Usually Samsung unveils their latest products on the grand stage of the Mobile World Congress (MWC). This year Samsung went out of their way and revealed their latest offerings a bit early.
The Unpacked 2019 is Samsung’s exhibition of their new innovation which is suppose pave the way towards “the next era of mobile innovation”, said D. J. Koh, CEO of Samsung’s mobile division.
If you weren’t awake till 3 AM BST in the morning, keep reading to get yourself up to date with all of the announcements Samsung made today.
Galaxy Fold
It was way back in 2015, when rumors of Microsoft making a foldable tablet hit the internet. The project was dubbed Andromeda. Apparently, it was all but a rumor. That idea started to materialize last year; when all major companies started the race to release the first ever foldable phone. Samsung just beat everyone of them to the finish line.
“We’re giving you a device that doesn’t define a new category, it defies category”, said Justin Denison, SVP Product Marketing of Samsung’s mobile division.
When he showcased the new and unique Galaxy Fold. The fold has two displays, a 4.6” inch external screen and a 7.3” inch foldable screen on the inside. There’s a special type of hinge with interlocked gears, which helps the smooth folding and unfolding of the screens. Samsung promised that the hinge should last even after a long time of use.
Samsung also introduced the App Continuity feature with the Galaxy Fold. This feature enables you to use the apps on the external screen instantly expands to the larger screen when you open the Fold. Samsung with close collaboration with Google made this possible. Plus, there is a new 3-way multitasking multi-window mode as well, for extra productivity.
Powered by the new Snapdragon 855 and paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage (fast UFS 3.0 storage to boot) is built to deliver top class performance. All of this is backed up by two batteries with a combined capacity of 4,380mAh. A total of 6 cameras are available on the Galaxy Fold. There are 3 cameras on the back, 1 on the front and 2 on the inside.
All of these can be yours, for just $1,980; which converts to 162360 BDT. This phone just takes the meaning of expensive phones to a whole new level. The fold reminds me of the Galaxy Round; which Samsung announced in 2013 in a similar manner and costed $770. It turned out to be gimmick and wasn’t much of help to Samsung’s revenue. As a result, no further advancement was made on it. Only time will tell if the Fold falls into that category or not.
Galaxy S10, S10+ and S10e
The S10 marks the 10th year anniversary of the Galaxy S series. Unlike the fold, the S10 doesn’t bring any thing that will raise your eye brow. But it does improve on what it already had and also introduces few new things to the list.
Samsung announced four different variants of the S10 line up. All four of them will have either have a Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9820 SoC, depending on the region its being offered in. They also share the same primary 12MP camera (dual pixel, f/1.5-2.4, 26mm, OIS), 16MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.2, 12mm, FF) and the single 10MP selfie camera (f/1.9, dual pixel). Astonishingly, in an age where almost every single flagship is dropping the 3.5mm audio jack. You can find it available on all four of the Samsung S10 variants. Props to Samsung for that.
First up, are the S10 and S10+. Homogeneity between the two is noticed in the 12MP telephoto camera (f/2.4, 52mm, OIS) setup in the back. Difference is in the display, storage and battery section. Samsung has introduced their new “Dynamic” AMOLED display in the S10 line up. These displays have HDR10+ certification; which offers superior true to life and accurate colors. S10 comes with a curved 6.1″ inch (3040x1440px, 550ppi) display and the S10+ comes with a bigger Curved 6.4″ inch (3040x1440px, 522ppi). 8GB RAM with 128/512GB microSD and 8/12GB with 128GB/512GB/1TB microSD options are available for S10 and S10+ respectively. Other than that, the S10+ packs an 8MP Selfie depth module (f/2.2, FF).
Last of the bunch is the “cheaper” version of the S10 series, the S10e; released to compete against the likes of iPhone XR. Lacking majority of the cooler hardware of the S10 series, the S10e offers the bare minimum of the premium S10 line up. Honestly, it’s just a rebranded S9 with few new stuffs and a couple hundred-dollar price elevation.
Galaxy S10 5G
If the S10+ had an older brother, what would Samsung call it? S10++? Nope, the S10 5G. The S10 5G can be labeled as pricier version of S10+. Bigger display, larger battery, quad camera set up in the back and most importantly 5G support is what this device brings up to the table. Sadly, that extra 5G power isn’t going to help anyone right now, as majority of the countries won’t be enlisting themselves in the 5G network any time soon.
Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Fit
Along with the main course, Samsung released the Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Fit as desert. The Watch Active runs on home brew Samsung OS and offers most of the features found on the Android Wear OS. While, the Active offers just the essentials to keep track of your health. The Active will cost you $199 and the Fit will cost $99.
New ‘Can’t Hear You, Have my Galaxy Buds On’ Memes Inbound?
Samsung joins the wireless earplug fray with the new Galaxy Buds. It was a matter of time, before Samsung released them to take a jab at the Apple Airpod. If you’re willing to take the responsibility of always keeping tabs on their whereabouts; the Galaxy Buds can be bought for $130.
Specifications
Price and Availability
Local Samsung stores and online sites should be doing a pre-order for the S10, S10+ and S10e from mid-March. Expected price are 75,000 BDT, 85,000 BDT and 65,000 BDT for the S10, S10+ and S10e respectively.