Galaxy Unpacked 2020

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 launch: the Unpacked 2020 event as it ...
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Galaxy Unpacked 2020

Galaxy Unpacked occurs twice per year: once near the beginning of the year, around February time, and another at around August time. In February, Samsung usually unveils the next generation S device and usually launches the next major update to its concurrent skin. The August event is reserved for the Note devices and announcements of the next major release. The Galaxy S20 series this year haven't sold to well, and analysts and Samsung are pinning it down to the prices during the pandemic. No one really wants to risk spending that much money on a new phone when they may need the money because they just lost their job. Samsung are hoping to sell the new devices from today better than the S20 series, but I highly doubt many people are going to want to buy these devices, and will likely wait for a Galaxy S20 Lite or Galaxy Note 20 Lite. The Lite devices were first introduced during the Unpacked event this year for the S20's. 

For now, we'll dive right in to the devices announced today, brush up on their specs, review the partnerships made for these devices, and then we can really look at how much value these devices really provide when compared to other device on the market that are either WAY cheaper for the same stuff, cheaper but with a few things missing, or match the price but with more features in another article. Lets give it a go!

What are the 5 devices?

Samsung ensured throughout much of the event that they would be launching not 3, not 4, but 5 devices this year during the event. The actual event itself also focused on helping transition from our old, stereotypical 9-to-5 day jobs to our sit-at-a-desk-24/7 work at home desks. Overall, they definitely did a good job fitting these devices nicely into the Samsung ecosystem, however, there isn't much point in upgrading unless you absolutely HAVE to have a 120 Hz display. I'm not going too deep into it yet, but it's easy to say that this is pretty much the same Samsung from even a couple of months ago. Roh Tae-moon kept re-iterating the supposed fact that they are the leaders of innovation, but what have they really innovated since the S9's dual aperture lens? Even that wasn't really spectacular. The S10 brought a punch hole and the usual improvements, and so did the S20 series. They also wrecked the Note series by breaking it up between the vanilla and Plus models, and now they're doing it again with the Ultra moniker instead. 

Anyway, enough ranting. We learned that there are a total of five new devices from Samsung that will be coming by the end of August (and beginning of September for the foldable). We got the Galaxy Note 20, the successor to the Galaxy Note 10 (yes, there are 4G and 5G variants), the Galaxy S20 Ultra (the successor to the Note 10 Plus models, also in 4G and 5G), the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G (what a mouthful, successor to Galaxy Z Flip and O.G. Fold), Galaxy Watch 3, Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+, and the Galaxy Buds Live. All of these devices have at least one configuration that comes in this years signature mystic bronze finish. 

Short video on Samsung Galaxy Note 20

Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra

Note devices are meant to be absolute power-houses in terms of, not only specs, but pretty much everything. It's not supposed to compromise on almost anything, including price by today's standards. The base Note 20 costs the same amount as a base model S20, leading even me to become quite confounded by Samsung's decision. Note devices are meant to be more expensive than the best S-line model, not be comparable! At this point, I'm not sure which device you would be better off with (however, I will definitely look into it and provide a separate article at a later date) as there are just too many equalizing trade-offs to both devices. 

The only thing not on that list is expandable storage, which only the Ultra features, and headphone jack support, which neither of these devices (or any of the devices for that matter) support. A small trick that the average consumer may not catch is the 9ms advertised latency for the S-Pen, which can only be achieved on the Ultra device because of its higher refresh rate. The actual latency of the S-Pen on the regular Note 20 is near 28ms, which isn't too far off, but is bound to be a little noticeable. Overall, the actual design of these devices has been slightly updated, though I'm not keen on the mystic bronze colour myself. I did like the refined metal pieces at the bottom and the continued curved glass back metal frame design from the Note 10 devices. Though, overall, I would not buy into these devices until the Ultra is cheaper, since that is the only device really worth buying. However, I still think the price point has been bloated upwards too much, just like that camera bump. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G | Samsung Singapore

Galaxy Z Fold2 5G

Why do Samsung feel the need to put 5G at the end of all of their devices!?! It just makes it that much more confusing to say and really just doesn't need to be flaunted as a major feature. Nevertheless, this device is actually my favourite one out of the Notes simply because it is the only device that has actually changed. During the event, a video showing many YouTubers' videos reviewing a Galaxy Fold unit was shown and each video was focused in at their respective times. They highlighted exactly what they were saying they feel was off with the device. For example, MKBHD states how he and many other people used the front 'cover' display just as much as they used the larger fold out display, and another saying how big the camera notch was. It actually felt like Samsung listened to its customers about the original's faults, and tried to fix them in an actually useful way. 


The front and foldable displays both feature a 120 Hz refresh rate at 1080p, a full 12 MP rear camera system, and two of the same 10 MP selfie cameras as the Note devices (one on the cover display, another on the fold-out display) placed within similarly designed punch-holes. Again, this device is featured in the mystic bronze finish, but uses an extra coating on the polycarbonate back for a better satin look and feel. Also, the camera bump is not quite as protruding, as seen in the above images. This thing is almost like putting two Note 20's together, but it still sets a really good standard for what all future foldable devices should aspire to be like. 

Galaxy Tab S7 Unveiled - Samsung's answer to Apple's iPad Pro

Galaxy Tab S7/+

Samsung is pretty much the only premium Android tablet maker at the moment despite the amount of brands there are still churning out new devices. Though, just because it's the only one, doesn't mean it's automatically the best. This does have potential to be though!

The Tab S7 has a similar design to the Tab S5e and the Tab S6 series, but for sure brings the same Note 20 elements to make it feel and look newer. It can actually compete a bit better with the industry leading iPad Pro's ProMotion displays too, so we can potentially see a new laptop killer in our hands, or even a Surface Book competitor. 

It contains many of the same bells and whistles of the Note series, with an extremely premium feel, mystic bronze look, and powerful internals. You'll find the Snapdragon 865+ in both models, but the larger plus device comes with a larger display and a huge battery (10,090 mAh, while the S7 has a ). Both devices also come in a 6GB RAM / 128 GB ROM and 8 GB RAM / 256 GB ROM configurations with UFS storage. The cameras aren't amazing, with a 13 MP main, 5 MP ultra-wide and an 8 MP selfie camera. The fingerprint sensor is on the side for the S7 and in the display on the Plus model. 

My favourite thing from this year, however, was the wireless DeX functionality. I'm not even joking when I say my jaw LITERALLY dropped. I was astounded at how quick and easy it was to setup and also how subtly Samsung had mentioned it in the event. Honestly, some great presenting skills here (but also some very cringe worthy moments too). 

Other announcements

Samsung Galaxy Watch3 come with more features, LTE variants in ...

The next Galaxy Watch has been announced, dropping the Active and Fit names and opting just for a number. This version is the Galaxy Watch3. It brings back the physical rotating bezel and brings ECG monitoring to the U.S. at last. It will come in 41mm and 45mm sizes, and we haven't got any information on pricing just yet. However, more information will likely come up during the September 1st event mentioned following the Z Fold 2 announcements. 

And last, but not least, the Galaxy Buds Live. The design for these headphones have leaked ages ago, and I was, and still am, a little skeptical on sizing and fit. Most headphones without tips do not fit in my ears, and that includes the EarPods and AirPods (which is why I'm also hesitant to buy the OnePlus Buds). Although these may not be good for me, don't let that rub the wrong way for you. On paper, these headphones seem absolutely fantastic, and I love how they took a stab at OnePlus and Apple with their "and it doesn't have a stem that awkwardly sticks out" remark. The ANC seems to work pretty well, and while the amount of microphones may be a little astounding, they will help with the overall quality of calls. Hopefully, they actually deliver on everything on the specs sheet. 

Galaxy Buds Live: Bean-shaped, noise-canceling wireless earbuds ...

Finally Done

Other than those devices, there were a few announcements on recent partnerships, including a furthering partnership with Microsoft and Xbox. The Note devices can be pre-ordered on August 21st in a game package, which will give the user a bluetooth controller and 3 months of Xbox GamePass Ultimate. You will also be able to Link to Windows and use your Android apps on your computer. Pretty cool. What was your favourite part of the event? I think mine has to be the headphone remark. Let us know in the comments!








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