Samsung appears to be shifting away from the United States in favor of its home turf for the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event where it will reveal the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
The confirmation comes by way of Lee Young-hee, the President of Samsung DX's Global Marketing Center. According to a report from GSMArena, Young-hee views South Korea as “meaningful and important” for the brand.
And while he wouldn’t divulge the date or the venue, rumors suggest it will happen July 26 at COEX in Gangnam-Gu, Seoul.
Hosting Unpacked in Samsung’s native country would be a slight departure from the company’s usual playbook. Traditionally, the half annual event has been held in Barcelona in February (to co-incide with Mobile World Congress) and in New York in August. But recent years, prompted by the pandemic, have seen a shift to a virtual conference held in Seoul and livestreamed around the world.
That was the case in August 2022 when Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Samsung often follows the livestream up with smaller “Samsung Unpacked experience” events hosted in New York and London offering workshops and a chance to view the products.
As for why Samsung is choosing Korea over the U.S. or U.K? Presumably it's a fair bit cheaper — and easier to control the optics — when you’re hosting your tentpole event on your own doorstep. After all, there’s a reason Apple decided to build the Steve Jobs Theatre on its campus.
Earlier launch for Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5
Perhaps more intriguing than Samsung’s decision to stay rooted in Seoul is its decision to move up the timeline of the summer Unpacked from August to July.
One reason, coming from a report on the Korean site Chosun Ilbo, is it's part of a Samsung strategy to get more phone revenue into its September quarter. Launching in July would give the company a full month of sales to account for.
Of course, we can’t ignore the arrival of the Google Pixel Fold as a serious contender for the title of best foldable phone.
Why would the Pixel Fold have Samsung rattled? Because the one thing we can be sure of for Unpacked is what’s going to be the star of the show. The Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 will be made official and both will offer upgraded power and performance over the last generation.
What will we be looking for? Well, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside both seems a given but we’re particularly interested in the progression of hinge technology that, hopefully, results in a less visible crease.
We'll wait until July — and a livestream from South Korea — to find out. In the meantime, check out our Galaxy Unpacked roundup for all the big news to expect and our Galaxy Z Fold 5 hub and Galaxy Z Flip 5 hub for all the latest rumors and leaks.
