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Samsung is a technology conglomerate based out of South Korea that makes some of the world's most popular smartphones.

Samsung R&D logo

Samsung is a technology conglomerate based out of South Korea that is responsible for some of the most popular smartphones in the world, including the Galaxy S and Galaxy A series devices. Beyond smartphones, Samsung also manufactures and sells laptops, wearables, home appliances, and more.

The company was founded in 1938 as a trading company dealing with local produce, fish, noodles, and more. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Samsung entered the electronics business with its first product, a black and white television. In the 1990s, the company expanded its electronics efforts by producing displays and chips for processing and storage, core components of the business today. In the 2000s, the company established itself as a big player in cell phones, which later evolved into the Samsung Galaxy smartphone lineup.

Off the back of successful feature phones, Samsung quickly became a dominant player in the smartphone industry. The original Galaxy device was launched in 2009, which ran Android 1.5 “Cupcake” out of the box. Just a year later, the “Galaxy S” brand made its debut, selling 24 million units of its original model and 40 million of its sequel. The Galaxy S III was its first massive hit, though, selling 70 million devices starting in 2012. The success of that mainstream flagship propelled Samsung to be a major player in the premium smartphone market.

The latest Samsung flagships include the Galaxy S24 series, as well as foldable smartphones such as Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5.

The flagship market is only a fraction of the company’s total smartphone sales. It’s actually more affordable devices such as the Galaxy A series that really earn Samsung its spot in the industry. The Galaxy A series has produced some of the best-selling Android smartphones in the world for the past few years, for instance, with the Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A51 both topping the charts in their respective release windows.

To say Samsung’s smartphones have been influential is an understatement, as the brand has produced some of the biggest trends in the industry. Most memorable is the rise of large-screen smartphones. In 2011, just two years into the rise of its Android-based Galaxy line, Samsung debuted the original Galaxy Note, which was ridiculed for its large 5.3-inch display. The phone went on to sell 10 million units and spawn nine popular sequels leading up to the Galaxy Note 20 series in 2020. In 2016, Samsung famously released the Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled due to batteries that were bursting and catching fire. The phone was discontinued, and fans ultimately had to wait until the Note 8 was released a year later. In 2021, Samsung reportedly canceled its Galaxy Note 21 series due to the ongoing chip shortage, and the best of the Note has now been merged into the ongoing Galaxy S “Ultra” release.

samsung galaxy note 20 ultra

In 2019, Samsung announced its first foldable smartphone in the Galaxy Fold. The book-style foldable had high-end specs and an inner display that was far larger than what could traditionally fit in a pocket, but its launch was met with negativity as several early reviewers faced major issues with the inner display. The company opted to cancel the launch and redesign the product, relaunching it months later with several solutions. In 2020, the Galaxy Z Flip debuted with much better reception and solutions for problems that plagued the Fold, though with a new flip-phone style design. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 took those same ideas and applied them to the original design while improving the displays both inside and out.

Samsung has continued to build on this form factor each year, often with big improvements, including water resistance, better hinges, upgraded cameras, and more.

samsung galaxy z foldables 2023

What other products does Samsung sell?

Beyond its extremely successful smartphones, Samsung sells a plethora of other products. There are TVs, home appliances, and more. The company also products and sells electrical components, AMOLED displays, and more to other companies.

Relating closely to its smartphones, though, are Samsung’s tablets, laptops, and smartwatches. Android tablets are fairly rare on the market, but the Galaxy Tab series has stuck around as an affordable option as well as a flagship one, the latter usually including support for DeX. The company also products laptops using both Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Google’s Chrome OS, the former linking to Galaxy phones using the “Your Phone” integration that is deeply built into One UI. Finally, the Galaxy Watch lineup has been one of the best options for an Android-compatible smartwatch, and each model pairs best with a Galaxy smartphone.

Check out our up-to-date coverage of everything Samsung below.


The Galaxy S25 has more power button shortcuts in One UI 7, how to set them up

One UI 7 did a lot to bring Samsung’s phones up to a new standard, and some cool little features that usually fly under the radar are included in that. One UI 7 lets you change your power button shortcut to much more than a launcher for a handful of Samsung apps, like changing Modes in an instant. Here’s how it works.

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Latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 leaks reiterate thinner design, bigger screen, and a big S Pen change

Samsung is shaking things up in its plans for future releases, even coming off the heels of a somewhat redundant launch event. New reports echo the sentiment that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might not house a traditional S Pen digitizer in order to save space. The leak also suggests that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will have a bigger screen and come in much thinner.

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This app will bring Galaxy SmartTag to all Android phones, assuming Samsung doesn’t shut it down

Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag has been a steady option for item tracking, often working better than Google’s Find My Device network despite being exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices and not working on other Android phones. But, now, an app exists – for now – to allow users to use a Galaxy SmartTag with other Android phones.

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Report: Samsung using new battery tech in Galaxy S26 with ‘monster’ capacity over 6,000 mAh

Samsung is seemingly looking to make a big battery change going into development for the Galaxy S26, switching to a silicon carbon material more OEMs are using to expand battery efficiency. The new battery type has proven to make a huge difference in overall performance, which is something most are hoping to see in Samsung’s next flagship.

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Galaxy S25 Edge is reportedly 5.84mm thick with 3,900 mAh battery

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge was officially revealed at last month’s big Unpacked event, but Samsung hasn’t provided many details on the device. It’s abundantly clear, though, that earlier leaks of the device were wildly incorrect, as not only is the design drastically different, but the Galaxy S25 Edge is much thinner than first anticipated.

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Galaxy S25 Ultra Review: You might like this phone more than you expect

Samsung’s flagship smartphones don’t live nearly in the same vein they once did. They’re not as flashy, they’re not industry-leading in essentially anything, and they’re not cheap either. But, after two weeks with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it’s hard to deny that, no matter who you are, you might like this phone a lot more than you expect to.

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