The Morning After: Everything announced at Samsung's Summer Unpacked 2023 event
Two new foldables, two new smartwatches and a new tablet series.
Cruelly timed for just after The Morning After newsletter yesterday, Samsung’s latest Unpacked media event was a first for the company. It’s the first time the company has launched over five devices in a single day. Ah wait, no. Was it the first time K-Pop superstars BTS helped promote Samsung’s latest smartphone? Nope, that’s been done before, too. No, this July event was the first Unpacked in the company’s native South Korea, in Seoul.
The move speaks to the confidence Samsung has about its newest smartphones, which includes its fourth-generation foldables. For me, those devices are the exciting part, even though the company is bringing back the bezel to its wearables and has made its premium tablets water resistant.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 ($999) gets the most evolutionary treatment this year, with a far more expansive external display, new widgets and features. At this point, it has to match what we saw on Motorola’s Razr+, but it initially doesn’t seem as versatile as Moto’s take on the secondary screen. Expect our review to put those new features through their paces.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 ($1,800, yikes), meanwhile, is slightly slimmer, slightly more powerful and a little too similar to last year’s Fold 3 at first blush. Samsung’s new Flex Hinge – said to have a more streamlined design while still boasting IPX8 water resistance – erases that jarring gap between the screen halves while decreasing its overall thickness to 13.5mm. (Note: That’s still thicker than its rival foldable, the Pixel Fold.)
I’ve corralled the other highlights from Samsung – is this the year you’ll buy a foldable?
– Mat Smith
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Samsung Unpacked July 2023 highlights
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 hands-on: A larger external display holds promise
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on: Is Samsung squandering its head start?
Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Moto Razr+: A clamshell comparison
Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs Pixel Fold: Did Samsung rise to Google's challenge?
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 hands-on: The spinning bezel’s triumphant return
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra hands-on: A premium tablet with water protection
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 pre-orders on Amazon include a $200 gift card
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Meta had its best quarter since 2021 despite losing more money on the metaverse
Meta is ‘fully committed’ to the metaverse.
Meta just had its best quarter since 2021, even as it continues to lose massive amounts of money on the metaverse. In fact, the company said it expects to lose even more money on its efforts in the year to come. I mean, the company changed its name – it’s not going to give up so easily.
Reality Labs, the Meta division overseeing its virtual and augmented reality projects, lost $3.7 billion during the second quarter of 2023 and generated just $276 million in revenue, according to the company’s latest earnings report. Aside from the metaverse, it was an otherwise strong quarter for Meta, which reported $32 billion in revenue, an 11 percent increase from last year.
Amazon Prime members can now get pre-approved for new Boost Infinite cellular plans
There’s a storefront selling Boost Infinite's SIM kits.
Amazon has teamed up with Boost Infinite, a wireless carrier owned by Dish Wireless, and has launched a storefront to make the latter's SIM kits more accessible. While Amazon sells SIM cards from a variety of providers, this is a genuine tie-up that automatically pre-qualifies Prime members for the carrier's $25-per-month postpaid wireless plan. Subscribers can purchase Boost Infinite's Unlimited $25 SIM kit from the Amazon store with a 20 percent discount. It’s not quite the free cellular service rumors we’ve heard about, but a discount is a discount…
X threatens to drop verification status for advertisers spending under $1,000 per month
Musk says it's to prevent scammers from creating millions of accounts.
Twitter, now X, is reportedly hardballing advertisers to increase its bottom line. Reports earlier this month suggested X’s revenue had dropped by a staggering 50 percent. The company's latest strategy, according to The Wall Street Journal, is asking brands to spend at least $1,000 per month on ads to maintain their verified status on the platform. Musk says the "moderately high" cost is a preventative measure to help reduce the number of scammers creating "millions of accounts" on the platform. Millions!
