Samsung’s annual summer launch event is almost here. The Verge reports that the company will hold its August Galaxy Unpacked event on August 10th at 9AM ET, one year and one day after last year’s foldable-focused event. And, if rumors are to be believed, we are set for a very similar lots of announcements consisting of a pair of foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 — a new lineup of smartwatches with the Galaxy Watch 5, and most likely some new earbuds.
The tip off to knowing there are new foldables on the way is that Samsung’s basically showed them to us in its promotional images and official trailer for its August 10th launch, and Samsung’s smartphone boss teased “new Samsung Galaxy foldables” in a blog post about the launch. The sheer quantity of Watch 5 leaks also has us pretty confident that it’s due for a reveal imminently. Last year also saw the announcement of a new pair of true wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2, and this year we’re expecting to see the launch of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. 91Mobiles released some renders of these last month, and a big last minute leak seems to confirm they’re ready for the event itself.
According to The Verge, Samsung used to use its summer launch events to announce a new generation of Galaxy Note phones. But last year, it skipped over releasing what would have been the Galaxy Note 21 entirely and officially confirmed it was discontinuing the brand earlier this year. Instead, the trademark features of the Note lineup have been integrated into the more premium devices in the Galaxy S range, with the Galaxy S22 Ultra sporting a Note-inspired design and built-in S Pen stylus.
In other words, don’t expect a Note 22 to be announced this week. But, according to the experts at The Verge, Samsung could be announcing:
Major updates to their Galaxy Z Fold 4 device, while as a whole appears similar to last year’s, shows hints of some changes coming to this year’s phone.
As for the Galaxy Z Flip 4, leaks suggest users are also in for a year of minor upgrades, with some possible important upgrades like a less noticeable crease where the screen folds in half and a larger notification display.
For the Galaxy Watch 5, this year it looks like we’re getting a Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro — and there’s no physical rotating bezel in sight. The Pro version will be available in a larger 45mm size (to hold a bigger battery) while the standard will be available in two smaller sizes. As for functionality, an FCC filing from June suggested we might see fast charging on this year’s models while another report claims we could see temperature sensing available (potentially useful to see if you have a fever).
For Galaxy Buds Pro 2, The Verge says we’re expecting the big features of the Buds Pro 2 to be a revised design and improved active noise cancellation whereby “even the loudest ambient noise” (to quote WinFuture apparently quoting Samsung) can be algorithmically muffled. Other specs include waterproofing up to IPX7, 10mm drivers, 360-degree audio, Bluetooth 5.3, and an eight-hour runtime on a single charge, extendable up to 29 hours with the case. We’re assuming that eight-hour battery life is without ANC.
Although most of Samsung’s announcements typically leak ahead of events like these, there’s always some hope the South Korean company might have a surprise or two in store. Stay tuned for a recap after the event later this week.
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