Samsung's range of smart glasses, developed with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, have been laid bare in a new leak showing us all the frames, colours and detailing the specs.

While we've seen a couple of pairs showcased at Google I/O and Galaxy Unpacked, we've been waiting on the promised 2026 launch for some time.

Samsung is set to launch six frame shapes in 16 versions from Gentle Monster and three frame shapes in 10 different versions from Warby Parker. The glasses are expected to be on sale in November 2026, but the official announcement date is not known.

We've previously seen a couple of styles from official images, including seeing some of the glasses in the flesh alongside the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, but details have been scarce.

Thanks to a huge leak from SammyGuru, we now have an extensive look at the next wave of smart glasses to hit us.

The weight is said to be around 41g with standard lenses, while prescription lenses are expected to weigh a little more.

They are powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage. There's a 12-megapixel camera shooting up to 3K video at 30fps. Open ear speakers are in the arms and there are four microphones.

The battery is said to last for nine hours of wear, with the charging case good for a week of top ups, totalling 72 hours. The glasses are said to be IPX4 rated, but the charging case has no protection.

Gentle Monster will be available in Korea and the US at launch, with six frame styles and a couple of different colours. We don't know what they are called, but they vary between squared and rounded lenses, through to more oval, which we've seen previously.

All the styles can be seen on SammyGuru.

Warby Parker are expected to be available in the US, with the three styles having names: Alden, Reid and Wren. Currently, there's no word on pricing.

Samsung's entrance to the smart glasses market has taken something of a long run up. The partnership with Google and Qualcomm was first announced in 2023, focusing on Android XR, with the reveal of the Galaxy XR headset in October 2025.

While rumours about smart glasses bubbled along we didn't actually see the glasses until May 2026 at Google I/O. Throughout the whole thing, it's been unclear if Samsung was developing its own-branded glasses too, rather like Meta has done outside of Ray-Ban and Oakley.

Samsung's glasses launch at a time when public opinion is very much questioning smart glasses in general. Many venues have banned them and colloquially they have largely gained the epithet "pervert glasses", thanks to their occasional misuse.

However, many in the AI space see smart glasses as instrumental to the sort of constant capture that will allow background recording and note-taking in a vision of the future where AI is automatically journalling your life to provide reminders and assistance on a daily basis.

They have also been praised for offering features of particular help to people with visual impairments – such as reading aloud text or recognising street signs.

We're expecting to hear more from Samsung in the coming weeks.

Google has only just launched Googlebook, its latest move to tempt you away from Mac or Windows and to consolidate the Google ecosystem with a premium laptop.

While the AI features were widely-touted, early reviewers have highlighted shortcomings in the experience that make it feel like another Android tablet experience rather than something new.

Part of that comes down to buggy software, some of it to a lack of real desktop apps, as well as limited compatibility – with a capital S. That's right, Samsung devices weren't compatible with Googlebook's phone features at launch, despite being the biggest brand in the Android space.

Googlebook supports a number of features to encourage a symbiotic relationship with Android handsets including Continue On, Cast My Apps, Quick Access and Notification Sync. These features (called Better Together) are supposed to work on compatible Honor, Lenovo, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Sharp, Sony and Xiaomi phones.

This is meant to allow a seamless experience between phone and laptop, so you don't have to constantly use your phone. Instead, it's all just supposed to be there on your laptop display, with apps a click away, even when not installed.

The good news is that Samsung support is now starting to roll out and considering that Googlebook only launched on 5 October, that's not a bad start.

There's a caveat in that the Samsung device has to be running Android 17 / One UI 9, which narrows the list to just a couple of devices right now. Those with the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 8 should be fine, but while 2026 Samsung models are getting updated to Android 17, some might be left waiting for support.

According to the details from Google (shared as a community update in Reddit) the new compatibility will arrive as Google Play updates and background service updates, so this isn't dependent on Samsung doing anything.

That's great for Samsung phone owners thinking of getting a Googlebook, but the update from Google also hints to some of the first-gen woes.

In addition to the update for Samsung users, Google also says it has addressed a bug where first-time setup would leave users with a QR code on the screen even after setup had finished.

Googlebook is still in the first flourishes of its life but it seems that there's some way to go before it's a viable alternative to rival desktop platforms. It's easy to point at Googlebook and see it as ChromeOS with a load of Gemini dumped in: it's down to Google to change our minds.

Samsung is thought to be working on a pair of premium over-ear headphones, potentially called the Galaxy Studio.

The name suggests that these are high-end headphones, designed to rival the likes of the Apple AirPods Max, but also to fend off launches like the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro.

Back in 2014, Samsung released the Samsung Level Over headphones, but with the acquisition of brands like AKG, JBL and Harmon Kardon soon after, Samsung's focus shifted to Galaxy Buds. Now, it seems, there could be a change of direction.

The existence of these headphones first became known thanks to code strings in the Galaxy Wearable app, uncovered by SamMobile.

At the time, the headphones were simply referred to as Galaxy H1, but the Galaxy Studio name has now been suggested by a leaker on X, who seems to have accurate insights into Samsung's audio plans.

It's thought that Samsung's headphones will launch in 2027 and it's likely that they could make their debut alongside the Samsung Galaxy S27 series, which could be January or February.

Little else is known about the headphones, but it's likely they will offer active noise cancellation, a range of audio codecs to support higher quality listening like SSC UHQ, but might forego common options like LDAC, which is a Sony technology.

Spatial audio, a folding design for travel and long battery life would also put them in contention with popular Bluetooth headphones, while it's likely that access to Gemini or Bixby assistants will also be included.

Currently, Samsung's plans for 2027 are unknown. There's no date for Galaxy Unpacked, while the launches for 2026 are almost finished. The latest launch has been the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and we're expecting to see the launch of Galaxy Glasses, probably some time in November.

That will add another string to Samsung's bow, establishing Android XR in a glasses format and providing some challenge to Meta's smart glasses.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra will come with four base colours, with a fifth special colour confirmed by a reliable source.

Samsung's next flagship phone is expected in early 2027 and we've already heard a lot about what it might offer, including a change in the tone of the camera and a new design.

But now we learn the colours that Samsung is going to offer. Those include black, blue, light pink and white. In addition, violet is said to be a special colour.

Normally, Samsung offers the base colours to all of its network partners, while special colours are reserved for those who buy direct from Samsung.com. This includes some of the more interesting hues.

For example, the current selection for the Galaxy S26 Ultra includes Cobalt Violet, Black, Sky Blue and White, while the special exclusive colours are Pink Gold and Silver Shadow.

That suggests that there's another special colour expected, with UniverseIce only mentioning five so far.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to change look when it launches in 2027, dropping the design that's been evolving since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This will also see one of the cameras ditched, with Samsung deciding to scrap the second zoom.

The leaked design suggests that Samsung is going to adopt a camera island that stretches across the width of the phone, which has drawn unfavourable comparisons to recent iPhone models.

It's not currently known when the manufacturer will launch the new device, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra announced in February 2026, but previous models landing in January.

Beyond that, it's expected that the Galaxy S27 Ultra will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, although it's not known how the "for Galaxy" styling will be applied.

The phone is said to have a larger capacity 5,700mAh battery, a hefty increase over the Galaxy S26 Ultra with its 5,000mAh. It's also expected to come with 60W charging.

There are other camera changes expected, with a new main sensor which should lift the quality of the photos that it takes and help Samsung's flagship remain competitive.

Details about the camera for the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra have leaked, giving us some interesting details – not just about the composition of the camera, but how the photos will look.

We've already heard that Samsung is planning to reduce the number of cameras on the phone, dropping the 3x telephoto in favour of a single zoom lens instead. That's now been confirmed by UniverseIce, saying that the 5x telephoto will stick to the existing sensor and lens with f/2.9 aperture.

The main camera sensor is said to be the ISOCELL HP6 – a version of the HPC sensor – with a 1/1.3in size, so that's also going to bring in a change compared to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra which used the ISOCELL HP2.

But this is where things get more interesting – and where that Nikon and Canon reference comes in. According to UniverseIce, Samsung is going to change the tone of the camera, moving from the cooler (bluer) images of previous model, to a warmer tone.

The Canon/Nikon comparison

That reflects the default images that come from those major camera brands, with Canon typically being a little warmer than Nikon. When using the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S27 Ultra side-by-side, the warmer tone should be noticeable straight out of the camera.

It's also said that handling of distant bright objects is much better controlled. That will mean that things like points of light in the distance will be will be less likely to over-expose, preserving detail. It's said that this is evident on both the main and telephoto cameras, so it's likely a computational (processing) tweak.

That leads us to the next improvement, which is that noise is allegedly better handled, with lower noise in dark areas and a smoother image. That should improve fidelity in low light and give better overall results in shadows.

This points to a fairly hefty upgrade in the image processing that's taking place in the camera. Where Samsung may find itself falling short is that it's likely to persevere with the f/1.4 aperture on the main camera, while rivals at Apple now offer f/4.0.

The result of Apple changing the aperture properties of its main camera lens on the iPhone 18 Pro is that it's possible to get greater depth of field so more of the image is in focus. Samsung's problem – and it's one that has been around for much of the last decade – is that the wider aperture means a very shallow depth of field.

The result is that when things get close to the lens, only a fraction of the subject is in focus, with most of the rest of the image being blurred. While that doesn't affect things like landscape photography, as soon as you take a picture of your dinner or anything close, you lose focal depth.

With the Galaxy S27 Ultra so far into development, it's unlikely that Samsung could do anything to address Apple's current advantage on the iPhone 18 Pro. However, it looks like there's going to be a host of improvements for the Samsung camera when it launches in 2027.

A patent for a Samsung exoskeleton system has surfaced that appears to use AI to control the force applied through the device.

This patent was filed in May 2026 but didn't get published until September and outlines an adaptive system that uses AI to adjust the force the exoskeleton exerts to help the wearer reach their exercise goal.

The exoskeleton looks like existing solutions, but it seems that the idea is to coordinate this with a worn fitness device (like a Galaxy Watch) to monitor the wearer's condition and adjust the resistance or support in line with their workout plan.

Current systems, such as the Hypershell X, offer variable force levels, either supporting the motion or resisting it. But once that level is set, it stays there unless manually adjusted.

Samsung's approach, it seems, would enable you to start a workout with no assistance and have some kick in as your performance suffered, to help you complete that set.

That's one take on how an adaptive AI system could support you, but it could also be to make it dynamic, reacting to the changing demands in real time. Discovered by Patentlyze, it sounds like this is focused on consumer exercise, but equally could be beneficial for those in physically demanding work.

The focus appears to be on the AI (or neural network) solution rather than the physical hardware itself, so presumably this AI system could be used across different types of exoskeletons.

The evolution of exoskeleton devices has happened fairly rapidly, moving from science fiction to reality. While they remain costly and their function is somewhat debatable in the consumer exercise space, it's definitely an area where we are going to see development in the coming years.

While there appear to be benefits for rehabilitation, the pitch towards the fitness segment for many people makes no sense at present, because part of the aim of fitness training is loading your body so it adapts. If the exoskeleton is doing it for you, you might not see the same benefits.

Conversely, if you struggle to perform particular physical tasks, then an exoskeleton could provide the freedom you thought you'd lost.

In the case of this Samsung device, it's worth remembering that sometimes there can be quite a lot of time between a patent getting filed and a product being launched.

Samsung has flicked the switch on the One UI 9 update, pushing out a full range of new features for those with older Galaxy devices.

One UI 9 made its debut on the Galaxy Z devices in the summer, but as from 16 September, the update is rolling out to older phones. The Galaxy S26 family is the first in line, with other eligible devices to follow.

The update means that there's feature parity between Samsung's latest phones, with new features including My FanCam, new Now Brief cards and additional privacy controls.

Samsung's One UI 9 sits on Android 17, so those updating will move to the latest version of Google's software too, but with a range of additions that Samsung layers in.

Highlights include Now Nudge to help you find relevant information from messages, Creative Studio that now suggests image generation ideas, Interpreter with a new threaded view to make it even easier to follow translated conversations and a better structure to Voice Recorder.

The headline feature here is really My FanCam, which will probably be the thing that people notice the most. This allows you to select a person in a video and the focus tracks that person, keeping them centred.

It's really a social content factory, meaning you can record something like a show or performance, and then use AI to just follow one person in that video. It means you can basically create a highlight reel that's all about that one person, rather than everything else that was going on.

It's perfect for the school performance where you're only interested in your own child, but it's likely to result in plenty of videos from bands where someone is just sharing one person in that band.

Samsung has a 7-year update policy on a lot of its devices, so many will be in line for an update - but the roll-out is expected to take place across the rest of 2026. Normally the update is just about done when Samsung's next phone - with One UI 9.5 - launches.

However, there aren’t a lot of new features in this update, with most of the focus on AI features. That's drawn the ire of commentators on Reddit, with some comparing it to the fairly substantial update that came with iOS 27.

Samsung will soon unveil a new version of its SmartTag Bluetooth tracker, according to a report online. It is claimed that a Galaxy SmartTag 3 will arrive in October, with a new, rounder form factor. However, it's still not expected to be compatible with iOS or Apple's Find My system.

Launched for Samsung Galaxy phone owners only, the SmartTag range has traditionally even foregone support for Google's Find My Device network. It will be interesting, therefore, to see if the SmartTag 3 will break from tradition.

We don't have any technical specifications as yet, with WinFuture merely posting images of the new device ahead of time. What is clear though is that the tracker will be more like the AirTag this generation, rather than feature the elongated teardrop-style design of its predecessor.

Indeed, the new model looks more like a current Samsung Galaxy Watch, with rounded edges on a squarish body. It seems to be coming in either black or white.

WinFuture also reveals that a number of accessories will accompany the tag. The SmartTag 2 had its own, integrated keyring loop, but that'll be an added extra this time.

There will also be an official pet collar ComfortTag case, according to the leak.

As for pricing, the site states that the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 3 should retail for $29.99, with a four-pack expected to be available for $99.99. That's less than the existing SmartTag 2, which is currently listed on the UK Samsung store for £34 apiece.

It's hard therefore to pin down exact price points for different regions based on the information we have so far. Local taxes and duties can play an effect.

Hopefully, we'll find out for sure soon, with the device said to be hitting the market next month. That means Samsung could formally announce it in the next couple of weeks.

The internet got itself into a tizzy over the past few days, when users started sharing stories about how the screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 flexes at the corners.

This all started with fairly innocent questions about whether others found that the corners could be pushed inwards slightly. As is often the case, some pile-in with confused information (one referring it to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which was a completely different design), while others provided useful information – such as confirming how the glue was applied from the JerryRigEverything teardown.

Reddit went down the same rabbit hole, before Samsung came forward to detail that it's a design feature, not a flaw. That hasn’t stopped the sensationalist reactions on X, with people claiming it's a quality control issue and highlighting that Apple will do better. But that's the internet folks.

According to Samsung, talking to Business Post (via 9to5Google), it's an intentional flexibility designed to protect your device from damage if something does get caught in the corner.

Samsung said in a reply to one user: "When you press the outer corners of the foldable main display on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra, there is a slight indentation. This means that the main display of the foldable product features a cushioning structure applied to the outer corner areas for durability and protection."

The reply goes on: "This is a normal design feature applied to protect the display and enhance durability, and it does not affect the product performance, so please use it with confidence."

That, it seems, is much to the disappointment of many online who thought they had found Samsung's fatal flaw with its popular new device.

While many were suggesting that Apple wouldn't have the same "flaw", we're now only hours away from the launch of the "iPhone Duo", which is the expected name of the folding iPhone.

We're just hoping it's more successful than the Surface Duo that seems to be the inspiration for its name.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 could come with 60W charging, taking speeds higher than anything it has offered before. For many years, Samsung has been conservative with charging speeds.

Fast charging has been championed by the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo, while brands like Apple, Samsung and Google have stuck to slower charging rates over the years.

That's seen recent Samsung phones offering 45W, but that could see a bump to 60W in the Samsung Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra.

The details come from UniverseIce, a reliable source, but this bump in charging speed also matches changes that Samsung has recently made. The move from lithium-ion to silicon-carbon battery tech happened in the latest Galaxy Z devices and looks like it will continue into its flagship 2027 phones too.

Silicon-carbon isn't needed for faster charging: for many years, brands have offered charging up to 120W with lithium-ion, but the advantage that silicon-carbon offers is that the cells are more compact for the same capacity, meaning there's more room for cooling.

Fast charging generates a lot of heat, so dispersal of heat is needed to use higher powers, while heat build-up also leads to faster battery decay. That's likely to have been the reason that Samsung avoided it, so that the battery lasted longer and matched customer expectation.

Indeed, that's something we noted with the launch of the Galaxy Z 8 devices – they’re now rated to 1,200 charging cycles, rather than the 2,000 charging cycles previously supported. That's the cost of moving to silicon-carbon: batteries don't last as long.

However, slower charging speeds give rivals a competitive advantage and as we enter a tough time for smartphone sales, it looks like Samsung is looking for a better balance.

Apple might be better insulated against such competition, as it's much easier for a Samsung user to decide to jump over to a Motorola or Honor phone because the biggest part of the ecosystem is supplied by Google.

So while Apple only supports 40W charging on the iPhone 17 Pro – and rumoured to be 45W on the iPhone 18 Pro – the company may decide that keeping a slower charging speed to preserve battery longevity is more important to retain customers.

Faster charging will be welcomed on Samsung's 2027 phones: it will help close the gap with the competition. The side effects of that change might only be felt in a few years' time when the battery needs replacing because it no longer lasts as long as expected.

Samsung has a new answer to Apple's MacBook Neo, and it's aimed at Windows users who don't fancy making the switch to macOS.

The new 14-inch Galaxy Book6 is the latest addition to Samsung's laptop range, but unlike the more premium models, this one is designed to be more accessible. It starts at £799 in the UK, with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.

It's also pretty portable, weighing 1.35kg and measuring 15.7mm thick. That makes it a potentially useful option for anyone who wants a laptop for work, study or travel without carrying around something bulky.

The Galaxy Book6 uses an Intel Core 5 processor and has a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 LCD display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. There's also an anti-reflective finish to help reduce glare, which should make it more comfortable to use in brighter surroundings.

Samsung claims up to 25 hours of video playback from a single charge, although as ever, real-world battery life will depend heavily on what you're doing with it.

There's plenty of connectivity, too, including two USB-C ports, USB-A, HDMI 1.4 and a headphone jack. Ideal if you regularly plug in accessories or an external display, and it means you shouldn't need a collection of dongles just to connect your existing kit.

The Galaxy Book6 also gets Samsung's Galaxy AI features, including AI Select, AI Cut Out and Note Assist.

AI Select lets you select things on screen to get information about them, while AI Cut Out can remove backgrounds from images. Note Assist can summarise notes and pull out key information.

If you're already using Galaxy phones or tablets, the laptop has some extra tricks. Quick Share makes it easier to move files between devices, while Multi Control lets you use one keyboard and mouse across compatible Galaxy products.

Samsung is pitching the Galaxy Book6 as an everyday laptop rather than a premium powerhouse.

At £799, it's positioned below many high-end Windows laptops while offering the portability, battery life and connected features you'd expect from a modern machine. And, importantly, you get to keep Windows.

Samsung had a productive Gamescom last week, announcing no less than four new gaming monitors for 2027 – each with "world's first" or groundbreaking tech – and showcased Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on its stand as a bit of a coup. But there could be even more exciting things yet to come. And not just for gamers.

I managed to catch up with the company's head of its European monitor business, Pepe Dijkstra, during the show, along with the director of product management for TV, AV and sound, Jeremy Demont, and we discussed possible plans for the future.

One of them is the potential use of Privacy Display technology on monitors.

Privacy Display is a highlight feature of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. When activated, it restricts anyone other than the owner to see what's on the screen, even for individual windows or apps.

That means interlopers see just a black display or zone and cannot read sensitive information, for example. It's a clever addition that is so far unique to Samsung's flagship phone, at least at this level of complexity. And it's something that could also work with monitors.

That was agreed by Dijkstra, who told me that it could be a technology that would work as well on computer displays. But it all comes down to cost.

Could we see Privacy Display on Samsung monitors

Privacy Display won't really be needed for gaming monitors, but it could be transformative for working spaces. There are some brands who use filters on their displays already, which make it difficult to see the screen at wider viewing angles, but they are a blanket solution. Samsung's tech can target specific areas of the screen, which is on a different level.

The only issue, as Samsung explained, is that it's a very pricey technology, and organisations and governments might find it beyond their budgets.

To add a Privacy Display to a computer monitor would add an extra element to the production line, one that would require new tooling and processes.

Dijkstra told me that the Canadian government had made enquiries in the past, but it will likely take further and wider interest to make such a major commitment for Samsung. Still, it could happen in the coming years, he explained: "Maybe one day it'll force its way into these spaces," he said.

Let's hope so.

I also spoke with Demont and Dijkstra at Gamescom about the new gaming monitors and Samsung's recent decision to combine the TV and monitor business into one, which benefit both categories with shared technologies and visions. That extended interview will follow in the coming days.

Samsung has announced the world’s first gaming monitor with a refresh rate of 1,100Hz.

The forthcoming Odyssey G6 display also promises 1ms response times, plus AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility.

But that's not all. The company also unveiled a couple of additional "world's first" monitors during Gamescom.

The new Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 is the first 49-inch ultrawide double QHD display with a 360Hz refresh rate, while the Odyssey OLED G7 debuts a 42-inch screen size – a first for a curved model.

The company took to the stage during Europe's biggest games show. Samsung's monitor lead, Pepe Dijkstra, detailed the new technologies on the brand's booth, where a the latter two displays were also shown for the first time.

Also announced was a further commitment to 3D technologies in the gaming sector. It will be working closely with developers to provide wider support in some of the biggest titles.

And Samsung Display revealed that it will begin to mass produce 24.5-inch QD-OLED panels for pro gaming and eSports, starting later this year.

However, you'll have to wait until next year for the "world's first" tech and the new monitor range.

It was revealed that the new Odyssey OLED G9, OLED G8 and OLED G6 will be joined by an OLED G7 in 2027.

It looks like OLED is very much the way to go for Samsung.

T3 is attending Gamescom for the next few days, so please come back often to hear all the latest gaming announcements and news from the likes of Samsung, Xbox and more.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been well received, invigorating the folding phone segment with something that feels a little fresher. It's also better suited to large screen use than previous folding phones that were often square.

To keep momentum going, it seems that Samsung is looking to produce a special edition of the phone with a collaboration. That's nothing new, as Samsung has had a number of partners in the past – the most likely for the Z Fold 8 being Thom Browne.

That usually sees a special colourway for the phone, using Thom Browne's signature stripe, with the theme running from the phone's design to the packaging and bespoke wallpapers.

The details come from Lanzuk on the Naver Blog (via Notebookcheck), but the details are scarce, merely saying that Samsung has plans for a special edition. The last special edition with Thom Browne was on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but it's easy to see why brands would be eager to be involved with the new model.

Why is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 different?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 switched the aspect of the internal display to make for a wider folding phone, which is much better for content. In portrait, it's great for reading, whether that's websites or documents, while in landscape it's better suited to movies and TV thanks to the 4:3 aspect.

Samsung's previous book-style folding phones had an aspect that was closer to 1:1 on the inside – square – so offered no real advantage when moving between landscape and portrait. It just offered a larger screen, without any real application for that space.

The downside of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is that the 5.5-inch external display is a little wide, meaning that it can be hard to navigate if you're trying to reach the far corner, for example, while its shorter stature means that when the keyboard is open there's less space to do anything.

But aside from those minor usability considerations, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 seems to have got off to a strong start with a bump in the pre-orders for the device. That's likely to be what Samsung wants to capitalise on with a special edition.

Increased competition is expected soon, with Apple thought to be launching its own, similarly-shaped folding phone in September, with Xiaomi also expected to launch a wider fold model in the form of the Xiaomi 18 Fold.

Samsung has expanded its Slide-in and Over-the-Range line-up with new ovens and microwaves. Featuring advanced cooking technology, both the ovens and microwaves come with Air Fry Max, a feature that cooks food up to 15% faster than normal.

Despite newer and more advanced appliances taking over the kitchen, there is still a high demand for microwaves. The latest kitchen trend is hybrid appliances that offer multiple cooking functions in one device, and Samsung’s new microwave is no exception.

Doubling as an air fryer, the Samsung Smart Over-the-Range Microwave with Air Fry Max prepares tasty and healthy meals in less time than a regular oven or microwave. With no pre-heating required, the Air Fry Max feature delivers high temperatures while its True Convection technology circulates heat rapidly to cook food quickly and evenly.

With 10 power levels and a large 1.7 cu.ft capacity, the Samsung Smart Over-the-Range Microwave with Air Fry Max can cook multiple air fried meals at once while reducing cooking time. It also has an Air Sous Vide feature which uses precise heat instead of water to cook sous vide while enhancing flavour and moisture.

The design of the Samsung Smart Over-the-Range Microwave with Air Fry Max is inspired by its refrigerator line-up with its recessed handle style. It has an illuminated touchscreen display for easy manual and automatic controls, including an ECO mode which saves energy while in operation.

Both the Samsung Smart Over-the-Range Microwave with Air Fry Max and the Slide-in Range have Auto Connectivity which wireless syncs the two appliances together. For example, when the oven’s cooktop is on, the microwave will automatically light up and turn on its ventilation hood. This is ideal if you have the microwave above the oven built into a cabinet, which is what the new range is designed for.

Samsung SmartThings is also compatible with the new appliances so you can customise and monitor them via your smartphone or with a voice assistant. As of writing, the new range is available in the US, with the Samsung Smart Over-the-Range Microwave with Air Fry Max priced at $719.

A weekend is a long time in tech leaks and that could be all that was needed for Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S27 Ultra to go from eager anticipation to absolute derision. Leaked schematic designs for Samsung's next flagship have appeared online – and that's got people talking.

The design first appeared from UniverseIce on X, and shows a radical change for the Galaxy S27 Ultra. Meanwhile, the standard Galaxy S27 looks much like it did before.

The schematics show the Galaxy S27 Ultra moving to a rectangular camera section at the top – like the iPhone 17 Pro – squishing in the cameras, while dropping one of the telephoto lenses, as has long been rumoured.

In addition, a circle on the rear of the phone suggests that these phones will have integrated magnets for charging, although it's unlikely that the design will have circle on the back of the phone.

In successive posts we see an AI-generated version which looks like a cheap knock-off you might find on a market stall, as well as seeing Sonny Dickson – another common leaker – wading in with more information.

Two Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra models tipped

Dickson suggests that Samsung is going to offer the Ultra is two sizes, which might take us back to the existing rumour that there will be a Galaxy S27 Pro as part of a four-device line-up in 2027.

The reaction to these designs has been swift, with comments on Reddit calling the design "atrocious", "fugly" and another saying "it’s like they have no shame". The accusation is levelled that Samsung is copying the iPhone 17 Pro – which also happens to be Apple's most controversial design.

We've already seen the iPhone copied in the Honor 600 Pro, where I called out the contentious design, and that seems to be the general sentiment of this leak too. UniverseIce is known for being a reliable leaker, so there's every chance this will come to pass.

This design, however, hasn't come out of nowhere. It was previously suggested for the Galaxy S26 Edge, a phone that was never launched, as slim but compromised phones haven't found favour with buyers.

The question here is one of balance. Camera bumps notionally give the camera a little more space. That could allow for a larger sensor or more sophisticated lens, while the pursuit of thinner devices continues.

We've been through this cycle before within the last decade, and new battery technology allows for thinner designs without sacrificing battery capacity.

However, slimmer phones are also harder to cool and ultimately, year on year, customers call for better battery life and rarely call for thinner phones.

Samsung's Galaxy S27 family is not expected to launch until February 2027, so we can expect a lot more leaks before we see the final design.

If you thought that Samsung was finished for the year, then think again: the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE has been confirmed, with the date set for 27 August.

Samsung, confirming the event on its official newsroom, says that it will "introduce the newest addition to the Galaxy S26 family". That lays any doubts to rest, reinforcing the particular model by saying "purposefully designed to bring the core Galaxy S26 experiences … to those who look for what truly matters most to them"

This has long been the mantra of the Galaxy FE models. FE stands for "fan edition" and the whole premise is to give buyers the core essentials they need, but strip out some of the other flagship features, to make for a slightly cheaper device.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is expected to do just that, tweaking the design slightly to match the Galaxy S26 models, but offering much the same as it did in the Galaxy S25 FE.

Previous leaks have suggested a change in display supplier, while the specs aren't expected to change much, although it's likely to be powered by the Exynos 2500. It's also said that there will be a move to a silicon-carbon battery, along with 45W charging, although that likely means that the phone won't be rated for as many charging cycles.

Back to the teaser video that Samsung shared, and it appears to show three cups of matcha with the ice cubes conveniently shaped as the Galaxy AI logo. The tray they sit on hints at the design change for the camera.

A hand comes in an picks up the middle cup revealing that there's a Galaxy Event and the date. The video is labelled as being produced by AI, which might leave a bitter taste in the mouth, especially amongst Gen Z matcha fans who are turned off by this sort of AI image generation.

What's interesting is that in the version on X and other social channels, the video is rotated 90 degrees, so it looks like the cameras on the back of the phone. However, with the hand reaching in to remove one of the cameras, it suggests that the Galaxy S26 FE could lose one of its cameras - just like the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

That middle camera is the main 50MP camera, however, and all leaks have so far suggested we're getting the same 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide camera and 8MP telephoto camera as the previous model. It seems, perhaps, that this teaser video is just a little confusing.

The Galaxy FE has been a slightly confusing phone, launching cheaper than the Galaxy S flagship while offering many of the same specs. That doesn't appear to be happening with the Galaxy S26 FE: the expected move to Exynos 2500 is older hardware than the Exynos 2600 used in some S26 models, while the price is expected in increase, perhaps hitting €799, an increase of €50 over the previous model.

While the full specifications are unknown, the Galaxy S26 FE could walk a fine line between affordable flagship and costly competitor. You'll be able to watch the reveal live on 27 August.

Samsung has developed a new structure for OLED screens that will boost the quality of folding or curved displays.

The new tech increases the viewing angles for the OLED panel, meaning that brightness can be preserved when not viewing the screen head-on. That's a problem for folding screens or anything that curves, with the edges or areas around the fold traditionally losing brightness.

Samsung says that the brightness in these areas could drop about 60%, meaning the user sees a darker area. Anyone who has used a folding phone will have noticed this around the fold, where the slight ripple in the screen leads to a dimmer area.

The Wide View Display from Samsung Display is said to counter this, with Samsung completely redesigning the material and structure of the OLED. The aim is to ensure that the image quality is consistent, so even if there is a bump or curve in the display, the quality is maintained.

Presented at IMID 2026 in Busan, Korea, the new material was presented in a 7.6-inch size, exhibited on a folding device. There's every chance that this screen technology could make its way to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra in 2027 and also be used by other folding phone manufacturers.

Samsung itself refers to "next-generation form factor products such as foldable, slidable, and rollable displays".

A huge boost to screen quality

Using a wide view display could also improve the quality when a folding phone isn't flat. In the accompanying image showing the technology, the colours also look more vibrant and uniform across the whole screen, rather than just in the section that's 90-degrees to the viewer.

That could also boost the performance of curved displays, which could be more applicable to automotive screens, allowing higher performance when viewed from a wider range of angles by different people in the car.

Samsung's use of wide-angle viewing technologies became a hot topic in 2026 with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with its Privacy Display. The tech works by limiting the output to narrow angle subpixels, meaning the screen content is only visible to those looking straight at it.

When Privacy Display is switched off, the wider-angle pixels allow viewing from greater angles. That raises the question of whether Privacy Display would work effectively on a folding screen, given that the solution to dimming has been to increase the wide viewing tech in the panel.

Samsung has been taken aback by the overwhelming support for its wider foldable. Launched in July, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has already proved a "smash hit" and the company is said to have ordered a million more units to be manufactured.

It also bodes well for the iPhone Ultra – Apple's first foldable that will reportedly come in a very similar form factor, and likely with the exact same folding display. We'll find out just how popular that will be too, when it will almost certainly launch early September.

But, it seems, Samsung is not going to wait until then to double down (or, in fact, up) on its own success story. It seems that it's already making plans to release two wider foldable phones next year.

According to trusted leaker Ice Universe, Samsung roadmap for folding devices next year includes another new foldable with a wider display, in addition to a follow-up to the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Citing his X post as an "ETnews exclusive", the online leaker claims there will be five new Samsung foldables in 2027, although doesn't say whether the new wide model will be a cheaper or more premium device than the Z Fold 8 replacement.

If genuine, we'll be getting the following new phones around this time next year:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 9
• New wide-format Samsung Galaxy Z Fold model
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 9
• Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold 2

That's a whole lot of new foldable handsets, with pretty much something for every budget.

"Samsung has clearly tasted the benefits of expanding its foldable form factors, and next year it plans to go even further," he posted.

And what about other manufacturers

With Apple soon to announce its own, it is surely just a matter of time before other manufacturers adopt the new form factor too.

Xiaomi is already rumoured to have a wider device in the works, and anyone who has had a play with the Z Fold 8 will understand why.

Unlike conventional book-style foldables, the wider format allows the inner display to provide a wider aspect ratio – more akin to an iPad mini. And while it means the outer screen is more square in shape, video content, games, and all manner of other applications look better on a 4:3 display.

It might take a little getting used to, but our tech editor Mike Lowe believes that it could be the future of foldables full stop: "Much as the Galaxy Z Fold 8's passport-sized form could have proved a floundering move for Samsung, having used this unique Android device for a full working week, I think it's opened new borders," he wrote in his review.

It seems Samsung agrees.

Samsung has announced a collaboration with Activision to become the official TV, monitor, soundbar and Wi-Fi speaker partner of the forthcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

As a result, it has been working with the development teams to help implement HDR10+ Gaming support in the sequel, plus native 32:9 super ultrawide support on the PC version for use on Samsung's Odyssey G9 monitors.

Some Call of Duty games have offered Dolby Vision in the past and/or standard HDR10 for displays that don't support it. However, Modern Warfare 4 will be the first to offer HDR10+ Gaming, which will be especially good news for Samsung TV and monitor owners as they don't have access to Dolby Vision.

Samsung is a lead partner (originator) for the HDR10+ standard, so the collaboration makes sense. It essentially offers more accurate colour and contrast, highlighting brighter elements of a scene while keeping dark zones inky black.

Support means it will be switched on automatically while playing, with settings tweaked for low latency playback.

"We will continue working with leading developers to strengthen gaming experiences across our display portfolio," said Samsung's executive vice president of its visual display business, Hun Lee.

Free early access to the COD: MW4 beta

In addition to the baked-in settings, the Samsung partnership will also provide TV and monitor owners access to the Call of Duty: NEXT livestream, straight through the Samsung Gaming Hub.

Taking place on 21 August at 9am PDT / 5pm BST, the live presentation kicks off Activision's annual event for Call of Duty fans and will detail new information on the latest game.

Samsung device owners will also have the chance to get their hands on early access codes for the Modern Warfare 4 beta. You'll be able to play the game from 21 August – a week before the open beta then rolls out on 28 August.

Finally, Samsung will have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 playable on its stand at Gamescom, with some Vault Edition Battle.net codes available to visitors.

Unlike just about every other major TV manufacturer, Samsung does not support Dolby Vision – it has bet the house on HDR10+ instead, the HDR standard it co-developed. And there's a possibility it'll turn its back on Dolby Atmos eventually too.

That's because it has developed its own spatial audio codec with Google, which is available on select Samsung TVs from 2025 on and some models from other manufacturers, such as fellow Korean brand LG.

Like Dolby Atmos, Eclipsa Audio creates a "3D soundscape" by optimising the spatial positioning of sound when played through a TV or soundbar. However, unlike true Atmos, it doesn't require a full surround sound setup to work.

It can send channels to dedicated speaker systems, such as a 7.1.2 array, but it is also designed to work well through fewer speakers – creating a virtual bubble of sound for the listener.

What do you get with Eclipsa Audio?

Its biggest feature is to allow for positioning of sound within that scape, so you can pick out different cues and effects in different areas of the 3D "bubble". Effects can also move around to match visuals on the TV, for example.

Eclipsa Audio also has the benefit of being free to use by content creators and sound engineers, whereas Dolby Atmos and DTS:X require licence fees. That differentiates it and will hopefully lead to more Eclipsa Audio tracks being available in future.

Indeed, Samsung itself recently posted a chat with a couple of the senior executives behind Eclipsa Audio, Woohyun Nam and Joonhun Choi, who explained how the company's own streaming TV service, Samsung TV Plus, is adding new live music content mastered in the format.

"Our top priority was ensuring viewers could fully experience the immersion of a live performance," said Nam.

"We worked closely with the [visual display business] to verify that Eclipsa Audio could be delivered seamlessly through Samsung TV Plus and that the spatial audio of live performances was faithfully reproduced."

"We focused on securing Eclipsa Audio content and encouraging content partners to adopt the technology," added Choi.

It's been a clear hit so far: "Users said they felt as though they were sitting in the audience at a live performance," revealed Choi.

"Some even said that certain scenes were more satisfying than watching from a small theatre."

Of course, Samsung TV Plus is exclusive to Samsung televisions, and you'll need one that supports Eclipsa Audio to get the full effect. However, with Google being the main partner, the technology is also being baked in Google TV and Android TV models, and you'll likely find videos on YouTube to try the effect for yourself.

It will also eventually be used in a wider range of shows and content types.

"Beyond musicals, we plan to expand Eclipsa Audio to K-pop concerts, classical performances, movies and sports," said Choi. We wait to see (or hear) what comes next.

If you thought we had seen the last of Samsung phone launches for this year, you’ve clearly forgotten about the more affordable Galaxy S26 Fan Edition.

Rumoured to be coming sometime in September, images of the device have leaked via Android Headlines, along with the specifications via WinFuture, and you might be disappointed.

What is the Galaxy S26 FE expected to arrive with?

According to WinFuture, the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE will be very similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S25 FE. It’s expected to come with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a 2340 x 1080 resolution, a peak brightness of 1900 nits and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Samsung Exynos 2500 is claimed to be running the show, which is the same processor you will find in last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 7, supported by 8GB of RAM and storage options of 128GB or 256GB.

There is also claimed to be a triple rear camera, comprised of a 50-megapixel main sensor, along with an ultra-wide sensor and telephoto sensor with 3x zoom. An IP68 rating is also suggested in the list of specifications, while the battery capacity is said to be 4900mAh with 45W fast charging support.

None of that is particularly groundbreaking, especially when compared to the Galaxy S25 FE that has broadly similar specs aside from the processor. However, the Galaxy S26 FE is at least said to have a silicon-carbon battery like the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra all introduced last month.

The design also appears to have changed slightly on the rear compared to the Galaxy S25 FE, closer matching the Galaxy S26, though the weight is said to be a little heavier at 196g compared to 190g.

One last bit of bad news is that the price of the Galaxy S26 FE is expected to increase compared to the Galaxy S25 FE, too. That makes the traditionally affordable phone, well, less affordable.

According to WinFuture, the device will start at €799 (around £680), which would be €50 more than the previous model.

Samsung didn’t just announce two folding phones last month like it normally does each year – it released three. The third model introduced a gorgeous new shape and format.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but while the Ultra features the same design as the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a wider, squarer design, much like what the first folding iPhone is rumoured to be offering.

Why the Galaxy Z 8 Fold is so popular

Good thing too, really, as according to ETNews (via 9to5Google), Samsung will produce an extra one million units of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to meet the higher-than-anticipated demand.

The 9to5Google report calls the device a “smash hit” after Samsung confirmed much higher pre-order figures than expected. A couple of the models even went out of stock during the pre-order window.

The extra one million run is on top of the initial higher production numbers for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 too, so clearly the wider format is a bit of a winner.

I can see why. I was never quite sold on previous folding phones, despite thinking the Galaxy Z Flip was very cute, but I love the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It reminds me of my BlackBerry from back in the day, with the wider format much nicer to use than the slimmer and taller Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Apple is one of the few main smartphone manufacturers that doesn’t offer a folding phone at the moment, but that is rumoured to be changing come September.

We’ve been hearing about a folding iPhone – the iPhone Ultra – for years, but speculation has really picked up over the last couple of months, with the squarer format widely reported.

It’s looking more and more likely Apple will follow in Samsung’s footsteps come September and with the Z Fold 8's success, it's an obvious step.

Is Samsung finally releasing its Ballie AI home companion robot? While Samsung has kept very quiet about Ballie, a leak was recently spotted that showed a potential app UI design for a Ballie app – here’s what we know so far.

As always, Samsung has had a big year. In July, Samsung held its Unpacked event where it launched the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, and throughout 2026, the brand has debuted new home appliances, including upgraded smart fridges and robot vacuums.

But one thing that Samsung has been pretty silent about is Ballie. Samsung originally announced Ballie back in 2020, dubbing it as an autonomous, spherical AI companion robot. Since then, Ballie has remained a concept, with Samsung announcing it had delayed Ballie yet again in late 2025, saying it was still working on the technology.

But visuals of Samsung Ballie software was recently spotted by Sammy Guru. While nothing has officially been confirmed or denied, many are speculating that the illustrations show what a Ballie app could look like, although an app name is still unknown.

The illustrations don’t directly state that the app would be for the Ballie robot. However, there are clear sketches of a spherical ball-like device which look a lot like the Ballie concept pictures that have been released over the years, and the ‘app’ refers to it as the Home Robot.

As the visuals show, a main dashboard has the Ballie or Home Robot at front and centre. Icons surround it, showing battery percentage, location, and status, including Ready or Error, and Streaming text sits just below the Ballie illustration. Further down the page is Home Monitor and Greeting cards and a main bar sits at the bottom showing Media and Robot.

These visuals have circulated but nothing has really been made clear about what anything of it means. Many have guessed that Streaming refers to users being able to view the Ballie onboard camera live and remotely, so it can potentially double as a security camera.

Others have speculated that the Greetings section could allow Ballie to detect people and offer personalised greetings when they get home. This has also been shown in Ballie promotion videos that Samsung previously produced when it first announced it.

In general, we don’t really know what the future looks like for Ballie. AI home robots are still new, with brands like LG and SwitchBot having announced their own full-sized models, although neither seem to have come into fruition just yet.

The Samsung Ballie could change this, and offer an easier, more compact way to use this type of technology, as it’s significantly smaller than other home robot concepts. But as always with Ballie, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Two new picture technologies are coming to TVs in the next few months, with both HDR10+ Advanced and Dolby Vision 2 both set for release soon. Indeed, in the case of the former, we could see it in a matter of days

Samsung has announced that it will be rolling out HDR10+ Advanced to its 2026 models this month – August 2026. Or at least, it'll be activating it as the technology is already integrated in select TVs.

Amazon Prime Video will be the first streaming service to adopt the new brighter and more immersive HDR standard. Amazon has been pivotal in the rise of the HDR10 standard in the past, most notably being the first to offer HDR10+ on its movies and shows in 2017. This continues that trend.

"At Prime Video, we’re dedicated to providing the best possible viewing experience and HDR10+ Advanced represents a meaningful step forward for our customers," said Prime Video's vice president of technology, BA Winston.

"With Enhanced Overall Brightness and Intelligent Motion Smoothing, the picture quality adapts to bring out the best details in every scene."

Only Samsung's 2026 models will be compatible with HDR10+ Advanced – that's TVs with "H" at the end of their model name, including the jaw-dropping Samsung S99H and S95H.

Support for other manufacturers should become available over time.

What improvements does HDR10+ Advanced offer?

HDR10 is the de facto standard for HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture technology on many – if not all – TVs and devices. HDR10+ was introduced by Samsung in collaboration with several partners almost a decade ago as a direct response to Dolby Vision.

All HDR technologies expand the available colour gamut and offer a much wider dynamic contrast range, resulting in more realistic and immersive images. However, HDR10 simply applies the same setting for an entire movie or show, while HDR10+ (and Dolby Vision) can adjust the balance on a scene-by-scene basis – frame-by-frame, even.

As the name suggests, HDR10+ Advanced goes a step or two further. It adds Enhanced Overall Brightness, to better utilise modern TV's higher brightness capabilities, while also using AI to better tone map content in real-time. This preserves details at two ends of the spectrum, in the shadows and the brightest scenes.

On top of these, Intelligent Motion Smoothing dynamically adjust motion processing on a scene-by-scene basis, to smooth the action without creating the plastic look of aggressive motion technologies of the past.

The new technology rivals Dolby Vision 2, which will offer similar properties when it arrives soon too.

Samsung has only just revealed its latest folding phones – they're so new they aren’t even on sale yet – but that hasn’t stopped the rumours for its next big devices.

Usually rumours bring good news, whether it’s the leak of a fresh design or a camera upgrade, but the latest speculation surrounding the Galaxy S27 Ultra suggests this flagship phone could see a downgrade instead.

Camera changes incoming for the Galaxy S27 Ultra

According to ETNews (via 9to5Google), the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could ditch the 3x telephoto camera lens, reducing it to just three lenses on the rear. This would be a first for the Ultra.

The report claims the 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens would remain, as would the 200-megapixel main camera and 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, but the 3x telephoto could be no more in order to reduce manufacturing costs.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra isn’t due to launch until early 2027, so there is still time for things to change, and there will no doubt be more leaks that appear between now and then. But for now, you may want to grab a Galaxy S26 Ultra if you really want that telephoto.

What else is new?

The other devices that are rumoured to launch alongside the Galaxy S27 Ultra include the Galaxy S27 and Galaxy S27+, as you would expect, as well as the Galaxy S27 Pro.

The Pro model is rumoured to have a 200-megapixel main camera and 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, like the Galaxy S27 Ultra, but it is claimed it will opt for a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens – the one that’s being ditched on the Ultra.

Meanwhile, the standard Galaxy S27 and Galaxy S27+ are said to come with a 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera.

As mentioned, we are several months away from the release of these devices, so plenty could change. At the moment it’s looking like some interesting changes are coming.

It took a while but the UK was next in line for the Samsung Galaxy XR after its release in the US and Korea last year, and the wait may well have been to the benefit of Brits. That’s because since its original launch, the headset has been served patches and software tweaks that most certainly make for a better experience.

It is the first Android XR headset to hit the market, while also exhibiting Samsung’s ambitions in the higher-end mixed reality field, and there’s no denying the similarities to Apple’s Vision Pro. But at the same time, it is also something of its own beast, which I found out during the week I spent testing it.

The design and build

Having also played with an Apple Vision Pro and owning a Meta Quest 3, I am no stranger to the wonderful world of augmented reality. Also to the art of strapping a shoe box to your face for hours on end. And while it can never feel truly natural, the Galaxy XR does a great job of balancing its weight.

It’s considerably lighter than the Vision Pro (by around 200g) and is similar to the Quest 3 in that regard.

That’s not to say it is the most comfortable headset in the world. As a thoroughly premium device it is built with thoroughly premium, solid materials and therefore there’s less of a focus on padding. However, it is easy to fit tight to your head shape using the adjustment knob on the rear, so at least you don’t have to worry about wobble.

In the hand it feels sturdy and expensive – which it is – but importantly, it gives the impression that it’s something that’s built to last.

You also get additional forehead spacers in the box, for different sizes of foreheads and glasses wearers, plus silicon nose guards that sit under the lenses to block out ambient light. You don’t have to use them (I find it can get hotter when you do), but they do make for a more immersive experience and as they sit across the bridge of your nose, they also help reduce the pressure.

Then there’s the battery unit, which at 302g, weighs more than half the weight of the headset itself. That attaches via a cable to the side of the Galaxy XR and is designed to sit in a pocket. You can also charge it while during use, which gives you infinite playtime (it’s up to two-and-a-half hours, otherwise).

The display

Once the fit has been adjusted and you enter the experience, the first thing that strikes you about the Galaxy XR is just how incredible the display is. While it features similar Micro-OLED panel technology to the Apple Vision Pro, Samsung’s alternative has a higher resolution and smaller pixel pitch.

That results in a jaw dropping, super sharp image where you simply cannot pick out individual pixels. It’s the best VR/XR display I’ve used to date and makes it very easy to become absorbed without much adjustment. Admittedly, Apple’s alternative is capable of higher refresh rates, but when it comes to clarity, there’s a clear winner.

Of course, the image is nothing without the software and experience, and that’s where it comes down to personal preference.

It’s worth remembering at this stage that Android XR is still a fledgling system. Developed in co-operation between Google, Qualcomm and Samsung, it’ll eventually spread to multiple headsets and smart glasses. But the Galaxy XR is breaking new ground here, and it feels like it, at times.

The software

The in-visor set-up wizard is simple and intuitive, but I did have some issues with validating my Samsung account. The headset has some extra compatibility features if you’re a Samsung Galaxy phone owner and have the official Galaxy XR app, but considering it is a largely autonomous device, it will also work with iPhone and other Android handsets.

My main issue was that to log into a Samsung account using two-factor authorisation, it needed to send me a code by text to my UK number – and that never arrived on my iPhone. It could be that it was my network at fault, but I struggled to get past this hiccup until I finally found I could skip the Samsung account setup entirely. It just took a while to figure that out.

Once in, that’s where you get the full “wow” moment. The headset can be controlled using either pinch gestures on either hand or a combination of eye tracking and gestures. Both work wonderfully.

The cameras on the front of the unit track your hands in real time, even showing an outline that follows your hand movements to show you how accurate it is. There are also cameras that face down from the visor, so if using eye tracking to look at things you want to interact with – such as app icons – you can just pinch your fingers without needing to lift your hand. It’s very clever and intuitive.

On top of this, the outside world is captured and sent to the display in real time too. And while it’s not represented in as high-resolution as the overlays and apps, it is in full colour and still impressive. It helps ground you in an experience, making you feel like you are still in the real world while interacting with the virtual. And that also helps prevent the sort of motion sickness normally associated with the genre.

There is a mode whereby you can block the outside world and enter purely virtual landscapes, and many of the games and apps are VR rather than augmented, but I found myself using the overlays and AR tools more than any of the full VR options – especially when some of the best features are specific to this form.

Google’s renowned Circle to Search AI feature has even more relevance when you can circle anything you can see in the physical world, to get information and even purchase details on items you can see. And you can turn pictures and videos in your Google Photos library into spatial estimations, to look around them in a new perspective.

Then there’s the ability to loom over Google Maps in a god-like mode, exploring streets and buildings as if you were some sort of town planning deity. Indeed, most of my favourite experiences came from the free software provided as part of Android XR, which is not only a highlight of the Galaxy XR, but promising for future devices too.

Handily, if you purchase a Galaxy XR before the end of 2026 you also get a free bundle of apps and subscriptions to some of Google’s best services. This Explorer Pack contains a whole host of essential additions, including a year’s worth of Google AI Pro and 5TB of cloud storage.

There’s 12-months of YouTube Premium too, which gives you YouTube streaming – including spatial videos – without ads, and another great gift is a year’s membership to the Google Play Pass. This offers up hundreds of free Android games that can be played in the headset. I found it essential in my test period, not least thanks to the variety.

Then there is Adobe Pulsar to turn video creations into interactive experiences, including the ability to add 3D depth to them for other headset wearers to also enjoy. And there’s an NFL VR game thrown in too, which is a real standout, if you like that sort of thing. If not, the mindfulness service, Calm Premium, helps you unwind.

The whole bundle is worth over £600, so helps justify the headset cost a touch, but also gives you a decent amount of tools and games to get you started. As I found out, you’ll certainly not be left wanting for something to do.

The caveats

That’s not to say the headset doesn’t come with caveats. Save for its price, which is clearly in the luxury and premium range (although nowhere near the Apple Vision Pro’s hefty ticket in that regard), the headset does have some comfort issues, as previously mentioned. Even when fiddling with the nose pieces and head spacers, you might find it testing for long periods of wear.

Considering the battery life is limited to a little over two hours (when not tethered further to a USB-C charger), that’s almost a moot point anyway.

It’s also worth mentioning that although eye tracking works superbly and helps prevent motion sickness, not all the apps you’ll encounter support it, so you might still suffer at times if you’re prone to such things.

Still, that’s hardly Samsung’s fault – it has done everything it can to help mitigate the traditional issues with virtual and mixed reality, it’s now down to app developers to do their bit too.

Thankfully, that’s where Android XR steps in. It gives developers a solid foundation for a future where multiple headsets and devices will be unified in their offerings. Samsung is blazing a trail with the Galaxy XR, and in style to boot. Hopefully, others will follow in its wake.

In conclusion

So what did I learn in my week with the Samsung Galaxy XR? Well, I'll be honest, I'd almost given up on headsets and multiple mixed realities they promise. Beyond the initial wave of excitement, there was no escaping the sense that they provide a very solo experience – whether it be for work or play.

However, the sharpness and clarity afforded by something so premium made me think again. You can enjoy spending time inside the Galaxy XR because it offers experiences that are familiar yet better than real-world equivalents.

For example, I watched some of the World Cup coverage on an IMAX-sized screen, which filled my entire field of view. And from the comfort of my own living room, to boot. I could even see my beer on a table nearby to pick it up.

And while I haven't yet tried the headset on a long haul flight, I can only imagine how transformative it could be for movie viewing, while also keeping an eye on fellow passengers and airline staff.

My only real gripe is the fit, which can apply pressure across the bridge of the nose during lengthy use. One solution is to add your own top strap, which you can find in 3D printed form from enthusiasts online. Maybe even Samsung will add one to its accessories list at some point.

I hope so. But as it stands, although this headset is admittedly a niche product for a select audience, especially at its "luxury" price point, it fizzles with promise. It excitingly shows what is possible with Android XR in the now and future, and I for one am once again sold.

Samsung Galaxy Watch users will soon be able to access Strava Routes on their wrist through Samsung Health, thanks to a significant expansion of the two companies’ partnership.

Strava will be pre-installed on new Galaxy Watches sold globally, beginning with the latest Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

Buyers of either smartwatch will also receive a 60-day trial of Strava’s subscription service, which unlocks a complete selection of premium training and route-planning features.

More importantly, Strava Routes will be integrated natively into Samsung Health later this year, giving you on-wrist access to routes created through Strava without relying solely on the separate Strava watch app.

Strava and Samsung haven’t fully explained how the integration will work, including whether routes will synchronise automatically or which older Galaxy Watch models, such as the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, will be supported.

However, the companies say the Samsung Health integration will begin rolling out globally to Galaxy Watch users in the coming months.

Finding a better way around

Strava Routes uses activity data from the company’s enormous user community to generate courses suited to different sports, distances and preferences.

Strava Premium subscribers can also create their own routes and download them for navigation in areas without a reliable data connection.

The feature could make Galaxy Watch more competitive with outdoor watches from brands such as Garmin, Suunto and Coros, where route creation, synchronisation and on-wrist navigation are already important parts of the experience.

Its arrival is particularly timely after Strava expanded its hiking tools in June.

The recent update introduced improved route planning, navigation and trail-discovery features, reflecting the company’s efforts to become more useful beyond running and cycling.

Samsung is also placing greater emphasis on personalised fitness services across its wearable ecosystem.

Alongside the Strava announcement, the company revealed that iFIT’s Tailor personal trainer will use sleep, heart-rate and recovery information recorded by Galaxy Watch to generate adaptive workouts through Samsung Health.

The two integrations arrive with the new Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

The Watch9 is Samsung’s everyday health-focused model, while the Ultra2 adds an 800mAh battery, trail-running metrics, hydration guidance and support for recreational diving.

Strava says the Routes integration is the first of several improvements planned for Samsung users, although it hasn’t revealed what will follow.

Strava Routes requires a paid subscription once the complimentary 60-day trial has ended.

Read more about the integration at Strava.

Samsung is adding an AI-powered personal trainer to Samsung Health that can turn data collected by a Galaxy Watch into personalised workouts and weekly training plans.

Created through a partnership with connected-fitness company iFIT, the new feature combines Samsung’s health and recovery insights with iFIT Tailor, the brand's AI fitness coach.

Tailor builds training plans around your goals, current fitness, workout history, available time and location.

According to the company, it can recommend anything from strength and HIIT sessions to cycling, yoga, Pilates and mindfulness, drawing on workouts created by iFIT’s team of 180 trainers.

The feature can also continually adjust its recommendations as you complete workouts, recover or change your routines.

Samsung says information already captured by Galaxy Watch, including sleep, heart rate and recovery data, will feed into its Fitness Index and help the coach decide what the user should do next.

That could make the partnership considerably more useful than a conventional library of follow-along workout videos.

A coach that travels with you

The feature can also account for where you are training and how much time you have available.

iFIT says Tailor can generate an appropriate workout for home, travelling or when you're heading out onto a trail.

Progress milestones, activity streaks and achievement recognition will of course be included to encourage consistency, while the plans will remain available through Samsung Health on compatible Galaxy devices.

Samsung and iFIT unveiled the expanded integration alongside the new Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

The Watch 9 is positioned as Samsung’s everyday health and fitness smartwatch, while the more rugged Ultra 2 introduces an 800mAh battery, specialised trail-running metrics, hydration guidance and support for recreational diving.

There are, however, two catches. iFIT Personal Trainer will require a paid iFIT membership and is not included as a free Samsung Health feature, although monthly and annual subscriptions will be available directly through the app.

The initial rollout will also be limited to India, South Korea and the US later this year.

Samsung and iFIT say other markets covered by their partnership will receive the feature during 2027, meaning Galaxy Watch owners in the UK will have to wait a little longer to try it.

For more information, visit iFIT.

Samsung used Galaxy Unpacked to showcase its new AI glasses (again), but it didn't go as far as telling us when we'll be able to buy them or how much they are going to cost. All we know is that they are still on track for 2026, launching "this fall".

Samsung, Google and Qualcomm announced they were getting together to work on XR devices in 2023. While Qualcomm provides the chip to power these devices, Android supplies the platform – Android XR – with Samsung building the devices themselves.

That's resulted in the Galaxy XR headset, but it's also powering a new wave of AI glasses – what Samsung currently calls "Intelligent Eyewear". That starts with audio glasses, before moving into display glasses at some point in the future.

To nail down the design of these glasses, Samsung worked with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, so these aren't generic Samsung-branded glasses. They come with a name that some will recognise and will, ultimately, have a range of styles to choose from.

Google stole Samsung's thunder to a certain extent, previously revealing the glasses at Google I/O earlier in the year, mostly as a way of pushing the Android XR platform's progress.

At Unpacked, the AI glasses had a little time on stage, showing how they would slot into the Galaxy ecosystem, offering access to Google's Gemini for AI tasks, while in partnership with the Galaxy phone in your pocket and Galaxy Watch on your wrist.

These glasses are powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 chip, with Samsung suggesting that they will be able to do things like summarise meeting notes on a whiteboard, provide live translation, give real time information and route guidance, while also sharing and recording what they can see.

Samsung confirmed that the glasses will offer nine hours of battery life, beating Meta's eight hour claim.

Privacy concerns mount when it comes to smart glasses

While AI glasses have seen a huge boom in popularity with influencers and online content creators, they are also getting the attention of lawmakers, with concerns about privacy and surveillance. Filming using the camera is generally only indicated by a small LED on the front of the glasses.

Meta is facing a lawsuit over such concerns, in fact, and the European Parliament is also looking into privacy risks.

Samsung's own plans for smart glasses have been confusing to date, and when I asked what the go-to market name would be for the glasses, I was told that that hadn't been announced yet. Some believe that Samsung will release its own Galaxy AI glasses separate to the Warby Parker and Gentle Monster models that have come out of this collaboration.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked introduced a slew of new folding phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 which already appears to be winning fans, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and refreshed Galaxy Z Flip 8.

Okay, so it wasn't the best-kept secret in world history – Samsung had been openly teasing the new shape of its Galaxy Z Fold 8 for a couple of weeks. So, even without the many leaks that preceded it, we had a pretty good sense that the main Z Fold phone would be getting a new look.

Still, it's one thing to see leaks and another to get an entire Galaxy Unpacked event to check the phone out, and then the hands-on thoughts of our Tech editor, Mike Lowe. The phone looks like it's making a great impression on people in the first instance, although we'll doubtless get more context in the next few weeks.

I'll admit, though, that I've been a bit of a sceptic. The steep price tag attached to foldables makes them a non-starter for me, and I didn't see why a squatter design would change that. What I didn't expect was one moment in Samsung's presentation when they showed the phone opened up, but not in landscape mode – using a portrait orientation instead.

The photo at the top of this article shows that moment exactly, and that Samsung was using it to underline how the Z Fold 8 could be a great little e-reader alongside all the other more phone-like tools it offers. My surprise? I'm won over, at least moreso than before.

I've tested every Kindle released in the last few years, and I still regularly use the Kindle Paperwhite when I'm travelling, to cut down on the weight of a book (especially if I'm reading something chunky). Still, while I like an e-reader as much as the next reader, I'm mostly doing it for that weight reason.

So, if I had a phone that could be as satisfying to hold and as easy to read with, that would indeed be pretty tempting. There's a lot to wonder about in terms of ergonomics, still, and the biggest question for me would be how reliably I'd be able to read on the Z Fold 8 without worrying about battery life, but the concept it still quite a winning one.

The simple reality is that as long as these foldables stay this expensive, there's no way I'd ever commit to them – at £1,699, I just don't think the Z Fold 8 having a more adaptable aspect ratio is enough to move the needle. Still, this is the first time in a few years that I've even really perked my ears up at all in this area.

I'll be super interested in the folding iPhone we're likely getting later this year, but again will almost certainly never get my hands on one, if the rumoured pricing is to be remotely believed. Perhaps in half a decade, though, when folding phones are even more widespread, and the memory crisis has hopefully abated, I could end up not needing a Kindle at all – one less device is rarely a bad thing.

It seems like we've been writing about Samsung's 2026 foldable phones forever, but now they're official. And the range has expanded.

There are three foldables in the lineup this time, with an all-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is wider to allow for a more tablet-like experience when unfolded. We also get a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with more traditional sizing and a few upgrades, plus a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 for those who'd prefer a smaller device.

The phones will be available from 7 August 2026, but you can pre-order each now to get the best deals and incentives. Different UK networks often offer additional freebies too, so it's worth checking out everything available before making your choice.

That's why we've put together the best deals we've found so far, for each of the new devices. We'll update as and when new offers come in.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 pre-order deals

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is an all-new addition to the manufacturer's foldable phone lineup. It is shorter and wider than previous models, but has a more tablet-like internal display that's better to view videos on.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra pre-order deals

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the flagship model in this year's range. It is a direct replacement for the Z Fold 7, with a similar form factor. It also sports a few upgrades over the wider Z Fold 8, including the camera.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 pre-order deals

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 replaces the Z Flip 7 as the compact device in the foldable line. It features several key upgrades, not least in battery life and will undoubtedly be a popular choice for those who want pocketability.

We will continue to scour the UK networks and sites for other pre-order deals leading up to the phones arriving in store, so come back often.

With the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, Samsung is putting forward a compelling reason for tech companies not to rush a new version of their gadgets every year.

If the brand’s new smartwatch is anything to go by, skipping a year does mean the next iteration of the wearable can be significantly different, so much so that it might even entice people who own the previous version.

So what’s the fuss about? The new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 received some big updates, including a thinner case, lighter strap, and larger battery, and it also has a much brighter screen than before – in fact, it’s probably the brightest of all smartwatch displays out there. The watch now uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor for buttery-smooth performance.

Features have also been upgraded. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 can do turn-by-turn navigation like Garmin watches, track elevation, and provide hydration guidance based on estimated sweat loss. Plus, it now has dedicated diving support, courtesy of Mares. Best of all, the watch still looks pretty cool and performs even better.

Best smartwatch of 2026? Well, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops, but Samsung is certainly trying to better its hardware and software. Should you upgrade if you have an older Samsung watch, and is it worth jumping ecosystems if you have – let’s say – an Apple Watch Ultra 3? Let’s find out.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review

Price and availability

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 was announced on 22 July 2026, the same day pre-orders for the watch opened. The wearables will go on sale on 7 August for the recommended price of £649. EU, US and AU prices and availability TBC. The watch comes in two colours, Titanium Silver and Titanium Grey.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra retailed for £599/ $649.99/ AU$1,299 at launch, but can now be bought for as little as £400. The Apple Watch Ultra 3’s recommended retail price is $799 / £749 / AU$1,399 / €899, a fair amount higher than the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

The 44 mm version of the also brand new Galaxy Watch 9, which comes in either Graphite or Silver colour, sells for £349, while the smaller 40 mm version (colour options: Graphite and Cream) retails for £319.

Design and build quality

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 follows the original Ultra’s blueprint, retaining Samsung’s distinctive “cushion” design, which I like quite a lot. This combines an angular, rounded-square titanium case with a conventional circular display, allowing the screen to look like a traditional watch face while also giving the wearable a unique look.

Case

The 47 mm titanium case is said to be 12% thinner than before, despite the much larger 800mAh battery it houses. For context, the original Galaxy Watch Ultra measured 47.4 x 47.1 x 12.1mm and weighed 60.5g without its strap.

My Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 sample registered 61g on the scales, suggesting Samsung has reduced thickness without making the watch body itself significantly lighter.

I should add that my kitchen scales can’t measure 0.5 grams, so it’s entirely possible that the new watch is exactly the same weight.

(For the record, Samsung didn’t provide a spec sheet or feature list for the review. I will update it once I get hold of them.)

Strap

The new strap makes a more noticeable difference: it weighs 24g on my scales and is claimed to be 25% lighter than its predecessor. The material also feels genuinely softer and more pliable, helping the large watch sit more comfortably against the wrist.

Numerous perforations provide ample adjustment and should improve airflow during exercise, while Samsung’s Dynamic Lug System allows the strap sections to be released using buttons on the underside of the case.

Controls

The three-button layout is back, located at the right edge. It includes the circular Quick Button, distinguished by an orange surround, which provides immediate access to frequently used outdoor and exercise functions. The two flatter buttons above and below handle the usual Home and Back duties.

There is no mechanically rotating bezel, although the fixed bezel gives the display a useful degree of protection and supports Samsung’s touch-bezel navigation.

The numbered markings and orange index add to the watch’s technical, outdoorsy appearance. The bezel itself is touch-sensitive and can be used to navigate menus.

Display

The circular AMOLED display is protected by a sapphire crystal lens, but peak brightness has risen to a whopping 5,000 nits, which exceeds the original Ultra’s and the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s already impressive 3,000-nit maximum.

Other design details

Samsung positioned the original model as its toughest watch, equipping it with 10ATM and IP68 water resistance, MIL-STD-810H certification and an operating range of -20°C to 55°C.

The Ultra 2 is clearly cut from the same rugged cloth, although its final durability ratings will need to be confirmed once Samsung publishes the complete specification sheet.

Health tracking

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 carries over the extensive health toolkit of its predecessor, including continuous heart-rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation, sleep and stress tracking, ECG readings, blood-pressure monitoring, and BIA-based body-composition analysis.

That is not necessarily a problem. Samsung Health is exceptionally polished, and both the phone app and watch interface present a considerable amount of information without becoming difficult to navigate. I particularly enjoyed the on-watch body-composition measurements, but sleep tracking was arguably the most impressive part of my testing.

Sleep tracking

I wore the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 alongside the Oura Ring 5, my current benchmark for consumer sleep tracking. Neither can be considered as accurate as a clinical sleep study, but comparing their results provides a useful indication of consistency.

The two devices produced remarkably similar results. The sleep window difference was only 7 minutes, and the total sleep time difference was only 10 minutes (over nearly 9 hours).

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 detected 32 minutes of awake time, while Oura reported 33 minutes. Deep sleep differed by only five minutes, with Samsung recording one hour and 17 minutes and Oura measuring one hour and 22 minutes.

REM and light sleep showed larger differences, but since sleep stages are all guesswork across wearables, it certainly isn’t a deal-breaker. Sleep latency was 17 minutes according to Samsung and 10 minutes according to Oura.

Both measured an average sleeping heart rate of 48 bpm, while average blood oxygen saturation differed by a single percentage point: 96% on the Galaxy Watch and 97% on the Oura Ring.

That degree of agreement is excellent for two consumer wearables using different form factors and algorithms. It does not prove that either device correctly identified every sleep stage, but it gives me confidence in the Galaxy Watch’s estimates.

Samsung also provides plenty of depth. Alongside sleep duration and stages, the app shows movement, overnight blood oxygen saturation, skin temperature deviation, average heart rate, and respiratory rate.

It offers bedtime guidance, seven-day trends and sleep-consistency analysis, although its presentation is more clinical and less interpretive than Oura’s. The Ring does a better job of connecting sleep to concepts such as efficiency, restfulness, sleep debt, body-clock alignment and readiness.

Snore detection is available, but it relies on the paired phone being positioned near the bed and connected to a charger. That makes it considerably less seamless than the watch’s other overnight measurements.

Body composition tracking

The on-watch body-composition feature uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to estimate skeletal muscle mass, fat mass, body water, body fat percentage, BMI, and basal metabolic rate. To take a reading, you enter your weight and place two fingers against the watch’s buttons while keeping your arms away from your torso.

I compared its results with my Withings Body Comp smart scales. The measurements were taken two days apart, so changes in hydration, food intake and other variables prevent this from being a controlled comparison. Nevertheless, the directly comparable results were impressively close.

The Galaxy Watch estimated my body fat at 17.5%, compared with 18.1% from the Withings scales. Samsung calculated 14.2kg of fat mass (vs 14.6kg on the Withings) with a recorded weight of 80.8kg. A difference of 0.6% is reassuringly small.

Muscle figures cannot be compared directly because Samsung reports skeletal muscle mass, whereas Withings reports it as a percentage. Both devices are also consumer BIA products – not clinical body-composition scanners – so individual readings should be treated as estimates.

Sound exposure tracking

Sound Exposure is one of the genuinely new health additions. It uses the watch’s microphone to estimate cumulative exposure to environmental noise and shows how much of the recommended daily allowance has been consumed.

Samsung Health divides the result into OK, Caution, and Unsafe categories. It also displays the average sound level, periods above 80dB, and exposure trends over the previous seven days.

On one day, the watch recorded an average of 77dB and a cumulative exposure of 101%, which it says was “unsafe”. This was caused by the window of my car being down for approx 4 hours while driving on the motorways – the wind clearly made quite a racket in the car.

Samsung stresses that the figures are estimates affected by device use and fit, and that they are intended for general wellness rather than professional hearing assessment.

Other health features

Elsewhere, the Ultra 2 records heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature deviation, blood oxygen levels, and other overnight signals to establish a personal Vitals baseline.

Samsung Health also provides Heart Health and Vascular Load scores, the latter of which compares overnight cardiovascular strain against the user’s baseline.

ECG, blood pressure, irregular heart rhythm notifications, sleep apnoea detection, stress monitoring, AGEs Index, and menstrual cycle predictions complete one of the most extensive health suites available on a smartwatch.

Health feature gripes

There are some familiar frustrations. As mentioned above, snore detection only works when the paired phone is positioned near the bed and connected to its charger. Certain regulated health functions also require a SIM card so Samsung Health Monitor can establish which country the device is being used in.

Samsung also talks extensively about AI, but its broader health ecosystem still lacks some tools found in other apps. Food logging from a photograph, for example, would make nutrition tracking much less of a hassle.

Also, while the software is polished, there is bloatware everywhere on the phone that’s required for all the watch functions to operate properly, which I could live without.

Fitness tracking

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 supports more than 100 exercise types, ranging from everyday walking and strength sessions to multisport events, open-water swimming and trail running. Outdoor tracking is backed by dual-frequency L1 and L5 GPS, with support for GPS, Galileo, Glonass and BeiDou satellite systems, plus onboard elevation and compass sensors.

Samsung says the new Snapdragon Wear Elite processor improves positioning accuracy and efficiency, particularly in challenging environments such as cities, forests and mountains. The watch also offers personalised heart-rate zones, VO₂ max estimates, cardio-load analysis and automatic exercise recognition.

It is a comprehensive package, although the depth of its training analysis remains closer to a premium general-purpose smartwatch than a dedicated Garmin or Coros sports watch.

Automatic exercise recognition

Automatic exercise recognition also works impressively well. The watch can detect walks and less conventional activities after approximately 10 minutes. (It even recorded half an hour of morning housework as exercise, estimating that I had burned around 200 calories.) Running detection is faster, taking roughly four minutes to recognise that a session has begun.

It’s worth noting that auto-logged outdoor workouts, such as walks, don’t trigger the GPS, so if you want to record your route, you’d best start the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 manually.

Samsung’s algorithms can nevertheless be demanding. Despite completing 16,000 steps on one particularly active day, the watch informed me that my cardio load was insufficient. General movement contributes to daily activity, but the system still expects vigorous exercise before awarding a favourable cardio-load score. Is the watch trying to kill me?

I appreciate that the WHO recommends daily moderate-to-vigorous exercise, but surely the algorithm could just determine that multiple walks and 10k+ steps a day are fine? Oh, well.

Trail running

The new trail-running profile records duration, distance, calories, speed, pace, elevation, gradient and heart rate. It covers the fundamentals, but it is not nearly as detailed as the trail-running tools found on comparable Garmin watches.

Samsung is positioning the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 as a serious adventure watch, yet its data and analysis still align more closely with those of a mainstream smartwatch.

Sweat-loss estimation is interesting, although “estimation” is the operative word. The figure is not generated in real time, either, and you have to run for at least 20 minutes and burn 90 calories before the watch produces a result.

Following a hot 45-minute trail run, it estimated that I had lost almost one litre of fluid and recommended drinking 1.5 litres to replenish it. That is potentially useful guidance, but it feels almost too hardcore for the relatively basic analysis surrounding it.

GPX and turn-by-turn navigation

I have not yet tested GPX imports or turn-by-turn navigation, although completed routes can be exported from Samsung Health as GPX files. It is also worth remembering that GPX route guidance and elevation information were already available on the original Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Diving

I was unable to test the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s new diving functionality, but it represents one of the watch’s most significant adventure-focused upgrades. Samsung says the dedicated diving app launches automatically when the watch enters the water and records real-time depth, dive duration and water temperature.

A separate app developed with diving-equipment specialist Mares is due later this year, adding more advanced guidance such as descent speed, recommended time at a given depth and safe-ascent information intended to reduce the risk of decompression sickness.

Battery life and charging

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has an 800mAh battery, representing a substantial 35% capacity increase over the original Ultra’s 590mAh cell. In my testing, however, the larger battery did not produce an equally dramatic increase in real-world endurance.

Starting from 100%, the watch reached 11% after 57 hours and 10 minutes. This period included a 45-minute trail run, a 42-minute GPS-tracked walk, a manually tracked 20-minute circuit workout and almost two hours of automatically detected walking, housework and other activity.

Based on these results, I estimate a total battery life of approximately 64 hours, or just over two and a half days, with the always-on display enabled. That just about exceeds Samsung’s 60-hour claim for the original Galaxy Watch Ultra under the same display setting.

My testing also included more than three and a half hours of recorded activity, including two GPS workouts, making the result particularly encouraging. The improvement is nowhere near the 35% increase in battery capacity, but the Ultra 2 appears capable of lasting longer than its predecessor under demanding mixed use.

Charging

Charging performance is adequate rather than particularly fast. Starting at 12%, the watch reached 62% after 35 minutes and 100% after 70 minutes. It was initially estimated that the process would take 1 hour and 21 minutes, with an average charging input of around 5W.

More testing is required to see how the watch fares without the always-on screen, and without GPS workouts logged during the discharge period. Also, Samsung hasn’t provided me with specifications, so I don’t know how my results compare with the official numbers.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a superb flagship smartwatch and a meaningful hardware upgrade over its predecessor.

Its dazzling 5,000-nit display, smoother performance, more comfortable strap and larger battery all improve the everyday experience, while sleep and body-composition tracking performed impressively against my Oura Ring 5 and Withings scales.

Samsung Health remains one of the most comprehensive and polished wearable platforms available. New additions such as Sound Exposure, trail running and automatic diving support broaden its appeal, although its training analysis and navigation tools still lack the depth offered by comparable Garmin and Coros watches.

The £649 price is also hard to ignore, especially since the original Galaxy Watch Ultra can now be found for considerably less. If you have one and it’s still functional, you might not need to rush the upgrade unless the brighter display, improved battery life, or diving features are especially appealing.

For anyone with an older Galaxy Watch who wants Samsung’s best wearable, however, the Ultra 2 is the obvious choice. It is not quite the ultimate outdoor watch Samsung wants it to be, but it may be the most complete Android smartwatch of its generation.

Privacy Display made its headlines at the launch of the Galaxy S26 Ultra and it looks like Samsung is boosting its features in a forthcoming software update.

The clever feature that's exclusive to Samsung's flagship Galaxy S phone works by limiting the light output to narrow pixels, limiting the viewing angle of the display. That means that only those right in front of the screen can see what's on it and those to one side can't.

It appears that Samsung is now going to expand the use of the feature to cover another use case, with Privacy Display working on picture-in-picture video too.

That means that if you're watching something that you want to keep private and you leave the source app, the floating miniature version of that video will remain obscured to those spying on your screen. The rest of the display becomes visible as normal.

Previously, if you left the app, the entire phone would stay in Privacy Display because part of that app was still open.

To get it to work you firstly need app support for picture-in-picture video. That list includes some big hitters like YouTube and Netflix, but it also extends to WhatsApp, Zoom and Google Meet, which is where you might have more sensitive video that you want to keep private.

When these apps are playing video, swiping back to the home screen minimises the video to a floating picture-in-picture window, which will then benefit from being private.

There are a couple of things you'd have to ensure to get this to work: first, you'll have to have selected the individual apps that you want Privacy Display to work on. Second, you'll have to ensure you're not using Privacy Display across the entire screen, in which case it would all be private all the time.

It's an interesting move and if you don't want that person next to you on the train watching your videos, this could potentially be useful.

The feature is reportedly included in beta One UI 9 software, according to 9to5Google, so once the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is out of the way, we're sure this will be heading the S26 Ultra in an update.

Samsung will launch its new range of foldable phones today, with the wider Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 being the much talked about newcomer.

It'll be joined by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 at the Galaxy Unpacked presentation being held in London, and you can watch it all unfold live right here on T3.

We also expect to see two new smartwatches announced on stage during the event, with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also heavily leaked in recent times.

And who knows, maybe there'll be a surprise or two along the way? Let's hope so.

Here then is everything you need to know about the summer Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, including when it starts, running time and more.

When does the Galaxy Unpacked launch event start?

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked has a kick off time of 2pm BST – that's earlier than usual thanks to the event being held in London for the first time in years.

Here are the start times for your region:

• US West Coast: 06:00 PDT
• US East Coast: 09:00 EDT
• UK: 14:00 BST
• Central Europe: 15:00 CEST
• India: 18:30 IST
• China (Beijing): 21:00 CST
• Japan: 22:00 JST
• South Korea: 22:00 KST
• Australia (Sydney): 23:00 AEST

How to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked live

You can watch the entire event live via the video feed higher up this page.

It will also be available on Samsung's website and YouTube.

What to expect

We expect the main presentation to last around an hour, with the main focus being the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. This is the wider version of its book style foldable, which pre-empts the Apple iPhone Ultra by a few months.

The idea is that while more square-shaped when folded, the handset unfolds into a mini tablet form factor that's better to view videos on in comparison with conventional foldables.

The more traditionally-shaped Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will also launch. It'll be a direct replacement for the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It will also have a beefier camera system than the new wider model, and maybe a few extra upgrades, too.

Finally, the Flip 8 will be very similar to the Flip 7, we believe. We're just waiting to see what upgrades it might enjoy.

There will be a couple of smartwatches launched too – the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Both have leaked extensively in recent times.

As for surprises, we might hear a bit more on Samsung's Android XR ambitions. Watch this space.

Samsung will unveil its new foldable phones later today, during its London Galaxy Unpacked event, but just in case you haven't had enough spoilers already here's another.

One of the most talked about upgrades coming with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is its alleged "crease-less" display. And now we have some evidence. An image shared by an online leaker shows the new flagship device against the model it's replacing and the difference is obvious.

Posted by @kro-roe on X, the hands-on photo looks to have been taken in a factory environment or during an official event. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 on the left has a very visible crease down the middle of the open display, while the Fold 8 Ultra does not.

Admittedly, the Fold 7 in the shot might be a well-used device, as the crease can become more pronounced through wear and tear. However, it does seem that Samsung has made a major breakthrough in its screen technology – as it has suggested during the launch build up.

Of course, this might be a bogus image and we're not that familiar with the leaker, so do take it with a pinch of salt. But it does comply with previous rumours and information we've seen over the last few months.

What else is launching during Samsung Galaxy Unpacked?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will be the flagship model launched today, with an upgraded Z Flip 8 expected too.

For many though, the most exciting new foldable to be announced will be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (sans the "Ultra"). This is a brand-new device with a wider, more square external display which unfolds to reveal a screen with a traditional tablet aspect ratio.

It is effectively Samsung's push to get ahead of the iPhone Ultra, which should launch in September. That is expected to have a very similar form factor. Indeed, it might even have the exact same display, as Samsung is likely to be supplying it to Apple as well.

Hopefully, the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 will also feature the crease-less technology we can see in the latest leak (the iPhone Ultra, too). It will have some cutbacks, we understand, in comparison with the Z Fold 8 Ultra – such as a lower-spec'ed camera – but will still be the main focus of Unpacked.

You can also expect new smartwatches today, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

Samsung will unveil several new products during its Galaxy Unpacked event tomorrow, with the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 among them.

It is expected that it'll be joined by the Galaxy Watch 9 and the new line of foldable phones in the presentation in London. However, here's a further look at the flagship smartwatch ahead of time.

Serial leaker Evan Blass has acquired what looks to be official marketing images and posted them on his X feed. They have seemingly come from a Spanish source, considering the text featured on one or two of the pics.

As per previous rumours, the Ultra 2 will reportedly come with a brighter display than its predecessor, rated at 5,000 nits. We can also see a battery size of 800mAh, which can provide up to 60 hours of runtime, according to the leaked images.

Additional images, which were posted on Blass' Substack feed (via 9to5Google), also reveal that the smartwatch will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset and be "12% thinner" than the original Galaxy Watch Ultra.

The new model will also be rated IP69K for water and dust resistance.

A whole new colour trend emerges

It's also interesting that Samsung is moving away from the orange trend that it and Apple thrived on with previous watches. It seems to be going for a more natural colours this time.

The green shown in at least one of the images is a better fit, we feel. Although there's still a dash of orange on the dial, to show the range's heritage.

We don't have long to wait to see the final device and all the options, with the Galaxy Unpacked event starting at 2pm BST tomorrow, Wednesday 22 July. T3 will be covering all the announcements extensively, so join us then.

Samsung will host its summer Galaxy Unpacked event in London tomorrow, Wednesday 22 July, where it is expected to announce its 2026 foldable phones and a couple of Galaxy Watches. However, one new Galaxy product has been officially revealed early.

The company has launched the Samsung Galaxy Card – a credit card that will offer perks on purchases, including on Samsung devices.

Released in partnership with Barclays and Visa, the Galaxy Card will be available in your Samsung Wallet and as a physical, "premium" metal card with just a black Samsung logo embossed on the front.

It'll give you several "cash rewards" for transactions, including 5% on "eligible purchases" made with Samsung directly, 3% on purchases through your phone's Samsung Wallet, 2% on streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify, and 1% on all other purchases.

There's also 20% off Samsung VIP Advantage, with 5% cash rewards when purchasing or renewing membership.

Haven't I heard all this before?

Of course, this is all familiar. Apple Card launched almost seven years ago and is still offered in the US. It too comes digitally and with a physical credit card made of metal.

That's operated in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, so Samsung's equivalent really is a rival in just about every sense.

The Galaxy Card does share one specific similarity though, it'll only be available in the United States – initially, at least.

Samsung us taking early access applications online for its credit card now, although the general public (in the US) will also be able to apply from tomorrow (22 July).

An introductory offer will give every card holder $200 in cash rewards if $2,000 is spent using the card in the first 90 days of the account opening. That'd take the sting off the price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra a little.

Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event takes place later this week and we're expecting a packed agenda. This includes new wearables, the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Now new images have just furnished us with more details prior to launch.

The Galaxy Watch 9 is going to be powered by Snapdragon Wear Elite as it shifts over from Samsung's own Exynos hardware for the first time. That Snapdragon chip was announced earlier in the year and it had previously been confirmed that Samsung was using it – but we now have visual evidence too.

Images of the unreleased device, adorned with "Powered by Snapdragon Wear" badges have been posted by Evan Blass, the retired leaker who has thwarted companies attempts to keep launch plans secret for many years.

Shared via Blasses' Leakmail Substack, we have images of the Galaxy Watch 9 in a full selection of colours, showing off a design that's pretty much the same as the previous iteration while focusing on some of the wellness features that it is expected to offer.

Included in that selection is a screen showing Vitals, which looks like it's going to focus on core health features like heart rate and heart rate variability to highlight what state your body is in.

Elsewhere, we see sleep apnoea detection, running coaching, sleep reporting with energy score, all familiar features from other Samsung devices coordinated through Samsung Health.

These high-quality images look like they're designed to illustrate Samsung's product pages.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is set for an update as well

In 2026, it looks like we'll be getting the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, with no Classic this year as normally that device works on a two-year cycle.

We've already seen a lot of the Ultra 2, with claims of a big battery update and a couple of minor tweaks to the design of the watch, most noticeable through the buttons.

Thanks to the same source, we have confirmation of Snapdragon Wear Elite, a battery that offers 800mAh, and watch that's reduced in thickness by 12%.

Additionally, there's an IP69K rating for the titanium-finished watch, which retains its rugged credentials.

On top of that the Watch Ultra 2 has a display that's cited as offering 5,000 nits, which should ensure that it remains visible in the brightest of conditions.

We've previously heard that Samsung will be increasing prices for the new Galaxy Watch devices, which is something of a trend across all technology at the moment. That's the price that AI has put on the market, with increasing demand for components for AI data centre expansion.

Both devices will be fully revealed on 22 July, but thanks to these leaks, we're not sure there's much for Samsung to show us.

Samsung will host its annual foldable phone launch event this week, with Galaxy Unpacked on Wednesday, but there might be nothing left to announce by then. Nothing that will come as a surprise, anyway.

That's because just about everything is either already known or subject to more leaks than the hull of the Titanic. We fully expect a couple of new Galaxy Watches and a trio of new foldables, including the wider Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Samsung itself has not been shy about its ambitions for the latter, revealing a new, more square-like form factor is coming in online teases. And now we have almost everything else, thanks to serial leaker Evan Blass and a regular Samsung collaborator, J-Hope from BTS.

J-Hope's posts on X (via @smasithick) show him using the new device openly during the band's global tour – currently in Paris.

His hands-on clips are likely staged for Samsung, as we never get to see the new phone open. However, you do get to see the device's shape and, as all the videos are recording using it, what the selfie camera is capable of.

Perhaps more revealing are a mighty bunch of marketing images posted by Blass. He has a renowned history of acquiring press images from a number of companies, including Samsung, ahead of launch. And while he's on a self-imposed "retirement" at present, he clearly couldn't resist sharing the latest.

Appearing on his Leakmail newsletter (via 9to5Google) there are official-looking images of all the foldable phones we expect, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8, too.

The Ultra is the more conventional book-style foldable, but with a few tech tweaks to justify its new moniker.

The Flip 8 looks very similar to the existing Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, so arguably the most interesting is the wider device, which unfolds into an iPad mini-like tablet.

The rest of the leaked images reveal some details, but not everything. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, for example, will sport dual 50-megapixel cameras on the rear (wide and ultra-wide). The selfie cam on the front will be 10-megapixel. As will the one on the internal screen.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra ups the ante in that regard. It'll have a similar 50-megapixel ultra-wide, but a 200-megapixel wide and a third lens for the 10-megapixel telephoto cam.

The selfie cams will be the same.

Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 will sport a 50-megapixel wide and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, with a 10-megapixel selfie cam on the "main screen.

All will become more clear this Wednesday, when Galaxy Unpacked starts at 2pm BST in London, but don't be surprised if there are more rumours and leaks in the meantime.

Official-looking images of all the devices expected at Galaxy Unpacked next week have leaked, giving us a good look at the new phones and watches.

The devices are grouped together, posed with hands holding them, providing a really good comparison of the sizes of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the new more compact folding device that's going to adopt the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name.

In addition to the phones, we also get to see the new Galaxy Watch models on the wrist, also gripping the new phones, although they don't look quite right.

These images come from Android Headlines and they look really detailed, but there's a distinctly unrealistic look to them. The hands look quite cartoony, the textures are really smooth, and the fabrics don't look realistic.

They look a little too clean, so I'd approach them with caution. Although, having seen numerous other leaks for these devices, they look exactly as we'd expect and this is a good opportunity to compare the sizes of those models.

That's not all that this leak contains. There are also images of two colourways that are going to be Samsung.com exclusives, including the Pistachio Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Mint Z Flip 8.

Samsung always keeps a couple of colours in reserve for those who buy directly from its online store. These colours don't get offered to networks or other retailers.

While buying directly from Samsung might deter some customers, there's often a good deal offered on trade-in, while sometimes there are bundle deals or other offers. It's been said that the pre-order double storage offer is changing for this series, with Samsung instead asking customers to pay 50% of the upgrade cost.

So here we have images for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. All these devices are expected to be revealed on 22 July at the Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

The event was also rumoured to see a new Galaxy Ring, although that hasn't leaked so might not appear – while rumours pointing to the unveiling of the Galaxy Glasses might also be wide of the mark.

There's only a week until we'll have all the official details from the event.

Samsung's new folding phones will be announced on 22 July, with pre-orders expected to open soon after. However, you might not get the pre-order perk that you were hoping for.

One of the biggest perks that Samsung has offered in the past is its double storage deal. This sees shoppers getting the 512GB model for the price of 256GB, for example. Sadly, that's set to change with the next generation of Galaxy Z devices.

According to Korean outlet Chosun (via 9to5Google), instead of offering a free storage upgrade, Samsung is only going to offer half the usual discount. That means instead of getting the larger storage at no additional cost, customers will be asked to pay 50% of the difference.

This is in response to the component crisis facing the industry at the moment, it's said, as well as declining profits in Samsung's mobile section. That's not only led to increased prices for Samsung's new phones – thought to be about €100 more per model – but the pre-order benefit will be reduced too.

According to the leaked prices we've seen, that might mean that the 512GB Galaxy Z Flip 8 pre-order offer comes in at €1,359 instead of €1,499. While that's only €60 more than the base price, in previous years customers would only pay the €1,299 price for higher storage under the pre-order deal.

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are expected to be like-for-like replacements of the previous generation, and considering that Samsung offers a seven-year software support promise, that could convince some buyers to opt for older models instead of new.

The model that's going to stand out most this time is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – the new wider folding phone. As this will introduce a new format, and is expected to be priced lower than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, it could be the model that defines 2026's sales.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is expected to open with a 4:3 internal display while reducing the cameras by dropping the telephoto lens. It might otherwise offer flagship-level power and seeing as it's going to be cheaper than the Ultra, could be the performance phone of choice.

At the moment it's not known if Samsung will have other pre-order incentives: previously there has been the bundling of accessories in some regions, like Galaxy Buds or Galaxy Watch.

According to the source, Samsung will open pre-orders for the new devices on 28 July, with an in-store date of 7 August.

All will be revealed on 22 July at Galaxy Unpacked.

Samsung will be announcing its new portfolio of folding phones on 22 July and there's going to be a change to the display, to reduce the crease and increase durability. Samsung has outlined a new structure for its foldable displays, called Flex Titanium.

While regular displays pose no problem, folding phones have always drawn attention to the fold because of the visible crease. To boost the performance of the folding section of the screen and reduce it, Samsung has turned to titanium.

In the new structure, there's a titanium-alloy film directly behind the OLED panel, replacing a polymer film. Samsung saye that it offers greater mechanical stiffness – up to 20x. This film is said to be a third of the thickness of a human hair.

Beneath the titanium-alloy film is a titanium plate which is flexible, but Samsung says it allows tighter bonding with the rest of the display, eliminating air gaps, and providing more support for the display when unfolded.

Combined, Samsung claims that it "reduces crease visibility", while the OLED panel itself is said to be more efficient with increased performance. Together, the company believes this will set a new standard for folding displays as it looks to fend off rival suppliers BOE.

One thing worth noting, however, is that while these changes take place under the display, the top of the display will still have a protective layer.

I recently wrote about folding phones and their top layer, which is a plastic film. While this can be removed to reveal the ultra-thin glass that sits beneath it, for most phones this will void the warranty and damage the display.

In the past, that top polymer layer has meant that folding displays typically attract lots of reflections, an area where folding screens can't compete with regular displays.

Samsung to launch a trio of folding phones

Samsung is expected to launch three folding phones. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is expected to be nigh on identical to the Galaxy Z Flip 7, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is expected to be the same as 2025's Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The device that's going to attract the most attention is the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to adopt a wider format, opening with a 4:3 display while making some hardware reductions to be more affordable than the "Ultra".

The wider format of folding phone will likely compete with Apple's much-rumoured iPhone Ultra, that's all but certain to arrive in September.

Rumours have also suggested that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be the last of that format, although I much prefer the clamshell-style of folding phone for its compact design over the larger book-style devices.

Samsung has just announced the launch of its new Bespoke AI Washer Dryer, and it might actually make me look forward to doing my laundry! This 2-in-1 appliance conserves space in your home, as well as energy, as the machine comes with plenty of energy-saving features and credentials.

I have a smart meter in my home, and I always notice the days where I’ve done my laundry as my energy usage goes up significantly. Laundry machines, especially tumble dryers, use a lot of electricity which results in higher monthly bills, so a machine that can help manage these costs is a must for many households.

Samsung has clearly seen this, and is addressing this problem with its new Samsung Bespoke AI Washer Dryer. The brand has adapted the washer dryer with AI Ecobubble technology, a circulation pump that reduces your energy use by quickly turning your washing detergent into bubbles.

This action allows your detergent to wash fabrics more deeply and efficiently, so you can remove stubborn stains much quicker. It also means you can wash your clothes at lower temperatures between 20° and 30°, which has been shown to use less energy while avoiding laundry ‘casualties’ like shrinking and fading.

I’ve always been a sceptic when it comes to AI appliances, but the use of AI within the Samsung Bespoke AI Washer Dryer has actually impressed me, especially in terms of fabric care. The machine has two AI-powered cycles – Air Wash and AI Wash – that treat your clothes in a more automatic way.

Starting with AI Wash, it automatically senses the weight, soil level and softness of your washing load before adjusting the amount of water and detergent needed. It continues to make adjustments throughout the cycle, including soaking, rinsing and spinning times to better suit your laundry.

Air Wash is the cycle for your bedding and delicates. It refreshes these more sensitive fabrics without using water or detergent, and instead, blows hot air onto laundry – it’s like having a dry cleaner in your home!

I got to see Samsung’s range of Bespoke AI appliances in Milan earlier this year, including its line-up of washing machines and tumble dryers. I was incredibly impressed by its detergent dispenser and automatic cycles, as it really takes the stress out of washing, while also helping you save energy.

With the costs of appliances getting more expensive, it’s always handy to find a way to cut ongoing prices, and the Samsung Bespoke AI Washer Dryer seems like a good option for this. Its initial price, though, remains a mystery at the time of writing.

Samsung has launched the Samsung Bespoke AI Washer Dryer in 8kg - 11kg options in select markets. It’s expected to roll out globally in phases.

Shock news comes from a reliable source, with the suggestion that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be the last in the series. That's right, Samsung could move away from small format folding phones.

That might come as a shock to many, with the Flip offering a nostalgic hook to clamshell phones of the past and popular with buyers because it's a compact device.

The source of the information – Universe Ice – doesn't offer a reason why, but this rumour has to be taken seriously because of the source.

Traditionally, the Z Flip model outsold the Z Fold, although it's said that that situation reversed in 2025 with the launch of the slimmer and lighter Z Fold 7. However, this doesn't take into account that these phones appeal to completely different users.

There isn't a pot of people determined to buy a folding phone, no matter the format: the Flip is attractive because it has retro charm and is really compact, the Fold's appeal is in offering more screen space. Those are totally different traits.

However, despite the Z Flip model outselling the Z Fold, figures that came from IDC early in 2026 told us that in the US, Motorola had over 50% folding phone market share – and at that time, Motorola only offered flip-type folding phones. This, if nothing else, demonstrates appetite for the format.

But Motorola has had tiered folding devices for a couple of years, with a Razr Ultra model at the top (the latest being the Razr 70 Ultra) and a regular Razr 70 lower down. There's even a Plus model in the middle.

This gives buyer more choice, with lower entry prices to such devices. Samsung didn't make this move until 2025, introducing the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE.

Samsung exiting the market would be a gift for Motorola. While both brands (and all brands) are struggling with rising prices because of the demands that AI is putting on the industry, it's currently a market split between two players.

Samsung might, perhaps, be looking at pressing pause on smaller folding phones until it can reduce the costs to make it more profitable, or it might have simply decided that enough is enough.

This is definitely a rumour to keep an eye on: the end of the Galaxy Z Flip would be a sad day indeed.

Samsung will announce three folding phones on 22 July and it's the Galaxy Z Fold 8 that's going to get most of the attention. In a twist to the naming convention, the new phone will just be called Galaxy Z Fold 8, while the update to the Z Fold 7 will have the Ultra name appended.

The two larger format devices will be launched alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 8 with both the Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra looking exactly like the devices they update from 2025. That puts one phone in the focus as it appears to offer something new.

Thanks to leaked renders of all these devices, we can now see what they look like, along with the expected colours that will be revealed at Galaxy Unpacked.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 sports a wider format, so it's a shorter device, while the cameras on the back have been reduced to two. It's going to miss out on the telephoto camera, but priced cheaper than the Z Fold 8 Ultra. That might be a compromise many will accept.

From the leaked images on Android Headlines (Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Flip 8) we can see Lavender, Graphite and Cream colours, while Pistachio is expected to join the pack. The renders match previous case leaks and dummy leaks.

It's expected that both the Z Fold 8 and the Z Fold 8 Ultra will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, after Samsung confirmed that it would be using Snapdragon on Weibo. That could mean that apart from different aspect displays, the camera – and potentially different battery capacities – the two phones will offer very much the same experience.

It's hard to see why you'd pick the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

As for the Ultra, we're expecting to see Cream, Graphite and Purple, with a green colour that's exclusive to Samsung.com.

Looking over these images, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra appears to be exactly the same as the Z Fold 7 from a design perspective and with prices expected to increase over the previous models, some might be deterred, choosing the Z Fold 8 or the older Z Fold 7 instead.

Finally we have the Galaxy Z Flip 8. This, again, looks visually unchanged compared to the Z Flip 7. The expected colours are Cream, Graphite and Pink – while it's also said there could be a Mint version, although that's likely to be a Samsung exclusive.

Samsung exclusives are worthy of your attention if you're buying a phone outright. The manufacturer usually offers competitive trade-in values and is expected to have a double storage offer for preorders, perhaps with other incentives.

Everything will be revealed on 22 July at Galaxy Unpacked, but it's expected that all the attention will be on the new format of Galaxy Z Fold 8.

We've speculated on the date for a fair while but Samsung has finally confirmed its next Galaxy Unpacked, and it promises to be a bumper event.

Taking place in London on Wednesday 22 July 2026, the showcase will be the launch platform for the brand's new foldable phones, smartwatches, and likely earbuds. We might always see the actual Samsung Galaxy Glasses made in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, and perhaps a surprise or two.

The star of the show though will be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. While it's not been fully confirmed as launching, all the marketing teases and even the new invite suggest it's the main attraction.

That's because the Z Fold 8 will be a wider foldable device than we've seen before – unfolding into more of a tablet shape than the square-like aspect ratio of previous Fold models.

The invite to the event even sports the words "a new shape unfolds" down the side (in small letters). While the tearing of the ticket in the graphic – and accompanying video – signifies the longer form factor being reduced to a wider design.

This is all carefully planned, as Samsung is set to gazump Apple, which will launch its own wider foldable in September – the iPhone Ultra.

Confusingly, it is believed that Samsung has opted not to use "Ultra" for its own wide-aspect foldable phone. It will instead use it on the replacement for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

So basically, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 will not be like the Fold 7, but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will. Yeah, we know.

Of course, they're not the only devices we expect to see on 22 July. There will undoubtedly be a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, likely a Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, plus new Galaxy Buds.

The smart glasses were already revealed during Google I/O earlier this year, but we should find out more about them. And maybe we'll see a tease of further Android XR devices – smart glasses with a display, perhaps?

It's certainly not a show to miss, and T3 will be there covering live as usual. You'll be able to follow our reports and watch it live yourself on YouTube and the Samsung Newsroom, starting at 2pm BST (9am EDT).

Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold in 2019 and in the intervening years we've seen progressive improvements to the Fold and Flip formats. The company has invested a lot into the segment as the defining brand for foldables – but 2026 will make or break the folding phone category.

Samsung's Fold, and the Z Fold models that followed, have been an iterative refinement of the same concept. Each has progressively improved the design, while the external display has expanded to offer an experience closer to a traditional phone.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, thanks to its slim design, attracted more interest than previous models, with Samsung confirming record-setting pre-orders and sharing that the Z Fold 7 had exceeded previous generation purchases by 50% in the first few months of sale.

Traditionally, the Z Flip has outsold the fold, with estimates suggesting a 60-70% share taken by the Flip in previous years. But the Z Fold 7 reportedly shifted that balance, making the book-type device more popular.

But while Samsung is the brand in folding phones, surprise information from IDC outlined that Motorola had over half of market share in the US in 2025 – and that's without offering a book-type folding phone.

The Fold is still seeking purpose

This points to something we all already knew: people like flip phones. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 and rival Motorola Razr Edge 70 Ultra have something that the Fold doesn't. It makes for a smaller phone, surfing on a wave of nostalgia for the phones we grew up with, while still delivering an experience that's the same as a regular handset.

The Fold can't claim that: instead of charm it’s looking to technical proficiency, instead of nostalgia it looks to increased functionality. While there's no denying that the Z Fold 7 scores with the former, it's wide of the mark with the latter.

The problem here is multi-faceted: opening the fold you're presented with a bigger screen, close to square, with very little application for square content.

That's seen a scrabble to make better use of screen size, which for some apps doesn't happen (it's just the normal app), some turn into columns, eating space without really aiding functionality, while others (like movies) waste all that space because the screen is letterboxed.

Wider folding phones could hold the answer

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is thought to move to a wider aspect and that might make for a more usable screen space. That could give you a larger screen with less letterboxing when watching movies, or let you rotate it more like a tablet display for reading, because let's face it, a wide display is not conducive to reading.

The wider aspect will better suit games whether in landscape or portrait, while the whole device could fit into a pocket better.

Don't get me wrong, folding phones aren't bereft of functions: I read and signed a PDF on my Moto Razr Fold just the other day, I used that larger display to show friends the content of another document so all could see and I've found folding phones useful for working on spreadsheets, something that regular devices are terrible at.

But when people who've never used one suggest it might be great for movies, I just want to cry, because it isn't. The Samsung Galaxy S26 UItra will show a larger movie screen than the Z Fold 7. For the Z Fold 8, that may not be the case.

It's going to be an Apple versus Samsung showdown

Ultimately, Samsung will introduce this new format of folding phone, appending the Ultra name to the refreshed taller folding phone. (Samsung was actually using Ultra in 2025, it peppered the announcement of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with the word ultra.) The new aspect folding phone is expected to take the fight to Apple's similar short and wide device.

But while we know Samsung as a company that throws things out there, often first with a new technology, Apple is more considered. Use case and user experience will be forefront in Apple's software and if it nails it, if Apple gives the iPhone Ultra real purpose, it could change the category forever.

Apple will be able to lean on the iPad experience for the iPhone Ultra and while Samsung is the biggest player in Android tablets, the app experience has never been as good as iPad. There's no shortage of technical brilliance out there, but if Apple can deliver purpose, then folding phones have their place.

The gauntlet will be thrown down and on 22 July we'll see what Samsung has to offer. Apple is expected to follow with its own folding phone in September 2026.

Samsung's smart glasses are on track to launch before the end of 2026, as the collaboration between Samsung, Google and Qualcomm comes to fruition. These will be the first from the partners to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.

Now we've got a much better idea of how Samsung's smart glasses are going to work, thanks to a leaked video showing them in action. There doesn't appear to be any branding on these glasses, giving this video a sort of generic feel (we've previously seen leaked renders with "Samsung" along the arms), but the details seem accurate.

The new video joins a collection of leaks that point to how Samsung Galaxy Glasses are going to pair and be controlled, although the actual naming of the glasses isn't fully confirmed yet.

The video points out the hardware features and some of the controls, the camera and LED on the front, so people know you're filming. There's also an additional LED inside so you can see that you're filming, too.

We're then shown a button on the top of the right-hand arm, along with the touch area, which appears to support both taps and swipes. The operation of this is expected to be much like it is on headphones.

This corroborates with details that previously appeared from SammyGuru, which appears to have come from the same source.

SammyGuru refers to these as the "Warby Parker version", although comparing these to high quality images on the Warby Parker website, they're a similar but different design – the position of the bridge is entirely different.

Therein lies one of the problems: there's still plenty of confusion about what Samsung is actually launching and where all these smart glasses lie.

A large part of the communication has been about the partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker – shown off at Google I/O as the first devices to use Android XR alongside Xreal Aura.

But some of the leaks we've seen for Samsung Galaxy Glasses have pointed to a slightly different design, along with the talk of One UI XR – the experience that Samsung layers over the top of Android XR.

There's long been talk of Galaxy Glasses as a separate piece of branding from other Google smart glasses, although we also know that the collaboration with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker will result in multiple designs.

Hopefully there will be some clarity soon, with 22 July expected to see Galaxy Unpacked hosted in London, with the potential that Galaxy Glasses will be on stage.

It’s been a couple of years since Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring, and now the company has confirmed it is working on a follow-up.

The current version was made available back in July 2024, competing with the likes of Oura and Ultrahuman by offering a lightweight, concave design made from titanium and no monthly subscription. It’s Android-only, meaning it isn’t compatible with iPhone. And while it will work with Google phones or other Android phones, it plays nicest with Samsung smartphones and smartwatches – understandably so.

The Galaxy Ring 2 might work with iPhone

However, in an interview with Forbes, Samsung’s senior vice president and head of the digital health team, Dr Hon Pak, confirmed the second generation of the smart ring was in development. He told David Phelan: "We are working on the next generation. I can tell you that."

Unfortunately, Pak didn’t reveal timings or any specifications for what we are presuming will be called the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2, though he did hint that iPhone compatibility might be on the cards this time around.

When Phelan asked about iOS compatibility, Pak’s response was: "I’m smiling, but I can’t say anything.

"I think you’ll be very pleased with some of the releases and the upcoming news,” he added.

Hon also told Phelan that he believed the biggest current differentiator in smart rings wasn’t necessarily the hardware, suggesting that most of the sensors are the same.

"If you look at the comparison of other rings, regardless of the competitor, the sensors are not that different right now," he said.

"It’s really about what services you create on the top layer. It’s really the software differentiation that you see."

He added: "One device doesn’t cover all things. Our approach is connected ecosystem, connected devices, that give people choices."

While we will have to wait a little longer to find out when the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 will officially appear, it’s good news to hear the company is at least working on one.

The Galaxy Ring was great when it launched two years ago, but Oura’s recently announced Ring 5 is significantly smaller and lighter, giving it the title of world’s smallest smart ring – so things are moving in this field.

Samsung is set to hold it’s next Galaxy Unpacked event on 22 July, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for more information on the Galaxy Ring 2 at that. Maybe it'll just be teased for now.