The new products put Galaxy AI and smarter health-tracking front and center. The Galaxy Z Flip6 and Galaxy Z Fold6 get minor updates.
From left, Samsung’s new Flip, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Watch Ultra
By Courtney Lindwall
It’s an exciting day for Galaxy fans. Samsung just unveiled a new generation of foldable phones—the pocket-size Galaxy Z Flip6 and larger, tablet-esque Galaxy Z Fold6. It also debuted a souped-up Galaxy Watch Ultra, the Galaxy Watch 7, a brand new health-tracking Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro.
The foldable phones will come equipped with Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite of features, developed in partnership with Google. Otherwise, the sixth-generation devices received modest improvements, like heightened durability and processing speeds, Samsung says.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra, a rugged smartwatch aimed at athletes, is clearly intended to compete with the sporty Apple Watch Ultra. Previewed earlier this year, Samsung also debuted its Galaxy Ring—a new health-tracking smart ring meant to be worn 24/7, similar to the popular Oura ring.
Samsung also released its Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro, which have shifted over to a stemmed, rather than in-ear, design—strikingly similar to Apple AirPods. The Buds3 Pro have silicone tips that create more of a seal in your ear, while the classic Buds3 do not. Both models also have active noise cancellation, while the Pro buds can also shift to a lower noise cancellation mode when they detect important sounds like sirens.
All of the previewed devices are available for pre-order beginning today and they hit stores on July 24.
The Galaxy Z Flip6 and Galaxy Z Fold6 will sell for $1,099 and $1,899, respectively. The Galaxy Watch 7 will start at $299 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra will cost $649. The Galaxy Ring will cost $399; it doesn’t require a subscription. The Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro will cost $180 and $250, respectively.
Consumer Reports plans to put these newest Galaxy devices to the test in our labs—measuring everything from scratch resistance to battery life. We purchase all the products in our ratings straight from retailers, just like you do. Check back soon for our full test results.
Monitor Your Health With the Galaxy Ring
Samsung is moving further into the wearables and health-tracking space, competing with brands like Oura. The Galaxy Ring—made from lightweight titanium and available in nine sizes—monitors health metrics like sleep, activity, and heart rate, and Samsung says it synthesizes that data into more digestible information about your overall health, such as the Sleep Score or just-released Energy Score, within the Samsung Health app.
The Galaxy Ring offers most of the same health- and fitness-tracking features of a smartwatch—from automatic workout detection to live heart rate alerts—but some may find it less cumbersome to wear. And with up to a week of battery life on a single charge, by Samsung’s estimate, it lasts a good deal longer between charges, too, which is handy for sleep tracking. The device won’t require a subscription.
A Premium Galaxy Watch Ultra and Improved Galaxy Watch 7
Samsung unveiled its new premium Galaxy Watch Ultra, which you can think of as the rugged, more outdoorsy sibling of the also-new Galaxy Watch 7—as well as a clear response to the top-tier Apple Watch Ultra, down to its spitting-image chunky design. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes with some health-tracking features not available on its predecessors.
The Ultra’s titanium frame is more durable, Samsung says, and can withstand up to 10 atm of water pressure, which means you can wear it for swimming or snorkeling, though not scuba diving. It also has the longest battery life of any Galaxy smartwatch, according to the company—up to 100 hours in power-saving mode. Other Ultra features geared toward adventurers are a brighter display, an emergency siren, and the ability for cyclists to quickly measure maximum power, a metric known as Functional Threshold Power.
An improved BioActive sensor in both devices is supposed to more accurately measure metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen levels. And both the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Galaxy Watch 7 now also sport some useful new health-tracking features not found on any other smartwatch—including sleep apnea detection and a measurement of what are known as “advanced glycation end products” (AGEs), which can reflect biological age.
The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in two sizes and a variety of colors: 40 mm, in green and cream, and 44 mm, in green and silver. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is only available in a beefier 47 mm size, in gray, white, and silver.
Foldable Z Series Phones Get Galaxy AI and Modest Tweaks
Both of Samsung’s foldable Z Series phones—the Galaxy Z Flip6 and larger Galaxy Z Fold6—now come equipped with Galaxy AI. That means they can all do the cool stuff that other Galaxy AI-equipped phones can do—like live translate texts and calls, use Google’s circle-to-search function, and create slow-mo videos after the fact.
Samsung also announced a new AI feature dubbed “Sketch to Image” that generates an image based on a scribbled illustration—either on its own or on top of an existing photo. Nifty, but likely not something you’ll use every day. A new Interpreter mode also makes use of both the outer and inner screens on the Galaxy Z Flip6 during live translation, making it more natural to use during a conversation.
Aside from the AI integration, both the Galaxy Z Series phones employ the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and will support seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security upgrades. The newest foldable phones are speedier and more efficient, Samsung says, while also being a bit more compact and durable.
The Flip6 is getting a few hardware updates worth noting: a new 50-megapixel camera sensor, up from 12 megapixels; a vapor cooling chamber to improve performance; a battery capacity bump; and a flatter screen. You can also further customize the Flip6’s front FlexWindow screen with different widgets or AI-enhanced wallpapers, like your own photos that change appearance to match the time of day or weather.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 will be available in pink, silver, and navy blue, while the Galaxy Z Flip6 now comes in silver, blue, yellow, and mint.
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