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Unpacked Should be Packed Up and Discarded
The Z Fold 5G and the Z Fold 2 are marvelous examples of the engineering prowess of Samsung and the company’s ability to innovate, But Samsung’s Unpacked on August 5th was essentially useless. Everything leaked before the event began — not just photos and videos of all the products, but also internal marketing documents discussing the new features alongside canned responses for media. Samsung has a history of leaking everything before every single Unpacked indicating the leaks are either planned by Samsung or they have no security. If Unpacked events had the same thoughtful internal structures of the Apple media events they copy, they might still be worthwhile as marketing exercises. At Apple events, a collection of product reveals are logically sequenced, then pre-rehearsed and timed down to the minute, such that each reveal ends with actionable information. Regardless of advance leaks, viewers only get the full story about each product when the company finishes its stage presentation — a proper climax.
Unpacked events have been anticlimactic, and the latest was a mess, with too many self-inflicted wounds to count. Just minutes before the livestream began, Samsung published all of the official announcements, distracting viewers from what it was about to show on stage. Then, rather than sequentially informing viewers about five discrete products, the company muddled through a bunch of information about all of them, mixed with too many promotional videos to count. The company used its initial reveal of the flagship Galaxy Note20 smartphone to focus on chassis colors — not features — including the first of way too many references to “Mystic Bronze,” before abruptly switching to a Galaxy Tab S7 announcement. Then, it ping-ponged back to the Note20 to discuss software, including a high-energy Microsoft xCloud pitch from pro gamer Myth, before flipping to the Galaxy Watch 3, then back to Note20 again for a discussion of location services. I forget where new bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live fit in there, but they were in the middle somewhere, I think.
As a viewer, the event just seemed like Samsung wanted to debut a bunch of different promotional videos, but not necessarily in a logical sequence, interspersed with cringey marketing filter (“designed for next normal”). There was the additional simultaneous stream of constant email notifications from Samsung partners, including Qualcomm announcing that its Snapdragon 865 Plus chips would be inside the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 2 — before the device was even officially revealed on stage.
Rather than offering a full reveal of the foldable, it told viewers that it would have more to say about the device on September 1. Then it wrapped up the event with a weird Q&A discussing a collection of disparate issues — S Pen, privacy, COVID-19, and corporate global goals — followed by a Netflix commercial and a collection of slides on device pricing and dates. From: VB
We have previously covered the new products including the
The Z Fold 5G and the Z Fold 2 are marvelous examples of the engineering prowess of Samsung and the company’s ability to innovate, But Samsung’s Unpacked on August 5th was essentially useless. Everything leaked before the event began — not just photos and videos of all the products, but also internal marketing documents discussing the new features alongside canned responses for media. Samsung has a history of leaking everything before every single Unpacked indicating the leaks are either planned by Samsung or they have no security. If Unpacked events had the same thoughtful internal structures of the Apple media events they copy, they might still be worthwhile as marketing exercises. At Apple events, a collection of product reveals are logically sequenced, then pre-rehearsed and timed down to the minute, such that each reveal ends with actionable information. Regardless of advance leaks, viewers only get the full story about each product when the company finishes its stage presentation — a proper climax.
Unpacked events have been anticlimactic, and the latest was a mess, with too many self-inflicted wounds to count. Just minutes before the livestream began, Samsung published all of the official announcements, distracting viewers from what it was about to show on stage. Then, rather than sequentially informing viewers about five discrete products, the company muddled through a bunch of information about all of them, mixed with too many promotional videos to count. The company used its initial reveal of the flagship Galaxy Note20 smartphone to focus on chassis colors — not features — including the first of way too many references to “Mystic Bronze,” before abruptly switching to a Galaxy Tab S7 announcement. Then, it ping-ponged back to the Note20 to discuss software, including a high-energy Microsoft xCloud pitch from pro gamer Myth, before flipping to the Galaxy Watch 3, then back to Note20 again for a discussion of location services. I forget where new bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live fit in there, but they were in the middle somewhere, I think.
As a viewer, the event just seemed like Samsung wanted to debut a bunch of different promotional videos, but not necessarily in a logical sequence, interspersed with cringey marketing filter (“designed for next normal”). There was the additional simultaneous stream of constant email notifications from Samsung partners, including Qualcomm announcing that its Snapdragon 865 Plus chips would be inside the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 2 — before the device was even officially revealed on stage.
Rather than offering a full reveal of the foldable, it told viewers that it would have more to say about the device on September 1. Then it wrapped up the event with a weird Q&A discussing a collection of disparate issues — S Pen, privacy, COVID-19, and corporate global goals — followed by a Netflix commercial and a collection of slides on device pricing and dates. From: VB
We have previously covered the new products including the
- Note 20 Ultra is a step up in power from the new standard Note 20, priced at $1,300 for a 128 GB storage/12 GB RAM model, and just under $1,450 to get it with 512 GB of storage. It has a 6.9-inch screen.
- The "regular" Galaxy Note 20 lacks a high refresh rate, expandable microSD storage and a periscope zoom lens, but is priced at just under $1,000 for 128 GB storage / 8 GB RAM. It has a 6.7-inch display.
- Galaxy Tab S7+ features a 12.4-inch AMOLED display, while the standard Tab S7 has an 11-inch LTPS LCD screen. It also offers a very Microsoft Surface-like experience, with its stylus combined with a removable keyboard and back kickstand.
- Galaxy Watch 3 with a thinner body and thicker price than the Watch 1 (they skipped the Watch 2), starting at $399.99
- Galaxy Buds Live earbuds offer active noise cancellation (promised to cut low-band background noise by 97%) and three microphones along with a voice pickup.
- Galaxy Z Fold 2, has a 6.2-inch screen covering the front of the phone, with a main display at 7.6 inches, UTG and a more subtle hole-punch camera taking up less screen space. The new foldable is also the first device to feature a: Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6900, which provides mobile connectivity support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) into the 6GHz band that aims to solve congestion issues in 2.4GHz and 5GHz ranges; in the U.S. the FastConnect 6900 enables support for Bluetooth LE Audio which includes features like multi-point audio sharing and broadcasting audio, it also has a second Bluetooth antenna with intelligent switching capabilities to overcome signal shadowing issues. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 does not, in fact, support either Wi-Fi 6E or Bluetooth 5.2. There's no release date or price yet, though the company promises more info in September.
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