Galaxy Unpacked: What to expect from Samsung's August 11 event

Samsung is set to host its second big product launch of the year on August 11. The South Korean technology company is expected to unveil two new foldable smartphones and a new smartwatch. New products will help the company to diversify its current portfolio and attract more customers while strengthening its premium line-up of electronic devices, industry analysts said. Samsung launched its premium Galaxy S21 phone series in January. Here's what to expect from the Galaxy Unpacked event on August 11 that is being held online because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Samsung, which was first to introduce foldable technologies in smartphones in 2019, will launch two new devices in the category – Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, industry insiders said. The company is also expected to introduce the S Pen stylus, the signature feature of the premium Note series phones, to the new foldable devices to attract more niche professional users. Samsung, which holds nearly 75 per cent of the foldable smartphone industry, currently offers three foldable models. The IT and mobile communications arm at Samsung reported a 22.4 per cent quarterly decline in sales in the April-June period to 22.7 trillion Korean won ($20 billion), influenced by a “component supply shortage” in the industry, as well as “production disruptions in its Vietnam factory”. The company said it planned to achieve “solid revenue and profit by boosting the competitiveness of the product line-up with the launch of new foldable models and the expansion of mass market 5G phones”. Samsung is unlikely to release its Galaxy Note series smartphones at the coming event to reduce production pressure on the company. Samsung usually issues its Note series, one of its best-selling models known for its stylus S Pen, in August every year. “Note series is positioned as a high-end model in our business portfolio … it could be a burden to unveil two flagship models in a year so it might be difficult to release Note model [in second half] … we seek to release a Note model next year,” DJ Koh, co-chief executive of Samsung's IT and mobile communications division, said during an annual shareholders meeting in March. The high-end Note series made up nearly 5 per cent of Samsung’s global smartphone shipments over the past two years, the International Data Corporation said. The company is expected to launch its new smartwatch Galaxy Watch 4 that will come with a combined operating system from Google and Samsung. To challenge the dominance of Apple Watch, which has been the best-selling smartwatch for many years, Samsung has merged its Tizen OS with Wear OS. Samsung will launch new Galaxy Buds 2 to compete with the likes of Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Pro. Being developed under the code name "berry", the new buds will be able to connect to several devices at the same time, TechRadar said in a report. They will be priced at about $175, MySmartPrice said. Samsung’s event will start at 6pm UAE time on August 11. Viewers can tune in at Samsung’s website. You can also watch the event on company’s YouTube page with the link going live an hour before the event begins.