- Hey, everyone.
It's Brenda Stolyar,
Mashable's tech reporter,
and we're here in New York City
to see Samsung's latest flagship phones,
the Galaxy Z Fold 3,
and the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Plus we're also going to take a quick look
at the new Galaxy Watch 4,
and the Galaxy Buds 2.
So let's go check 'em out.
- It's clear that with the Galaxy Z Fold 3,
Samsung is focusing a lot on durability.
In addition to the ultra thin glass technology
that was included on last year's model,
it also comes with Corning's
Gorilla Glass Victus,
which can withstand drops from up to six
and a half feet.
According to Samsung,
the Fold 3 is also 80% more durable
than its previous foldables.
On the outside,
the Fold 3 features Samsung's
new Armor Aluminum,
which the company says is its strongest aluminum
ever on a Galaxy Smartphone.
And for the first time ever on a Z Fold,
the third generation foldable comes
with an IPX8 rating,
which means it's water resistant,
in up to five feet of water
for up to 30 minutes.
Holding the Z Fold 3 together
is the freestanding hinge.
The same one included on the Z Fold 2.
But this time around,
Samsung managed to make it thinner,
and a bit less defined.
As for the display,
the front of the Z Fold 3
has a 6.2 inch AMOLED display,
that opens up into a 7.6 inch AMOLED display.
Both screens have a 120 Hertz adaptive
refresh rate,
which increases for multimedia content
like mobile games,
and slows down for static web pages,
social media apps and emails,
to help conserve battery life.
Samsung also added an in-display
front-facing camera on the Z Fold 3's main screen.
The company says it won't impact
the camera's image quality,
but it is worth noting that the sensor
has been downgraded since last year.
Instead of a 10 megapixel sensor,
the new Fold comes with a four megapixel sensor.
According to Samsung,
it'll use AI image processing
to produce quality images,
but we'll have to test that claim out ourselves.
Speaking of cameras,
the Z Fold 3 features the same cameras
as its predecessor.
The triple camera set up consists
of a 12 megapixel wide-angle camera,
12 megapixel ultra wide camera,
and a 12 megapixel telephoto camera,
with up to 10 times digital zoom.
There's also a new feature called Labs.
It allows you to customize
the size of an app window
so that you can use it in split screen mode,
alongside other apps without losing functionality.
For starters,
you can now adjust the aspect ratio
for certain apps.
So if you're using Instagram,
and the black bars appear on the sides,
you can adjust it so that it takes up
the entire display.
You can also now pin the edge panel
to the display,
that way you don't have to constantly swipe
on the screen to access your most used
or favorite apps.
And even though Samsung skipped out
on a new Galaxy Note this year,
the S Pen still lives on through the Fold 3.
You can either opt for the new $50
S Pen Fold Edition,
which is exclusive to the Fold 3
or the $100 S Pen Pro,
which was originally teased earlier this year.
The S Pen Fold works more like
a writing instrument,
allowing you to take notes and sign documents,
and it also supports
Samsung's Air Command feature,
so you can do things like take a screenshot
or launch the Samsung Notes app
by pressing the button on the S Pen.
The S Pen Pro on the other hand,
is backwards compatible with the S 21 Ultra,
and it comes with Bluetooth,
and gesture controls along with onboard memory.
But it's also important to note,
the Z Fold 3 doesn't have a dedicated
S Pen slot.
So if you're afraid to lose it,
then you can also purchase
the Z Fold 3 Folio Case for $80,
which comes with the S Pen Fold Edition,
and a place for the S Pen built in.
Then there's the Z Flip 3.
On the front,
Samsung has increased the cover display
from 1.1 inches,
as seen on the original Flip, to 1.9 inches.
Now, you can not only see
more notifications at once,
but you can also access widgets
for things like weather, Samsung Pay,
step count and more.
Like the Fold 3,
the Flip 3 is also made of Armor Aluminum,
and has an IPX8 rating.
So it's just as durable on the outside.
The clamshell foldable opens up
to a 6.7 inch AMOLED display,
with the same ultra thin glass,
and Gorilla Glass Victus mentioned earlier.
And in addition to the Labs feature,
and the ability to switch up the aspect ratio
as with the Fold 3, there's also Flex mode panel.
When you're using the device in Flex mode,
with the device folded halfway,
the panel provides you with shortcuts
like screenshot, volume control buttons,
and brightness.
In terms of cameras,
the Flip 3 has a dual camera setup
with a 12 megapixel wide-angle camera,
and a 12 megapixel ultra wide camera.
On the unfolded front-facing display,
is a 10 megapixel camera.
Samsung is also offering new cases
for the Z Flip 3,
but considering how compact
the device already is,
it's tough to justify buying one of these,
even though they do look pretty cool.
As for colors,
the Z Flip 3 comes in Cream, Green, Lavender,
and Phantom Black.
Samsung also introduced two new smartwatches,
the Galaxy Watch 4,
and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
Both models feature a proprietary sensor
that measures body fat percentage,
metabolic rate and other metrics.
It's also the first set of smartwatches
to run Google's Wear OS 3.
So it can natively run Android apps
like Messages, YouTube Music, and Google Maps.
And it also comes with the new
One UI Watch interface,
which allows the smartwatch
to reflect what's on your Android phone,
such as certain settings and installed apps.
Then there's also the Galaxy Buds 2.
Samsung's new buds feature active
noise cancellation, three microphones,
and machine learning features
that help to separate out any background noise.
The Buds 2 are also available in four colors,
including Olive, White, Graphite and Lavender.
As for pricing,
the Z Fold 3 starts at $1,800,
while the Z Flip 3 starts at $1,000.
And for the Galaxy Watch 4,
that'll cost you $250,
while the Classic Edition costs $350.
And lastly,
the Galaxy Buds 2 will set you back $150.
- All the devices you just saw
are currently available for pre-order
with full availability starting August 27.
And for more details on Samsung's
new foldables, smartwatches and earbuds,
be sure to head over to Mashable.