During its Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 11, Samsung announced 5 new products, which included 4 new smartphones as well as new wireless earbuds that were created to compete with Apple’s trendyAirPods.
The smartphones unveiled were the brand-new foldable smartphone dubbed the Galaxy Z Flip, the 3 new Galaxy S20 phones (S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra), in addition to the new Galaxy Buds Plus.
Considering to a couple of factors, each of these handsets could be considered a big deal. For instance, the Galaxy Z Flip is set to enter the market as the 2nd generation of a foldable phone, which is a highly critiqued smartphone segment ever since the turbulent start of the 1st foldable by Samsung, known as the Galaxy Fold.
Furthermore, the Galaxy S20 smartphones are a testament to the apogee of Samsung’s design & technology, enabling the manufacturer to stay at the top echelon of the world’s smartphone makers. Also, they are mastheads for the much-discussed 5G connectivity in mobile devices, which people are to purchase, instead of being an exclusive option.
As for the Galaxy Buds, this is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s AirPods, currently making waves in markets. And how do the Galaxy Buds+, which are an upgrade to the original Galaxy Buds, look like?
Let’s look at all the announcements by Samsung during its just-concluded Unpacked 2020 event.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
In the wake of a couple of leaks, Samsung eventually formally unveiled its flip phone-style folding smartphone. The device, which is dubbed the Galaxy Z Flip, is expected to start shipping on Friday, February 14, going for a whopping price of $1,380.
When unfolded, the screen has 6.7 inches. But when folded, there is a small exterior display that gives room for some lightweight features, such as battery life indicators, notifications, along with quick selfies.
Galaxy Z Flip also features a kind of half-way unfolded, which is a laptop-style mode known as Flex mode, which the brand is touting as being especially superb for hands-free video calls.
The earlier prototypes of a Samsung’s folding smartphone faced problems with dust and debris entering the hinge and getting the screen damaged from behind. According to the brand, it fixed this issue by using a layer of fibers inside the hinge that will serve to keep unwanted dirt at bay.
Samsung Galaxy S20
2018 welcomed the release of Galaxy S9, and 2019 saw the launch of Galaxy S10, while 2020 witnessed Samsung skipping a couple of numbers, to take the naming scheme right up to Galaxy S20.
The latest device will be in 3 variants, which are the S20, S20+ as well as S20 Ultra. And their starting prices are $999, $1,199, and $1,399 respectively.
The S20’s display has 6.2 inches, with the S20+ and the S20 Ultra each getting 6.7 inches and 6.9 inches respectively. All 3 displays will run at 120 Hz; however, the native Quad HD+ resolution will drop down to 1080p to achieve this. Unsurprisingly, all 3 models have 5G support.
Just like several smartphones unveiled in recent times, the primary focus of Samsung here lies in the camera. And the maker didn’t disappoint judging by the powerful specs of the cameras.
The S20 comes with 3 cameras, with the highlight of them being a 64MP telephoto lens. As for the S20+ and S20 Ultra, they took it up to 4 cameras, introducing a depth sensor. Interestingly, the S20 Ultra alone is equipped with a rather wild 108MP sensor on the wide-angle lens.
Since there are slight differences in the camera specs of the 3 models, it can all get a tad confusing. Below, we offer you the Samsung’s spec sheet breakdown to make things simpler:
The S20 and S20+ will provide support for up to 30x “Space” (digital) zoom, and the S20 Ultra version takes it significantly up to 100x. All 3 variants will shoot 8K video.
There is a function which Samsung refers to as “Single Take”, enabling you to capture one short video and, in return, get multiple options to pick from, including boomerangs, AI-enhanced photos, looping clips, among others.
The company, as a fun surprise, announced midway through the Unpacked event that even the live stream itself was being recorded and streamed from the S20s.
According to Samsung, pre-orders are expected to start on February 21, and the phones will hit stores on March 6.
Samsung Galaxy Buds+
Representing Samsung’s response to Apple’s AirPods, Galaxy Buds are set to get an upgrade. Though the Galaxy Buds+ look strikingly similar to the original Buds, the already robust sound quality will be enhanced across the board. They will now shift to a dual driver system from the erstwhile single driver system, and the number of microphones is higher, increased from 2 to 3.
The Buds+, Samsung says, should run for as long as 11 hours on a full charge, and the companion charging case will offer additional 11 hours of charge instantly.
Meanwhile, if you own a compatible Galaxy smartphone, it can charge the Buds+ wirelessly via the “PowerShare” option that Samsung rolled out for the first time in 2019. Samsung explains that once you hold the Buds+ case against the smartphone for only 3 or 4 minutes, and it will supply the Buds+ with one complete hour of charge.
The Galaxy Buds+ should be released for $149 on Friday, February 14.
