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Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, Flip 8, smarter AI, and upgraded wearables. Here's what matters and why Apple should be watching.
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00:00Samsung's latest Galaxy Unpacked event is putting the spotlight on the next generation of AI,
00:06foldable smartphones and connected devices. Joining us now to unpack all of it is Mark Spoonour,
00:11Global Editor-in-Chief of Tom's Guide. Thank you so much for being here, Mark.
00:16Thanks for having me. Of course, especially when you are at the actual event itself. So thank you
00:21so much for taking the time to talk to us. Tell us a little bit about your biggest takeaways so
00:25far from Samsung's Summer Galaxy Unpacked event. I would say the biggest takeaway is that Samsung
00:32is trying to make a foldables and not one size fits all situation. They know that Apple is around the
00:37corner with an iPhone Fold or some people are calling it an iPhone Ultra. And they're sort of
00:42they're saying, OK, so we've been at this for a long time. We're coming out with three devices,
00:46including one that has a new form factor that we haven't seen before. And that is that that's the
00:52standard Galaxy Z Fold 8. Yeah. I mean, tell us a little bit about that. We have the Galaxy Z
00:56Fold
00:578, the Fold 8 Ultra, the Flip 8, some of these announcements that came out. Tell us a little
01:01bit about what stands out and what really differentiates these products. Sure. I would
01:06say the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the standout because it's the first with a widescreen display. So I actually
01:11happen to have it right here, just unboxed it, still setting it up. But you could tell that the form
01:16factor is different. It has a widescreen on the front, which is better for typing. And then when you open
01:21it
01:21up, you get like a widescreen display. So this is 7.6 inches. But when it's closed, it's very compact.
01:27It can slip into your pocket and it's only 201 grams, which they say is the world's lightest book
01:33style foldable. So they're really going after with this particular device, people who want to consume
01:38content on the go, whether it's TikTok, Instagram, et cetera. And then when you open it, it's really
01:43great for YouTube, Netflix, et cetera. So the Z Fold Ultra, the 8 Ultra is really more for like
01:49multitasking and productivity. But both of these new phones have what's called flex titanium. So
01:55the idea is it doesn't get rid of the crease completely. But one of the complaints that
02:00people have about foldable phones is that you could see that crease in the middle of the display.
02:04And they figured out a way to almost make it disappear.
02:08Yeah, that's absolutely incredible. And thank you for showing it to us. Because again, it's hard
02:12to imagine sometimes how that's able to happen because we've all seen those other ones that do
02:16have that crease. Yeah, exactly. So cool that you're holding it in your hand right now.
02:20It's so great to get to take a look at that and see what it actually is like. Tell us
02:24a little bit
02:24more about the technology that goes into that because you have the flex titanium display, but you also have
02:29these silicone carbon batteries. So tell us what this really is in terms of a meaningful way for
02:34everyday users, what they might see if they get one of these phones.
02:38Yeah. So I think with foldable phones, you're always at a premium when it comes to putting
02:42in bigger batteries. So this time, Samsung actually went from 4,400 milliamp hours to
02:494,800 for the fold, the regular fold and 5,000 milliamps for the ultra, which means you're getting
02:56more capacity in about the same size frame. And in fact, the ultra is a little, they somehow figured out
03:02a way to make it a little bit thinner. And that's because they're embracing this technology
03:06called silicon carbon. And this is a first for any Samsung phone. And we all know that Samsung
03:11got in hot water about a decade ago for some of their battery issues. So you could tell that they're
03:16being very deliberate and trying to be safe about like rolling out this new technology.
03:20There are other competitors that have done it already, but they're being very considerate about how
03:25they embrace it. Yeah. That makes sense to think about their history and then how they're actually
03:30doing this now, as we move forward to hopefully not have any of those issues again in the future.
03:35Tell us a little bit about the AI component for all of this, right? Because for a while,
03:40it was a nice to have feature or something that people kind of thought about maybe wanting,
03:44but now it seems like it actually might be so much more integrated and something that people really demand.
03:50Yeah. I would say the big difference this time around is that the AI, the Galaxy AI features are
03:54not so much as like in your face as they are just like subtle, helpful hints throughout your day.
03:59So a really great example of that is now nudge. So let's say you get a text message like saying,
04:03you know, where are we going for dinner tonight? Or what was that? What was that
04:06appointment that we had? And it'll actually like appear directly in your messages as like a little button.
04:12And then if you click that, it'll sort of just basically boom up to like that second display.
04:17So you have one app on one side and one app on the other with the information that you need
04:22at hand.
04:22So the idea is how can AI help you multitask better and just sort of like integrate its way into
04:28how
04:28you work every day, as opposed to hitting you over the head.
04:32Yeah. I mean, it seems like a very helpful feature, especially for someone like me who has so many tabs
04:36open at one time on their laptop always to be able to have those two different displays. Sounds helpful.
04:42Also dangerous. I would be using that all the time.
04:44Tell us a little bit about why this kind of category of the foldable phone is able to really
04:50come out now and be successful because they've been around for a while in other capacities. But
04:54how is it really being able to kind of hit the mainstream now?
04:59I would say, I mean, that remains to be seen, right? So the market share for this category,
05:04depending on who you ask, is only like three to 4%. But it's also like the fastest growing category.
05:09And I think it's because a lot of Chinese manufacturers are really stepping up their game
05:13like Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, and they're doing a really good job. So Samsung is feeling the
05:18pressure from them, but also from Apple on the horizon. And I think Apple's entry into the market
05:23this fall, assuming it's going to happen, I do think could be like a seismic event for this
05:28category. And some people are saying that within the first year alone, they could have upwards of 40%
05:33market share, depending on where they are. So I think they're coming into the market as sort of
05:39a validation point for Samsung, because they've been at this for seven years.
05:44Yeah, it's fascinating to think about the kind of competition and how that's inspiring each company
05:48to then get pushed farther itself. I mean, going back to Apple that you've mentioned a few times,
05:54tell us what this might actually look like if they do enter the foldable phone market,
05:58as it seems like they're going to, what would that really look like for consumers? And what can we expect?
06:03Sure. I can give you a sneak peek right now. I think it's going to look like this.
06:07Okay. So the rumor is that it's going to have a very similar form factor to this. So like about
06:147.6 inches on the inside, 5.4 to 5.5 on the outside. So compact when you want it,
06:21big screen
06:22when you need it. I think the big difference between Samsung and Apple is going to be the software,
06:26right? So all the apps on day one are going to be optimized for that bigger screen. And some people
06:31are saying that even though it's not going to run iPadOS, they'll all be optimized so that it's
06:37almost like having an iPhone and an iPad mini in the same device. So I think that's going to be
06:42a
06:42big differentiator between what Apple is doing and Samsung. It's about the apps and the developers
06:47that they're able to get on board because they sort of know that this is coming, but we'll have to
06:51see.
06:52Yeah, definitely want to take a look at that when that comes out. I mean, thinking about this
06:56kind of software and all the other partnerships that go into making these devices actually run
07:01and run well, how important is Samsung's relationship with Google and Android as AI really becomes
07:06a bigger part of the mobile experience? I would say their relationship with Google is huge because
07:12a lot of the Galaxy AI slash Google AI feature, they come from Google, right? It's about that partnership
07:18that they have, including the stuff that works really well on foldable phones. Like they work together
07:23in terms of iterating on the operating system, as well as the interface to make sure that the
07:27foldable experience is a good one. And by the way, you know, Google's expected to come out with its own
07:33foldable phone, like a follow-up to their device this summer. I think it's for like late August,
07:39mid to late August. So Google definitely has skin in the game. But I guess that the other big thing
07:44that we're sort of heading towards is wearable devices, right? So that partnership that you just
07:49talked about, they were talking like Google, Rick Osterloh was on the stage today. And he was
07:54talking about not just the partnership in terms of foldable phones, but also smart glasses, which is
07:59coming next. Yeah, I mean, thinking about all of these different pieces of technology that are coming,
08:04the software that powers them, the AI that powers them, how do you think Samsung is really positioning
08:08itself to compete against Apple, who again, will probably have a foldable phone very soon against
08:14Google and all these other major players in the game who are all kind of amping up their game here?
08:19Yeah, I think that the main difference is similar to what it's been in the past,
08:23but now we're sort of getting into new frontiers. So with Samsung, it's about, and Google, it's about
08:27being open, having the partnerships like Qualcomm was there today, but also like the partnerships
08:32that are happening on the smart glasses side, they're teaming up with Warby Parker as well as
08:36Gentle Monster for the glasses. Whereas for better or for worse, Apple goes it alone when it comes to
08:43their strategy, right? So they're going to design their own hardware, their own software,
08:48and it hopefully all works together well, right? But I don't think they're going to partner with
08:53someone like a Warby Parker. They're going to make their own glasses, right? That didn't work out when
08:57it came to Vision Pro, right? So they made the hardware, the software, and it was just too expensive
09:01and ahead of its time. So having that vertical integration is not a guarantee of success when it
09:07comes to Apple, but it has helped them for the most part. So I think that that's sort of that
09:11schism, that like that break between the two companies is going to continue to exist just on
09:16a new plane. Yeah, that really is an important detail to bring up. They're thinking about those
09:21strategies and how they really do differ completely, completely different business models. They're
09:26looking ahead. What do you think will be the biggest trends to watch in smartphones and consumer
09:30tech over the next years? Is it just these new foldable phones? Is it wearables? Where should we
09:36really be watching? Sure. I think one of the big trends is just what's happening with phone prices,
09:42right? Because, you know, the Ramageddon and like the component shortage is really
09:46weighing on prices. People are expecting the new iPhones to cost $100 more. For example,
09:52the new foldable phones from Samsung, the two that are successors or sequels are $100 more than the
09:58phones that came before them. Now, granted, you know, carriers can help eat some of that cost with
10:03payment plans and that sort of thing. It spreads out over time. But it is creating, you know,
10:07downward pressure on demand when it comes to people buying their new phones and upgrading.
10:12So I think in a way, you know, foldables, they're placing like more emphasis on foldables because
10:17it's new and it's not something that people have experienced before. And maybe people are more
10:21likely to spend more on something that for a brand new experience.
10:27Yeah, that's a good point. We'll definitely have to keep our eye on that and see what happens with
10:30those prices and how many people are actually spending money on those prices. Thank you so much,
10:35Mark Spoonhour, Global Editor in Chief of Tom's Guide. We really appreciate you being here today.
10:39All right. Thank you.
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