Samsung held its second Unpacked event of 2023 this past July in its hometown of Seoul, Korea. I traveled over 7,000 miles each way to cover the event to see the latest devices from the electronics giant. The event was attended by several thousand journalists and Samsung business partners as we got the first look at the Galaxy Flip 5 and Fold 5 smartphones, two new watches and the Tab S9.
This was my first visit to Asia and it did not disappoint. Though a large and densely populated city, the people were very friendly and English was prevalent most everywhere I went. The climate at this time of year closely mirrored my hometown of Houston – a bit hot and humid, so I made sure to explore a lot of the air-conditioned sites like the world’s largest underground shopping mall. American brands like KFC, Starbucks, and Krispy Kreme were a surprise to see across the city but the indigenous food and drink was scrumptious.
Are you ready for a flip or foldable phone? Shockingly, many people do not even know they exist – not just from Samsung but other manufacturers like Google, Motorola, Microsoft, and Oppo. If and when Apple releases a foldable phone I’m sure the world will freak out and declare it “the greatest invention” they have ever seen. Whether they do or not it is amazing how far technology has come to allow foldable glass shape-shift a typical smartphone into something larger.
Take a look at the pre-event festivities before the big event along with the flashy and glitzy press conference complete with celebrities like Suga from BTS and American actress Sydney Sweeney. Samsung provided journalists with goodie bags of the new gear for testing and reviewing (yes, I have to return them). Stay tuned for my reviews here and my radio show.