Allison Johnson
Here we go!
TM Roh is getting us started with some lofty talk about how technology improves lives. Also, we have our first mention of AI phones, so take a drink. I would but we’re not allowed even water in here.
Samsung
Founded in 1938, Samsung is the largest chaebol in South Korea. The myriad of companies under its brand are some of the biggest in their respective industries, but Samsung Electronics is the most notable. It makes some of the most popular phones in use today, and its flagship portfolio includes the Galaxy S-series and foldable Z-series devices. It also makes televisions, tablets, computers, headphones, and many of the displays, chips, and batteries found in devices from Apple, Sony, and others.
Gemini’s on the wrist, there’s a new Antioxidant Index, and a slightly updated Ultra, too.
Victoria Song
Allison Johnson
We are ready to unpack!
Samsung’s summer foldable extravaganza starts soon and we are here in Brooklyn ready for the big unveil. We’re expecting to check out foldables, wearables, maybe even a trifold if we’re lucky. Stay tuned!
Jess Weatherbed
Thomas Ricker
Samsunged, again.
Samsung Electronics keeps promising a turnaround but it’s once again projecting a dismal quarter, with weak AI chip sales to blame for a projected 56 percent plunge in operating profit. At 4.6 trillion won for the April-June period, it would be its weakest result in six quarters.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jess Weatherbed
It’s almost time for new Galaxy Watches.
Some images that reportedly show the new Galaxy Watch 8 (40mm/44mm dial size), Watch 8 Classic (46mm), and Watch Ultra (47mm) have leaked ahead of the Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday, where they’re expected to be officially unveiled. The round body of the Watch and Watch Classic has notably been updated to the round watch face and squircle body design used by the Ultra, alongside other changes and specification upgrades.
1/5Leaker Roland Quandt posted what appear to be marketing images of the Galaxy Watch 8... Image: Roland Quandt
Allison Johnson
Jess Weatherbed
Dominic Preston
Samsung struggles in Texas.
The company’s second US chip plant — initially planned for a 2024 start — has been delayed to 2026, which Nikkei Asia reports is down to a lack of local customers. The company was just awarded $4.7 billion in US funding from the CHIPS Act.
TSMC suffered its own problems opening a plant in Arizona, but lack of customers wasn’t one of them — it has deals with Nvidia, AMD, Amazon, and Google, including Nvidia’s Blackwell AI GPUs.
Andrew J. Hawkins
Samsung Galaxy’s digital key now works with Mercedes-Benz.
The Samsung Wallet now supports digital key compatibility with Mercedes-Benz models starting July 2025, the company said. Samsung phones can already be used to unlock and start a variety of automotive brands, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Ram, and Polestar vehicles. Samsung has also been working with smart lock manufacturers to enable its phones to be used to lock and unlock homes and residencies.
Allison Johnson
Dominic Preston
Samsung is considering a Galaxy Watch subscription fee.
That’s according to CNET, which interviewed Hon Pak, Samsung’s head of digital health, about new features coming to One UI 8 Watch, including an AI running coach and a non-invasive antioxidant level check that might be impressive if it actually does what it claims.
Apparently Pak said Samsung is “exploring” a premium subscription, perhaps bringing new features for free to the latest Samsung smartwatches, like the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8, but charging for older hardware.
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Samsung teases a much thinner Fold.
Rumors have long had it that this year’s Galaxy Z Fold phone will be substantially thinner, as Samsung tries to keep up with Oppo and Honor, and now the company itself has hinted at the same.
It says this year’s Fold is “our thinnest, lightest and most advanced foldable yet,” with a picture that certainly looks thin, as it promises to bring the Ultra experience to foldables.
Image: Samsung
8
Verge Score
But it’s still a big phone.
Allison Johnson
Dominic Preston
Samsung leaks its own foldable names.
And no, they’re not exactly surprising. But even so, a Galaxy Store listing for “Samsung Internet Browser for Fold7 and Flip7,” spotted by GalaxyClub, does give the game away a little, especially since we’re not expecting the new phones to launch for at least a month.
Of course, that doesn’t preclude extra versions, like the Fold Ultra Samsung teased just this week, or its rumored cheaper Flip FE.
Jess Weatherbed
Allison Johnson
Looks like we’re getting a foldable Galaxy Ultra.
Samsung is hinting strongly at an Ultra-branded foldable coming soon with this new press release referencing a foldable with a “powerful camera,” which is traditionally a weakness of folding phones. The attached image is also named “Galaxy Z Fold 7 Z Flip 7 Pre tease,” so there’s that too.
Between this Ultra model and a rumored FE version of the Z Flip, we might have a whole bunch of new folding phones on our hands later this summer.
Image: Samsung
Emma Roth
Samsung is reportedly closing in on a deal with Perplexity.
Samsung is planning a big investment in Perplexity that could bring the AI search engine’s app and assistant to Samsung’s upcoming devices and its web browser, according to a report from Bloomberg.
If this rumor pans out, Samsung would join Motorola in offering users the option to set Perplexity as their default assistant instead of Google Gemini.
Jay Peters
Samsung’s Tap to Transfer feature is starting to roll out.
The Samsung Wallet feature lets you use NFC to send money from a debit card to other phones and cards. Samsung announced it earlier this month.
Dominic Preston
Emma Roth
Trump’s tariffs threat extends to Samsung.
When asked about his latest tariff threat toward Apple, President Donald Trump said the 25 percent tax would affect Samsung and other phone makers, too. “It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair,” Trump said during a White House briefing.
Last week, Trump warned Apple CEO Tim Cook that he’s “not interested in you building in India,” and instead wants to bring iPhone production to the US — a move many experts have said won’t work.
Victoria Song
Samsung confirms Gemini will debut on its Galaxy Watches.
The big Wear OS 6 news is that Gemini is headed to the wrist. It’s unsurprising to see Samsung’s smartwatches will get it first. After all, new Galaxy Watches have launched before new Pixel Watches ever since Google and Samsung teamed up to create Wear OS 3. The good news is you won’t necessarily have to upgrade. Google told me that Gemini will be coming to any Wear OS watch that currently supports Assistant.
Access Denied
[news.samsung.com]
Dominic Preston