Samsung Electronics will be holding its next Unpacked event on August 10, when it will introduce the next generation of its foldable smartphones.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 aim to cement the South Korean company's hold of the foldable device market.
Here's what we know so far.
What foldables are expected to be unveiled?
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Note that the Flip 4 will technically be the third in the series. Samsung skipped a "2" version to align it with the Fold 3, much like when it bypassed a Note 6 in 2016 to align the now-defunct series with its flagship Galaxy S line-up.
Devices will go on sale from August 26, according to Jon Prosser, a blogger known for sharing Android product leaks.
What features will the new devices have?
The Fold 4's hardware is expected to remain largely the same, with a 7.6-inch main screen and a 6.2-inch front display. Memory will be at 12GB, while storage options will be 128GB, 256GB and 1TB. Curiously, 512GB, a staple in previous iterations, is missing.
It will also use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, an upgrade from the Galaxy S22's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Its camera is expected to have a main 50MP sensor.
Meanwhile, the Flip 4 will probably retain its 6.7-inch internal screen and 1.9-inch external display. It will also use Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, and will come with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options.
Evan Blass, another noted leaker of smartphone details, released a full render of the Flip 4.
The Fold 4 is expected to come in three colours — phantom black, green and beige — while the Flip 4 would come in four — graphite, bora purple, pink gold and blue.
Will other devices be launched at the event?
Samsung is also expected to unveil the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Buds Pro 2 — which will pretty much round up the event, just like last year's.
At last year's August Unpacked, Samsung introduced the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. The company did away with its own Tizen software and used Google's Android Wear OS, and used a system co-developed with Fitbit, which Google acquired last year for $2.1 billion — a move to take aim at Apple's dominance in the market. Google announced its Pixel Watch during its I/O 2022 conference in May, and it is expected to be released in the autumn.
Samsung has a market share of about 10 per cent in the global smartwatch category, but is a mile behind market leader Apple, which enjoys a 36 per cent share, according to a report from Counterpoint Research released on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in the true wireless stereo market, Samsung had a 9.5 per cent market share, according to research firm Canalys. That's far behind Apple's almost 32 per cent market share, thanks to its highly-popular and game-changing AirPods, the report said.
And, no — don't expect a Galaxy Note to be released, because reports of its death aren't greatly exaggerated anymore: Samsung already announced a "brand new chapter" for the Galaxy, and the highly-popular Note will just live on in spirit, starting with the Galaxy S22.
How much will the new devices cost?
Apparently, the Fold 4 and Flip 4 will cost more than their predecessors — which would buck Samsung's trend with these devices.
Tech site Gizpaw spotted what seemed to be an accidental leak from a European retailer, showing the starting price of the Fold 4 would be €1,864, or roughly $1,900.
The Fold 3 started at $1,799 — the same price of the Fold 2, when its price was dropped in 2021 from $1,999 at launch. The original Galaxy Fold, released in 2019, was priced at $1,980.
Meanwhile, the Flip 4 is said to cost $1,080, or about $1,100, according to Sudhanshu Ambhore, a freelance writer who also has a good track record when it comes to industry news.
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The world's largest mobile phone manufacturer released three devices — the Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra. -
Osman Albora, head of the Mobile Experience Division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, holds Samsung Galaxy S22 models in Dubai Media City. All photos by Ryan Lim for The National -
The technology company is positioning the S22 Ultra as its new top-of-the-line smartphone. -
The S22 Ultra features a slot to hold the S Pen, the signature accessory of the Note series. -
The Galaxy S22 series has improved cameras and productivity functions. -
The S22 and S22+ devices come in configurations of 8 gigabytes, 128GB and 256GB. -
The S22 devices are priced at Dh3,199 and Dh3,399 while the S22+ units are at Dh3,799 and Dh3,999. -
Seong Hyun Lee, president of Samsung Gulf Electronics, speaks at the launch of the Galaxy S22 series in Dubai Media City. -
The S22 Ultra will come in RAM/storage combinations of 8GB/128GB, 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB for Dh4,699, Dh5,099 and Dh5,499, respectively.
The original Flip was launched in 2020 with a starting price of $1,449. Samsung made a bold move by dropping the price of the Flip 3 by almost 50 per cent to $999.
But, of course, the price drops came with huge caveats: Samsung's latest foldables only came with the device and data cable in their boxes, no longer including headsets and wall plugs, to save costs. This move was largely influenced by Apple, when it ditched headsets and wall plugs starting with 2020's iPhone 12.
How big is Samsung's market share in foldables?
Samsung, much like with its Note (now S22) and S Pen stylus, is dominating the foldables category. There are a number of other folding devices out there, most notably Huawei's Mate X and Motorola's Razr. Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei's former unit Honor also have their own versions.
The global foldable smartphone market grew more than 111 per cent annually to 1.5 million units in the first quarter of the year, data from Counterpoint shows. Samsung extended its lead to 65 per cent from 51 per cent one year ago, further widening the gap on second-placed Huawei.
The market is projected to grow 84 per cent year-on-year and hit 17 million units this year, and further surge to about 30 million in 2023, it said.
How can you watch Unpacked?
You have a number of options, but it's best to go to Samsung's website or its YouTube channel.
In the UAE, the event will be streamed on August 10 at 5pm.
