Samsung announces Galaxy Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, Watch 4, and Buds 2 | Samsung Unpacked

by W. Andrew Powell

Samsung announced four new devices today at a virtual Samsung Unpacked event, including the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Buds 2 earbuds, and updates to their foldable phones, the Galaxy Fold 3 5G and Z Flip 3 5G.

The announcement included a lot of updates to the Galaxy Watch, Buds, Fold and Flip devices, including IPX8 water resistance for the foldable phones, an impressive new sensor for Watch 4, and improved active noise cancellation and sound quality for the Buds 2.

While Samsung’s August event has traditionally been used to launch new Note devices, the company announced earlier this year that there wouldn’t be a new Note, at least for now.

All of the new devices are available for pre-order now, and will be available in stores and for delivery on August 27.

Galaxy fans will be able to take advantage of a number of deals starting today, too. From August 11 until September 10, the first 8,500 customers to buy the Z Fold 3 5G will also get a voucher for either the Galaxy Buds 2, a Wireless Duo Charger, or the S Pen Fold Edition.

Stay tuned for my full reviews of the new devices coming as soon as possible.

Watch my full preview video of the four new devices.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Starting with the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, Samsung revealed upgraded wearable devices that look refined, but also thankfully still look like watches.

The devices have up to 40 hours of battery life, and come with Bluetooth in 40mm and 44mm designs, for the Watch 4, and 42mm and 46mm designs for the Watch 4 Classic. Rather than launching an Active design, like previous Galaxy Watch lineups, the Watch 4 is the sportier design, while the Watch 4 Classic has the slightly larger design with the familiar rotating bezel.

Both watch versions include 16 GB of internal memory, and feature the new Samsung BioActive Sensor that captures 2400 data points with 98% accuracy, including body composition, muscle, fat mass, body fat, BMI, body water, and more.

Samsung is also focusing on expanding the Galaxy ecosystem, so in addition to being able to control Galaxy Buds from the Watch 4 widget, users will also be able to use the watch with their Samsung smart TV for workouts.

Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic use the new Google-cooperative software platform that will work with more apps, and the watches will automatically synchronize key settings between your phone, and the watch.

Available with Bluetooth, or LTE models, the Galaxy Watch 4 will start at $329.99 in Canada for the 40mm design, and $399.99 with LTE. The 42mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic with Bluetooth will start at $459.99, and $529.99 for LTE.

Prices in the United States start at $249.99 and $349.99, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Galaxy Buds 2 will launch for $189.99 in Canada, and feature four colours: white, olive, lavender, and black, and they come in a white case.

Featuring Bluetooth 5.2, with 3 mics, a woofer and tweeter in a 2-way speaker, and a rounder design, Buds 2 can remove up to 98% of background noise with Active Noise Cancellation, with three levels to choose from.

Machine learning will also help to make calls clearer, and they will last for up to 5 hours, with ANC on, and up to 20 hours using the case to charge.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G

Both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G are launching with IPX8 water resistance, and more durable materials, including an aluminum hinge, Gorilla Glass Victus, and improved protective film on the screens.

The fashionable dual-tone designs will come in Lavender, Cream, Phantom Black, and Green, with optional strap covers and cases to make them stand out even more.

While the foldable screen is a 6.7″ FHD+ dynamic AMOLED 2X with 120 Hz refresh rate, the cover screen is a 1.9″ Super AMOLED that offers quick access to some settings, notifications, Samsung Pay, and widgets.

In terms of cameras, the Z Flip 3 has a 12 MP Wide camera, a 12 MP Ultra Wide camera, and a 10 MP front camera, and like before, you can half-fold the phone and shoot from the front or rear cameras.

Under the hood, so to speak, the Z Flip 3 will include 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage, and a 256 GB model will also be available.

Z Flip 3 will retail for $1,259.99 in Canada, and $999.999 in the United States.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G

Finally, there’s the big, bold, and impressive Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G. The foldable phone will retail for $2,269.99 in Canada, and $1799.99 in the United States and features a 6.2″ screen, and a 7.6″ inside screen, when it’s unfolded, with a 120 Hz refresh rate.

The phone features a dynamic AMOLED 2X screen that’s brighter and has an under display front-facing camera that nearly disappears when you’re not using it.

Cameras on the phone include a 12 MP Ultra Wide, a 12 MP Wide, 12 MP telephoto, a 10 MP on the cover, and a 4 MP front-facing under-display camera.

Otherwise the Z Fold 3 offers Dolby ATMOS, and has a 4,400 mAh battery, 12 GB RAM with 256 GB storage, and a 512 GB version of the phone will also be available.

Samsung revealed that they further optimized the user experience for the bigger screen space, and they have improved the multi-tasking options, while a labs feature will offer the option to try multi-window functionality for apps, so you can have different apps running on the left and right side of the screen.

While there are a number of other features and details, it’s also notable that Samsung is offering an optional S Pen for the Z Fold 3. Samsung will offer the S Pen Fold Edition that can also fit inside a special case for the Z Fold 3.

Watch a preview Samsung’s latest devices from Samsung Unpacked, including specs, features, and pricing.

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