Apple isn’t the only enormous tech company that can have a big day of gadget announcements! If you didn’t have a chance to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020, you can go watch it here and truly appreciate the awkward silences every time the hosts motion to a wall of muted viewers. But if awkward silences aren’t your thing, you can just find everything Samsung announced right here at Gizmodo.com.
There was a lot of cool stuff and it makes it clear that Samsung is finally ready to compete with Apple not just in the phone market, but in headphones, tablets, and watches too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
Some of the biggest news of the day was saved for last. There’s a new Galaxy Z Fold, and hopefully, this one won’t be defeated by mere plastic film. The new phone uses ultra-thin glass to protect its 7.7-inch screen. Inside it’s got Qualcomm’s flagship standard Snapdragon 865+ processor, 12GB of RAM, and up to half a terabyte of storage.
The placement of the interior camera could cause some complaints, but overall the Galaxy Z Fold 2 looks like it will improve on its predecessor in every way.
And if you want an even swankier version of Samsung’s priciest phone, Samsung also has a Thom Browne edition which includes matching Galaxy Buds Live and a Galaxy Watch 3.
Samsung hasn’t announced how much the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will cost but pre-orders should start in Septemeber.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
The Fold wasn’t the only phone announced today. Samsung announces a new Note nearly every August, and this year is no different. The Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are absolutely beastly phones, with the Ultra, in particular, being an ultra-refined and ultra-high-end phone.
The $1,300 Ultra sports a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen with a variable refresh rate (which might be a first for a phone), a Snapdragon 865+ processor, 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a huge, 4,500 mAh battery. To tell it apart from the standard Galaxy Note 20, you’ll notice it has a 12-MP 5x optical zoom that can be extended to a 50x hybrid zoom, a 108-MP main cam, and a 12-MP ultra-wide cam. It’s also got a new laser-assisted autofocus system too.
If that’s too much camera for your phone needs, the basic Note 20 might be a better option. Priced at $1,000, it has the same 6.9-inch AMOLED display but locked at 60Hz. Inside there’s a Snapdragon 865+ processor and 8GB of RAM. Besides a more sluggish refresh rate, spending $300 less also means you lose out on a microSD slot, laser-assisted autofocus, and all those fancy cameras. Instead, it has a 12-MP main cam, a 12-MP ultra-wide cam, and a 64-MP telephoto cam with a shorter 3x hybrid optical zoom.
Both are expected to go on sale tomorrow, Aug. 6, at 12:01am ET, and ship August 21.
Galaxy Buds Live
Beans!
The Galaxy Buds Live have not been a secret, but now we’ve actually seen them and can confirm they really look like tiny beans. They’re also pretty cheap for wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. They’ll retail for $170—that’s $80 less than Apple’s AirPods Pro. Another point in their favor are the three colors they’ll be available in: bronze, black, and white.
Unlike the pricier AirPods Pro, they aren’t sweatproof, though—and we still don’t know how good the Bluetooth will be (and bad Bluetooth is a guaranteed dealbreaker in wireless earbuds). But at least there will be wingtips to make a more secure fit on the off chance your ear canals aren’t bean-shaped.
The Galaxy Buds Live go on sale Aug. 6.
Galaxy Tab S7
It might feel like all tablets run on iPadOS or Windows 10, or are just cheap Amazon Fire products, but Samsung is still out there making high-end Android tablets. The new Galaxy Tab S7 will run up to three apps on the screen at once and comes with a case that has the S Pen stylus built right in.
The Tab S7 comes in two flavors. There’s the $650 Tab S7 with an 11-inch, 2560 x 1600 LCD display, and the $850 Tab S7+ with a 12.4-inch, 2800 x 1752 AMOLED display. Besides different displays, the Tab S7 will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the Tab S7+ will come with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, plus an in-screen fingerprint sensor.
Both tablets will have the practically standard Snapdragon 865+ and offer 5G connectivity. They’ll also both have a 120Hz refresh rate—a first for an Android tablet—and should have improved file-sharing capabilities with Windows 10 devices, too.
Both versions of the Galaxy Tab S7 will be available on August 21.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Besides phones and tablets, Samsung also announced a new watch today, and it’s got us pretty excited (despite how huge it is). The Galaxy Watch 3 is a major refresh for Samsung and might be the first smartwatch to well and truly rival the Apple Watch when it comes to features.
Samsung’s latest smartwatch will have a whole host of health-tracking features, including sleep-tracking. And in a real bold move, the Galaxy Watch 3 will be able to record ECG and blood pressure readings. Apple was the first to get FDA clearance for ECG readings with the Apple Watch 4, but blood pressure readings are new feature for a major watchmaker, as currently only the smaller company Omron is FDA approved. While Samsung has FDA clearance for the ECG readings, you’ll have to wait a little longer in the US for getting your blood pressure measured on a Galaxy Watch, does not yet have FDA approval.
There will be two versions of the Watch 3: a 41mm version with a 247 mAh battery and a 1.2-inch display that will retail for $400, and a 45mm version with a 340 mAh battery and a 1.4-inch display that will retail for $430. LTE versions will also be available and cost just $50 more—$450 for the 41mm version and $480 for the 45mm version. Both should work on all major carriers in the U.S. (though additional data charges may apply).
Both watches will run on Samsung’s Tizen OS 5.5 and use a 1.15GHz Exynos 9110 processor. They’ll both feature 1GB of RAM, an accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, ambient light sensor, optical heart rate sensor, built-in GPS, NFC payment capabilities, Bluetooth 5.0, and wifi b/g/n.
The Galaxy Watch 3 will go on sale Aug. 6.