Samsung Galaxy Unpacked – 9 Things We Saw and Learned, Including the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Ring, and Watch Ultra

Unpacking All the Big News from Unpacked

The second Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event of 2024 has come and gone, unveiling a suite of new Galaxy devices. From the usual suspects like two new foldable phones to Samsung’s first smart ring and its answer to the Apple Watch Ultra, there was plenty to get excited about.

Throughout the keynote, Samsung highlighted smart, consumer-focused AI tools designed to help you get more done, embrace your creative side, stay healthier, and sleep better.

For a detailed account of the announcements and more reaction and analysis, check out our Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July live blog. Meanwhile, here are nine of the biggest announcements from Galaxy Unpacked:

1. 

   A New Galaxy Ring to Rule Them All Samsung’s first foray into a new wearables category, the Galaxy Ring, is a minimalist, set-and-forget tracker designed for 24/7 wear. With up to seven days of battery life, it features sensors for passive wellness tracking, monitoring heart rate, skin temperature, steps taken, and automatically logging running and walking workouts. It integrates with the Samsung Health app, providing a Sleep Score and Energy Score along with AI-powered personalized tips. This slender, sophisticated fitness tracker signals a new era for wearables.

2. But Choose Wisely… The Galaxy Ring’s sizes are based on US standard sizes, ranging from size 5 to size 13. Samsung notes that availability of sizes and colors will vary by region. To find the right size, you’ll need to use a free sizing kit when placing an order. However, smaller rings have shorter battery life – super-slim fingers will get an estimated six days instead of seven.

3. A Smarter, Sleeker Flagship Foldable Phone The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 may look similar to its predecessor, but it’s a little shorter and wider, making the cover display more usable in one hand. Under the hood, it features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip tuned for Samsung, powering Galaxy AI features like Sketch to Image, which turns S Pen doodles into polished cartoons or other image styles. The Interpreter app provides two-way translations across the Fold 6’s displays, making it the smartest folding phone you can preorder right now.

4. Apple Watch Ultra Who? Meet the Galaxy Watch Ultra The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra takes the Galaxy Watch 7 and supercharges it for outdoor pursuits. It offers a more impressive battery, a titanium-armored redesign, a programmable Quick button, improved GPS, and new tools for wilderness survivability. Drawing inspiration from the Apple Watch Ultra, it promises to be a dependable companion for both the office and the outdoors.

5. A Smarter, Snappier Galaxy Z Flip with a Serious Camera The Galaxy Z Flip 6, the more fun of the two new foldable phones, delivers iterative upgrades over the Galaxy Z Flip 5, including a new 50MP camera, a faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a bigger battery, and improved durability. It also features new software and AI enhancements. Available for pre-order in Yellow, Blue, Mint, and Silver Shadow.

6. AI in Your Ears – Thanks to the Galaxy Buds Pro 3 The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have adopted an AirPods-like design with sticks extending from the buds, enabling new pinch-and-swipe controls and a cool ‘Blade Light’ on the Pro model. They bring significant sound upgrades, including an advanced dual-driver system in the Pro, upgraded noise cancellation, AI-powered adaptive skills, improved call quality, longer battery life, 24-bit Hi-Res Audio, and 3D spatial sound when used with the best Samsung phones.

7. A Galaxy Watch to Watch The Galaxy Watch 7 retains the circular design of its predecessors but introduces meaningful changes under the hood. Powered by a 3-nanometer Samsung Exynos chip and a redesigned BioActive Sensor, it features an Energy Score to make health data more digestible. The Watch 7 also includes gesture controls and Galaxy AI features like smarter suggested replies, all without a price increase.

8. A New ‘XR’ Platform is Coming, with a Little Help from Google In a brief mention at Unpacked, Google reaffirmed its XR platform plans (encompassing VR, AR, and MR) in partnership with Samsung. Samsung President TM Roh hinted that the results of this partnership would be revealed later this year, likely at the Samsung Developer’s Conference on October 3, 2024.

9. Get Your Energy Score… with a Catch Samsung introduced a new Energy Score feature for Galaxy Watches, providing a battery charge rating for your body to help you manage your health. However, this feature is only available on the Galaxy Watch 4 or newer. Older models, like the Galaxy Watch 3, won’t support this feature, so you’ll have to rely on traditional methods to gauge your energy levels.

These announcements highlight Samsung’s commitment to innovation and enhancing user experiences across its product lineup.