Samsung announced a ton of new products at its Unpacked event in Seoul today, including its latest smartwatches, multiple foldable phones, and a premium tablet. While most of the devices offer incremental upgrades over their predecessors rather than bringing any big bang changes, they still represent the best that Samsung has to offer this year, and should pose serious competition to similar offerings from the likes of Google, OnePlus, and others.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5
Starting off with the most notable announcements, Samsung today unveiled the next iterations of its foldable smartphones: the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5. Both devices come with the new ‘Flex Hinge’ that helps them shut almost completely flat, with no discernible gap between the panels when closed. That’s a welcome change from the earlier models, which didn’t fold completely flat, leaving some space between the two halves of the phone.
The new phones come with Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset tuned specifically for Samsung. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy was originally made for the Galaxy S23 series, and has now found its way to the company’s latest foldables. Another major change with the Flip 5 is its much larger outer screen, just like the Moto Razr+ (2023) that was announced earlier this year. In terms of pricing, the Z Fold 5 carries an MSRP of $1,800, while the Z Flip 5 is considerably more affordable, starting at $1,000.
Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic
Moving on to the smartwatches, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Watch 6 series, which includes two models: the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The main difference between the two is the mechanical rotating bezel in the ‘Classic’ model, which is making a comeback after Samsung removed it from the Watch 5 series. As with older Galaxy watches, the rotating bezel allows users to cycle through various elements of the interface without having to use the touchscreen.
The Watch 6 comes in 40 and 44 mm case sizes, while the Watch 6 Classic is available in 43 and 47 mm flavors. Samsung claims that the screens on these devices are the largest ever on Galaxy watches by up to 20 percent. Both models are powered by the Exynos W390 chipset and are the first devices to run Google’s Wear OS 4. Prices start at $300 for the Watch 6, while the Watch 6 Classic is more expensive, starting at $400 for the base variant.
Galaxy Tab S9 series
Alongside the folding smartphones and next-gen smartwatches, Samsung also refreshed its flagship tablet lineup with the announcement of three new devices in the Galaxy Tab S9 series, including the Galaxy Tab S9 with an 11-inch screen, the Tab S9+ with a 12.4-inch display, and the Tab S9 Ultra with a massive 14.5-inch panel. Unlike last year’s lineup, all the tablets in the latest series have Dynamic AMOLED displays for a better user experience. Like the foldables, they’re all powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, and all of them ship with a bundled IP68-rated S Pen stylus.
In terms of software features, Samsung has implemented a few updates to its DeX Mode which allows the tablet to simulate a desktop interface when connected to an external keyboard. The updated interface includes the addition of a new interactive task bar, as well as the Second Screen feature that allows the Tab S9 series devices to act as an extension of your PC. On the pricing front, the base Tab S9 model starts at $800, while the Tab S9+ has a starting price of $1,000. The Tab S9 Ultra is the most expensive of the lot, starting at $1,200.
