What to expect from Samsung’s August Unpacked event
The next Galaxy Unpacked event is fast approaching on August 11th at 10AM ET / 7AM PT — but you might’ve already seen what Samsung has lined up, thanks to a copious amount of leaks.
Samsung is expected to announce new additions to its high-end line of folding Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip phones. Based on leaks, both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 seem more like refinements to Samsung’s existing designs with the newest specs. The new Fold and Flip should come with new color options and, in the case of the Flip, a reworked outside screen and camera housing.
Now that Samsung and Google have revealed their smartwatch partnership with Wear OS 3, it seems like Samsung might also launch two of the first smartwatches to run it. Leaks seem to suggest Samsung will show off a new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and Galaxy Watch Active 4. The company is also rumored to be updating its line of true wireless earbuds with the Galaxy Buds 2.
The Verge will be covering all of Samsung’s next foldable moves, but ahead of the event, here’s the breakdown of what we know so far.
Samsung has confirmed there won’t be a new Note in 2021, and it seems the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the latest flagship phone to gain access to the Note’s formerly exclusive stylus features. Leaked images from 91Mobiles and SamMobile suggest the Fold will get an optional case that holds Samsung’s S Pen stylus when you’re not using it.
Bundled in its stylus reveal, Samsung also confirmed that the new Fold and Flip will feature improved durability, with rumors of IPX8 water resistance possibly supporting part of that claim. Otherwise, it seems like the new Fold will feel like a yet more refined version of the previous two models, offering three color options of green, black, and silver, and a Snapdragon 888 processor. The phone is also expected to have a 7.55-inch interior folding screen and a 6.23-inch external screen, with both rumored to be 120Hz high refresh rate displays, according to SamMobile.
For cameras, prolific leaker Evan Blass suggests the Fold will feature three 12-megapixel rear cameras, one of which will be an ultrawide and the other telephoto, according to XDA-Developers. The exterior selfie camera is expected to be 10 megapixels, while the inside selfie camera is rumored to only be 4 megapixels but possibly housed under the Fold’s inside panel. Samsung Display has teased its work with under-panel cameras in the past for laptops, so it’s possible the company could debut something similar with the Fold 3.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is expected to feature a new exterior design with vertically stacked 12-megapixel rear cameras and a larger 1.9-inch cover display for notifications and selfie camera shots. Leaked renders from Evan Blass show the device coming in at least four colors: light purple, light yellow, grayish-green, and black.
The interior screen of the Flip 3 is rumored to be the same 6.5-inch display size as the original Z Flip but with a new 120Hz high refresh rate display. The interior hole-punch selfie camera will reportedly sport a 10-megapixel sensor. This might not be a dramatic interior change from the first Galaxy Z Flip, but leaked renders suggest that Samsung may have also shrunk the bezels of the Flip 3.
Like Samsung’s other flagship phones, the Flip 3 will likely be powered by the Snapdragon 888 and, in the case of the Flip 3, the same 8GB of RAM as the first Flip, according to SamMobile.
Samsung is expected to introduce at least two new smartwatches at Wednesday’s event. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will reportedly feature a more traditional watch shape, with a rotating bezel and 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm sizes, which should at least give people more size options to play with. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is rumored to come in two finishes, aluminum or stainless steel, both of which will be water-resistant in depths of up to 50 meters.
The more sleek and modern Galaxy Watch 4 (or Galaxy Watch 4 Active, it’s not entirely clear) will reportedly come with two side buttons and in either 40mm or 44mm sizes. SamMobile suggests you’ll be able to choose from watches in either black, olive green, rose gold, or silver, with additional customizations for watch bands.
Both watches are expected to run Samsung and Google’s new co-developed Wear OS 3. Not much is known about it, but leaks have definitely seemed to show it running on both of Samsung’s new watches. Samsung also showed some of what its skinned One UI version of Wear OS 3 would look like at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.
Samsung’s next set of true wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2, don’t seem wildly different from its original pair in terms of design. They are, however, expected to come in new colors and feature improved noise reduction abilities, possibly helped by silicone ear tips similar to the ones Samsung included in the Galaxy Buds Pro.
The Galaxy Buds 2 are rumored to come in green (some renders look like the inside of a pistachio), pink, black, and white. The new case for the Buds 2 also seems to lift some of the design elements of the Pixel Buds A-series: uniform white exterior, with a colored interior that matches the buds themselves.
It’s not clear what kind of battery life gains the new Galaxy Buds 2 could pack in, but Federal Communications Commission filings spotted by XDA-Developers show the device’s charging case has a 500mAh battery, and each earbud will have a 60mAh battery.
The next Galaxy Unpacked event is fast approaching on August 11th at 10AM ET / 7AM PT — but you might’ve already seen what Samsung has lined up, thanks to a copious amount of leaks. Samsung is expected to announce new additions to its high-end line of folding Galaxy Z…
