What to expect from Samsung Unpacked 2020: Galaxy S20, Buds+, Z Flip, more

Ben Schoon | Feb 10 2020 - 4:38 pm PT

We’re just a week out from Samsung’s next big launch event, Unpacked 2020. Stephen Hall and I will be in attendance at the San Francisco event where Samsung will be launching its next flagship, its next foldable, and more. Here’s what you need to know about Unpacked.

Samsung Galaxy S20

First on the docket is Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series. The company’s ultra-successful flagship smartphone line is back and it’s jumping in branding too. Last year, we had the Galaxy S10 series, but Samsung is taking advantage of the new decade with its new naming scheme.

Despite the massive jump in numbers, though, the Galaxy S20 won’t be a huge leap forward in terms of design. Like the S10 series, the S20 will have a large, nearly bezel-less display on the front which has a punch-hole to house the front-facing camera. Though, this time around that punch-hole will be found in the middle of the display instead of the right-hand side. There’s also an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the display.

Samsung is also changing up the design on the back of the Galaxy S20 to accommodate more cameras. There’s a domino-looking module on the back of the device that houses four camera sensors.

Unpacked 2020 is also delivering three models of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series — the S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. All variants of the S20 series are expected to offer up QHD+ AMOLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate and a Snapdragon 865 processor.

With the S20 and S20+, storage is expected to start at 128GB with a microSD card slot, but oddly there’s been little mention of other storage tiers. Both phones will also offer a 12MP primary camera, ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The S20 packs a 6.2-inch display while the S20+ steps up to 6.7-inches.

As for the S20 Ultra, we’re looking at a spec monster. The 6.9-inch behemoth is wrapped in a stainless steel body, has up to 512GB of storage, and up to 16GB of RAM too. There’s also a 108MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide, time-of-flight sensor, and another camera with 10x optical zoom. Samsung even uses software to create 100x digital zoom.

Importantly, something all of these phones won’t have is a headphone jack. Pour one out for the 3.5mm, because if Samsung’s done with it, it’s dead for sure.

How much will all of this cost? One rumor claims the Galaxy S20 will start at $999 in the United States with the S20+ and S20 Ultra costing $1,199 and $1,399 respectively. While that rumor remains uncorroborated for the US, these phones are not going to be cheap folks. Previous leaks do point to international pricing being very high as well.

Latest Galaxy S20 coverage:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

Beyond the Galaxy S20 series, Samsung is also debuting another foldable. Not quite the Galaxy Fold 2, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is coming at Unpacked 2020 as a clamshell-style flip phone similar to Motorola’s Razr.

The Galaxy Z Flip folds along its horizontal axis with a 6.7-inch internal display. That folding OLED panel is FHD+ and a tall 22:9 aspect ratio. To prevent the damage the Galaxy Fold was so susceptible to, the Z Flip uses Ultra-Thin Glass. There’s also an outer display that’s about 1-inch in size, just big enough to show notifications and the time. The device also uses a Snapdragon 855+, 8GB of RAM, and has a 3,300 mAh battery too.

The Z Flip also comes in two colors, black and purple, and features dual 12MP cameras on the outside. What will it cost? Apparently, around $1,500. On the bright side, it’s expected that the Z Flip will be available on all US carriers.

Latest Galaxy Z Flip stories:

Samsung Galaxy Buds+

Alongside the Galaxy S10 last year, Samsung debuted its Galaxy Buds headphones. The truly wireless earbuds proved a hit with Samsung users and now, in 2020, the company is preparing the Galaxy Buds+. These upgraded headphones aren’t a complete revamp by any means, but they deliver better audio performance, upgraded microphones, and significantly improved battery life too.

The full specs with a comparison to the original Galaxy Buds leaked just recently and you can see the full comparison in the gallery below.

Latest Samsung Galaxy Buds+ stories:

Galaxy Buds+ spec sheet confirms improved battery as Samsung leaks Galaxy S20

Galaxy Home Mini?

After what feels like ages, it looks like Samsung is finally bringing its Bixby-powered Galaxy Home speakers to market. While the original, larger Galaxy Home is still nowhere to be found, the smaller Galaxy Home Mini might finally be coming.

Earlier this year, Samsung confirmed the Home Mini would arrive in “early 2020.” Then, a deleted post from a Samsung representative mentioned that the device would be going on sale on February 12th. A second post also mentioned February 7th for Korea, so it’s certainly looking like the Galaxy Home Mini will see a wider release at Samsung Unpacked 2020.

Something with Google?

A tweet from Google’s Android account on Twitter is also stirring up speculation that Samsung is doing something with Google. Personally, I think this tweet is just teasing the S20’s arrival and people are reading way too much into it, but who knows, maybe the two company’s have something fun in store.

Something exciting is just around the corner. See you at Unpacked, @SamsungMobile: https://t.co/FU3iJCnf77 pic.twitter.com/M9pGlfRQ26

— Android (@Android) February 6, 2020

One idea we came up with was Google’s Nearby Sharing. We first uncovered that feature last Summer, but it’s still not made its official debut at this point. Recently, it was revealed Samsung was also working on a similar sharing feature. Perhaps Samsung’s tool is compatible with Google’s? Stranger things have happened after all.

A new smartwatch?

Here’s a super long shot too. There have been rumblings of a new Samsung smartwatch in the works. To date, there’s been very little evidence of that, though. So, while there’s a possibility of a new watch, I wouldn’t get too excited.