Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event live updates: New foldable smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches

Samsung has announced the new Galaxy Watch6 and Galaxy Watch6 Classic alongside the latest foldable smartphones. The former starts at $299 while the latter will command $100 more. The wearables boast a slimmer bezel, a larger and brighter display, and a more interactive user interface with a bunch of health-centric features. The Galaxy Watch6 series now offers in-depth analysis of total sleep time, sleep cycle, awake time, plus physical and mental recovery.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 goes up for pre-order today and will become available from August 11. It starts at $1,799. The swanky Flip5 starts at $999. It also becomes available for booking starting today and general sale will commence from August 11. The pricing of the handsets in India is yet to be revealed.

Samsung's Fold5 looks very much like the Fold4 but gets a 'Flex Hinge' mechanism, IPX8 rating (same as Flip5), the same overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC offered in S23-series flagship phones, and a brighter inner screen. There are bunch of software features too. The taskbar now shows four recent apps rather than two. There’s also a new two-handed drag-and-drop feature to easily copy content from one app to another.

Samsung has opened the show with the all-new Galaxy Z Flip5. The premium handset gets a new and larger cover screen which provides a better user experience. You can also personalize the 3.4-inch cover screen, which is a 720p OLED panel with a standard 60Hz refresh rate. With support for widgets, Samsung Wallet, hands-free calling, and nifty camera features, you won't have to open the phone everytime you need to get something done. There’s also a new hinge design that allows the phone to fold flat. Under the hood, you get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset tuned for Samsung. The Z Flip 5’s inner screen is unchanged — it’s a 6.7-inch 1080p OLED screen with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

The Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event is live and in typical fashion, Samsung is boasting some of its achievements. Samsung also says half of its Galaxy customers look forward to switching to a foldable phone. The segment has seen tremendous growth in the past few years but concerns around foldable devices still persit.

Design-wise, the Fold5 won't be drastically different from the Fold4. However, thanks to the new waterfall hinge system, it will be thinner, measuring 13.4mm instead of Fold4's 14.2mm. It may also include a 12MP telephoto lens, up from 10MP on the Fold4. The other change will be the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The device will feature the same 7.6-inch inner display and 6.2-inch outer screen as its predecessor, along with three different color options, including Phantom Black, Cream, and Icy Blue.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip5 is getting a substantial upgrade. The flip-style folding phone will flaunt a much bigger cover display. As per leaks, the external display will measure 3.4-inch and will have the look of a folder icon. It will also get a new waterdrop hinge mechanism. Once unfolded, we should get a 120Hz, 6.7-inch screen we saw on the Flip4 from last year. The handset will feature 12MP main and ultra-wide cameras. A 10MP camera is expected to be on offer for selfies and video calls. A Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC will power the device.

Samsung is poised to reveal the all-new Galaxy Z Fold5 and Flip5 smartphones, alongside the Tab S9 range of tablets, and a couple of smartwatches as part of the Galaxy Watch 6 line-up. We also expect to hear some updates regarding Samsung’s Android- and Wear OS-based operating systems, including the debut of One UI 6.

Samsung’s second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year is nearly an hour away. Those who wish to catch all the live action can watch the event from Samsung’s website or on Samsung’s YouTube channel. You can also tune into our blog to stay updated as we will be covering all the big and small announcements from the event.

Samsung is ready to host its Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event today at 4:30pm IST. It is the first time that the South Korean tech giant will host the Unpacked event in its home country. It will take place as a digital and in-person event in Seoul.