Samsung Unpacked: 7 new ‘budget-friendly’ Galaxy products announced

Samsung yesterday announced a series of new products at a Samsung Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea. This means that Samsung Galaxy loyal users will be seeing the launching of new products all summer long. From new pieces of hardware to foldable phones, tablets in all sizes, and smartwatches, Samsung really did have a lot to unpack.

So, whether you missed the live events or you just don’t have the energy and time to sit through more than an hour-long keynote, we have gathered all the new products, their specs, and features below. And of course, we are starting with the products that were officially announced.

Read Also: With less than ₦100k you can buy Samsung Galaxy A04s

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Flip Series

Four years ago, Samsung made a splash in the smartphone market with its affordable foldable smartphone collections. Since then, there has been anticipation every year for Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone features and upgrades to match their premium price tags.

These foldable devices are on a mission to offer a convenient and compact experience, like a small suitcase for our pockets, enticing customers to transition from traditional slab phones. Its major focus is to combine both good style and functionality in its device. This year, Samsung might have just achieved something of that sort with its new products.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

The latest model of the Flip series, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 brings significant changes. Most notable of them is a larger external display measuring 3.4 inches, known as the Flex Window. This cover screen gives you a better feel of the experience you have on your Galaxy Watch’s user interface.

It features swipeable pages of apps and widgets, gesture-based navigation, a hands-free camera, quick access to the wallet, a dial pad, and more. The phone’s performance is driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, which promises improvements in overall performance, battery efficiency, and low-light photography, as observed in the Galaxy S23 Ultra earlier this year.

The device is also IPX8 water-resistant and built with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Armor Aluminum Frame for durability. One of the standout features is the FlexCam, which offers an impressive hands-free camera experience. This includes an AI camera, Nightography, enhanced zoom, AI stereo depth map, and auto framing from wide to ultra-wide angles, resulting in reduced noise and enhanced photo quality.

The main screen sizes are up to 6.7 inches when unfolded. It is between 6.9mm and 15.1mm thick when folded, with a weight of 187g. The device is equipped with a 3,700mAh battery and offers options for 256GB and 512GB storage with 8GB memory space.

However, while this new product has the same battery size, charging speed, and camera layout as last year’s Z Flip 4, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s improvements primarily stem from backend processing. The price is starting at $999 and will be available for sale starting from August 11.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has made significant improvements this year, especially in design, display brightness, processing power, and multitasking functions. Despite being the same price as previous generations, Samsung has improved internal features significantly with this year’s model.

One standout feature of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is its gapless design, thanks to the innovative Flex hinge with fewer moving parts, resulting in a sleeker and lighter device compared to the previous Fold series. Samsung managed to reduce the size and weight while maintaining high quality, making it the lightest and most compact foldable phone yet.

The device is also IPX8 water-resistant and built with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and an Armor Aluminum Frame for added durability. Like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Z Fold 5 is powered by the high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It also has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

The device features a 6.2-inch cover screen and a larger 7.6-inch main screen, both of which now offer a brightness upgrade from 1,200 nits to 1,750 nits. With a weight of 253 grams and a thickness of 13.4mm, it comes with a 4,400mAh battery and offers storage options of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, along with 8GB of memory space.

The camera quality has been improved with a nightography feature and a flex mode for better usability. Additionally, like other Fold series, the Z Fold 5 supports the S Pen. Operating on the latest version of One UI, the Z Fold 5 allows users to trigger multi-app windows and hold up to four most-recent apps in the Taskbar, offering enhanced multitasking capabilities.

Some of these multitasking capabilities include a split screen, drag and drop feature, and an upgraded intuitive taskbar that supports up to 4 recent apps.

The phone will be available for purchase starting August 11, with a starting price of $1,799 for the 256GB variant. Despite the same price as previous generations, Samsung has improved internal features significantly with this year’s model.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic

Samsung recently unveiled two new models of its Galaxy Watch series during the Unpacked event: the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Watch 6 Classic. Unlike previous years, there is no “Pro” upgrade this time around.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, while the Watch 6 Classic offers larger options of 43mm and 47mm, making it the biggest Galaxy wearable to date. Both size options have been redesigned to feature a 20% larger display, providing users with more interactive space for widgets, notifications, and tracking features.

These new wearables run on the One UI Watch 5, which is layered over WearOS, delivering enhanced sleep, fitness, and safety tools. These health safety tools include a built-in virtual safety coach, Personalized Heart Rate Zones, and an SOS feature for emergency services.

One of the standout features is the physical rotating bezel around the displays. This allows users to navigate the watch without relying solely on touch input. This can be very useful in certain environments. The Watch 6 Classic has the tiniest bezel among the Galaxy’s large watch screens.

The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is the first to come with Wear OS 4 and software upgrades that will soon be available for other Galaxy watch series and models. Whatsapp is exclusively available. Audible and Gmail will soon be releasing their own apps on the wearable device.

Both the Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic boast impressive specifications. They include Super AMOLED displays with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, a 425mAh battery for the larger variant, and a 300mAh battery for the smaller one. They are also equipped with Exynos W930 for smooth performance.

The products are priced at $299 for the Wartch 6 and $399 for the Watch 6 Classic. Both options will be available for purchase starting on August 11th.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series (Tab S9, Tab S9+, and Tab S9 Ultra)

Samsung made a significant impact last year with the Galaxy Tab S8 series, featuring a standout 14.6-inch Ultra model that could easily replace a laptop due to its powerful specs and large size. However, the new Tab S9 series takes things up a notch with improvements across the board.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series, including the Tab S9, Tab S9+, and Tab S9 Ultra, boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor for Galaxy, better-looking AMOLED displays with Dynamic AMOLED 2X, and Vision Booster support.

The speaker sizes have been increased by 20% to Quad Speaker, as claimed by Samsung. Moreover, it’s the first Galaxy Tab series to have a vapour chamber for cooling. The overall display sizes for the Tab S9 series are 14.6 inches for the Tab S9 Ultra, 12.4 inches for the Tab S9+, and 11 inches for the Tab S9.

The battery capacities vary among the models, with the Tab S9 Ultra having 11,200 mAh, the Tab S9+ 10,090 mAh, and the Tab S9 8,400 mAh. Also, the storage options range from 256GB to 1TB, and memory options are available in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB configurations.

For the first time in the Galaxy Tab series, Samsung has added IP68 ratings for water and dust resistance, bringing them in line with the brand’s XCover line. The S Pen remains a highlight, now even more pressure-sensitive and with a latency of 2.8ms. It is a valuable tool for artists, graphic designers, and writers.

Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series started yesterday July 26th with a starting price of $799 for the Tab S9, $999 for S9+, and $1,149 for S9 Ultra.