Samsung, it's time to Flip the script
Let's get this out of the way: Samsung Unpacked this year was possibly the most boring Unpacked that we've ever seen, and not for lack of trying. The entire range that the company unveiled, while impressive in its own right, was probably the most iterative that we've ever seen at a large-scale event. The entire event's branding ("Join the Flip Side") focused on the Flip, not the Fold, and you wouldn't be blamed if you didn't know at a glance that other products launched at the event, too.
However, other products did launch at this event, and while the Flip is probably the biggest step forward of them all, it really was a largely underwhelming event, all things considered. Samsung, it's really, really time to, and pun intended, flip the script.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 was undoubtedly the star of the show
Without question, the Z Flip 5 is what Samsung wanted everyone to focus on. It has by far the best upgrade of all the products launched, unleashing the largest cover display on a Galaxy Flip foldable and giving the Moto Razr+ a run for its money. The rest of the upgrades, however, were so iterative, mostly with chipset bumps and little else.
Comparing the Z Flip 5 to the Z Flip 4 is shocking. Aside from the chip bump, new external display, and UFS 4.0 instead of UFS 3.1, it's literally the same phone. Sure, it also closes fully instead of leaving a gap, but to some people, that's actually a downgrade. After all, the gap gives you something to grip to open up the phone easily with one hand.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 took a backseat...
Surprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 took a massive backseat in comparison to the Flip. It features the same design with much of the same specs, though it packs a brighter screen on the inside, a fully closing hinge, and a chipset bump as well. Samsung has kept so much the same across the Fold 4 and Fold 5, and it's getting pretty obvious that the company is happy to rest on its laurels currently.
What's even more daft is that the company showed off prototype designs of what the Z Fold 5 could have been. The cynic in me says that rather than coming up with weird and wonderful new designs, it came up with other designs after the Fold 5 was already designed. This likely wasn't done to show it was falling behind the competition; rather, it's committing further to the current design.
...and the tablets and watches barely even mattered
Source: Samsung
If you thought the Fold was undersold, the company's latest tablets and watches barely had any improvements to them. The Galaxy Watch 6 at least got back its rotating bezel in the Watch Classic, and it also got a slightly better chipset and display. But once again, it looks the same, acts the same, and you would be forgiven for also thinking that nothing had really changed from the Galaxy Watch 5.
When it comes to the tablets, the best upgrade was with the base Tab S9, which got an upgrade to OLED over its old LCD screen and got a slightly bigger battery. All three devices get a chipset bump... and by now, you've noticed the pattern. In the case of the Plus and the Ultra, there are no real benefits aside from the chipset upgrade. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a big upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but it's not worth a whole new device.
Phoning it in for yet another year
The sad thing is that this year, Samsung is yet again seemingly phoning it in with its foldables —and that's coming from somebody who actually preordered the Galaxy Z Fold 5. I was waiting for Samsung to do something differently (it's a bit harder to get foldables here in Ireland), but yet again, the company has more or less recycled last year's device.
The company did things a bit differently at Unpacked physically, launching it much closer to home in Seoul but not to the products themselves. It's clear the company is proud of its accomplishments, and that's why it held the event in South Korea for a change.
Phone companies have iterative updates all the time, but it's rare for an event with seven products to essentially not bring anything new to the table. Samsung somehow did it, though, and it's clear that for yet another year, Samsung doesn't really seem to be feeling the heat of the competition. The biggest change of any spec sheet was the increase of a cover display on its flip phone, and the marketing material made it clear it was definitely aware of that.
Flip the script, Samsung. Do something different next year.
Source: XDA Developers
