Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022: new foldables, watches and earbuds announced
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Samsung’s second big event of 2022 has wrapped, and it’s brought a lot of major announcements, including the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Away from phones, the launch also featured the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
Below we’ve detailed all of these new gadgets, which are set to be among the best foldable phones, the best smartwatches and probably the best phones full stop – starting with arguably the star of the show (and certainly the priciest product unveiled here) the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
This is Samsung’s foldable successor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, unsurprisingly. It looks very similar to last year’s model, but contains a number of upgrades.
It has a 7.6-inch, 2176 x 1812 foldable inner screen and a 6.2-inch, 2316 x 904 outer display, which are the same sizes and similar resolutions to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but the chassis is slightly smaller and lighter this year.
Both screens also have a 120Hz refresh rate, as they did on the previous model.
Bigger upgrades can be found on the camera, which includes a 50MP primary snapper, a 10MP telephoto one with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide. There’s also a 10MP front-facing camera on the outer display and a 4MP under-display one on the inner display.
The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset is an upgrade too, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 4,400mAh battery with 25W charging, 12GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.
Prices start at $1,799.99 / £1,649 / AU$2,499, and for that you’ll get a version with 256GB of storage.
The top 1TB model costs a staggering $2,159.99 / £2,019 / AU$2,999. Pre-orders for the new Fold open on August 10 (or August 11 for those in Australia) and the Galaxy Fold 4 release date is set for August 26.
If the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a bit too pricey, then you might want to consider the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, which is a clamshell foldable and the successor to the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
This has a 6.7-inch, 1080 x 2640 foldable AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 1.9-inch, 260 x 512 cover display, a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, 8GB of RAM, a 3,700mAh battery, 25W charging, and up to 512GB of storage.
It also has a 12MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide one, and a 10MP front-facing camera. The design is similar to that of the Z Flip 3, but the battery is bigger, the chipset is faster, and the main camera has been improved, with the promise of brighter images from it.
If you want to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, you’ll be able to pick it up on August 26 (or September 2 in Australia), with pre-orders starting on August 10. Prices start at a (sort of) more palatable $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,499 for 128GB of storage, topping out at $1,179.99 / £1,199 / AU$1,849 for 512GB.
As well as smartphones Samsung also unveiled some smartwatches – namely the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 family.
The main model here comes in a choice of 40mm or 44mm sizes, with the smaller one having a 1.19-inch 396 x 396 circular screen, while the larger one has a 1.36-inch 450 x 450 display.
In both cases the displays are clad in sapphire crystal glass, while the body of the watch is made from aluminum.
That’s all similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 line, and as with those wearables these new ones also have an Exynos W920 chipset, along with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
The batteries though are bigger this year, coming in at 284mAh and 410mAh for the smaller and larger models respectively. You also get all the expected features, like GPS, a heart rate monitor, an ECG, and water resistance, along with a new temperature sensor.
The 40mm Bluetooth model costs $279.99 / £269 / AU$499, while the 44mm version retails for £289 / AU$549 (with US pricing to be confirmed). Prices rise if you want a version with LTE. Pre-orders open today (August 10) with the wearable hitting stores on August 26.
If you want a big upgrade for your smartwatch then the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is worth considering, as this is larger at 45mm and has an enormous – by smartwatch standards – 590mAh battery.
It’s also clad in titanium rather than aluminum, and comes with a classier strap, along with some advanced GPS features.
That said, in most other ways it’s much the same as the standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 models – and it lacks the rotating bezel of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
This will set you back $449 / £429 / AU$799 for a Bluetooth version, or $499 / £479 / AU$849 if you also want LTE. You can pre-order this from August 10, and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro release date is also August 26.
Finally, there’s the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, which offer 24-bit Hi-Fi sound and 360 Audio, with a 61mAh battery capacity, along with 500mAh in the charging case.
They offer up to eight hours of audio from the Buds alone, and that extends to 29 hours before the charging case needs juicing up.
They also include three microphones to help with calls, and they offer IPX7-rated water resistance. You can pick these up in Graphite, Bora Purple or White, at a price of $229.99 / £219 / AU$349.
As with Samsung’s other new gadgets you can pre-order these now, with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro release date set for August 26.