Galaxy Z Fold 6 and $1,099 Z Flip 6. The two devices might look awfully familiar to those who’ve spent time with the Turn 5 And Fold 5but there are a few key differences, including a more squared-off chassis on the Z Fold 6. That does come at a price, though, with both devices now costing $100 more than previous phones from last year.
There is more pressure on foldable devices now as players want Motorola, OnePluseven Google have entered the US market with cheaper products than Samsung’s latest. We’ll have to wait and see if a touted Galaxy AI can keep the foldable market in the Korean tech giant’s big lane.
Galaxy Unpacked: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung’s lightest foldable device yet
The big flagship foldable, routinely cited as one of the best phablet foldable phones, is back with better processing power and a revised 7.6-inch AMOLED interior display. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 carries a higher price, starting at $1,900 for 256GB of storage – $100 more than the Z Fold 5.
Rather than trying for something closer to the standard phone size when closed, the Fold 6 still has a compact form factor, though the once-rounded corners have now been flattened. Samsung claims this is its lightest foldable yet. While thinner foldable displays are known for being more sensitive than the screen in a typical phone, Samsung said the new inner screen is made more durable. A new STF coating should also make the crease-free version more striking than its previous foldable. The bezels have also been thinned to maximize screen real estate.
The new Galaxy Zs packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which features improved CPU and GPU capabilities, and a vastly improved neural processor to handle some of the AI capabilities on the device. The claimed peak brightness of the inner display is 2,600 nits. It also has some gaming features, such as support for ray tracing.
The Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 should receive security updates for seven years.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 has an improved camera on the outside
Samsung’s $1,099 Galaxy Z Flip 6 is also more expensive, but with a design that’s much, much closer to the Z Flip 5. It still retains the previous-generation 3.4-inch AMOLED FlexWindow, though you do get access to some AI features like suggested replies from the external display. The FlexWindow now works with the Galaxy AI live translation features, so the person you’re talking to should see your translated text while you see their translation on the internal screen.
It now has a 50MP Wide main sensor and a 12MP Ultra-wide lens on the outside, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 promises camera capabilities similar to those of the Galaxy S24. The main sensor has 2x optical zoom, with up to 10x zoom possible. Nightography uses AI to improve dark photos, with the FlexCam feature, when the Flip is half-open, now automatically zooming to centre your subject in the frame. There’s also an auto slo-mo function.
A new vapor chamber keeps things cool, alongside a 4,000mAh battery that promises all-day battery life. The Photo Ambient feature lets you add “live effects” to some of the images you use as wallpaper. This includes darkening or lightening your image depending on the time of day, or generating fake rain or snow in inclement weather.
Galaxy Ring is intended as an unobtrusive fitness tracker
Perhaps the biggest announcement at Galaxy Unpacked was that the $399 Galaxy Ring is finally here. As expected, it’s meant to be a health and wellness tracker without all the screens. It weighs 2.3 to 3 ounces and comes in nine different sizes and three colors. As mentioned, the gold color is best for those who always want the proverbial Eye of Sauron to assess their health stats.
Three sensors send data about your sleep, eating habits and fitness to the Samsung Health app, including your heart rate and sleep patterns.
It’s meant to be worn 24/7; the claim is that it will last up to seven days on a single charge. It’s made of titanium, so the promise is that it should be durable and relatively light on your fingers, plus it’s rated 10ATM water-resistant for depths of up to 100 meters.
The Galaxy Buds 3 get a real AirPods look in a new version
The $180 Galaxy Buds 3 get a new look, with a stick design reminiscent of AirPods. The Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro have adaptive EQ and ANC, but compared to the Pro, the cheaper buds only have a one-way speaker. The case is rectangular to better accommodate the stick-style buds.
Galaxy Unpacked: Galaxy Buds 3 Pro look very punk-industrial in silver gray
It’s not just a new shape that makes the $249 Galaxy Buds 3 Pro stand out. Samsung said it has created its latest high-end earbuds to fit any oddly shaped ear. It should also adjust the ANC and sound experience depending on whether the earbuds are a tight or loose fit.
The Korean tech giant said these were “the best” earbuds it’s ever produced in terms of raw audio quality. They pack a 2-way speaker with dual amplifiers that support Hi-Fi audio. The new Buds should have twice the playback bandwidth of the Buds 2 Pro, but as always, we’ll have to test them ourselves to give the claims any credence.
The obvious comparison to the new Galaxy Buds Pro is the Apple AirPods Pro, but look beyond the stick design and there are a few interesting design choices. Firstly, the key color choice is a RoboCop– such as gunmetal gray highlighted with a blue or red stripe to indicate whether the stick is made for the left or right ear. The more expensive Galaxy Buds have the in-ear silicone to keep it in place, compared to the standard sticks of its cheaper counterpart. It also comes with a clear plastic lid in case you ever get nervous that your expensive buds aren’t in the right place.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 7 has an improved health sensor
Like the Watch 6, the Galaxy Watch 7 is intended to be a health monitoring powerhouse. It uses a 3nm processor, which promises to make it three times faster than previous watches. You can get it in 40mm and 44mm watch sizes, and both come in a variety of color options.
Both watches feature dual-frequency GPS for precise location tracking in cities or forests. But the Watch 7 series’ biggest selling point is its improved BioActive Sensor, which should provide better health metrics, monitor heart rate and generate a “Body Composition” health report. The latest watches and their newly redesigned health sensor are among the first watches approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to detect sleep apnea.
All new watches run on WearOS 5.
Galaxy Unpacked: A new Galaxy Watch Ultra is as tempting as it is expensive
The $649 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra takes much of what’s good about the Watch 7, but expands on it with improved durability and water resistance that can go down to 100 meters. It has a multisport tile for those training for triathlons, and an Action Button-like “Quick Button” can be programmed to immediately start or control workouts.
The watch face is round, like the other Galaxy watches, but also features a square titanium cushion frame for extra durability.
The Watch Ultra uses a “personalized FTP” that takes four minutes of cycle time compared to some of its previous watches. It requires a connection to your phone, but it should work with the new Samsung Health for your tracking.
The more expensive watch should also offer 100 hours of battery life in power saving mode and 48 hours in “sport power saving” mode.
Galaxy Unpacked: Galaxy AI and Google AI both streaming on Samsung’s foldable phones
Circle to Search is coming to Samsung’s foldable devices, with recent additions including translation and math/science homework help. The company has promised that it will soon be able to solve symbolic math problems as well.
Samsung’s own Galaxy AI is a separate suite of AI capabilities. The first is Note Assist, which brings some AI capabilities to the Samsung Notes app. It enables translation and transcription services that can also help you summarize what you’ve recorded. The Composer feature is an AI chatbot that generates text based on prompts. Finally, Smart Select gives S Pen users quick access to AI translation features.
Sketch to Image and Photo Assistance
The latest foldable phones have even more AI capabilities up their sleeve. The Sketch to Image capability lets users draw on their photos, and with the push of a button the phone is supposed to do its best to generate a more realistic object in the image using AI. It’s a feature similar to Microsoft’s Copilot+ Cocreate feature in Paint.
There’s also Photo Assist, which can enhance certain aspects of your photo, like brightness. Another AI feature that’s arguably less useful is Portrait Studio, which takes a photo and then creates an AI-generated mock-up of the subject in the image. Samsung used the feature on actor Sydney Sweeney, with some rather odd, plasticky results.