Updated June 28: with first pre-release offers and details on Galaxy options: article originally published June 26.
People attend Samsung’s “Galaxy Unpacked 2023” event (Photo by Yang Chang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Samsung has confirmed that the next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place in Paris on July 10. The South Korean company will introduce its next foldable flagship, the Galaxy Z Fold6, alongside the Z Flip6 and several new accessories.
Folding hardware will undoubtedly catch the attention of many. Folding phones remain one of the high frontiers of design, pushing the physical limits with flexible screens, small but sturdy hinges, and less usable internal volume than a regular candy phone.
Samsung will try to find the edge of these envelopes, although it may hold back some of the specs to make it all fit. The community may have to settle for the camera hardware that debuted in 2022’s Galaxy Z Fold4.
Three key peripherals will also be launched. The Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Buds3 will be joined by the fitness and health tracker Samsung Galaxy Ring. It was teased at January’s Galaxy Unpacked, but details about its capabilities and software are currently scant.
Last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
Update: Thursday June 27: In addition to confirming the Galaxy Unpacked launch date, Samsung has emailed customers its first preview offer.
The company sent out a survey offering a £50 discount voucher to those who complete the survey. The voucher will be valid two weeks after the Unpacked event where the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 will be unveiled. While exact model numbers have not been released (the voucher is simply for “new Galaxy smartphones”, the intention is that the voucher will be used on a new foldable after July 10.
It’s not the only voucher on offer as everyone who completes the survey will also be included with a £25 voucher for ‘new ecosystem products’.
Finally, Samsung will enter each survey into a draw for ten £1,000 vouchers. You must submit by July 9th, winners will be announced on July 17th (see terms and conditions here).
The Samsung Galaxy Ecosystem
Update: Friday June 28: Samsung’s pre-order offer doesn’t ask what phone you’re ordering. As of this post, Samsung is simply saying that Unpacked will see a new “foldable Galaxy device.” However, it is highly unlikely that the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 will not appear.
This does not prevent retailers from accepting orders or supporting those orders with details of the new phones. Winfuture’s Roland Quandt reports on the Austrian retailer releasing final renders of both the Flip and Fold models, and we have a clear look at the planned retail colors for both models. The rendering shows the four colors of the Z Flip6; with pastel shades of green, silver, sky blue and yellow on display. The three colors of the Fold6 are silver, navy blue and pink.
Samsung traditionally offers several exclusive colors that are only available through its website. With the white and manufactured black colors we previously talked about for the Fold6, these two will likely be exclusives.
Samsung Experience Store on Oxford Street, London (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future via Getty … [+]
While the hardware will be the biggest reveal for consumers, those following Samsung’s broader strategy will focus on the improvements and new tools that will be added to Galaxy AI. Launched alongside the Galaxy S24 family in January, Samsung has the highest market share of any AI smartphone since Google opened up the category with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in October 2023.
Samsung expects the launch of its two biggest foldable phones to continue in particular and extend its lead as the leading manufacturer of artificial intelligence smartphones.
The event will be streamed live on Samsung’s YouTube page.
Now read my interview with Samsung VP James Kitt about Galaxy AI and how it connects across the ecosystem…