Samsung's biannual unveiling of its devices yesterday in Paris. It was, after all, a marketing strategy, a slew of Samsung devices announced at the locale of this year's Olympics. With pomp and circumstance, there comes the expectation of something new from the South Korean tech giant. These are what were announced at this year's Unpacked event.
The AI game heats up even further as Samsung reiterates its commitment to the integration of its Galaxy AI into their product ecosystem. Samsung was the first major phone brand to announce its use of Galaxy AI and while that thunder was stole with Apple announcing their own proprietary Apple Intelligence, Samsung reminds us that it already has a working Galaxy AI and that more of its products will have them.
One of the more impressive Galaxy AI addition is the Sketch to image feature. Your rudimentary doodle can be generated into different fully-fleshed image styles. Apple mentioned similar actions with its Image Wand but at this point, it's all about the speed to showcase AI, so this round goes to Samsung.
Samsung's signature phones return: the Galaxy Z Fold6 and the Galaxy Z Flip6. Touted to be "the slimmest and lightest Z series", the series are also blessed with enhanced Armor Aluminum2 and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for more durability. Both the Fold6 and Flip6 have Snapdragon 8 Gen In addition to being reliable, every element of the Z series is also powerful. Both the Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 are equipped with the Snapdragon Gen 3 Mobile Platform, the most advanced Snapdragon mobile processor yet.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 has a sleeker design and a Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, which gives it unparalleled brightness. There's an upgraded gaming experience that's within the Fold6 by its chipset and a 1.6x larger vapour chamber. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip6 has a new 50MP wide camera, a 12MP Ultra-wide sensors and larger battery life.
Let's address the elephant dominating the room: yes, obvious comparisons would be made with the Apple Watch Ultra. From the orange band to the orange "action button" to the shape of the dial, I guess, imitation is a form of flattery? But other than the looks, the Galaxy Watch Ultra seem to hold its own with its pricing and health measurement specs.
Other than the smartwatch, this smart ring is meant to be worn throughout. It's less intrusive than the smartwatch, which makes for easier health tracking. Imbued with three sensors—accelerometer, photoplethysmography and skin temperature reading—the Galaxy Ring can monitor and collate various health metrics. It comes in several sizes.
Welp, those were our key takeaways from this year's Unpacked. As we go through the devices, we'll let you know in-depth what to further expect with each of these devices.
Tech nerds, how are we feeling about 2024? Are y'all freaking out about all the new things and dohickeys that are getting released at CES? Sorry if that sounded like I'm talking down on CES, it wasn't meant to be. However, I'm just a lowly tech editor who is a little bit sick of everything that everyone seems to be freaking out about. We're at a point where there's so much tech that most of the things we hype up are, honestly... not that great.
We've got tech in our hands, tech over our eyes, tech in our homes, tech on our kitchen counters, and tech in our bedroom. Even our paper notebooks are tech-enabled. Hell, we're using tech to wake us up instead of the sun. So where is any one person meant to keep up with all the tech that actually matters? Right here.
I've kept an eye on the early-year releases, and I've kept tabs on what is actually moving the needle for me. Is the new tactile iPhone keyboard from Clicks moving the needle for me? Not really. Is the Apple Vision Pro moving the needle for me? Yes, absolutely. What I'm trying to say is that this isn't a list of little releases. This is where Esquire dot com is keeping track of the biggest, most groundbreaking tech of 2024—everything you should buy or keep an eye on in the future. It's still early doors, so there's a lot of preorders and speculation. But, as the year rolls on, we'll keep this list updated with all the best new tech of 2024.
We got a sneak peak at Apple's biggest innovation in a long time last year. Officially launching on 2 February, this seems to be Apple's next big bet. The focus is less on making a toy and more on making a new type of personal computer. The powers that be in Cupertino obviously see this as a desktop and laptop replacement. We'll see how well they deliver.
Ever looked at your TV and wish that you could, see through it? Me either. But once I saw LG's new entertainment play, I was... slightly more convinced. Move it around (it's wireless) and place it in direct sunlight or in front of a mirror (no glare). It's a weird bet, but I can definitely see it growing on me. LG's transparent OLED TV is scheduled to hit the market in 2024.
Per usual, there's going to be a new iPhone. Whether or not it'll be a big jump from the 15 Pro remains to be seen. The iPhone 15 Pro had a lot of initial fanfare (from myself included), but its stumbled out of the gate a little bit. The biggest innovation has been the titanium build. We'll see where Apple goes this year.
For my money, Samsung is the top Apple competitor, with a much deeper catalog than the Googles or Motorolas of the world and a great suite of foldables. No disrespect to those two, but Samsung does so much it makes for a lovely little ecosystem. As there is every year, there's going to be some fort of upgrade on Samsung's flagship smartphone. Will it be enough to leapfrog Apple? Not in America. But, it could be a big year for Samsung.
Since being the first big company to do the whole VR thing, Meta has sent out a bunch of flops. The Meta Quest 2 was just a novelty gaming device. The newer Quest 3 and Quest Pro aren't anything to write home about either. But, Meta has confirmed plans for a new, more affordable VR headset in 2024. We'll see if it actually catches on this time around.
Another big rumor in Apple world is that there might be a foldable iPad on the horizon. If it happens, it would be the company's first foray into the foldable market and surely a dress rehearsal for a foldable iPhone. Still, it's a massive if. Don't hold out for this one.
At CES 2024, Samsung gave us an update on one of its best weird little projects. Ballie, an R2-D2 type personal assistant was introduced at CES 2020. This time around, Samsung made the little guy bigger and gave him a projector.
Wait, so what is this thing?
Sorry. "Alexa on wheels," is how I would describe Ballie. He'll be able to follow you around, tell you the weather, answer phone calls, and project onto whatever flat surface you can find. Don't hold out hope though. This is more of a speculative project from Samsung. I wouldn't expect to see it on the market in 2024.
