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Everything announced at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Watch 5 Pro, Buds 2 Pro
Samsung's latest Galaxy Unpacked event took place on Wednesday. The company announced several new products during a prerecorded announcement -- the new Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 smartphones, the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro, and the Buds 2 Pro wireless earbuds.
The new products are all available to preorder right now, with in-store availability starting and shipments set to arrive on Aug. 26. Below I'll quickly break down what changes Samsung made to its latest foldable smartphones, wearable smartwatches, and wireless earbuds.
Samsung unveiled the $1,799 Galaxy Z Fold 4, its flagship phone that folds open like a book to reveal a 7.6-inch display. When closed, the cover screen has a 6.2-inch display. There's a three-camera array on the back with lenses similar to what we saw Samsung use in the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus with a 12-megapixel ultrawide, a 50-megapixel wide-angle, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera.
Inside the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, 12GB of memory, a 4,400-mAh battery, and storage starting at 256GB -- doubling all the way up to 1TB.
The Z Fold 4 comes in new colors, as well. You can pick from Graygreen, Phantom Black, Beige and a Samsung.com online exclusive of Burgundy. Preorders for the Z Fold 4 start Aug. 10, with in-store availability on Aug. 26. If you preorder the Z Fold 4, you'll get up to $1,000 off with an eligible trade-in, a "complimentary memory upgrade," a Standing Cover and Pen case, and a $100 Samsung credit.
Alongside the Z Fold 4, Samsung announced the $999 Z Flip 4 smartphone. The Flip design, as its name implies, flips open vertically, like an old flip phone. But instead of revealing a tiny display on the top and a physical number pad on the bottom, the height of the device holds a 6.7-inch display. When closed, there's a 1.9-inch cover screen on the front of the phone for functions like seeing incoming calls or answering texts.
The Z Flip 4 uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, and has 8GB of memory, a 3,700-mAh battery, and your choice of 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage.
There are two rear-facing cameras: a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera. The front camera is a 10-megapixel selfie cam. In addition to the Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, and Blue color options, there are several Bespoke Edition colors that let you a unique combination of your own. For the front and back of the device you can pick between Yellow, White, Navy, Khaki, and Red, and then get the frame in either Silver, Black, or Gold.
When you preorder a Galaxy Z Flip 4 between Aug. 10 and Aug. 25, you'll get a "complimentary memory upgrade" that doubles the storage, and up to $900 off with a trade-in, plus a Silicone Ring Case or Strap Case.
As for wearables, Samsung announced two new smartwatches: the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro. Both models come with Samsung's BioActive Sensor, which has gained a temperature sensor that keeps tabs on your skin's temperature and logs readings in Samsung Health.
Additionally, the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro can monitor your sleep, keeping tabs on your snoring and blood oxygen levels, and give guidance based on the overall results.
Both the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are covered in Sapphire Crystal, adding to their respective durability.
There are two different sizes of the Watch 5 (40mm and 44mm), while the Watch 5 Pro only comes with a 1.4-inch display. Battery life on the Pro should see a big boost thanks to a 590-mAh battery.
Both models are available to preorder right now. The Watch 5 starts at $279 for the Bluetooth model or $329 for an LTE version. The Watch 5 Pro is $449 for Bluetooth or $499 for the LTE model. If you preorder before Aug. 26, you'll get a Wireless Charger Duo, up to $125 off with an eligible trade-in, and a $50 Samsung.com credit.
Finally at the event, Samsung announced a new pair of completely wireless earbuds. The $229 Galaxy Buds 2 Pro feature a revamped, smaller design but retain the key features of premium wireless earbuds.
Features like active noise cancellation and ambient mode either block out all background noise so you only hear what's streaming from your phone to your earbuds, or let in just enough of the ambient noise that you're aware of overhead announcements or nearby traffic as you commute to work, respectively.
The Buds 2 Pro earbuds come in Graphite, White, and Bora Purple. If you preorder Samsung's new earbuds, you'll get a wireless charger, up to $75 with an eligible trade-in, and a $30 Samsung.com credit.
Bottom line
So, there you have it: five new products in total. Two new phones, two new watches, and a pair of wireless earbuds -- all of which are sure to make any Samsung fan happy. However, it's disappointing that Samsung hasn't figured out how to lower the price of its foldable phones below the $1,000 Flip and $1,800 Fold starting price points.
This year's changes to the phones seem to be mostly small design tweaks and updates to the cameras, with an improved software experience on the Z Fold 4. With the Z Flip 4 still being the more affordable of the two, I expect that it'll remain Samsung's top foldable smartphone through 2022 and into 2023. Hopefully a competitor, whether Motorola or someone else, will be able to put some pressure on Samsung to help lower the price of foldable smartphones.
The Watch 5 Pro is arguably the biggest update announcement out of the entire event, with features that pit it against higher-end Garmin devices and similar smartwatches for outdoor enthusiasts.
We'll have plenty of more coverage of the new devices, including hands-on first impressions and in-depth reviews, over the coming days and weeks. Make sure to keep checking back.
In the meantime, what are you impressed or disappointed with regarding today's Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event and its announcements? Let us know in the comments below.