TM Roh, Samsung’s mobile business chief, unveils the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 in Paris
PARIS – Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Unpacked event this summer is mind-boggling. The South Korean tech giant’s new AI-featured devices are thinner, lighter, smarter and more powerful.
At Carousel du Louvre, a cultural complex within the Louvre Museum in Paris, Samsung unveiled the much-anticipated latest iteration of the Galaxy devices – the Z Flip6, Z Fold6, Galaxy Ring, Watch7, Watch Ultra and Buds.
The two new foldable smartphones – the Galaxy Z Flip6 and the Galaxy Z Fold6 – come in a similar size to their predecessors but much thinner and lighter.
The Z Fold6 is 12.1 millimeters thick, 1.3 mm less than its predecessor, and weighs 239 grams, 14 grams lighter.
The Galaxy Z Flip6 in mint
The main screen is 7.6 inches, the same size as its predecessor, but looks larger without a bezel.
The Z Flip6 comes with a bigger 4,000 mAh battery – a key upgrade from its predecessor’s 3,700 mAh, and an improved rear camera performance, boasting 50 million pixels versus the previous version’s 12 million pixels.
Another major improvement on its foldable line of smartphones this time is the “wrinkle-free” screen, which addresses user complaints of weakening when folded and opened repeatedly over time, Samsung said.
The Flip6 and the Fold6 are powered by Qualcomm’s ultra-intelligent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor chipset, which Samsung used in the Galaxy S24 Ultra line of smartphones.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 in pink
Samsung’s new wireless earphones, the Galaxy Buds3, have a new design – the first change since the launch of the Buds series in 2019.
Moving away from the kidney bean shape and adding pillars, the Galaxy Buds3 looks more like Apple’s AirPods. The Buds3 also comes with a lighting function.
SAMSUNG’S FIRST SMART RING
The most exciting product of Galaxy Unpacked 2024 in Paris is the Galaxy Ring – Samsung’s first smart ring that promises a whole host of fitness and wellness-tracking features.
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring
Key features of the health tracker include the ability to monitor heart rate during sleep continuously, sleep latency, respiratory rate and night movement – four metrics that the current Galaxy Watch 6 doesn’t track.
The Galaxy Ring, first announced at Samsung’s previous Unpacked event earlier this year, can monitor the wearer’s heart rate and other health conditions for up to seven days on a single charge, according to Samsung.
In the wearable segment, Samsung also unveiled new smartwatches – the Galaxy Watch7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra, a premium variant aimed at competing directly with Apple’s offerings.
A visitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2024 in Paris tests the Galaxy Ring and the Galaxy Watch7
NEW GALAXY SERIES TO RIVAL APPLE
Samsung’s new Galaxy devices, equipped with advanced AI functions, will compete with Apple’s latest and upcoming smart gadgets.
Samsung’s new AI-powered translation app will support 16 different languages, enabling simultaneous translation work on the move.
The Korean company said it aims to expand its “Galaxy AI ecosystem” by linking smartphones, smartwatches and smart rings.
The Galaxy Buds3 in white
While unveiling the Galaxy S24, which Samsung calls “the world’s first AI phone, earlier this year, the company’s mobile chief TM Roh said mobile devices will become the primary access point for AI and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone series has a leading role to play in broadening the horizon for new possibilities in consumer experiences.
While Apple is the dominant player in the premium smartphone segment controlling 71% of the market with Samsung a distant second with a 17% share, the US company has yet to unveil a foldable phone and an AI smartphone.
The Galaxy Buds3 in silver
According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 will likely sell about 30% more than their predecessors.
Samsung began receiving pre-orders for the Fold6 and Flip6 smartphones in late June and over 100,000 people have already expressed their intention to buy one – a record high for its foldables.
New Samsung Galaxy devices will be available in select markets as early as July 24.
By Chae-Yeon Kim
why29@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
