Samsung

We’re just hours away from Samsung Unpacked and the leaks keep coming. The Z Fold 8 Ultra retains the Z Fold 7’s slim and tall design, but is said to come with an upgraded 5,000mAh battery promising up to 27 hours of video playback.

The Samsung Galaxy Card is issued on Visa by Barclays US Consumer Bank, with applications opening on July 22nd. Samsung says the card is available as both virtual and physical, metal cards, and that users can earn “a host of cash rewards and other benefits.” It’s essentially an Apple Card — launched seven years ago — but for people loyal to Samsung products.

A story posted to Instagram showed the BTS member holding a passport-shaped device that resembles recent Galaxy Z Fold 8 leaks, as spotted earlier by SamMobile. Samsung is expected to reveal this rumored device, alongside its other newest foldables, during Galaxy Unpacked on July 22nd.

Marketing materials for the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 have been shared online by leaker Evan Blass. The Galaxy Watch 9 reportedly features a Snapdragon Wear Elite chip, and is shown in three color options. The Watch Ultra 2 upgrades reportedly include a 800mAh battery and up to 5,000 nits of peak brightness.

First announced at CES, the latest version of Samsung’s all-in-one home theater solution is finally available through Samsung’s online store for $1,199.99. That’s a bit steep for 430 ISO lumens and a 1080P resolution when Xgimi’s latest portable does 1,600 ISO lumens for $799, but Samsung’s can correct for distortions on uneven projection surfaces like curtains.

Caviar is back with yet another ridiculously expensive device, and this time, it’s a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with 24-karat gold plating, which is expected to appear at Galaxy Unpacked next week (sans the gold). As spotted by Engadget, Caviar doesn’t list any tech specs, but notes that its device starts with 256GB of storage.

Memory chip demand by AI datacenters continues to be very good for Samsung, and some of its workers who are eligible for average annual bonuses of $340,000 this year. Per Reuters:

All signs point to Samsung launching a wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 this month, and now the company has released its first teaser. There are video versions too, all along similar lines teasing a “new shape” from the company.

Leaked renders of the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 suggest not much is changing in Samsung’s new wearables, at least from the outside. There should be performance upgrades though, plus the bump to Samsung’s take on Wear OS 7. Expect both next month alongside new foldable phones.

Chipmaker SK Hynix, which supplies high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Nvidia and Google, has overtaken Samsung, with Reuters reporting that its market capitalization has now hit $1.35 trillion. Samsung had held the top spot since 2000, prior to the AI boom.

During the VivaTech 2026 conference in Paris, Samsung announced a new feature for its mobile devices created through a collaboration with the pet health management platform, Lifet. You’ll be able to snap a photo of your dog or cat which will be analyzed by AI to alert you to conditions like periodontal disease and obesity.

Sonny Dickson is back with what’s purported to be one of those non-working, physically accurate replicas used by accessory makers ahead of launch. The folding Galaxy’s passport-like design is set to take on Huawei’s Pura X Max and Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone later this year.

The deal will pay some workers in Samsung’s highly profitable memory chip unit around $416,000 this year, while employees in other chip units will receive less, and those in its consumer electronics divisions are ‌set ⁠to receive very little by comparison. Payouts are pegged to Samsung hitting profit milestones through 2028.

The new deal, still being voted on, ensures enormous bonuses for memory chip workers but much smaller payouts for everyone else. Two Samsung unions take issue with that: one says its members will vote against the deal, the other says it’s taking legal action after being denied the chance to vote.

Samsung is working on a new type of digital wellbeing feature for One UI 9 that lets you restrict internet access for certain apps. It seems to be pitched at boosting concentration, but could apply to parental controls too — though right now it’s a Labs feature that may not ever launch.

In case you missed it, yesterday’s Android Show stream included a brief list of every phone with current and confirmed plans for AirDrop support in Quick Share. Google also told The Verge that Xiaomi is planning support this year, though we don’t yet know to which phones.

The next version of Samsung’s OS, based on Android 17, features improved Quick Panel customization, with each widget independently adjustable and new size options for each, along with a couple new accessibility features.

It’s part of One UI 8.5, rolling out now in the US after the Korean rollout began last week. Along with AirDrop compatibility, the update brings other features that launched on the Galaxy S26, including an updated Bixby, AI call screening, and easier AI image editing in Creative Studio.

The British disco revivalist says the company was using her likeness to sell TVs by including her image on the box. She became aware of it last year and asked Samsung to remove her from the packaging, but according to the complaint, their response was “dismissive and callous.”

Samsung’s updated take on Android first appeared on its S26 phones back in February, but it’s taken until now to reach older hardware. Flagship phones and tablets from the last two generations or so are the first eligible for the update, which is rolling out now in Korea, with other countries to follow.

The company is planning to discontinue certain consumer electronics products in the region — including home appliances and televisions — amid intensifying competition from domestic brands. Phone sales will be unaffected. As popular as Samsung TVs are, this goes to show they do struggle somewhere.

After launching its first smart ring two years ago, Samsung is developing a more comfortable Galaxy Ring 2 with battery life increased from seven to up to 10 days, according to a translated Etnews report spotted by 9to5Google. However, the new version isn’t expected to be announced until early next year.

The company’s stock shot up over 15 percent today following record earnings and reports of a potential chipmaking deal with Apple. It’s only the second Asian company to break the milestone, along with rival chipmaker TSMC, both riding high on AI demand.

It was the top-selling phone in Q1 according to Counterpoint, with 6 percent of global sales. The 17 Pro and Pro Max weren’t far behind, with Samsung A series phones and the Xiaomi Redmi A5 also at the top. The Galaxy S26 Ultra just missed the cut, after launching in the middle of the quarter.

New announcements made at SID Display 2026 include the “world’s widest color gamut OLED” for phones, with BT.2020-96 color coverage at up to 3,000 nits of brightness. There’s also an updated version of the health-sensing OLED it revealed in 2023, which can measure heart rate and blood pressure through the panel.

Bloomberg reports that Apple has held “exploratory discussions” with the chipmakers to produce the main processors for certain devices in the US, though the Cupertino company still has concerns about using non-TSMC technology. Perhaps Intel really will return to Macs next year?