Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2020: What impact will the upcoming Note 20, Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Tab S7 have?

New Delhi, Delhi, India

In less than a month, on August 5th, Samsung will be hosting its annual Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event. This time though, it’ll be an online-event as the coronavirus pandemic has halted travel and in-person events across the world. The Unpacked event is one of the two annual events hosted by Samsung but arguably the more important one.

At the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event, Samsung is inviting us to explore their latest ecosystem of Galaxy devices that are “designed to empower” our lives.

While the prized package will be the upcoming Galaxy Note 20/Note 20 Ultra (if that is what they end up calling them), there is also going to be the brand-new Galaxy Tab S7/Tab S7+ (No one is sure if they’ll release two variants or if they’ll just be two sizes of the same tablet), Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Buds Live (bean-shaped TWS earphones). That’s a hefty lineup for Samsung going into their fall showcase.

In picture: Galaxy Note 20

Samsung has confirmed 5 devices to be launched at the Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event, Galaxy Note 20 series, Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G, the latter two being foldables which I won’t be talking about in this piece.

In picture: Samsung Galaxy Watch 3

Samsung, for what it's worth, has been on an upward trajectory lately. It’s Android devices - S-Series, Note-Series and Tab-Series - have all got One UI 2.1, a much needed refinement on the Android experience.

In picture: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7

With just about two weeks to go for the event, let’s take a look at how the Galaxy S20 Ultra, Note 10 Plus and Galaxy Tab S6 fare in 2020 and what to expect from the showcase event of the year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ & Galaxy Note 20/Note 20 Ultra

Samsung’s Note-series of smartphones has been a revolutionary ever since they were first launched in 2011. Over the years they’ve been considered the one of the first successful examples of phablets (A combination of a phone and a tablet). The Note series devices have also brought big-displays to the mainstream.

What really has stood out with the Note-series has been the S-Pen. Other companies have tried and failed but Samsung stuck to its guts and with the Galaxy Note 10 plus, knocked it out of the park.

I’ve been using the Galaxy Note 10 Plus for a year - on-and-off for the past six months) - and I think it’s really held up as a wonderful multitasking device. I think the S-Pen can be further upgraded to do more going forward but let’s rewind a year. 

The Galaxy Note 10 Plus was the first modern phone to drop the 3.5mm headphone jack. That was a paradigm shift in the industry with many other players following suit. It was also the first Note to embrace the bezel-less trend we’re all comfortable with. Last but not least, it also went far and away from the distinct bold colours and gave us the Aura Glow.

The only thing I really miss while using Note 10 Plus is a high-refresh rate display. Either 90Hz or 120Hz. The Note 10 Plus’ display is excellent. The colours and sunlight eligibility are superb. Samsung has always aced it with its displays. A high-refresh rate display comes at the expense of battery life and with the criticism toward the S-series a few months ago, there is hope that Samsung would have found a sweet middle spot between high-refresh rate and battery life.

Coming back to the all-important S-Pen. It’s a handy little stylus that comes with the device and can perform a plethora of tasks. Most importantly, one can scroll using the stylus, highlight text more precisely (thanks to the floating cursor) and just take notes with it. Last year though, with the Note 10 Plus, came an S-Pen that had a button on its side. It can be used as a remote shutter. A game changer. One needn’t use a self-timer anymore.

One last thing, Samsung needs to fix the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the upcoming Note 20 device. Samsung failed to improve it with the S20-series and all hopes are fixated on the Note 20-series.

If you were to buy the Note 10 Plus in 2020 then you’d only be missing out on 5G (doesn’t really matter here in India until end of 2021), a high-refresh rate display and the best cameras on a smartphone. Saying that, the Note 10 still feels every bit as modern as when I first got my hands on it near the end of 2019.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 & Galaxy Tab S7

Nothing comes close to Apple’s iPad in the tablet industry. Unfortunately though, you’ve got to be deep into the Apple ecosystem to want one of those. On the Android side, Samsung is leading the charge for many a year. Samsung further consolidated their market share with the Galaxy Tab S6 last year. This time around, Samsung is rumoured to be bringing Galaxy Tab S7 in two sizes. 

Samsung has been on top of the tablet industry on the Android side for many a year and 11" and 12.4". A press render shows the Tab S7 being eerily similar to the iPad Pro.

The tablets are likely to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865+ chipset with 5G support and an S Pen. Furthermore, the larger tablet is rumoured to come with a 10,090 mAh battery, while the smaller one will have a 7,700-7,900 mAh battery cell. Finally, the display will be AMOLED and the speakers will be “tuned by AKG” (the sound engineering company now owned by Samsung).

Over the past eight months I’ve been using the Galaxy Tab S6 almost exclusively. My Dell XPS is way too old and it’s just easier and lighter to pull out the Galaxy Tab S6 for daily work (which for me, is mostly writing). 

The Galaxy Tab S6 is by no means a tablet replacement but if you’re not a graphic designer nor a gamer then for day-to-day activity, this will suit you pretty well. Having the DeX mode also enables you to use the tablet like you would a laptop. It’s limited in what it can do as a laptop but the potential is certainly there.

Lugging the Galaxy Tab S6 around Delhi was pretty much no problem. I could take it to cafes, friends houses, the park and more. I’d have no problem plonking it down, and getting to my writing within seconds. Provided there was a flat surface, of course.

With the Galaxy Tab S7 there is hope that the official Tab Keyboard cover would do a whole lot more. For one, the back cover could be a lot more sturdy. The glue that sticks the cover to the Tab has come off way too many times for me during my typing and that has broken my chain of thought.

With fast charging up to 45W coming to the Tab S7, one needn’t worry about battery life anymore.

One thing Samsung, and all Android tablet players need to scale up significantly is the number of apps optimised for these tablets. It pales in comparison to iPadOS.

Still, one is optimistic that the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 models will be even closer to the iPad Pro from Apple and even surpass it in some areas.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G & Galaxy Watch 3

This is another category where Apple is head and shoulders above its Android-based competitors. The Apple Watch has done wonders for the company but yet again you’ve got to be tied to the Apple ecosystem.

On the Android side there is a whole lot more competition. Samsung may be leading with the Galaxy Watch 4G and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 but the competition - Huawei GT2e, Fitbit Versa 2 and others - isn’t far behind.

What Samsung has up its sleeve is the rotating bezel on the Galaxy Watch 4G. It was absent on the Galaxy Watch Active and Watch Active 2 but is set to make a comeback with the upcoming Galaxy Watch 3. 

The Galaxy Watch 3 will also reportedly be getting a heart rate monitor with 8 pulse-reading photodiodes and support for blood pressure monitoring. Furthermore, it could also be getting an electrocardiogram sensor. That’s something Apple implemented but was missing on the Android side.

I’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4G for many months now and it is a fantastic watch. Two things have been bugging me while using this watch though. First, it is more of a smartwatch than a fitness tracker. I get that it isn’t purely a fitness tracker like FitBit or Garmin and it’s trying to be a cross between the two but the activity monitor could be much better at tracking my workouts and my walks. I’m hoping Samsung works on its fitness smarts so that I don’t get told to walk when I’ve already embarked upon one.

Second, the watch face is a little bulky. I’ve gotten used to it and actually kind of like it but a lot of people have been put off by its sheer size. It’s a nice looking watch but could do with a little bit of trimming. Battery life could also get a boost but seeing as I get over two days of battery life as compared to other watch’s even tinier batteries, I’m quite happy.