Foldables! Two, in all probability! These are your headliners. Samsung tipped its hand with the occasion invite, which includes a pair of geometrical objects that fairly clearly signify the brand new Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip.
The opposite headliner is what we gained’t be seeing on the occasion (Deadliner? Endliner?). The corporate already confirmed through company weblog that we gained’t be seeing the following model of the Galaxy Word subsequent week. That’s an enormous break from the system’s long-standing annual refresh cycle.
We nonetheless don’t know if that is the end-end of the road for the phablet. Samsung informed TechCrunch, “We is not going to be launching new Galaxy Word gadgets in 2021. As an alternative, Samsung plans to proceed to broaden the Word expertise and produce lots of its in style productiveness and creativity options, together with the S Pen, throughout our Galaxy ecosystem. We’ll share extra particulars on our future portfolio as soon as we’re able to announce.”

Picture Credit: Samsung
Rumors surfaced previous to this revelation that the corporate could have been pressured to place the system on maintain, as world provide chain points proceed to hamstring producers. There’s additionally an argument to be made, nevertheless, that Samsung has progressively made the Word redundant over the previous a number of Galaxy S updates.
It appears telling that the corporate referred to a forthcoming “flagship” in its official Unpacked copy. With the Word out of the image and the Galaxy S about six months out from a refresh, this seems to check with the Galaxy Fold gaining the (admittedly ceremonial) title. Whether or not which means two or three flagships within the firm’s Armada stays to be seen.
What we do know, nevertheless, is that — just like the Galaxy S earlier than it — no less than one of many forthcoming foldables can be blurring that Word line.
“I hope you’ll be part of us as we debut our subsequent Galaxy Z household and share some foldable surprises — together with the first-ever S Pen designed particularly for foldable telephones,” the corporate’s president and head of Cell Communications Enterprise, TM Roh wrote. The chief additionally promised “much more refined fashion, armed with extra sturdy, stronger materials” on the brand new Galaxy Z Flip.
Earlier — and subsequent — leaks have given us beauty at each the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. Hell, it wouldn’t be a Samsung occasion if just about every part didn’t leak out previous to the occasion.
A collection of tweets from EVLeaks has given us almost each angle of the upcoming foldable smartphones, together with (European) costs that put the Fold and Flip beginning at €1,899 and €1,099, respectively. Each mark a large lower from the earlier technology. That’s good — if not solely shocking. Samsung’s plan all alongside has clearly been a protracted drop in pricing as foldable know-how scaled. We’re nonetheless an extended methods away from low cost right here, however maybe nudging our approach towards the realm of chance for extra customers.
Different leaked particulars for the Fold/Flip embrace a 7.6/6.7-inch inside show, a Snapdragon 888 processor (each) and 12MP triple/twin cameras, respectively. Curiously, water resistance can also be reportedly on board right here.
With a 12 months of digital occasions underneath its belt, the corporate appears to have a greater thought of pacing. Samsung — together with many different firms within the house — took liberties when occasions went extra from in-person to on-line, meting out bulletins occasion by occasion. Fortunately, subsequent week’s Unpacked is a a lot greater, self-contained occasion.
The opposite anticipated highlights are each wearables. First is the long-awaited fruits of the partnership between Samsung and Google that was introduced at I/O. We didn’t get quite a lot of data on the time, past the truth that it would doubtlessly be a boon for customers and builders, with the power to collectively create apps for each the beleaguered Put on OS and Samsung’s customized model of Tizen.

Picture Credit: Samsung
“Samsung and Google have an extended historical past of collaboration, and each time we’ve labored collectively, the expertise for our shoppers has been dramatically higher for everybody,” Google SVP Sameer Samat stated at a June follow-up to the I/O information. “That definitely holds true for this new, unified platform, which can be rolling out for the primary time on Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch. In collaboration with Samsung, we’re thrilled to convey longer battery life, quicker efficiency and a variety of apps, together with many from Google to an entire new wearable expertise.”
The corporate held an (admittedly disappointing) occasion at MWC centered on the forthcoming watch. There was, nevertheless, one key factor lacking: the watch. Primarily based on pure hypothesis, I’d counsel that the wearable simply didn’t come collectively on the timeline Samsung was anticipating, however the firm went forward and did a digital presser on the (largely digital) commerce present.
The corporate did, nevertheless, introduced One UI Watch — a wearable model of its streamlined OS interface. Samsung notes in a press launch:
One UI Watch along with the brand new unified platform will create a wholly new Galaxy Watch expertise. As a part of the brand new expertise, as soon as you put in watch-compatible apps in your smartphone, they are going to be swiftly downloaded onto your smartwatch. When you’ve custom-made your clock app in your cellphone to indicate the time in several cities across the globe, this can be robotically mirrored in your watch as nicely. And if you happen to block calls and messages out of your watch, they may now be blocked in your smartphone, too.
Leaks have additionally revealed the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Traditional fashions together with (once more) European pricing. They’re reportedly set to begin at €279 and €379, respectively, with every that includes a number of sizing choices. That final bit was at all times a sticking level for me with Samsung watches, which have historically been pretty large, knocking out an excellent variety of potential consumers within the course of.
The final large piece of the puzzle are the Galaxy Buds 2. The most recent improve to the corporate’s entry-level buds are stated to be gaining energetic noise canceling.
Will there be surprises as soon as issues kick off at 7AM PT/10AM ET on August 11? Little, ones, in all probability. These leaks tend to seize issues in broad strokes however miss among the key nuances within the course of. And whereas the corporate is greater than a little bit acquainted with pre-show leaks, it’s nonetheless managed to shock us up to now.
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