Samsung just gave us 3 big Galaxy Unpacked teasers

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event
JOSH EDELSON / Contributor

Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked is almost here, and in typical Samsung fashion, the company is offering a small glimpse of what we can expect from the festivities next week.

TM Roh, the current head of Samsung’s Mobile division, just shared his pre-Unpacked letter. While it’s mostly marketing hype to get Samsung fans excited about next week’s Unpacked event, there are a few teases that give us a small glimpse of what to expect.

Recommended Videos

Samsung’s foldables are getting lighter

Joe Maring/Digital Trends

In one part of the letter discussing Samsung’s design philosophy, Roh says Samsung has “raised the standards for foldable smartphone ergonomics” and that “a difference of millimeter in a device’s thickness may not sound like a big change, but every gram and millimeter in a foldable device requires an engineering breakthrough.”

The juicy bit comes a couple of sentences later, where Roh writes: “That’s why we’ve innovated to make our latest foldables slimmer and lighter than our previous generations.” There have been rumors that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be slimmer and lighter than their predecessors, and this confirms those rumors. How much slimmer and lighter we can expect this year’s foldables to be remains up in the air, but we have confirmation that upgrades are coming on this front — and that’s great to see.

New tablets and smartwatches

Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra render OnLeaks/MySmartPrice

But that’s not all TM Roh shared in his letter. A little further on, the Samsung head writes, “Samsung Galaxy Tab and Wearables are designed in the same spirit. They work with each other harmoniously in an ecosystem that opens up a powerful connected experience, serving as a seamless extension of your needs, priorities and unique personality.”

The specific mentions of Galaxy Tab and wearables strongly suggest we’ll also see announcements in these categories, which again lines up with the rumors we’ve been hearing.

On the tablet side of things, Samsung will likely show off its new Galaxy Tab S9 series — including the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9 Plus, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. These are expected to be fairly modest upgrades to last year’s Galaxy Tab S8 lineup, but for Android tablet fans, there should be plenty to dig into.

Galaxy Watch 6 Classic render MySmartPrice/OnLeaks

What about wearables? Although Roh doesn’t mention it by name, “wearables” is almost certainly a reference to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch family. We’ve heard lots of rumors that Samsung has two new smartwatches in the works — specifically, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

The regular Galaxy Watch 6 should see a very minor spec bump compared to the Galaxy Watch 5, likely bringing not much more than increased horsepower and (hopefully) better battery efficiency. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic should be much more interesting, as it’s likely bringing back a physically rotating bezel to navigate the user interface — something that was desperately missing from the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

Unpacked is almost here

Samsung

The letter doesn’t say much else about what we’ll see at Unpacked, but the good news is that we really don’t have too much longer to wait.

Samsung’s Unpacked event officially kicks off at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 26.

Editors' Recommendations

Joe Maring is the Section Editor for Digital Trends' Mobile team, leading the site's coverage for all things smartphones…
Samsung’s next folding phone could be cheaper than we thought

the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (from left) Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It increasingly seems likely that Samsung’s foldable phone strategy is aiming for a lower price bracket. Right now, a taste of Galaxy foldables will cost you a minimum of $1,000. However, an upcoming entry-level foldable phone might bring that barrier down to just $800.

Read more
Does the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 work with the iPhone?

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 is a popular choice for a smart watch, available in both regular and classic forms. The bright, vibrant display and improved battery life to keep going all day offer an enticing option, even making for a tempting upgrade from the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 5.

However, before you buy a smart watch there's always the sticky question of phone operating system compatibility. To be useful, you need to link your smart watch to your smart phone -- but not every option for smart watch software plays nice with every phone OS. Samsung's smart watch options work happily with Android devices, but if you're hoping to use a newer Samsung smart watch with your iPhone then you'll run into some problems. Essentially, the newer versions of the Galaxy Watch aren't compatible with iOS, so they're not going to work with your iPhone.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 does not work with iPhones

Read more
These Samsung phones are getting a big update this month

We all love getting a big software update on our phones, and if you bought a Samsung phone within the last year or so, you should have one coming your way very soon.

Last month, Samsung announced plans to release its One UI 6.1 update — which includes its new Galaxy AI features — to a variety of its 2023 smartphones. Samsung said the update was coming in March, but we're close to halfway through the month, and there had been no update on One UI 6.1 since. Thankfully, it looks like the update is still on track for a timely release.

Read more