In an all-too common (and annoying) tactic these days, Samsung has been drip teasing its "Ultra-experience" for more than a month prior to Unpacked, despite the lack of anything named "Ultra" besides a new blue version of the Watch that bears the name. We've seen teasing views of the new Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Z Flip 7 and 7 FE and the Watch 8 (and the Watch 8 Classic), which are now officially official.
All the devices debut One UI 8, Samsung's skin and apps for Android 16, which brings a new look of its own and increased Gemini AI integration to its partner's products. One UI 7 is still rolling out to Samsung's older phones. Lots of One UI 8's feature updates are agentic AI-based thanks to Gemini.
Those features include AI Mode, a multistep-capable version of Circle to Search, plus Gemini Live to search via the camera and perform actions across apps. The phones come with six months of Google AI Pro, Google AI Ultra's affordable sibling. Along with the usual anticipatory reminders, summaries, writing help and so on, Samsung has updated its security to sandboxed apps that are encrypted on-device.
On the other hand, Senior Reporter Imad Khan opined during our event group chat "I'm using the Z Fold 6. I'm an AI reporter. I've never seen any of these AI features actually ever surface in my normal use." So there's that.
If you want a deeper play-by-play, check out the archived version of our live blog. And if you've decided that the newest Galaxys aren't worth the money, look for upcoming Prime Day deals on other models like the Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy A36 and more.
A side view of the Z Fold 7. Numi Prasarn/CNET
Galaxy Z Fold 7: Thin is in for this foldable
In a pre-Unpacked interview with Senior Editor Abrar Al-Heeti, Samsung implied that it believes the Z Fold 7's thinness and improved cameras will make it a turning point for foldables, stating that its "newest Galaxy Z series is the thinnest, lightest and most advanced foldable yet" -- that there are no more tradeoffs between the type of phones we've become used to and the folding models. And the Z Fold 6 really is chunky; in contrast, the Z Fold 7 is thinner than even the S25 Edge when open.
Watch this: Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 02:45
Notably, it incorporates the same 200-megapixel main camera as the thicker S25 Ultra, as well as 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto cameras and a 10MP selfie camera on the inner and cover screens. The battery capacity stays the same as the previous model. Gemini can run on the cover for quick access. The processor is the new Snapdragon 8 Elite, and apps are optimized for the big screen as well as for transitions between the smaller and larger screens.
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