Or you’ve got the option to read on if you don’t like to spoil the surprises.
Of course, the biggest surprise was the appearance of Mr. Just kidding, it was Samsung’s last-minute, one-more-thing, theGalaxy Ring.
), and now it’s finally official.
Your editor when he worked for Samsung in 2017
Beast, Pokimane, and even Hiroshi Lockheimer fromGoogle!
And for video impressions and reactions, do see to it to follow theTechRadar TikTok account.
So read on for our Galaxy Unpacked live blog.
Your editor when he worked for Samsung in 2017
He has been writing about phones and mobile technology since before the iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 live: last-minute leaks, rumors and more
Good morning!
What may look like iterative upgrades are apparently tipped to come with a whole suite of generative AI features.
‘What the heck is generative AI?’
I imagine you asking.
Expect text translation, summaries and data extraction as a bare minimum.
If these rumors are anything to go by, then theGalaxy S24 may indeed be worth waiting for.
When it comes to phones worth waiting for, I’m casually excited about the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
There’s scope for improved nighttime photography and video.
Neither have we heard much about any big video recording improvements for the Galaxy S24 series.
But there’s scope of improved stabilization and thus better clarity and low-light performance.
I’m really hoping Samsung has done some work here.
All rather interesting I reckon.
And I’d tend to agree.
Of all the virtual assistants, Bixby was, and arguably still is, one of the worst.
It never felt smart or responsive enough and got in the way too much.
Over on Twitter… ahem… X, it looks like some excitement is brewing for Galaxy Unpacked 2024.
But maybe not in the most positive way.
In case you didn’t know it,TechRadar has a TikTok account.
Right, let’s look at some more rumors.
We’ve got a suite of hubs running down specific things to expect from the Galaxy S24 series.
And I’ve written about how that may be the case.
And let me know your thoughts too.
Often I feel like Samsung’s native apps get in the way of Android’s stock apps.
But Samsung’s has improved on this a lot over the recent years.
So if Samsung’s next-gen Galaxy phones do win me over, which would I go for?
That being said, I do love how compact and neat the standard Galaxy phones have been of late.
One model I’d avoid is the Galaxy S24 Plus.
While it could have a few tricks up its sleeve, the rumors aren’t really touting many.
And I’ve always thought the Plus model was a bit of an awkward middle-child of the Galaxy S-series.
And the pricing of the Galaxy Plus models have always been a bit close to entry-level iPhone Pro models.
That would give these phones a class-leading level of software support.
The only real downside is Lithium-ion battery degradation that leads to compromised battery life.
This is tipped to be Samsung’s first smart ring and I’m here for it.
So a smart ring, has, well… a great ring to it.
And I reckon one from Samsung would integrate nicely with the Galaxy devices I already have.
But I suspect we’ll not hear about the Galaxy Ring until later on in the year.
Right readers, it’s time for me to hand over the live blogging reigns to Philip Berne.
Good morning Samsung fiends and phone fans alike!
Your editor when he worked for Samsung in 2017
After naming the Galaxy S23 Ultra the best phone overall, I decided I needed to own one.
Are we expecting any surprises at this Samsung event today?
Well, no, not really.
It could show up as a preview for the future, though.
It also told us to expect more news in the very near future.
Could Samsung have One More Thing planned, in the old Steve Jobs style?
Apple Park in Cupertino, CA, a San Jose suburb
It’s possible we could get a preview, but I don’t expect any products to arrive soon.
Nope, this event will be pure Galaxy S24 fam.
No new Galaxy Watches.
No Samsung Gear VR 2 virtual headset, at least not yet.
It could be a very interesting year for the electronics giant.
Samsung picks its launch locations very deliberately.
Not saying I got COVID at the Samsung CES press conference, but it was probably close by
The Galaxy S24 is being launched in San Jose, CA, which is especially interesting.
The headquarters is in New Jersey, with important folks stationed in NYC as well.
Hosting in northern California puts Samsung in Apple and Google’s backyard, among many others.
Santa Clara’s NVIDIA?
That’s San Jose.
Sunnyvale’s Yahoo!?
That’s San Jose.
That’s San Jose.
Whatever happens today, it seems that Samsung feels very confident with what it will be offering.
And here is the event in London, where it is somehow dark already
It is taking the fight directly to its biggest competitors, and its biggest partners.
Talk about being behind enemy lines.
The Galaxy S21 was announced on January 14, and it went on sale January 29.
And here is the event in London, where it is somehow dark already
Every other Galaxy S family was announced in February or later.
Why does this matter?
Samsung quickly followed suit, and as a result the big trade shows became less important.
This year could be problematic, though.
Folks are lining up at the SAP Center in San Jose, waiting to get into Galaxy Unpacked.
Get ready, because London is very far north and it’s already very dark there.
This may break your brain if you’re calibrated to Pacific Time or just enjoying the sunshine.
Samsung may have a unique claim on the logo, though not quite this four-star design you see here.
Many companies are using a cool three-star design for AI tools.
Samsung’s name in Korean, written in its Korean hanja symbol, means “three stars.”
We should see more AI features from Samsung soon, with new brand names and icons to boot.
In the meantime, we’ll keep looking for hints until the show starts.
We’ll have our impressions, hands-on with the new devices, and everything you should probably know.
Multitasking is good for the soul.
It’s time to go!
Samsung’s Unpacked Livestream begins promptly at 1pm.
This is your last chance to grab a snack and charge your phone before the news begins.
I am hoping to hear more about devices beyond the Galaxy S, though.
At CES, Samsung hinted at more interoperability between phones and its other products, especially home appliances.
It talked about Bixby coming to more than just the phone, finally.
I’d like to hear about that.
I’d also like to learn about the future products that are still just rumors.
Is there really a Galaxy Ring?
Will Samsung be launching an Apple Vision Pro competitor?
How about a Samsung car?
Let’s have fun, it’s new phone day!
Okay, the show is getting started.
What are you waiting for?
Start your streaming engines and let’s check it out.
Samsung is starting with a discussion of new Galaxy AI features, not the new phones.
Here is ourGalaxy S24 hands-on, and ourGalaxy S24 Plushands-on.
The first feature up is Samsung’s amazing live translation feature.
you’re free to translate live, during a phone call, between thirteen different languages.
It will even remember what language your contacts speak and automatically suggest the proper translation.
The next big feature is Samsung’s writing assistant, which will change your writing style on the fly.
Samsung is also talking about new AI features in Samsung Notes, but these are kind of boring.
you’re free to reformat notes to make them look nice.
Show me imaging and writing tools, not formatting.
Here’s where things get interesting.
Samsung has just introduced Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer, Head of All Things Android, to the stage.
Google doesn’t usually participate in Samsung events at this high level.
There are some very interesting partnerships between Google and Samsung for the new phones.
There’s a lot more to come.
It will venture to figure out the throw in of search you need depending on the object.
Then you circle the object, or even just scribble over the object to select it.
Google will then search, and maybe even offer an AI explanation for what you see.
Let’s get to the good stuff.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra was our favorite camera phone for its all-around amazing versatility.
Your photos will look much better than before, and you’ll have many more shooting options.
Oh lord, now Samsung is introducing Mr.
Beast, who is using the Galaxy S24 Ultra as his official camera.
I’m just gonna stop now.
Okay, just for the Mr.
Beast clicks, I’m going to write about Mr.
Beast is now shilling for Samsung during Galaxy Unpacked.
That’s not quite the brightest phone you’re free to find, but it’s pretty close.
Actually, getting much brighter could be harmful to your eyes, so we’re fine with this limit.
You know what I like more than improved performance?
The new Galaxy S24 Ultra uses a titanium frame, as we expected.
The Ultra is just as big and heavy as ever.
Samsung is also the first to get Corning’s new Gorilla Glass Armor.
This Armor glass is supposed to be 4X more scratch resistant.
That’s great news.
In the past, Gorilla Glass has been great because it wouldn’t shatter when it hit the ground.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as scratch resistant as more expensive glass options, like sapphire glass.
I’m happy to see Samsung continuing its leadership on durability.
It was the first major phone maker to make water resistance a regular flagship feature.
Sadly, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus still use aluminum and older Gorilla Glass.
Samsung has finally announced pricing for all of the new devices.
The model starts with 256GB of storage instead of 128GB, but it still hurts.
you might find all of the pre-order information online at Samsung.com, and Samsung is taking orders now.
The new phones will all be available on January 31st.
Samsung Galaxy Ring!
Samsung Galaxy Ring gets teased at Galaxy Unpacked.
A shiny, chrome-looking ring twisted a few times in the air, and then it was gone.
Leave it to Samsung to step on their own big announcement.
There are very few successful smart rings on the market, outside of the popular Oura ring.
This is a very Samsung move, unlike Apple.
Samsung likes to enter a relatively new category with a splash.
