The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3: all the rumors, news, and announcements

Like in previous years, Samsung used its latest Galaxy Unpacked event to announce a slew of new devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. The two smartphones are already available for preorder starting at $1,799.99 and $999.99, respectively, and will launch alongside the Galaxy Buds 2 and a handful of other devices on Friday, August 27th.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung’s latest foldable, yet it seems to take a cue directly from the Note, adopting S Pen support as well as an optional flip case designed to hold the stylus when not in use. The forthcoming device appears to be more rugged, too, with IPX8 water resistance, tougher aluminum in the hinge, and a protective film that is supposedly 80 percent stronger than that of the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

As expected, Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy Watch 4 and the aptly titled Galaxy Watch 4 Classic during its Galaxy Unpacked event this morning, confirming recent leaks and introducing the first two devices built on Google and Samsung’s co-developed smartwatch platform, Wear OS 3. Both watches also sport Samsung’s new Exynos W920 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and come with a host of health-related features thanks to the inclusion of Samsung’s 3-in-1 BioActive sensor.

Although neither model is set to arrive until August 27th, both are available for preorder starting today at varying price points.

Today’s smartwatch news has been dominated by Samsung’s new Wear OS 3-powered wearables, but Google wants you to know it hasn’t forgotten about smartwatches running Wear OS 2. Updates to Google Pay, Messages, and other third-party apps will be coming to current devices in addition to Wear OS 3, giving existing owners something to look forward to as they roll out over the coming weeks.

For starters, Google Pay’s support for contactless payments from smartwatches is expanding to 16 new countries: Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates. It’s previously been possible to use Google Pay from smartphones in these countries, but not from smartwatches.

It’s official: Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus are now considered last-gen. During today’s Galaxy Unpacked event, the company announced their long-rumored successor, the Galaxy Buds 2, a new set of true wireless earbuds that look to refine Samsung’s recent formula instead of reinvent it.

In terms of design, they’re not drastically different from the Galaxy Buds Plus. Each earbud is lighter and features a more rounded exterior. The Galaxy Buds 2 will also be available in four distinct colors (dark gray, green, purple, and white), and each earbud features a three-point microphone, active noise cancellation, and three sizes of silicone ear tips. Like Google’s Pixel Buds A-series, they also come paired with a wireless charging case, one that features a playful interior that matches the color of the buds.

I was not expecting Samsung’s third generation of folding phones to be water-resistant.

The new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 have just as many moving parts as previous generations. Phones have been resistant to spills and short dunks for some time, but folding phones add an entirely new level of complication to waterproofing. There are many more ways for water to get in, and some of those ingress points move.

Alongside the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, Samsung is also introducing the Galaxy Buds 2. The $149 earbuds replace the Galaxy Buds Plus as the entry-level position in the company’s lineup. That family now consists of the Galaxy Buds Pro, bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live, and the Galaxy Buds 2.

The Buds 2 improve upon their predecessors by adding active noise cancellation. But in the few days I’ve spent with them so far, I’d say the bigger, most impressive progress Samsung has made is with their design and fit. These are the company’s smallest and lightest true wireless earbuds yet. And in my ears, the Buds 2 provide a flush, discreet fit that uniquely stands out among the company’s top competitors. Still, they trail the Buds Plus in battery life, so not everything is necessarily better. But Samsung got enough right that these could end up the new go-to pick for Android users who want an easy and reliable pair of wireless earbuds with satisfying sound. In fact, Samsung did so well with the Buds 2 that the flagship Buds Pro just became a much harder sell.

WhatsApp is adding the ability to bring your chat history with you when you switch from iOS to Android — including all voice notes, photos, and conversations. The long-rumored feature was announced during Samsung’s launch event today and will initially cover transfers from iOS to the company’s new Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 and other Samsung phones “in the coming weeks.” Eventually, the feature will cover all transfers between iOS and Android phones, though it’s unclear when it’ll be available for all devices.

The new feature should help address one of WhatsApp’s most frustrating elements, which is that it’s never been officially possible to transfer your chat history between mobile operating systems. If you choose to use WhatsApp’s cloud backup feature, then iOS chat histories are stored in iCloud, while Android’s are in Google Drive, meaning it’s only possible to transfer your chats between phones running the same operating system.

In addition to launching two new foldable phones and a pair of smartwatches, Samsung today announced its latest set of wireless earbuds. The Galaxy Buds 2 cost $149.99 and will replace the Galaxy Buds Plus in the company’s lineup. (It’s still possible to find remaining stock of the Buds Plus at some retailers, but they’ll be gone once that inventory runs dry.) Preorders start today in a range of colors that include dark gray, white, purple, and green, and the Buds 2 will be available on August 27th.

They’ve got a design that’s similar to the more expensive Galaxy Buds Pro, only smaller. In fact, Samsung says these are the smallest and lightest true wireless earbuds it has made yet. Also like the Buds Pro, the Buds 2 have two-way drivers with a woofer and tweeter in each earbud that “deliver crisp, clear high notes and a deep bass.” They set themselves apart from the older Buds Plus with the addition of active noise cancellation, and Samsung includes an ambient sound mode that lets you adjust how much outside noise is let through.

On Wednesday, August 11th Samsung is expected to announce a couple new smartwatches: the widely rumored Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The company that has the most to gain — or lose — from the success of these watches isn’t Samsung, however, it’s Google.

For many years now, I have decried the lack of good smartwatch options for Android phones. There’s nothing in the Android ecosystem that matches the quality and utility of the Apple Watch. As the pace of development in phones seems to slow, the pace of development on wearables still has a chance of growing. And without a viable alternative for Android users, it’s ever more likely that Apple will peel off users (or keep iPhone owners from ever trying Android).

Samsung has announced the Exynos W920, a new processor designed for smartwatches and other wearables. The company says it’s the world’s first wearable-specific chip to be built on a 5nm process, helping improve performance and efficiency.

The Exynos 920 has two Cortex-A55 cores and a Mali-G68 GPU. (For context, Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 888 has four Cortex-A55 cores that are used for low-power tasks.) Samsung is claiming 20 percent better CPU performance and ten times better GPU performance than its previous wearable chip. The W920 also includes a Cortex-M55 processor that’s dedicated to driving an always-on display, further reducing power consumption.

The next Galaxy Unpacked event is fast approaching on August 11th at 10AM ET / 7AM PT — but you might’ve already seen what Samsung has lined up, thanks to a copious amount of leaks.

Samsung is expected to announce new additions to its high-end line of folding Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip phones. Based on leaks, both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 seem more like refinements to Samsung’s existing designs with the newest specs. The new Fold and Flip should come with new color options and, in the case of the Flip, a reworked outside screen and camera housing.

We’re a little over a week away from Samsung’s next Unpacked event, but new photos from 91mobiles may have revealed our first in-person look at two things we could see at the show: the rumored Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and the new smartwatch OS from Samsung and Google.

The two photos from 91moblies show off black and silver watches with rounded bezels, matching a design seen in leaked renders from Android Headlines and detailed GIFs posted by noted leaker Evan Blass in July. Perhaps more significantly, the photos show the new smartwatch OS (currently referred to as Wear) on actual devices for the first time. But disappointingly, there isn’t much to see — just an initial setup screen and a screen asking the user to set the time.

Samsung isn’t looking to have many surprises at its August 11th Unpacked event. Leaks have already revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, a couple of new Galaxy smartwatches, and new Galaxy Buds 2. Now, Samsung mobile president TM Roh is continuing a recent tradition of publishing a pre-event blog post that confirms some news, sets expectations, and hints at some additional details. Roh promises improved durability for folding screens, stylus support, and that Samsung will not release a new Note phone this time around.

Although the Unpacked invitation pictured above didn’t leave much to the imagination, Roh simply comes out and says there will be new foldables this year: “Our third generation of foldable devices will open up amazing new multitasking capabilities and enhanced durability,” he writes.

New leaks suggest Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 will both have IPX8 water resistance, which would put them more on par with Samsung’s non-folding phones. The information was posted earlier by Max Weinbach and now corroborated by Evan Blass, who tweeted the rating along with what appears to be an image from Samsung showing the phones getting splashed. The water resistance tidbit adds to the pile of leaks and images that we’ve seen leading up to Samsung’s August 11th Unpacked event, where the phones are expected to be announced.

As SlashGear points out, the rumored IPX8 rating for the phones doesn’t cover dust resistance, something that’s been a bit of a concern since Samsung started making folding phones. (This explainer does a good job of going over how IP ratings work.) However, an official water resistance rating would likely be a relief for those worried about the durability of the historically expensive handsets. It also lets the phones fit in better with the rest of Samsung’s flagships, which have had water resistance for years.