Samsung is on a roll when it comes to announcing brand-new devices throughout this year. The South Korean giant held its second Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event of 2020 yesterday. Like most major product announcements and tech shows this year, Samsung Galaxy Unpacked was held online due to the ongoing pandemic. At the virtual event, Samsung launched a new spate of handsets and other gear.
Samsung announced its top of the line handsets, the Galaxy S20, S20 Ultra, and S20 Plus earlier this year. In yesterday’s event, the company rolled out the all-new Galaxy Z Fold 2, Note 20, Note 20 Ultra handsets. The company also announced the Galaxy Tab S7, Galaxy Watch 3, and the Galaxy Buds Live (Beans).
Here are all the updates from the second Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event of the year:
Galaxy Note 20
Samsung launched two variants of the new Galaxy Note 20: the Note 20 and the more premium Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Both devices are loaded with powerful specs.
Both handsets are powered by the latest Snapdragon 865+ processor, with 8GB of RAM in the Note 20 and 12GB of RAM in the Note 20 Ultra. As with all the previous Samsung models, the high-end Note 20 Ultra packs in a slightly bigger display. The Galaxy Note 20 sports a 6.7-inch flat Infinity-O Super AMOLED+ display, while the larger Note 20 Ultra has a slightly bigger 6.9-inch display but with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X.
Both the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are packed with the latest, powerful camera sensors. The Galaxy Note 20 packs in a trio of 12-megapixels ultrawide camera, a 12-megapixels wide-angle camera, and a 64-megapixels telephoto camera. On the other hand, the Note 20 Ultra has a 12-megapixels ultrawide camera paired with a massive 108-megapixels wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixels telephoto camera.
The Galaxy Note 20, with its 120Hz Infinity display paired with a bunch of all-new smart S-Pen features, makes this device potentially ideal device for business users. Samsung has always promoted its Note series of smartphones to be more productive, efficient, and ideal for business users, and it may be perfect for those employees using their own devices as they work from home during the pandemic.
Both handsets support 5G and are now up for preorders. Samsung said that it would start shipping the devices beginning August 21. As far as pricing is concerned, the Galaxy Note 20 starts at $1,000 while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra starts at $1,300
Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G
As several rumors suggested, Samsung launched its second iteration of foldable handsets under the Galaxy series at Galaxy Unpacked. Dubbed Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, the device comes with Samsung’s original book-like fold. With the Fold 2, users get a full 6.2-inch traditional screen even before opening the fold for a bigger 7.6-inch tablet-like display.
While the original Fold suffered several manufacturing issues and faced a hard time in the user market, Samsung addressed almost all of the issues with the Fold 2. One of the major changes Samsung made in the Fold 2 is that the device comes with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) instead of plastic display.
Samsung did not disclose much information about the Fold 2. Most of the specifications, availability, and pricing-related information will be revealed on September 1, Samsung says. However, we know that the device comes in two color variants — Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black.
Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+
Samsung unveiled its most advanced tablet in the form of Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+. Both these tablets sport a 120Hz display with varied display sizes. The Tab S7 has an 11-inch LTPS LCD, while the Galaxy S7+ sports a larger 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display. It is surprising how Samsung is trying hard to sail in the tablet market, which is in a downward trend.
The company has been trying to build powerful tablets, which can be used as a PC-substitute for several tasks. Both the Tab S7 and S7+ come with the company’s latest ultra-low latency S Pen to provide writing ease. The company also believes that with the enhancements it made to the S Pen, users will get a richer, enhanced, and more immersive tablet experience for both personal and professional use. While the S Pen is bundled with the tablet, users will have to buy other accessories such as the keyboard to make it a fully-functional PC substitute.
The Tab S7 starts at $650, and the Tab S7+ starts at $850 and will be available starting August 21.
Galaxy Watch3
Apart from these major handset announcements, Samsung also unveiled the latest Galaxy Watch3, a successor to 2018’s Galaxy Watch. The watch has some design changes with a slightly smaller, thinner, and lighter overall profile. The watch also packs in a bunch of new features to help users track and monitor their fitness and other activities. The Galaxy Watch3 will go on sale August 6 and starts at $400 for the WiFi models and $450 for the LTE models.
Galaxy Buds Live
Samsung also rolled out its second iteration of the wireless earbuds: Galaxy Buds Live. These new earbuds will not replace the Galaxy Buds+ launched earlier this year, so both these earbuds will be available. Galaxy Buds Live packs in larger and better 12mm audio drivers, better battery life, and active noise canceling. The Galaxy Buds Live will be available for $170 starting August 6.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: An eye on BYOD and work from home
Samsung has always been a huge supporter of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies at workplaces. The company is known to provide several corporate discounts to organizations choosing Samsung devices for their workplaces. With these newly launched handsets, Samsung seems to be keen on attracting an audience looking to use their smartphones and tablets as a substitute for computers for several purposes. Samsung’s move on reducing the latency, increasing efficiency, and packing several new features in the S Pen seems to be a good move by the company to capture the business audience.
Image credits: Samsung
