Galaxy Unpacked July 2023: Galaxy Z Fold 5, Flip 5, Watch 6 and Tab S9 announced

Good morning from sunny Seoul, South Korea. This is Sean Riley, Assistant Managing Editor for Laptop Mag, and I'll be with you for the next several hours in the run-up to Galaxy Unpacked July 2023, taking a look at all of the rumors surrounding Samsung's latest devices that we expect to see and giving you a glimpse at some of what Samsung has shown us so far during our trip to the company's Digital City.

Stay with us through Galaxy Unpacked, which kicks off at 7 a.m. ET on July 26, for our commentary on all of the announcements as they happen.

We aren't expecting any laptop announcements at Galaxy Unpacked July 2023, but we're Laptop Mag, so we couldn't resist a photo op with the first Korean laptop from 1987 that we spotted at Samsung's Innovation Museum.

Galaxy Z Fold 5 hinge rumors
Leaping back to the present, one of the bigger rumors regarding Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a completely revamped hinge design that may reduce or eliminate the crease on the display. Having used many foldables now I will attest that you simply do not notice the crease after even a brief time with the phones, but I can't argue that it would be better if it didn't exist at all.

Beyond its impact on the crease, this new design, apparently known as the dumbbell, allegedly would allow for a fold-flat design with a gentler curve that would put less stress on the folding display. While Samsung has done a lot to eliminate the concerns over the fragility of its foldables, there's no denying it's still a worry. So anything that is going to bolster the lives of these expensive phones is going to be welcome.

Reliable tipster @UniverseIce on Twitter has once again shot down the notion that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will add dust resistance to its existing water resistance despite the alleged new hinge design.

Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover display upgrade

While the rumored hinge change could have a significant impact on Samsung's foldables, by far the biggest visual update would be the larger cover display on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. There are countless leaks including what appear to be official Samsung marketing materials regarding this change, which would bring the Z Flip 5 in line with its hot new competition from the Motorola Razr+.

The big question is what will you be able to do with that newfound screen real estate? A recent leak showed 7 potential use cases for the Z Flip 5 cover display that seem limited to specific widgets as opposed to the wild west of the Razr+ cover display which will let you put whatever you want on it, for good and for bad.

Matrix Phone

Dipping back into to my visit to Samsung's Innovation Museum, I was among a number of journalists that were tempted to plan an Ocean's 11 style heist to get our hands on the Matrix Phone (a.k.a. Samsung SPH-N270). 20 years later there is still something just ridiculously compelling about this phone. I could picture Neo wielding a Z Flip these days, at least you still have that satisfying feeling of snapping it shut when you're done with a call.

Samsung Galaxy Ring

Filed under tantalizing rumors that we aren't sure will come to pass is the Samsung Galaxy Ring or Samsung Galaxy Pulse. A report on July 17 suggested that Samsung is ready to put a ring on its wearable fans sometime soon with this finger-based fitness wearable in "advanced development" according to Korean news site The Elec.

However, most of the report centered on patents and trademarks, rather than even prototype hardware, so it's a stretch to imagine Samsung will have it ready in time for Galaxy Unpacked today. Assuming it doesn't appear at Unpacked, we'll be keeping our ears to the ground for more on this brand-new wearable from Samsung as it could be ready by the time the Galaxy S24 rolls around next year.

Galaxy Watch 6 may get its bezel back

It's rare that you see anyone celebrating something other than the elimination of the bezel from a piece of tech, but in the case of the Galaxy Watch 6 rumors suggest could bring back the rotating bezel, which fans were sad to see go on the Galaxy Watch 5.

Count me among them, the tactile feel of navigating through menus with that rotating physical bezel is fantastic. I even loved the sound of it. While Samsung gave you a touch bezel to simulate the experience without having to touch the actual display, it just isn't the same. So here's hoping this leak is accurate.

Part of our tour of Samsung's Digital City included a model smart home with a robust collection of SmartThings-enabled products. They could do everything from helping you to wake up in the morning to walking you step-by-step through cooking a meal including portioning water for your ramen for you. However, it was the PC gaming room that captured my attention with the massive Samsung Odyssey Ark display looming large and making the typically desk-defining 49-inch ultrawide display alongside it look positively petite by comparison.

Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover display versus Motorola Razr+

Tipster @UniverseIce has been on a tear with Samsung leaks and rumors heading into the launch and earlier today highlighted the potential resolution difference between what they claim will be a 3.4-inch 720x732 (320 ppi) cover display on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 versus the 3.6-inch 1066x1056 (417 ppi) cover display of the Motorola Razr+.

We've already taken a look at the rumored feature differences between these cover displays, but this would be quite the hardware deficit as well.

Galaxy Tab S9 — AMOLED 2x for all

The Galaxy Tab S9 didn't want to be left out on the leaked marketing material fun with the above seeming to confirm that the base model Galaxy Tab S9 will pick up the same AMOLED 2X display as its larger siblings. Keep in mind that if accurate this could also suggest that the rumored price bump is happening as the two were intertwined in the past.

Official Galaxy Watch 6 marketing materials?

A series of what appear to be legitimate marketing materials for the Galaxy Watch 6 are doing the rounds ahead of Galaxy Unpacked highlighting a thinner bezel and larger display, more advanced sleep tracking, and perhaps easier swapping of bands.

Could Samsung fit the S Pen in the Galaxy Z Fold 5?

Another feature that we would love to see, but are doubtful about is a built-in silo for the S Pen in the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Korean site The Elec covered a report saying that Samsung did view this as a goal, but it seems unlikely that Samsung can find a way to make it all fit.

Qualcomm couldn't resist getting in on the fun with a "Join the flip side" profile image on its Twitter account in case anyone wasn't certain that Samsung's new foldables would be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.

As part of a series of tweets or xeets about Samsung Unpacked products, the oft-reliable @evleaks showed off this claim that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will deliver 57 hours of audio playback or 20 hours of video playback and that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside offers up to a 25% boost to GPU and 17% to CPU performance.

Where to catch up on all the latest flipping (and folding) big rumors

We will of course be covering the whole Galaxy Unpacked event live right here, but there is a lot more coming down the line today.

So what about in the build-up to the announcement in a few hours? We've been busy collecting all the rumors and leaks about everything that is set to be announced. Just click the device name just below to see everything you need to know before the show begins.

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

Here's where to watch the Galaxy Unpacked event livestream

Looking to watchalong with all the latest breaking news from the Galaxy Unpacked event? Samsung has just setup the livestream link over on YouTube. Just click that Notify bell to be alerted when it goes live!

Are we easing into an era of affordable foldables?

A recent price leak in India for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, spotted by Paras Guglani, could add credit to tipster @Revegnus' claims that Samsung's Z Fold 5 will "see a slight reduction in price compared to its predecessor."

The leaked Indian pricing saw a drop of roughly $140 dollars for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which would be the first step in the right direction for making foldables accessible to more people. Is this drop in price the sign of what's to come for the foldable market? We can only hope, as high price points are one of the main barriers to entry for many.

What are you most looking forward to seeing at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked?

We have a potentially stacked card in store when Samsung Galaxy Unpacked kicks off in just under 2 hours time! Foldables, wearables, and tablets are likely to be the primary focus, but which of these are you most looking forward to checking out?

If you want to catch up on the latest and breaking news or rumors across all these categories then be sure to check out our hubs covering all things Samsung:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

We're finding out more about Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

It's looking likely that the Fold 5 and