Galaxy Unpacked 2024 recap: Galaxy Ring, Watch Ultra, Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 revealed

Bonjour!

It's bonjour from me here in Paris, where I'm on the ground to get the latest on Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy products. That means I'll be immediately handing this live blog over to my T3 colleagues – principally T3's News Editor, Rik Henderson – up until the live show kicks off proper. 

That's because I have some *top-secret* briefings to attend to get the lowdown on Samsung's latest kit. So in addition to the Unpacked showcase, anticipate that I'll be bringing a much wider remit of official news at 15:00 Paris time today! Until then, my lips are sealed...

Unpacked packed

Morning all, T3 news editor Rik Henderson here to kick us off on a busy day of exciting Samsung shenanigans. And boy are we expecting a whole load of products.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked promises, conversely, to be the most packed yet, with two foldable phones, a smart ring, two sets of earbuds, and a couple of watch models all expected.

We should also find out about new Galaxy AI features that are not only coming with the new devices, but should be pushed to the Samsung Galaxy S24 family, too. So stick with us throughout the day to find out what Samsung has in store for the rest of 2024 – it promises to be a mighty show.

Catch all the action live

While you can follow today's launches in this blog, up to and through the Unpacked presentation, you can also watch it live at 2pm BST right here on T3.

I advise you bookmark that page ready to come back to for when it starts. We don't yet know the exact running time, but suspect it'll be a long one considering how much Samsung plans to announce.

I'd put aside a couple of hours, therefore.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 accidentally revealed

Although we'll get to see the two new foldables in full later, Samsung actually unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 last month.

Samsung Kazakhstan allegedly posted an image of the two handsets on its website and, before it could remove it again, a Reddit user managed to screengrab it.

It showed both of the new phones slightly opened, with a strapline highlighting Samsung Galaxy AI. It was a great, tantalising tease of what was to come.

Buds of a feather

As well as the foldables, new smartwatches and the Galaxy Ring, we're almost certain that Samsung will unveil a couple of pairs of new wireless earbuds today – the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

And one thing that has been apparent over the last month or so, based on eye witness reports and numerous picture leaks, is just how familiar the redesigned in-ears will be.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds have traditionally been smaller and rounded, but the new models will reportedly come with stems much like rival earbuds we could mention.

To think, everyone laughed and mocked the design when that fruit-based brand debuted its own pair way back when...

Taking Galaxy Watch to the next level

Samsung is expected to announce two smartwatch models today, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and an all-new entry to the family – the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Beefier and more rugged, the Ultra will be Samsung's answer to the similarly-named Apple Watch Ultra. According to leaked images, it'll even come with a watch band that's very close, too.

However, there are enough key differences to make it look and feel different. Reports suggest it'll be fractionally smaller, as well, at 47mm.

You'd best read this while seated...

It's no big secret that the Samsung Galaxy Ring will finally get its long-awaited launch during this Unpacked. The prototype was already shown at Mobile World Congress earlier this year after the device was teased in January.

We've also learned a fair few details about the Ring over the last couple of months, including the fact that it'll come in multiple sizes, from 5 to 13.

However, we've also found out something a tad less welcome too, with French website Dealabs claiming to have discovered its price. It says the Galaxy Ring will start at €449 (around £379) – that's considerably more than some rivals and around the same price as a PlayStation 5.

We'll find out for sure in a bit, but it could make the new wearable one for early adopters primarily.

No Galaxy AI fees expected... yet

Samsung has confirmed that while there could be charges to use some Galaxy AI features in future, it has no plans to introduce fees until 2026 at the earliest.

In the build up to Unpacked, it posted a news release that contained the following in the small print: "Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices."

That means you won't have to worry about paying extra for fancy new AI features on your new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Z Flip 5 for a fair while. The same is true for other supported Samsung phones.

Hi all, it's Mat Gallagher here taking over from Rik for a few hours and ensuring that Mike Lowe can enjoy a big Parisian lunch before the show kicks off this afternoon.

Samsung has had the folded market pretty nailed with the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold models for a while, so it will be interesting to see what else they can add to them to make these even better. 

I suspect the answer to that lies in Samsung's AI – though when it is something embedded into the software, it becomes a tougher upgrade story. As we saw with Apple, I'm sure there will be a push to get more of that AI computing happening on-device though, rather than the cloud, and to do that takes lots of RAM and processing power. So expect more of both. 

It's a ring thing

As great as I'm sure the new phone models will be today, the interesting thing here is the ring. Samsung's Smart Ring is the company's first wearable ring device. In fact, it will be the first major tech company to produce one. All of the current best smart rings are made by non-traditional brands – there's no Apple, Xiaomi or Huawei in there... yet!  

Samsung therefore is setting the course. How many will follow will probably depend on how well this goes down with audiences. I have so many questions about it. For instance, will there be a subscription for it? Without one, it could certainly justify a higher price than the Oura (which is what we're expecting). 

Stars of the show

The excitement is building in different regions right now. It seems The Philippines launch event will feature Thai actor and host Thitipoom Techaapaikhun. I suspect there will be some celebs at the Paris event too, though there's no sign of who that will be yet. Will we see some big K-Pop names or will there be some European stars in attendance?

It's almost time

We've heard people are heading into the building ready for the event in Paris. Tech Editor Mike Lowe is there ready. 

The audience are taking their seats.

Can I kick it? Yes, I can

Thanks to my T3 colleagues for nursing this live blog along throughout today. Mike here, T3's Tech Editor, back again in the hotseat – which right now is literally in the auditorium at Le Louvre, in Paris, where the Unpacked show is now underway. 

There's a lot of flashy lights and a 3D soundsystem for some real extra impact here – kicking off with a great "Can I kick it?" video intro to show-off the live interpreter feature of the Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6. 

It's not just those two new devices though: Samsung is going bit on artificial intelligence (AI), and I'm sure over the next 80 minutes we'll hear "Galaxy AI said aplenty. Samsung's TM Roh, President of Mobile Division, introduced the show – and there's a lot to get through...

Ring a ding ding

No surprise, the Galaxy Ring heads things up – and I do think that Samsung is going to use this Unpacked showcase to really flex its health-tracking muscle. We've already covered the latest wearable, which you can read about here. 

The big message with the Galaxy Ring, however, is that you get great health insights without the need for an additional subscription, as you do with so many competitors. Add a week-long charge and this sounds like one of the best smart rings already!

Garmin, watch your back?

Well, well, well, the Galaxy Watch Ultra sure does look like it wants a bit of Garmin's multisport watch market. Just, y'know, with a bit more orange (is that a bad omen for the England v Netherlands match tonight? I hope not). 

It's on a much bigger scale, with a 47mm display, and 'cushion' outer area beyond the screen bezel. Looks ideal for extreme sports enthusiasts thanks to water-resistance (to 100m), altitude and freeze resistance, and military standard grading. Nice. 

There's also the Galaxy Watch 7 to upgrade the current Samsung wearable line. See, Samsung is going big on health – and both can work in tandem with the Galaxy Ring, too, to help promote its battery life even further!

Flip the page

Now it's the turn of the two new foldables: the Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6. I've seen both handsets ahead of their reveal, so the skinny is that the former gets a camera upgrade (to 50MP for the main), while the latter tweaks the design to be wider and shorter (a much user-requested feedback request, so I hear). 

Both also embody Samsung's Galaxy AI, of course, which is deeply integrated. Even Google is on stage talking about Gemini and how that's also integrated into both phones – so artificial intelligence is here to deliver contextually aware answers. 

¡AI, caramba!

Strap in folks, it's going to be a big artificial intelligence deep-dive. Samsung Galaxy AI is front and centre of this Unpacked presentation – and for fair reason, as it delivers some really great features. 

It's "multi-model contextual AI in action," we're told. So just what can you expect? The big offerings are that Samsung Notes comes with a voice recorder and live transcriber baked into the app. You can track along in real-time, which is ideal for reading back. 

Live translation is another major feature, including with your local language on one screen and translated language on the other in the case of the Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 – a nice touch. It can do so in 16 different languages from day one, too. 

Sydney Sweeney is back!

At the Unpacked event last July in South Korea, American actress Sydney Sweeney was also in attendance. Well, guess what? She's here in Paris as well too. She's an Unpacked superfan. 

And Samsung has only gone and made an AI-generated image of her using, you already know it, Galaxy AI's powers. You can do the same for yourself with the onboard features in the Flip 6 and Fold 6 too. Do it with a smile, though, folks!

Pricing 

As for cost, the UK products will all go on sale from 24 July at the following starting prices (with USD and AUD prices for comparison): 

• Samsung Galaxy Ring: £399 / $399 / $AU TBC
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: £599 / $649 / AU$1,299
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: from £289 / from $299 / from AU$549
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: from £1,049 / $1,099 / AU$1,799
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: from £1,799 / $1,899 / AU$2,749

That's a wrap!

TM Roh is back on stage to sign things off, not missing a beat and mentioning – but, of course – that Samsung is also a sponsor of the Olympic Games, also taking place in Paris this year. Each athlete taking part will receive a special-edition Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is a nice touch.