Here’s what you can expect from today’s Samsung Unpacked event
It’s August 13th! We’ve been drumming up to this day ever since Samsung announced they had an announcement to make. Things kick off at 11AM Eastern time today, which is about 4PM for our friends over in the United Kingdom.
So, what’s going down today? Good question. Thankfully no one at Samsung can keep a secret to save their lives, so we have a bit of an idea as to what to expect. Let’s take a look at all of the things we’re almost 100% sure will be announced, and even some bits that might surprise us.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
It would seem silly for Samsung not to be continuing the Galaxy Note line this year, no? We’re fully expecting a new model known as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. As we’d imagined when Samsung confirmed a new premium build for their Galaxy series, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will come with a nice sandwich consisting of two slabs of glass and a metal frame stuffed inside. It’ll be as thin and sleek as any Galaxy Note device has been, if not drastically more-so.
Unfortunately, that will come with a couple of downsides that we also suffered on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge: the lack of removable battery and no expanded storage (though one specific dual-SIM variant might include support for one). It also likely won’t be waterproof. Those are three biggies that would be enough to turn many of you off. We also hear the thin form factor will result in a thin battery, with the phone getting a 3,000mAh juice pack compared to yesteryear’s 3,220mAh.
Everything else should be squeaky clean, though. The S-Pen is making a return, of course, and there could be some new functionality in store thanks to a neat clickable top that has been tipped in previous leaks.
And, well, it’s probably accurate to say that almost everything else about the phone will match the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge spec-for-spec. The few notable difference are its inclusion of a bigger 5.7-inch display with 2560 x 1440 resolution. Samsung is also rumored to be bumping the RAM inside to a full 4GB, which is a welcome revelation considering how aggressively TouchWiz uses RAM.
Everything else should be the same, including a 16 megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, a 5 megapixel front camera, Samsung’s 64-bit Exynos 7420 Octa-Core chipset, wireless charging, a fingerprint scanner and NFC. There will be storage options starting from 32GB and possibly ranging up to 128GB.
We’re expecting Android 5.1 Lollipop for software, though if the current Samsung devices are anything to go by then it doesn’t change much aside from giving you a bit more control over the options laid out in your notification pane. It should have some unique Note-specific features, though, such as Air Command and Air View (which allow you to perform quick actions and get a quick look at information simply be hovering over the display).
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
If the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is just a bigger Samsung Galaxy S6 with an S-Pen, then the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is simply just a big Galaxy S6 Edge, with a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 curved display. It should have more RAM than the original Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge at 4GB and an appropriately bigger battery at 3,000mAh, but everything else should come in even.
That means it shares the unsavory characteristics such as no removable battery and lack of expandable storage, and it’ll also have the same cameras (16MP rear, 5MP front), chipset (Exynos 7420) and features (wireless charging, NFC and fingerprint scanner) as the original. It’ll start at 32GB and will likely go as high as 128GB if you’re wiling to throw down more coin.
One thing that’s come to light is that the Edge display will be getting some new functionality, so there’s that. You’ll still have access to your favorite 5 people, but you’ll now get more options for messaging them such as sending video or initiating video calls. We might also be able to quick launch several apps from the Edge display, though there’s no word on whether “Apps Edge” will make a return (where you could run mini apps on the Edge display independent of the rest of the software).
Oh, and one more thing:
Yup, Samsung is making that for it.
Samsung Pay launch details
Samsung Pay is supposed to be launched in Europe, Asia and the United States this year, and rumor has it the launch will coincide with that of the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus’s.
We’re bound to hear more details about the service’s launch, though we already know a good deal about it, including its use of Magnetic Secure Transmission technology to be used with nearly any payment terminal that accepts modern credit cards.
New Samsung tablet with premium design?
This is where we go off the map and start pondering about things we may see that Samsung was able to keep under wraps. While we haven’t heard much about a new Galaxy Tab (except for them working on an absurdly-large 18-inch tablet), their teaser page for this event seemed to show 3 devices. To be fair, you can’t really tell what any of the devices are.
We just know there were 3 distinct lines, and one of them was drastically bigger than the rest. Perhaps Samsung was just giving us an artsy portrayal of their “bigger is better” mantra, or perhaps we’ll have a hot new tablet to get excited for. Only way to find out is to tune in.
Samsung Gear A round smart watch?
We also know Samsung is working on a circular smart watch. It would be silly for them to make an entire SDK for it if they aren’t. That smart watch might come to market known as the Samsung Gear A, and if a recent SDK update is anything to go by it could have a cool rotary dial for navigating the UI.
We’d expect the smart watch to still be running Tizen, and we’d also expect it to work with nothing but Samsung products. That’s a shame for those who want to be locked into the Android Wear ecosystem, but if you don’t care about that it should turn out to be a pretty fine smart watch. Let’s hope they’re ready to show it off later.
What are Samsung Real-View and Bright-View?
These two names have just popped up in recent trademark filings. What are they? We know Samsung used to make a Bluetooth-enabled rear view mirror named Real-View, so perhaps we could be in-store for a modern refresh. They could also just be names of some new display features on their latest phones that we haven’t heard about yet. Either way, we’re keeping an eye out.
You excited?
So, there’s a lot to take in even if Samsung is only launching their two new phablets today. Are you excited for the phones? Hoping for something more? Let us know straight ahead, and stick with us throughout the day as we bring you full and continued coverage from New York City starting at 11AM Eastern.