Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) is expected to hold its second-half product launch event, "Galaxy Unpacked," in London this July, where it will unveil its next-generation foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Flip8, along with its first smart glasses, tentatively named "Galaxy Glasses." As Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone in the second half, Samsung aims to solidify its global market leadership by leveraging form factor innovation and a robust artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics will host the Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22. The event is expected to unveil the company's flagship second-half smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Flip8, along with the Galaxy Watch9 series.
There is strong speculation that a new "Fold Wide" (tentative name) model, an expansion of the existing Fold lineup, will also be revealed at this year's Unpacked. The product features a wider horizontal length and reduced vertical width compared to the existing Fold, maximizing the practicality of the external display. When unfolded, it is expected to offer a screen ratio closer to that of a tablet PC, significantly improving the multitasking environment. The industry interprets this as Samsung's strategy to maintain its leadership gap through diversification of foldable form factors, countering Apple, which is reportedly set to launch its first foldable iPhone as early as this September.
The product drawing global attention at this Unpacked event, on par with the foldable phones, is Samsung's first smart glasses, the "Galaxy Glasses." Samsung has partnered with global eyewear brand Gentle Monster to enhance design and practical competitiveness, and equipped the device with a dedicated operating system (OS) "Android XR" co-developed with Google and the generative AI service "Gemini." Likely to be officially launched in the third quarter, the model consists only of speakers, microphones, and a high-definition camera, with no separate display. It will perform an advanced AI assistant role, capturing video according to the user's line of sight while Gemini analyzes it in real time and delivers information via voice.
Samsung Electronics aims to position the Galaxy Glasses not as a mere wearable device but as a core "edge device" (end-user device) that completes its AI ecosystem, entering into full-scale competition with global companies such as Meta of the U.S. and Xiaomi of China. The company plans to deliver an unrivaled user experience by linking the glasses with its Samsung AI smartphone and home appliance ecosystem (SmartThings), which currently spans 400 million devices worldwide and is expected to expand to 800 million this year. Based on its semiconductor and home appliance factories established around the world, the company has also laid the foundation to expand the use of smart glasses into business-to-business (B2B) and manufacturing sites. Furthermore, it will extend device connectivity into the mobility sphere through the "Car-to-Home" service, developed in partnership with Hyundai Motor and Kia, which sell more than 8 million vehicles annually.
The augmented reality (AR) market, considered the next-generation platform to replace smartphones, is expected to grow to $200 billion by 2040. "Based on our long-term vision and strategic roadmap for extended reality (XR), we plan to continuously develop various form factors in line with market maturity and changing consumer demand," a Samsung Electronics official said. Attention is focused on whether Samsung Electronics, which has led innovation in smartphone form factors, can also present a new paradigm in the AI-powered wearable market.
