Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: everything announced at the July 2024 event

As the rest of the tech industry seems to mostly shift to overproduced infomercials for their product launches, Samsung is holding fast to its love for giant live events in huge arenas. This year, at Unpacked in Paris, the company announced a whole lineup of new gadgets. The new Fold and Flip look nice but also a bit uninspired; the Watch Ultra and Buds 3 look almost too familiar; and the Galaxy Ring might be the beginning of something really cool.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk through all of Samsung’s announcements and try to figure out whether “Apple products but for Android” is actually a winning strategy. It might be! Plus, we debate what to make of Samsung’s somewhat lackluster upgrades for the Flip and Fold phones — maybe these just aren’t the smartphone shapes of the future. Or at least not yet.

In addition to three new wearables (the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7, and Watch Ultra) and a new pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Samsung has unpacked details on its two newest foldable smartphones: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 ($1,899.99) and Galaxy Z Flip 6 ($1,099.99). Both bring minimal improvements over their predecessors yet start $100 higher than previous releases. Preorders start today, and the devices will begin shipping on July 24th.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 most notably add the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset. It has a dedicated neural processing unit for the growing list of Galaxy AI and Google Gemini features present in Android 14 and One UI 6. Samsung refined their outward design with a flatter profile and less curvature around the corners and edges while making internal room for better cooling properties. Both devices also get an IP48 rating for protection against dust and water. They previously didn’t have an ingress protection rating for dust, though the “4” in that slot means it’s not exactly dust-tight — it only guarantees protection against objects 1mm or larger.

Samsung didn’t just announce new foldable phones and wireless earbuds during its Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday but also a new lineup of wearables: the Galaxy Watch 7 ($299.99), the Samsung Ring ($399.99), and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra ($649.99). While you’ll have to wait until July 24th until they’re officially available, all of the wearables are available to preorder now in the US.

The new wearables target a wide audience, from casual users to outdoor athletes. The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a stylish wearable that’s more of a discreet health tracker, while the Galaxy Watch 7 is a smartwatch that’s more capable with new sleep apnea detection capabilities. Yet it’s not as feature-packed as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which, as my colleague Victoria Song wrote in her hands-on impression, is basically the Android version of the Apple Watch Ultra. Built for the active, outdoorsy type, Samsung says it is its most durable watch yet and replaces the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as Samsung’s premium smartwatch.

If you had any remaining hopes, despite leak upon leak, that Samsung’s foldables would get a major update this year, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news. They’re a little more durable, a little lighter, and come with a handful of tiny upgrades. Even so, both models got a boost of a certain kind: higher prices, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 now starting at $1,899 and the Z Flip 6 at $1,099.

Both phones use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset specially tuned for Samsung, and like the S24 series, they both include seven years of OS and security update support. They’re both a little bit sturdier, claiming better resistance to drops thanks to improvements to the hinge design and materials. The inner flexible glass is also more durable, and both phones are now rated IP48. That definitely looks better on paper than the previous IPX8 rating — the X indicating a lack of dust resistance — but the “4” only means the devices are officially protected from foreign objects of 1mm and greater, not against dust.

Alongside its latest folding phones and wearables, Samsung is introducing the new Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3. As leaks (and early sales) confirmed, the company has moved away from the subtle in-ear design of past generations to a stemmed look that gives these an AirPods-esque look and feel — especially in white. Both earbuds also come in a gunmetal gray finish that, combined with the angular “blade” design, makes me think of Tesla’s Cybertruck. But there’s no denying the overall similarities to Apple’s massively popular AirPods.

Samsung’s press release says the switch was the direct result of “a variety of collected statistical data” that showed a stem form factor produces better comfort and in-ear stability. So, here we are. I’ll miss the vibrant purple Buds 2 Pro, not to mention the bean-shaped Buds Live.