Galaxy Unpacked 2024: summary of all the new Samsung devices

Samsung has introduced its new Galaxy devices. I got to see them in Paris ahead of the launch and I’m summing up the most important highlights here. There’s supposed to be a detailed review of every device on the channel.

Galaxy Ring

The Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s first smart ring. Smart rings aren’t new; Ultrahuman and RingConn have already brought some to market. What’s new is that there’s one from the Galaxy ecosystem that, like every Galaxy Watch, sends its data to the Samsung Health app. So you don’t need a third app.

• Colors: Titanium Black, Titanium Gold, Titanium Silver
• Dimensions: 7 mm wide, 2.6 mm thick, much slimmer than the competition. It looks like a regular piece of jewelry.
• Battery: 7 days. Ultrahuman’s smart ring only lasts three to four days, which I find too little.
• Water resistance: up to 100 m
• Functions: sleep and movement tracking, workout detection, heart rate measurement with an alert for irregularities, inactivity alert, skin temperature measurement and with it accurate cycle tracking for women
• Extra: The ring works as a remote control for the smartphone camera and as a snooze button for the alarm. That doesn’t exist on the market yet.

The ring costs €449 and comes in nine sizes, which you determine beforehand with a sizing kit. That’s a one-time price, not a subscription. With the Oura Ring you pay €399 plus €5 a month for the app with the analyses. So from the tenth month on, the Galaxy Ring is the cheaper alternative. I wear my smart ring for the skin temperature for cycle tracking and I’m looking forward to having all of that in the Health app in the future.

Galaxy Watch Ultra

Like the Apple Watch Ultra, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is meant for extreme athletes. It combines a square case with a round dial. The longer I held it, the more I liked it. It’s not for slim wrists, though, because it’s big and thick.

• No rotating bezel, but a built-in compass
• Colored Action button that also serves as an alarm button with a loud siren
• Titanium alloy, water resistant up to 10 ATM, up to 3,000 nits bright
• Processor: Samsung Exynos W1000
• Battery: up to 100 hours, so four days. Previous Galaxy Watches manage a day and a half.
• Multisport tile for triathletes, workouts are detected automatically
• Colors: Titanium Grey, Titanium White, Titanium Silver

It costs €699 RRP, always with LTE. There’s no cheaper or smaller variant.

Galaxy Watch 7

The Galaxy Watch 7 is only a minimal update over the Watch 6. Nothing has changed in the design. For sleep and heart rate tracking, the AI is supposed to be better now and make more accurate optimization suggestions. There are new bands. Prices start at €319. My favorite is green with the matching band.

Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3

The Buds 3 Pro have been redesigned. They’re no longer stick-style buds; instead they have a stem and look futuristic.

• On the stem there’s an LED strip that lights up when you need to find the buds.
• At the bottom of the stem there’s a microphone that improves voice quality on calls.
• The interpreter is built in: movies, talks or conversations are translated live into your ear.
• The sound is also supposed to be better thanks to AI.
• With the silicone tip, they’re in-ears. Price: €249.

The regular Galaxy Buds 3 also have a stem, but without the LED strip and without a silicone tip. They cost €179. The Buds 3 Pro are the first device I’ll test on the channel.

Galaxy Z Fold 6

I had hoped the design would become much wider and shorter so the cover display is more comfortable to use, like on the Honor Magic V2. The Z Fold 6 is slightly wider and slightly shorter, but not to the extent I had hoped for. When typing, it’s still a clear improvement. On top of that come flat edges and more angular corners. What I’m happiest about is the weight: it’s 14 g lighter, and you can feel that. I have the Z Fold 5 and will definitely swap it for the Z Fold 6.

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy and an NPU with 41% more performance
• New AI features: with Smart Select, you draw something with your finger or the S Pen, and the AI turns it into an image. In Portrait Studio, a photo can be changed into comic or painting styles with AI.
• The interpreter function is especially good on a Fold or Flip because the person across from you can read it off the cover display. It also works on older models, perhaps not quite as fast.
• Colors: Silver Shadow, Pink and Navy, with more exclusive colors available online. Silver Shadow is my highlight, it goes great with the Buds 3 Pro.

The price is a letdown: the Z Fold 6 is €100 more expensive than its predecessor and goes up to €2,359 for the 1 TB variant. €2,000 is a damn lot of money. You have to have that to spare or really want a foldable.

Galaxy Z Flip 6

Nothing has changed on the outside of the Z Flip 6. It’s the same housing, so last year’s cases can still be used. Under the hood, though, there are worthwhile improvements:

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy and 12 GB of RAM
• Bigger battery at 4,000 mAh
• The S24’s camera: 50-megapixel main camera
• New 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with auto zoom: you set the opened Flip 6 down like a tripod, and it zooms automatically so that you’re in the center and the building or statue behind you is fully visible.
• Colors: Silver Shadow, Mint, Yellow, with more exclusive colors online

It costs €1,199 like its predecessor, now with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Samsung has turned the right knobs here, so even an upgrade from the Z Flip 5 can be worthwhile.

Verdict

I think the lineup gains some really good devices. The Galaxy Ring, Buds 3 Pro and Z Fold 6 are my personal highlights.