Samsung sent out official invitations on Tuesday for its next Galaxy Unpacked keynote. The event takes place on Wednesday, August 11 at 7:00 AM PT / 10:00 AM ET. It will be another virtual event as we have seen at all tech companies since the start of the pandemic.
The title of the event is Get Ready to Unfold – which matches the current leaks and expectations of what we think Samsung will announce.
Earlier, Evan Blass or @evleaks had leaked on Twitter that the event would take place on August 11. He also shared a series of animated images of the new devices that Samsung will be announcing during the event. That said, here’s what we know so far.
Don’t expect a new Galaxy Note
Sorry to disappoint Note fanatics, but all signs point to Samsung dumping a new Galaxy Note phone this year. In fact, we may never see another note again. Comments from Samsung executives coupled with the addition of the Note’s iconic S Pen stylus to the Galaxy S21 Ultra have made it clear that Samsung is ready to focus on introducing new technologies.
The move makes sense to me. The Galaxy Note series and Galaxy S series share many of the same functions and design features of recent years, except for the pen.
Instead, Samsung is focusing on its foldable display technology.
Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3 are getting cheaper
So what will we see on the next Unpacked? Right now it looks like Samsung is announcing a new Galaxy Z Flip 3 and a Galaxy Z Fold 3. Both smartphones have foldable display technology with different approaches.
The Z Flip 3 looks and acts like a foldable phone from 10 years ago. But instead of a numeric keypad for entering text, there’s a large touchscreen on the bottom of the phone when opened.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 looks like a regular smartphone when closed and you’re using the front screen, but then you flip it open like a book and it looks and works more like a tablet.
Several reports have rumored specs for both devices, but the really important part of the Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 announcement is that the devices are said to be cheaper than the previous models.
Not only is it important for Samsung to prove that foldable displays can withstand the normal wear and tear they’ve seen since the launch of the Galaxy Fold, but it’s also important that the technology is more affordable to the masses. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 launched for $1,999 before hitting its current price of $1,799 almost a year later.
Galaxy Watch 4 and maybe more?
The Galaxy Watch 4 will make its debut at the event along with the new combined operating system from Google and Samsung. The two companies are teaming up to merge Google’s Wear operating system and Samsung’s Tizen operating system, developed for wearables.
The Watch 4 will use Wear, where we’ll likely learn a lot more about how it works, what it looks like, and what developers can expect to build apps for the new platform.
In addition to the standard Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung could also introduce the fitness-oriented Galaxy Watch Active 4.
More wireless earbuds from Samsung: Galaxy Buds 2
Samsung has a solid reputation for completely wireless earbuds, whether it’s the original Galaxy Buds or the newer Galaxy Buds Pro. And now Samsung seems to be putting the finishing touches on the Galaxy Buds 2, a continuation of the Standard Buds first released in 2019.
We expect to see the Galaxy Buds 2 at the next Unpacked event, but we don’t know much more about the earbuds than leaked photos. Expect these to be less than $200, though, assuming Samsung sticks to the price of its earbuds below the AirPods.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a maybe
Animated images of the budget-friendly edition of the latest S-series leaked earlier this month, but it’s unclear if Samsung will announce them along with its latest foldable phones or if this is something that will be quietly launched at a later date.
The FE edition of Galaxy S phones tends to skimp when it comes to materials and internal components to bring the price down, while also offering some of the high-end features that users have come to expect from Samsung’s flagship phones.
