Samsung Unpacked event recap: Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and more

Don’t miss our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review in progress if you’re at all curious about what life is like with the company’s latest flagship foldable. 

With its slimmer, more elegant design and improved multitasking, the Fold 4 feels like a more capable phone. But with a starting price of $1,799 it has a lot to prove, and the crease has to be seen to be understood. Check out our hands-on photos in the full review, and stay tuned for further coverage!

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is taking a lot of heat because of its $1,799 price. That’s the same price as the Z Fold 3, but given the state of the economy and inflation it’s easy to see why people were hoping for something cheaper.

The good news is that you don’t have to pay anything close to that amount if you take advantage of some early Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals. Here’s how to not pay $1,799 for the Fold 4. 

Our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review in progress is live, and we have good news and bad news. The good news is that you’re getting a bigger battery this time around, and content creators will really like how Flex mode is optimized for apps like TikTok and Instagram. You can also do more with the cover display now, and the price is still a relatively affordable $999.

The bad news is that the cameras don’t seem very impressive based on our early testing, and the display is still quite noticeable…

We’ve been taking some photos for our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review in progress, and so far we like what we see. I’m especially impressed with the portrait we snapped, as it doesn’t look washed out like other Samsung phones we’ve tested.

Check out the fruit tart for colors, flower for detail and statue for bringing out highlights in the shadows. 

Ahead of Samsung Unpacked, we got a sneak preview of a limited-time Galaxy-themed installation in NYC. (It’s also set up in London!) Check out this awesome “vending machine” where we customized a Galaxy Z Flip 4 Bespoke Edition.

Samsung is wrapping up with showing off its London and New York stores where you can see all of the new devices in action. 

And that’s it for Unpacked! Thanks for joining us.The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available on August 26 starting at $1,799. Pre-orders start today with one year of Samsung Care+. 

Now it’s the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro! It’s a big upgrade over previous Galaxy Watches, really leveling up the game for people who want a bigger and more durable smartwatch.

There are a lot of watch faces for outdoor workouts. Sunset, compass, etc. There’s a new route workout experience to keep you focused on the workout. Track Back helps you get back to your starting point. 

There’s a large 590 mAh battery, too, which should lead to some excellent battery life. The display is also sapphire crystal and the frame is titanium. It comes in two colors, black and grey. 

It can stand up to nature. It’s available on August 26 starting at $449.

Samsung has a Google guest. He’s talking about Wear OS 3. That means a new Assistant and better app support. Eventually, you’ll be able to use Google Maps on your watch without your phone.

The Play Store will have a better way to discover watch apps. The watch Play Store app is also getting an overhaul.

Samsung promises that it’s working with developers to enhance the Fold 4’s special functionality. You can even game and chat at the same time. And with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 onboard, you can have a great gaming experience.

Samsung says the Fold 4 is like a console and PC all in one. Is that actually true?

The new taskbar looks pretty nice, and it should certainly help multitasking. You can pin apps or it will suggest some of your most-used ones. And if you’re a Microsoft user, the Fold 4 looks like an ideal device.

New cameras, too! 12MP main camera, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 50MP ultrawide. There’s also Nightography support onboard, too. Space Zoom is also here.

Take selfies with the rear cameras, too, just like the Flip 4. 

The cover display is wider with slimmer bezels. The inner display also has slimmer bezels. The under-display camera has also gotten better, and it’s less visible. We’ll have to see if Samsung is right.

Android 12L will help make the Galaxy Z Fold 4 more productive, such as the new taskbar. 

The Fold 4’s new display design removes the metal reinforcement, and instead made the digitizer stronger. The panel has a stiffer material and the damping mechanism uses a stronger sponge so that the Fold can absorb shock better. 

Now it’s time for the Galaxy Z Fold 4! It’s looking pretty good time around. The old Folds used a gear hinge design, but that made for a heavier device. But the Fold 4’s new hinge uses a rotational effect. That allowed for a reduction in weight and size, but it’s just as durable.

TM Roh is back on stage. He’s detailing Samsung’s engineering prowess and getting us primed for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Samsung is talking about its new environmental initiatives. The company is set on reducing waste and carbon emissions. We can respect this journey. 

The Galaxy Watch 5 is the next device. It comes with some new watch faces, plus making your own with photos and clocks. There are two sizes and four colors. The screen is coating in sapphire crystal glass.

The new workout algorithm lets you track more workouts and changes in body composition. Sleep tracking is also here, tracking snoring, blood oxygen, and heart rate, too. The new bioactive sensor can track a lot of things at once.

There’s a new infrared temperature sensor. It can provide more accurate readings, but its utility remains unclear at this time.

It uses the Qualcomm AP 4nm chipset.

Next up are the Galaxy Buds Pro 2. They support 24-bit audio for richer sound. This is possible via Samsung’s new codec and a two-way coaxial speaker. Samsung claims the new Buds Pro match wired earbuds.

There’s also directional filters for a surround sound vibe. The Buds Pro 2 features advanced ANC and can adapt to your voice to let you answer people. And calls and videos should be clearer thanks to Samsung’s beamforming.

The ergonomic design should be more comfortable. 

The Flip 4 is designed to be unique. And Samsung wants to take that a step further with the Bespoke program that first appeared with the Flip 3 last year. This lets you customize your Flip 4 with one of several color combinations to make a device unique to you. 

OneUI 4.1 allows for further customization with themes and such. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is more durable this time around. It has an Armor Aluminum frame, Gorilla Victus+ on the cover screen, and stronger internal glass. The phone is also IPX8 rated to survive splashes. 

The battery life is supposedly better and has gotten bigger, thanks to a slimmer hinge. 

Oh, and we got a BTS appearance.

One of the more useful features of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was the cover screen. The Flip 4 enhances it. Preview selfies, view notifications, check your SmartThings devices, and get to Samsung Wallet, all without opening the phone. You can also customize the cover screen with clocks, wallpapers, and GIFs.

The Flip 4 comes in four colors: Graphite, Pink Gold, Blue, and Bora Purple.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 gets access to Samsung’s Nightography, and will hopefully get better night shots thanks to its brighter main sensor. 

Flex Cam is great for Instagram and TikTok. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, is now talking up how Instagram and the foldables will interact. He’s particularly excited about Flex Mode, which can record Reels hands-free.

First up is the Galaxy Z Flip 4! This is the foldable for everyone with its compact clamshell design and more affordable $999 price. It comes will all kinds of unique features like Flex Mode and the use of the cover screen for notifications, selfies, widgets, and more.

The Flip 4 looks pretty similar to the Flip 3, but with slimmer bezels and flatter edges. 

Flex Cam allows you to capture photos and videos from different points of view thanks to how the Flip folds. Want to use it like an old school camcorder? You can.

Okay, now the skit is over. Let’s get down to business. TM Roh has taken the stage and is talking over the history of Samsung’s foldables. Eight years of R&D to create the Galaxy Z Fold.

Roh says that the foldable market has tripled in the last year. 

Samsung loves to put its own spin on popular shows. It was Bridgerton for the Galaxy S22 launch, and now it’s Emily in Paris.

Unpacked has officially started. What’s first on the docket? 

Looks like some kind of skit.

We’re less than 10 minutes away from the start of Unpacked! We hope you’re just as excited as we are.

We are live at the London Unpacked event where we will checking out all the big announcements at a special watch party. There’s also a New York City Samsung Unpacked Experience at 60 10th Ave. And Samsung promises a special surprise…

Welp, it looked like someone just broke an NDA for the Galaxy Watch 5. And this could be the first official image of the watch in the wild. Notebookcheck(opens in new tab) says that Samsung is launching the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro at Unpacked with improved sensors, increased battery life and sapphire crystal glass protection. 

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with the ability to be used as an outdoors watch with enhanced GPS-based turn-by-turn and track-back navigation. 

Feeling nostalgic? The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked August 2022 official livestream is up and running on YouTube(opens in new tab). Right now you can watch the intros from previous Unpacked events dating all the way back to 2011. 

If you can remember which devices launched in which years based on the graphics alone, then you should win a prize. 

The leaks and spoilers just keep coming as we approach the 9 a.m. ET event start time, with AT&T seemingly dropping an advert for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 a little early.

The post, which appeared on TikTok but which was shared on Twitter(opens in new tab), doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know beyond the fact that AT&T will apparently be offering a free Z Flip 4 with a Galaxy phone trade in, which sounds like a pretty good deal to us. 

It’s no secret that the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are expected to launch today, but there’s nothing wrong with a little teaser image right before Unpacked to give you a glimpse of the new wireless earbuds. This comes from @TheGalox_(opens in new tab) on Twitter. 

Frankly, we like the rounded design. And we wish the AirPods Pro 2 would sport a similar look and ditch the stems. From the new Samsung buds we expect advanced noise cancellation along with 24-bit audio support but not much else is known. 

Here’s a mild Galaxy Z Fold 4 spoiler alert. According to this tweet from @sondesix(opens in new tab), Samsung’s new flagship foldable will come in Beige, Phantom Black and Graygreen. And you’ll have three storage options: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 maxed out at 512GB so it’s nice to know that power users will be able to get that much storage. But you should be prepared to pay a hefty premium for that max amount.