Refresh
Rumored watches, compared
Having a hard time keeping your Galaxy Watch 7 rumors straight from your Galaxy Watch Ultra rumblings? We’ve broken down the chatter about both likely additions to Samsung’s watch lineup for this Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. Galaxy Watch 7 comparison.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra figures to be bigger and more durable with a longer-lasting battery. Also look for it to cost hundreds of dollars more than the starting price for the Galaxy Watch 7.
How much will the new phones cost?
Foldable phones are not inexpensive, with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 offering starting prices of $999 and $1,799, respectively. You’d imagine if Samsung hopes to get its foldables in the hands of more people, it would be working to lower the cost of the Flip and Fold — or at the very least, maintain the current prices.
Rumors paint a bleaker picture for the prices of the new foldables, with the fairly reliable OnLeaks (aka Steve Hemmerstoffer) predicting a price hike for both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. Specifically, the leaker tips each phone to cost $100 more than their predecessors.
OnLeaks isn’t the only one. A separate rumor also points to higher Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 prices in Europe.
Would Samsung really charge more for its foldables at a time when it’s facing increased competition? We’ll find out later today.
Last chance to save $50 on an upcoming Galaxy device
If you have your heart set on pre-ordering one of the rumored Galaxy devices set to be unveiled at Unpacked later today, you can save yourself a bit of cash — but only if you hurry. If you head over to Samsung’s website and reserve one of the new devices, you earn $50 credit to spend on one of the new products.
But you have to do it before Galaxy Unpacked begins at 9 a.m. Eastern time (6 a.m. Pacific time / 2 p.m. U.K. time).
At the time of writing that means you have just over 5 hours to give Samsung your details and save that cash. Considering we’ve heard rumors about a possible price hike for the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 foldables, any extra savings are definitely something you’ll take advantage of.
More competition for the Flip
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 isn’t the only flip phone-style foldable garnering attention this week. Motorola released new versions of its foldable Razr phone at the end of June, and we’ve now had a chance to review both models.
The Motorola Razr Plus (2024) is a direct competitor to the Samsungs Flip, as it has the same $999 starting price as the Galaxy Z Flip 5. It’s got a larger cover screen, a new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and camera improvements. (Most people will like the 50MP main lens on the Razr Plus; the addition of a telephoto lens at the expense of an ultrawide camera may prove to be a more controversial swap.)
But don’t sleep on the $699 Motorola Razr (2024). The lower-cost foldable requires some compromises — the chipset isn’t as powerful, and we noticed some camera performance issues in low light. But Motorola addressed one of the biggest issues with the 2023 model by expanding the cover display from a tiny strip to a more useful 3.6-inch panel. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 could have competition from both directions.
Galaxy Ring potential price
Samsung has given us a good look at the Galaxy Ring, but it’s been pretty mum about what it’s going to charge for the smart ring. That likely comes to a head today, since we imagine Unpacked will include a big reveal on the Galaxy Ring’s pricing and availability.
In the meantime, all we can do is speculate about potential Galaxy Ring prices. Most smart rings cost around $300, though that’s just the price for the ring itself. Some devices also come with monthly subscription fees if you want to get anything out of your wearable.
For what it’s worth, leaked Galaxy Ring pricing suggests you’ll pay between $300 and $350 for the Galaxy Ring. That’s a little bit more expensive than the Oura Ring, but you’ll also pay for a subscription with that product. It’s unclear if Samsung will also charge a recurring fee at this point.
Potential color options
Color options are always a major focus leading up to major phone releases, and that’s especially the case with the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, since having an eye-catching design is part of the phone’s appeal. Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 color rumors have been fairly consistent from the get-go.
Based on both rumors as well as a series of leaked renders that look pretty official to our eye, it sounds like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will come in pink, dark navy blue and silver. Look for brighter options with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is tipped to feature silver, green, light blue and yellow. If none of those options grab you, Samsung occasionally offers exclusive colors at its website, so stay tuned.
Eat my dust
One of the most frequently cited concerns about foldable phones is their durability — people are reluctant to pay anywhere from $999 to $1,799 for one of Samsung’s foldables if there’s a chance that the device could… well… stop folding. And one of the things that can bring devices to their knees quicker than you might think is dust.
That’s a concern for the current foldables from Samsung, which have a resistance rating for water but not for dust. That makes potential Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip buyers wary of dust getting into their would-be phones and wreaking havoc on the movable parts that cause the phone to open and shut.
Given that background, you can understand why my colleague Richard Pirday is excited about a feature tipped for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. The new phones are expected to have an IP48 rating. That means the phones will be able to resist dust as well as survive a dunk in water. If true, it’s an improvement that could make people feel a lot more reassured about buying a foldable phone.
Meet the Galaxy Watch’s Bioactive Sensor
The Galaxy Watch 7 is also likely to be on the agenda at Galaxy Unpacked, though Samsung has already given us a look at one of the new features coming to the watch. Samsung previewed the BioActive health sensor that will be a part of its upcoming watches.
Fitness editor James Frew has the BioActive health sensor details, but the TLDR; version is that it’s an embedded in Samsung smartwatches, and this upgraded version boasts optimized sensor placement which should lead to more accurate readings for things like heart rate monitoring. There’s more space on this chip, too, along with improvements to the LEDs used to measure your heart rate.
An Olympic setting
The timing and setting of this Unpacked is a little more interesting than your typical Samsung event. While Samsung tends to hold its product launches in New York or San Francisco, this year’s Unpacked is taking place in Paris. And it’s happening just weeks before the Paris Olympics gets underway.
In fact, Samsung moved up Unpacked from its usual end of July/beginning of August window so that the product launch could take part in Paris ahead of the Summer Olympics. Partly, that’s because Samsung is one of the event’s sponsors. But I’m guessing the types of products Samsung is going to introduce today are also behind the company’s choice in settings. As I wrote this weekend, health and fitness tracking are going to take center stage at Unpacked, to the point where the foldable phones will likely be overshadowed.
By the way, my colleague Kate Kozuch is in Paris attending Unpacked, so look for reports from her later in the day.
Oura gets ready for the Galaxy Ring
If today is the day that brings the launch of the Galaxy Ring — and all signs point to yes — the chief rival to Samsung’s smart ring isn’t taking the news lying down. Right before Galaxy Unpacked, Oura announced plans to bring AI features to its Oura Ring.
The newly unveiled Oura Advisor is a suite of AI-based tools that will analyze data to come up with actionable advice on improving your sleep and well-being. Or as Oura puts it, the Advisor feature available to Oura Ring Gen 3 owners will tap into “”AI to empower [you] to achieve [your] health goals with personalized insights, recommendations, and encouragement.”
Your move, Samsung.
Unless Samsung has a surprise up its sleeve, ne product we won’t be seeing today at Galaxy Unpacked is the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE. That’s the cheaper version of the Galaxy Z Fold that would strip away some features — forget about S Pen support, for example — in exchange for a lower price.
For a while, there was a steady stream of rumors about a possible low-cost foldable from Samsung showing up at the summer Unpacked event. But in May, reports surfaced that Samsung was tabling work on this particular device. Reportedly, the problem is that Samsung worried about a lack of differentiation from the full-featured Galaxy Z Fold 6.
The FE version of the Fold may not be entirely dead. There’s talk it could show up at the start of next year alongside the Galaxy S25. But that’s an Unpacked event for another time.
Galaxy AI, take two
Samsung’s current foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 — already boast some Galaxy AI features, as Samsung brought the capabilities it introduced with the Galaxy S24 launch to recent flagships, including the last Fold and Flip. That means capabilities like Circle to Search and Chat Assist are already a part of the Samsung foldable experience.
Samsung figures to expand Galaxy AI features at Unpacked today. We know this because Samsung told us as much in a blog post last month by Won-Joon Choi, who happens to head the company’s mobile R&D office in its Mobile Experience business. “Our foldables are the most versatile and flexible form factor in Samsung Galaxy and when combined with Galaxy AI, these two complementary technologies will together unlock all new possibilities,” Choi wrote at the time.
What form Galaxy AI features designed for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 might take is unclear, but at least one rumor suggests a Fold-specific capability that will tap into generative image editing. According to the rumor, you’ll be able to take any drawings you make on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and have AI tools spruce them up to look more stylize.
That’s likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Galaxy AI features coming to Samsung’s phones, as I think AI needs to be a feature that sets Samsung’s foldables apart from the crowd.
Up close with the Galaxy Ring
It’s way too early to pick an MVP of Unpacked, considering we’re still hours away from the start of the event. But it’s very clear that there’s a lot of attention around the Galaxy Ring, the smart ring that will mark Samsung’s first entry into this new market of health trackers.
Samsung showed off the ring briefly at its January Unpacked event and then gave us a look at the different colors during February’s Mobile World Congress. What Samsung hasn’t told us is a price yet or what the Ring will be able to do.
Leaks have filled in some details on the latter question at least. According to leaks, the ring is supposed to measure both heart rate and stress levels, and it’s widely anticipated to monitor sleep patterns as well, with snore detection features to potentially diagnose sleep apnea. Other potential features include the ability to measure skin temperature and predict menstrual cycles.
Some reports even claim that the Galaxy Ring could include an ECG sensor as well as an additional sensor to measure blood flow. Those rumored capabilities seem more far-fetched to us, however.
Credit: Source link
