August 14, 2021 by Shaishav Merchant

Third Time’s the Charm

Samsung Unpacked Unfolded – August 2021

Samsung hosted its bi-annual Unpacked event on 11th Aug, and I had a fair idea on what to expect thanks to the numerous leaks leading up to it. Samsung announced its third iterations of the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip phones, alongside a few noteworthy announcements.

Galaxy Fold 3

When a company releases its third edition of a device, they mean business. Samsung is serious about its foldable phones and this announcement reflects their belief in making it not just a luxury, but a real-world device. The first Galaxy Fold was more of a gimmick and the second, an apology.

Fold 3 has some significant improvements over its predecessor:

Lighter at 272 grams, against Fold 2’s 283 grams
Hidden front camera (Thank God!)
IPX8 water-resistance
Qualcomm 888 Snapdragon makes it snappier, especially working with dual screens and multiple apps simultaneously
Support for S Pen for Fold and S Pen Pro

If you have been saving money for something different, and don’t mind operating your phone with two hands, this might be the phone for you.

Galaxy Fold 3 is not cheap by any means, but Samsung has managed to shave off a few dollars. Singtel is offering it at about SGD 998 for its XO 88 plan. Check out this link to learn more. StarHub and M1 are also running some promotions.

Galaxy Flip 3

If you take the foldable part out, Flip 3 is more mainstream than Fold 3. This reminds me of the Motorola phone I had in 2004, only that Flip 3 has a 6.7-inch main display and 1.9-inch glance screen. The glance screen is four times larger than Flip 2 and is more practical.

Key features include:

Flip form-factor, 6.7-inch main screen, 1.9-inch Glance screen
IPX8 water-resistance
Bigger cover screen (glance screen)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
More affordable

Galaxy Flip 3 is available for pre-order at Singtel for SGD 398 with XO88 plan. Similar promotions are offered by StarHub and M1.

Galaxy Watch 4

One thing I was most excited about was the Galaxy Watch 4. Ever since the Tizen and Wear OS partnership announcement at the Google I/O, many Tizen fans/critics like me were looking forward to the Galaxy Watch 4. The One UI Watch 3 OS was built by Samsung in collaboration with Google.

Key features include:

New One UI Watch 3 operating system
Slimmer design
Advanced health monitoring sensors
Two models: Galaxy Watch 4 and Classic. Classic retains rotating bezel
New Processor
Costs less than the Galaxy Watch 3

Pre-order online at Samsung’s website or get it from your friendly neighbourhood store after September 10th.

Galaxy Buds 2

“Improved sound quality, smaller in size, active noise cancelling, a better app”, are more than enough for most to go for this new edition of Samsung’s wireless earbuds. Galaxy buds 2 comes with wireless charging and works well with Samsung devices.

Key features are:

Small and lightweight – much better than competitors’ big, bulky, and dangling designs.
Good audio quality
Active Noise Cancelling
IPX2 water-resistance
Better compatibility with Samsung devices
Affordable

All is not hunky-dory, though. Buds have an average ambient sound management, a weaker water-resistance and is not as secure for an active sports lifestyle.

That being said, it’s worth a try and is “relatively” affordable at SGD 250. Available at Samsung store.