Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 preview: Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, and more
It’s official — Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event will be on July 26, 2023, in Seoul, Korea. And boy, this will be a jam-packed event. We’re going to see the next generation of Samsung’s foldables, smartwatches, and tablets. So, let’s break it all down.
Here’s everything we’re expecting to see at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2023 event — from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, new Galaxy Watch 6, and everything in between.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Even though the Google Pixel Fold just came out, Samsung is still the undisputed king of foldables, as it’s had years of experience in the industry to get things right. And with this Galaxy Unpacked event, we’re expecting the next generation of Samsung’s flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
But if you’re expecting a huge upgrade with the Z Fold 5, you may be slightly disappointed. According to rumors, there won’t be a big design change with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and it is expected to retain a similar form factor as its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 4. This means a narrow cover display with an almost bezel-less inner display.
However, one of the changes with the Z Fold 5 will be with the hinge, which is shifting to a water drop-like hinge mechanism, which will help the device have no gaps when folded closed. On the inside, it should have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip, just like with the Galaxy S23 series. Rumors also suggest that it will have 25W fast charging for the 4,400mAh battery.
With the cameras, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 may have the same triple rear camera setup as its predecessor. This means a 50MP primary camera, a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide sensor. The selfie camera on the cover display may be the same as the 12MP on the Z Fold 4, but the inner display camera should get a spec bump from the measly 4MP of the current generation.
As far as price goes, it will probably be similar to the current Z Fold 4 and Google Pixel Fold starting price of $1,799.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
We’re expecting bigger changes with the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5, however. While the clamshell design will be the same, the cover display will be much larger than the Z Flip 4’s 1.9-inch screen.
It looks like the Z Flip 5 will have at least a 3.4-inch screen on the outside, which won’t take up the entire front cover, but most of it. Rumors also suggest that we’ll be able to run some optimized Samsung and Google apps on that cover screen, though it’s not certain if you’ll be able to run any Android app on it like you can on the Motorola Razr Plus.
On the inside, we should see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, like in the Galaxy S23 series. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 will likely have 8GB RAM and come in either 128GB or 256GB storage options. And on the camera front, we shouldn’t expect anything too powerful. Similar to the Z Flip 4, the Z Flip 5 is reported to have 12MP wide and ultrawide lenses, though the sensors may be larger to help capture more light.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series
While the Apple Watch may be the most popular smartwatch out on the market, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series is a strong competitor, and we’re going to see the Galaxy Watch 6 lineup at the July 2023 Unpacked event. This time though, we may see two Galaxy Watch 6 wearables: the standard Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
Both the standard and Classic models of Galaxy Watch 6 will have a round dial with understated metallic finishes and black paint jobs, but more colors should be available as well. They will also feature curved glass aesthetics rather than flat panels, but hopefully with reinforced glass for extra durability. Button placement will also be similar to previous iterations. More importantly, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will bring back the rotating bezel, allowing for a more reliable way of interacting with the UI on the watch, in addition to touch inputs.
The display on the Galaxy Watch 6 will also see a possible upgrade to microLED display panels. This would mean better control over the contrast, more accurate colors, higher brightness levels, and more efficient battery consumption. However, since microLED is still pretty new, this may or may not come to fruition with the Galaxy Watch 6. But if it does, it may also mean a price increase, as the tech doesn’t come cheap.
Inside the Galaxy Watch 6 could be the Exynos W980 chip, which would give a 10% boost in performance and be more power efficient. Battery capacities are also supposed to increase slightly for each case size, though it’s unclear whether this also applies to the Classic models, as having a larger battery while having a rotating bezel may be a little tricky.
Software-wise, the Galaxy Watch 6 should use Wear OS 4, which is highly customizable and will have support for quick actions. It should also have native support for full backup and restore, a text-to-speech system that’s more precise, and all permissions from your paired smartphone will be ported over automatically. Wear OS 4 is also rumored to be heavy on optimizing performance, so that may also lead to some nice battery gains.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series
Samsung is expected to release not one, not two, but three new Galaxy Tab S9 tablets at this summer’s Galaxy Unpacked event. This means the Galaxy Tab S9, S9 Plus, and S9 Ultra.
The standard Galaxy Tab S9 will be the entry model, of course. Though we don’t know too much about the Tab S9, it may have one feature that would make it better than Apple’s iPad, and that’s IP67 water and dust resistance. This would also extend to the S9 Plus and S9 Ultra.
There has been a leak of the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus floating around, which gives us a better idea of the design. It’s similar to the Galaxy Tab S8 series predecessors with a sleek metallic build that has sharp edges and a contrasting magnetic strip on the back. The bezels also look familiar, and the selfie camera is still horizontally positioned.
But Samsung is getting rid of the pill-shaped camera island and instead opting for a floating lens look, which is similar to what we have on the Galaxy S23 series flagship smartphones. The Tab S9 Plus display is also expected to be around 12.4 inches with a 1752 x 2800 resolution, and we can assume that it will be OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra should be a worthy successor as well. The design is mostly the same as its predecessor, including the massive 14.6-inch screen. A big change, like the rest of the S9 lineup, will be the rear cameras moving to a floating lens array rather than the camera island and no longer being connected to the black bar that runs along the back. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra will also have 16GB RAM and the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor it may be getting.
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Source: Digital Trends
