Josh Hendrickson
Today, Samsung will host its Unpacked event where we’re expecting to see new phones, a wearable, and perhaps even a smart speaker. The festivities kick off at 11 a.m. PST, and we’ll be there to bring you all the news. If you can’t wait and want to see what’s new, you can watch the stream on Samsung’s Unpacked website. The event will also be live-streamed on YouTube, though the link isn’t live yet. We’ll add it to this post as soon as it is, you can follow along right here beside us.
Update, 2/11: Samsung’s live stream is now live on YouTube and we posted it below.
What We’re Expecting to See
It’s not a Samsung Unpacked event without new phones, and we’re not surprised to see that a successor to the Galaxy S10 and S10+ is among the biggest rumors. Depending on who you ask, the most likely bets are either two or three phones, and instead of S11 branding, these new phones may sport an S20 moniker.
Rumored specs are about what you can expect at this point from updated phones, but the big highlight might be a screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate. That would trump even the buttery smooth OnePlus 7 Pro and 7T displays.
Beyond the standard Galaxy phones, we’re watching for a new foldable, likely dubbed the Galaxy Z Flip. That phone is guaranteed at this point, thanks to Samsung outing it at the Oscars. The Z Flip likely won’t replace the original Galaxy Fold—you can think of it as a sibling phone.
Rather than fold out to a tablet, it folds in like a flip phone, much like Motorola’s Razr. Samsung’s commercial suggests that the phone isn’t limited to completely open and closed positions; you may be able to use the bottom half of the phone as a stand.
It also seems likely we’ll hear about an updated version of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. Early leaks suggest the new Buds will gain longer battery life and better call quality, but not much else in the way of new features. We’ll see if Samsung has any surprises in its wearable category.
Finally, it looks like Bixby is ready to come to your home in the form of a small Galaxy Home. Samsung opened up Beta trials for the Galaxy Home Mini months ago, and it seems to be the company’s take on the Echo Dot and Nest Mini.
Where to Watch
Samsung is holding simultaneous events in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo, and Sydney. If you aren’t lucky enough to see the event in person, the company also plans to live stream the event on its Unpacked site and through YouTube.
https://youtu.be/MIQdJkoTh48
Feel free to chime in during the events with your thoughts and comments. We’ll be at the Unpacked Event in San Fransisco and will bring you all the latest updates as they arrive.
