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In a surprising move, Samsung has confirmed that it will be revealing its next line of foldable at Samsung Unpacked. When the event was announced, it was assumed that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 would be unveiled thanks to the “Get ready to unfold” tagline. However, in a blog post, the company has confirmed that the foldable phones will be the stars of the show.
Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that Samsung has confirmed that it will be releasing a new S Pen “designed specifically for foldable phones”. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 has long been rumored to offer S Pen compatibility, and this falls in line with Samsung’s promise to add this functionality to more Galaxy devices.
This is further compounded by the reiteration that Samsung has no plans to launch a Galaxy Note phone this year. In the blog post, Samsung stated that it will “further broaden beloved Note features to more Samsung Galaxy devices”.
We’re already expecting the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 to instantly become the best of the foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip 5G are already considered two of the best, despite competition from Huawei and Xiaomi. There are also rumors of a supposed Google Pixel Fold, but that phone is unlikely to launch before the end of the year.
Adding to the suspense, Samsung confirmed it is working with both Microsoft and Google in an effort to fully-maximize app compatibility in the foldable space. Samsung has already been working with Microsoft over the past few years, as Galaxy devices now make use of OneDrive for cloud storage.
We are also working with Google to enrich our foldable ecosystems with popular apps and services. For our third generation of Galaxy Z phones, we have lined up even more partner apps that make the most of the versatile fold-out format. From hands-free optimized video calling with Google Duo and watching videos in Flex mode on YouTube to multitasking in Microsoft Teams, our foldable ecosystem will offer a wealth of seamless and optimized experiences.
Google and Samsung announced a new partnership at I/O 2021, as Wear OS merges the best of Google’s software with the best of Tizen OS. Although the company did not confirm an announcement is happening at Unpacked, the Galaxy Watch 4 series is expected to make its debut. This will be the first smartwatch powered by Wear OS 3, although Samsung will have a slightly-different software interface with One UI Watch.
It’s a bit odd to see Samsung making this kind of announcement, a few weeks ahead of its Unpacked event. Perhaps the company is trying to build up the hype ahead of the announcement, but recent leaked renders are doing a pretty good job of that already.
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