At the latest Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung unveiled its new generation of foldable phones and smartwatches; products that are not only slimmer and smarter but also come with higher prices.

The star of the event was the Galaxy Z Fold8; a foldable phone that is only 4.5 millimeters thick when opened and offers a tablet-like experience for multitasking, reading, and watching videos with its larger display. The price for this model starts at 7,599 AED.

Samsung also introduced the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra as its most advanced foldable phone. This model features a thickness of 4.1 millimeters, better cameras, a larger battery, and more artificial intelligence capabilities, with a base price of 8,399 AED. The Galaxy Z Flip8, designed for fans of compact phones, starts at 5,099 AED.

A significant point of this year's unveiling was the increase in product prices. Samsung states that the rising costs of memory chips, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence, have raised the production costs of premium phones; a topic that Apple had also mentioned previously regarding the price increase of some of its products.

Alongside the phones, Samsung introduced two new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2. These watches focus on health and fitness, offering artificial intelligence capabilities for more accurate analysis of heart status, sleep, and sports activities. The price for the Watch9 starts at 1,449 AED, and the Watch Ultra2 starts at 2,669 AED.

This unveiling comes at a time when rumors about the introduction of Apple's first foldable iPhone in the coming months have intensified. Samsung, which has been a leader in the foldable phone market since 2019, is now striving to maintain its position ahead of the entry of its main competitor with the new generation of products and a greater focus on artificial intelligence.
Source: Gulf News