Samsung has just announced a swathe of new Galaxy devices, and you’ll be able to get your hands on them all in just four weeks’ time — September 10 2021.
Leading the story is Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3 5G; partners in crime that share foldable screens, 5G technology and some of the very best tech that Samsung has to offer. They’re paired up with the latest wearable technology with the launch of the company’s new Galaxy Watch 4 (now powered by Wear OS) and Galaxy Buds 2.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G touts a by-now-familiar design and form, the “notebook” style thats become the signature Fold design. It’s billed as the ultimate mobile device for productivity and wanting to make the most of each moment.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes in three colours (Phantom Black, Phantom Green, Phantom Silver), and will be widely available in the following options:
- $2,499 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage
- $2,649 for 12GB RAM and 512GB storage
The Fold’s main screen (the inner screen you see when you open it up) is now a 7.6-inch (7.4-inches, if you count the rounded corners) 22.5:18 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. With updated screen tech, Samsung says this Fold 3’s main display is brighter, and consumes less power – sounds pretty good to us! The cover screen (the screen that’s facing you when the device is folded) is no slouch either, with the same screen technology at 6.2-inches 24.5:9. Both main and cover display support 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The phone weighs 271 grams.
A big innovation here is the front-facing camera thats located under the main screen, so inside the device is all-screen, all the time – it’s a stark contrast to the original Fold’s interior design. This is tech we’ve seen promised for the last couple of years, and it’s pretty great to see it in a consumer-facing device instead of just a prototype. It’s a 4MP shooter with an f/1.8 aperture and 2.0µm pixel size. This should be good enough for video calls, and will certainly turn heads when people try to find the camera, but if you’re into selfie pics you’ll probably want to go for the cover camera
You might expect the rear camera on the phone to be on par with the company’s current flagship (the S21 Ultra), but Samsung seems to want to keep the absolute top-of-the-line cameras to its premium S-series phones. What we’re getting on the Fold 3 instead is a mix of sensors (ultra-wide, wide-angle and telephoto) that all top out at 12MP with apertures ranging from 2.4 to 1.8. There’s dual optical image stabilisation, 2x optical zoom (yay!) and 10x digital zoom (🤷♂️). There’s only so much stuff you can cram into the body of a phone with a foldable display, and while the camera might not hang with the best of the best, we’re still confident Samsung’s delivering a quality shooter here.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with a 4,400mAh battery built-in and supports wireless charging including 10W wireless fast charging. On a cable it’ll pull 25W for fast charging. It’s also IPX8 rated.
The Fold 3 will also be compatible with Samsung’s S Pen and S Pen Pro, which will be sold separately. It’ll be available in two options – $74 gets you an S Pen designed for Fold 3, and the more expensive $119 option also includes a flip cover for the phone.
There are some pre-order bonuses available that might vary depending on the retail partner you go with, but Samsung’s own offers include either Galaxy Buds Pro, a Productivity Pack (S Pen Pro, Smart Keyboard and Universal Stand) or a Power Pack (Flip Cover, S Pen, and Trio wireless charger).
Pre-orders open today, and are available until September 9 – the phones go on sale the following day.
Staying with mobiles, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a classic mobile clamshell design that’s sure to turn heads. We’ve been pretty fond of the Flip phones since their inception, and are looking forward to taking this one out for a spin too!
Flip 3 is available in seven colour options (Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender, Grey, White and Pink) with the latter 3 exclusive to Samsung’s own online e-store.
- $1,499 for 8GB RAM and 128G storage (all colours)
- $1,599 for 8GB RAM and 256G storage (Phantom Black only)
Flip 3 includes some neat new options for carrying your phone around including ring grips and strap cases that you’ll see in the photos.
Those of you following along at home will note that the original Flip was introduced at $2,199 last year – this year’s phone is almost a full 25% less expensive, and offers quite a bit more. This is really putting foldable phones within the reach of everyone, and we’re expecting this new version of the Flip to be A Big Deal for this reason.
The Flip is a 183-gram phone that features a large inner main screen at something of a traditional phone size – it’s a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, which is pretty much what you’d expect on a phone that doesn’t fold in half. The main screen is paired up with a 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera.
On the outside, you’ll find a diminutive 1.9-inch cover screen with a modest 260x512px display – enough to show some basic information and widgets, but this is a phone you’ll be opening to use. Next to the cover screen is the phone’s main camera array, a dual-sensor setup with two 12MP cameras – ultra-wide f/2.2, and normal wide-angle f/1.8. You can use the main camera to take a photo while the phone is closed.
Galaxy Flip 3 comes with a 3,300mAh battery built-in and supports wireless charging including 10W wireless fast charging. On a cable it’ll pull 15W for fast charging. It’s also IPX8 rated.
Like the Fold 3, are some pre-order bonuses available – you can choose to receive a free pair of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live wireless earbuds, or a Power Pack (an Aramid case, and a Trio wireless charger).
Pre-orders open today, and are available until September 9 – the phones go on sale the following day.
Galaxy Unpacked isn’t just about phones, though – there’s also a couple of new wearable devices, with a new Galaxy Watch and some new earbuds too!
Galaxy Watch 4 & Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 cashes in the skyrocketing popularity of wearables for health and wellbeing.
With this iteration, Samsung’s new wearable moves away from its roots in Tizen and moves to the new Wear OS platform, announced at Google I/O as a collaboration between Google and Samsung, bringing compatibility not just with Samsung’s proprietary services (like Samsung Pay) but broader ecosystem features including Google’s own apps and services like Google Pay.
While it’s very Google-ey under the covers, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 is unmistakably a Samsung product, and will fit in with many a discerning taste. It’s notable that this is referred to as Wear OS Powered By Samsung.
Available in two styles with two sizes each, the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup starts at $399 and goes through to $699 at the top end, as below:
- 40mm Black, Gold and Silver – Bluetooth – $399
- 40mm Black, Gold and Silver – LTE – $499
- 44mm Black, Silver and Green – Bluetooth – $449
- 44mm Black, Silver, and Green – LTE – $549
There’s also the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic which goes slightly larger (up to 46mm) and features a more classic-styled design with the cool rotating bezel that Samsung’s smartwatch range has been known for:
- 42mm Black and Silver – Bluetooth – $549
- 42mm Black and Silver – LTE – $649
- 46mm Black and Silver – Bluetooth – $599
- 46mm Black and Silver – LTE – $699
We’ve been looking for a Wear OS watch that shakes off the shackles of performance that have long dogged the platform, and in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 we might just have found it. The watches use a new Exynos W920 5nm processor, affording them a faster CPU and GPU than in previous generations – and Samsung’s own watches were already pretty nifty movers. We’re hoping that this combination of new processor and extra RAM (1.5GB) will prove fast and responsive.
Last but not least is the new Galaxy Buds 2, complementing Samsung’s other well-received Buds options – Pro and Live – offering consumers a good range of options and price points.
Galaxy Buds 2 brings Active Noise Cancellation technology, adjustable ambient sound levels and a machine-learning-based solution for noise filtering to help you hear clear audio and be heard clearly on calls.
These are Samsung’s smallest and lightest earbuds to date and promise a solid performance at a decent price point. They’re available next month for $219 in four colours – graphite, white, olive and lavender.
I’m strangely attracted to the flip phone 😉