Here’s everything Samsung announced at its August Unpacked event

On Wednesday, Samsung held its latest Unpacked showcase. As expected, the event saw the company show off its newest foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, but Samsung also devoted part of the proceedings to new wearables. Here’s everything the company announced during the show.

Galaxy Z Fold 4

Samsung

No surprise here, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 was the star of the show. In terms of hardware, Samsung’s latest flagship foldable adds a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, an enhanced 50-megapixel main camera and a more capable telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The main display is also brighter. That said, the main story of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are all the software improvements Samsung has added. The foldable is one of the first devices to ship with Android 12L, the new tablet-focused version of Google’s mobile OS. It also features a redesigned taskbar for more efficient multitasking. Critically, more apps from Google and Microsoft now support the Z Fold form factor.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 open today ahead of the phone’s August 26th release date. Pricing starts at $1,800 for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage model.

Galaxy Z Flip 4

Samsung

Samsung didn’t forget about its more affordable foldable. The Galaxy Z Flip 4’s most notable hardware upgrades are a larger 3,700mAh battery, the addition of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and a primary camera Samsung claims is 65 percent brighter than the one found on its predecessor. The company has also tweaked the design of the Z Flip 4 to incorporate a slimmer hinge and add new software customization options for the front screen. Like its sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold goes on sale on August 26th, with pre-orders open today. However, no price cut this time around: the Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $1,000.

Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

Samsung

After Samsung adopted WearOS with the Galaxy Watch 4, the Galaxy Watch 5 is a more iterative update. The company has reshaped the back of the wearable to create more surface area for it to make contact with your wrist. In conjunction with a new infrared sensor, Samsung says the Galaxy Watch 5 provides far smarter health data than its predecessor. It also has a more durable glass exterior and both the 40mm and 44mm models come with bigger batteries. Samsung will also once again offer a Pro model of the Galaxy Watch. The latest one features a titanium case, a bigger 45mm display and a large 590mAh battery. The Galaxy Watch 5 line will start at $280 when it hits store shelves on August 26th. However, you can preorder the wearables today

Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

The Galaxy Buds Pro were among the best true wireless earbuds you could buy last year. The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Samsung showed off at Unpacked looks like a promising upgrade. To start, there’s the addition of Bluetooth 5.3, 24-bit audio support and better noise cancelation performance. Together, those features should improve audio quality and make it easier to tune out ambient noises. Thanks to a 15 percent smaller design, Samsung says they should also fit better. But the most intriguing addition is a feature called Intelligent Voice Detect. When you start speaking to someone, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will automatically turn off ANC and lower the volume of your music. The new earbuds are available to preorder today for $230, making them $30 more than their predecessor.

Follow all of the news from Samsung's Unpacked event right here!

[original story: Engadget]

Here's everything Samsung announced at its August Unpacked event

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

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

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

Mat Smith / Engadget

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

Samsung

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

Billy Steele / Engadget

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.

Follow all of the news from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event right here!

[original story: Engadget]