Samsung is a technology conglomerate based out of South Korea that makes some of the world's most popular smartphones.
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 S26 series, as well as foldable smartphones such as Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7.
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.
Galaxy Note 20 UltraGalaxy S26 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.
Galaxy Z Fold 7, especially, proved to be a major update, offering a much thinner form factor that finally caught up to other foldable makers. It was successful, too, with Samsung reporting record sales after the device was released.
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 and Google’s ChromeOS, 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.
This week’s Unpacked might have been Samsung’s most successful launch in ages. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 offer some pretty substantial improvements over their direct predecessors, with slimmer builds and larger displays — exactly what fans have been asking for. And while neither device is perfect, they each go a long way in quelling discussions around Samsung’s recent output.
If you’re interested in Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 but need the price to be a tiny bit lower, you can score $150 off with our special links and the trade-in of any smartwatch, so long as it turns on.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the big update that many have been waiting for, and after a couple of days using it, I’m already convinced that this is a worthwhile upgrade for any existing foldable owner, and the device that might finally be able to sell new buyers.
Right now, during Samsung’s boosted trade-in deals, the company is offering a brand-new Galaxy Watch Ultra model. Even though color and storage are all that’s changed, you can trade in your old Galaxy Watch Ultra and still lose money.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 has arrived with a whole slate of upgrades — at the cost of S Pen support, that is. But despite this year’s big-screen foldable feeling wholly reinvented, there’s one element that’s gone ignored for yet another year: battery capacity.
Unpacked came and went without an expected tease of its long-rumored tri-fold device, but it sounds like fans won’t be waiting too much longer to get our hands on it.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is an undersung achievement in Samsung’s latest foldable portfolio, with the flip phone delivering the first significant hardware improvement in years. It’s arguably as big of an update as the Fold 7, but Samsung’s stubborn refusal to give in has left that upgrade with an annoying asterisk.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 appear to be what Samsung fans and critics alike have been demanding from the company for generations. Slimmer builds, larger displays, and even more powerful chipsets — what’s not to like? But ironically enough, Samsung might be hoping its latest Z-series lineup is enough to convince anyone with an aging Note device to make the plunge, even as S Pen compatibility is ripped away from that big, foldable display.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Flip FE are all available to pre-order from Samsung or other storefronts. This guide will break down each pre-order site to find the best deal for Samsung’s new foldables, as well as where you can get great value for your trade-ins.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 series brings a new design language, but also ditches one of the appealing parts of past generations by making a proprietary connector that works more like the attachments on Pixel Watch and Apple Watch.
Since Samsung returned to making Wear OS watches, it’s hard to look past the Galaxy Watch series, and the Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic feel absolutely no different once again.
During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung noted that, amongst rumors that Galaxy AI would eventually take on a subscription model, the company has no plans to charge for certain Galaxy AI features.
The Now Bar has been around since One UI 7, when it launched with the Galaxy S25 series. Without support for third-party apps, Samsung’s Now Bar has felt like an underbaked lock screen function. According to Samsung, that’s set to change soon.
Samsung is making a controversial change with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by removing S Pen support from the foldable entirely, all in the pursuit of making a thinner and more durable device.
The foldable market as we know it today exists because of Samsung, but to say the company fumbled its lead is an understatement. The company’s foldables over the past few years have been stagnant, boring, and arguably insulting to customers amid rapidly improving competition in other parts of the world. But, finally, Samsung is giving in and acknowledging that it needed to catch up, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are a tremendous showing of what the company is capable of when it actually hits the gas.
The Galaxy Watch 8 series is finally official. Amongst some serious design changes, Samsung has added a slew of features with Wear OS 6, including the addition of the Now Bar.
The Galaxy Z series has long since been a little out of reach for consumers, placing the devices in the higher price range. What Samsung has done is finally bring one of its foldable devices within arm’s reach by creating an FE model. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is officially a reality.
In its biggest hardware update since 2020’s Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung is launching the Galaxy Z Fold 7 today with a drastically thinner design, bigger displays, and a higher price too.
After a fairly lackluster outing last year, Samsung finally took the stage at Unpacked in New York this morning to announce the Galaxy Z Flip 7. So far, it’s looking like the upgrade many of us expected last year, and despite the addition of the cheaper Flip 7 FE to the lineup, it’s sticking at the same price.
People were confused when the Galaxy S25 Edge launched at over $1000, but it’s a much more palatable purchase at a heavily discounted $799 over on Amazon right now.
With Samsung’s latest round of foldables all but launched, it’s time to start turning our attention to Samsung’s next flagship launch. So far, early leaks have the Galaxy S26 Ultra shaping up to be something a little more impressive than its predecessors.
The Android Find My Device network rollout was fraught with issues, but luckily, Samsung has arguably the best trackers available as part of a SmartTag2 4-pack for just $64.99 on Amazon right now.
Samsung is preparing to launch a new update to the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it’s barely different. So, with that in mind, Samsung’s Prime Day deal on the existing Galaxy Watch Ultra is pretty compelling, as the smartwatch is 50% off with no strings attached.
Samsung is setting the stage for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Flip FE launch – literally – and leaks are still pouring in. The latest leaks indicate that Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 foldable phones will launch with Android 16, becoming the first Samsung devices to run the new OS.
Samsung
Samsung is a technology conglomerate based out of South Korea that makes some of the world's most popular smartphones.
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.
Table of contents
Why are Samsung smartphones so popular?
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 S26 series, as well as foldable smartphones such as Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7.
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.
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.
Galaxy Z Fold 7, especially, proved to be a major update, offering a much thinner form factor that finally caught up to other foldable makers. It was successful, too, with Samsung reporting record sales after the device was released.
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 and Google’s ChromeOS, 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.
No one should buy Samsung’s cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE at full price
This week’s Unpacked might have been Samsung’s most successful launch in ages. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 offer some pretty substantial improvements over their direct predecessors, with slimmer builds and larger displays — exactly what fans have been asking for. And while neither device is perfect, they each go a long way in quelling discussions around Samsung’s recent output.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic are $150 off with ‘any smartwatch’ trade
If you’re interested in Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 but need the price to be a tiny bit lower, you can score $150 off with our special links and the trade-in of any smartwatch, so long as it turns on.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Z Fold 7 impressions: My first days with the upgrade-worthy new foldable
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the big update that many have been waiting for, and after a couple of days using it, I’m already convinced that this is a worthwhile upgrade for any existing foldable owner, and the device that might finally be able to sell new buyers.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung gives you only $250 to trade your Galaxy Watch Ultra for a Galaxy Watch Ultra
Right now, during Samsung’s boosted trade-in deals, the company is offering a brand-new Galaxy Watch Ultra model. Even though color and storage are all that’s changed, you can trade in your old Galaxy Watch Ultra and still lose money.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung delivers a pretty weak excuse for the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s battery capacity
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 has arrived with a whole slate of upgrades — at the cost of S Pen support, that is. But despite this year’s big-screen foldable feeling wholly reinvented, there’s one element that’s gone ignored for yet another year: battery capacity.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung says its ‘tri-fold’ device is coming by the end of 2025
Unpacked came and went without an expected tease of its long-rumored tri-fold device, but it sounds like fans won’t be waiting too much longer to get our hands on it.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Z Flip 7 is as big of an upgrade as the Fold, but it doesn’t matter without cover screen apps
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is an undersung achievement in Samsung’s latest foldable portfolio, with the flip phone delivering the first significant hardware improvement in years. It’s arguably as big of an update as the Fold 7, but Samsung’s stubborn refusal to give in has left that upgrade with an annoying asterisk.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung really, really wants Galaxy Note owners to upgrade to a new foldable
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 appear to be what Samsung fans and critics alike have been demanding from the company for generations. Slimmer builds, larger displays, and even more powerful chipsets — what’s not to like? But ironically enough, Samsung might be hoping its latest Z-series lineup is enough to convince anyone with an aging Note device to make the plunge, even as S Pen compatibility is ripped away from that big, foldable display.
Expand Expanding CloseWhere to pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Flip 7 to get the best deal
The Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Flip FE are all available to pre-order from Samsung or other storefronts. This guide will break down each pre-order site to find the best deal for Samsung’s new foldables, as well as where you can get great value for your trade-ins.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Galaxy Watch 8 series ditches traditional watch band pins for an Apple-like connector
Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 series brings a new design language, but also ditches one of the appealing parts of past generations by making a proprietary connector that works more like the attachments on Pixel Watch and Apple Watch.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Watch 8 and 8 Classic hands-on: Rugged in the right ways
Since Samsung returned to making Wear OS watches, it’s hard to look past the Galaxy Watch series, and the Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic feel absolutely no different once again.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung has ‘no plans’ to charge for Galaxy AI, but still notes ‘until the end of 2025’
During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung noted that, amongst rumors that Galaxy AI would eventually take on a subscription model, the company has no plans to charge for certain Galaxy AI features.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung confirms One UI 8 ‘Now Bar’ feature will work with third-party apps
The Now Bar has been around since One UI 7, when it launched with the Galaxy S25 series. Without support for third-party apps, Samsung’s Now Bar has felt like an underbaked lock screen function. According to Samsung, that’s set to change soon.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Galaxy Z Fold 7 entirely removes S Pen support
Samsung is making a controversial change with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by removing S Pen support from the foldable entirely, all in the pursuit of making a thinner and more durable device.
Expand Expanding CloseHands-on: The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are the result of Samsung actually trying
The foldable market as we know it today exists because of Samsung, but to say the company fumbled its lead is an understatement. The company’s foldables over the past few years have been stagnant, boring, and arguably insulting to customers amid rapidly improving competition in other parts of the world. But, finally, Samsung is giving in and acknowledging that it needed to catch up, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are a tremendous showing of what the company is capable of when it actually hits the gas.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic go official with new design & Gemini for $349
The Galaxy Watch 8 series is finally official. Amongst some serious design changes, Samsung has added a slew of features with Wear OS 6, including the addition of the Now Bar.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung launches the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE for $899
The Galaxy Z series has long since been a little out of reach for consumers, placing the devices in the higher price range. What Samsung has done is finally bring one of its foldable devices within arm’s reach by creating an FE model. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is officially a reality.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Z Fold 7 goes official with drastically thinner design, but a $2,000 price tag
In its biggest hardware update since 2020’s Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung is launching the Galaxy Z Fold 7 today with a drastically thinner design, bigger displays, and a higher price too.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Z Flip 7 packs a larger cover screen and Exynos into a slimmer body for $1,100
After a fairly lackluster outing last year, Samsung finally took the stage at Unpacked in New York this morning to announce the Galaxy Z Flip 7. So far, it’s looking like the upgrade many of us expected last year, and despite the addition of the cheaper Flip 7 FE to the lineup, it’s sticking at the same price.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Galaxy S25 Edge is way more palatable at $799 for Amazon Prime Day
People were confused when the Galaxy S25 Edge launched at over $1000, but it’s a much more palatable purchase at a heavily discounted $799 over on Amazon right now.
Expand Expanding CloseSamsung’s slimmer Galaxy S26 Ultra could include a new 12MP telephoto lens, leak says
With Samsung’s latest round of foldables all but launched, it’s time to start turning our attention to Samsung’s next flagship launch. So far, early leaks have the Galaxy S26 Ultra shaping up to be something a little more impressive than its predecessors.
Expand Expanding CloseA 4-pack of Android’s best trackers are now just $65 on Amazon
The Android Find My Device network rollout was fraught with issues, but luckily, Samsung has arguably the best trackers available as part of a SmartTag2 4-pack for just $64.99 on Amazon right now.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Watch Ultra is 50% off as its barely-different sequel nears
Samsung is preparing to launch a new update to the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it’s barely different. So, with that in mind, Samsung’s Prime Day deal on the existing Galaxy Watch Ultra is pretty compelling, as the smartwatch is 50% off with no strings attached.
Expand Expanding CloseGalaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 will indeed be the first devices to ship with Android 16, leak shows
Samsung is setting the stage for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Flip FE launch – literally – and leaks are still pouring in. The latest leaks indicate that Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 foldable phones will launch with Android 16, becoming the first Samsung devices to run the new OS.
Expand Expanding Close