Founded in 1938, Samsung is the largest chaebol in South Korea. The myriad of companies under its brand are some of the biggest in their respective industries, but Samsung Electronics is the most notable. It makes some of the most popular phones in use today, and its flagship portfolio includes the Galaxy S-series and foldable Z-series devices. It also makes televisions, tablets, computers, headphones, and many of the displays, chips, and batteries found in devices from Apple, Sony, and others.
Additionally, registering for a preorder will unlock a $30 credit to use on accessories later this month.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, and new AI features. It also teased the Galaxy S25 Edge, its rumored ‘slim’ phone.
Android Headlines has shared renders of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro expected to be announced at the next Samsung Unpacked event. The new design features metal strips on the stems to help distinguish them from Apple’s AirPods, and they both now lie horizontally in their charging cases which carry forward transparent lids.
Based on renders from Android Headlines, it doesn’t seem like Samsung will change things up too much with the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, or S26 Ultra. Samsung is rumored to launch the phones at an Unpacked show on February 25th, though the company hasn’t actually announced an event yet.
It’s not officially official, but leaks from Evan Blass are pretty close.
That’s according to Seong Cho, head of marketing for mobile, during today’s quarterly earnings call. Discussing plans for 2026, he mentioned XR form factors including “next-generation AR glasses.” Samsung has been developing the glasses with Google as a follow-up to Galaxy XR, but this is the first we’ve heard of a release window.
The new “conversational” Bixby sounds similar to the one already rolled out on some Samsung TVs, bolstered by web search powered by Perplexity. It’s available in beta in One UI 8.5, which we’re expecting to launch alongside the Galaxy S26 series some time next month.
CES saw only a very minor update to the Frame family, with the mainline adding 75-, 85-, and 98-inch models, and the Frame Pro now coming in a smaller 55-inch size. Oddly, only two of the seven mainline Frame models will support the One Connect Box — the 43- and 50-inch.
In addition to the new look, available on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets, the app has “personalized content suggestions, and video integrated directly into the application to help players explore and enjoy the gaming experiences that matter most to them,” according to a press release.
The chip shortage created by our desire to watch AI-generated videos of Trump and Maduro dance in matching Nike sweatsuits, has nearly tripled Samsung’s profits for the quarter, as memory prices surged 40-50 percent.
As Jen Tuohy demonstrates, Samsung’s new Family Hub lineup can use voice control to close the refrigerator door, in addition to a slew of other AI-enabled features.
Three folding panels, two sets of hinges, and a frame that’s just barely thinner than a USB-C port, what more could you want? Allison Johnson finally got some hands-on time with Samsung’s trifold at CES 2026, and she’s already thinking of ways to replace her laptop.
The global shortage of memory chips is great news for Samsung’s semiconductor business, but bad news for its consumer electronics business. Co-CEO T M Roh speaking to Reuters:
“As this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact,” Roh said, adding that the crisis affects not only mobile phones but other consumer electronics, from TVs to home appliances. He did not rule out raising product prices, saying some impact was “inevitable.”
Rumors that the S26 Ultra would have some anti-snooping tech built into the screen have been circulating for a while. Now we’ve got an animation showing how the feature will work inside of One UI 8.5. There will be a toggle in the display settings, but you’ll also be able to add a Quick Settings toggle, or even automate it based on which app you’re using or if you’re in a crowd.
The budget-friendly smartphone is “slimmer and lighter” than its predecessor, and will be available on January 7th. It features a 6.7-inch display with an up to 90Hz refresh rate, along with 4GB of RAM and up to 2TB of expandable storage.
Samsung is also launching the Galaxy Tab A11+ in the US on January 8th, starting at $249.99.
Samsung’s three-panel foldable phone won’t be officially available in the US until next year, but it’s already hit the YouTuber’s durability test table. Its thin frame (that’s different sizes across all three sections) doesn’t deal well with being bent the wrong way, even if Samsung’s hinge technology is pretty resilient, but... it didn’t explode.
Press play for a peek at the test results and a look at all three internal battery cells.
Samsung is rolling out the update this month, and it’s working with Aqara, Eve and Ulticam on Matter cameras. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy called it:
SmartThings will probably jump on adoption. Samsung abandoned its first-party camera hardware years ago, and Matter could provide the platform with the opportunity for broader camera support it desperately needs.
I knew Samsung made lots of money making chips, not just electronics. But Emma’s RAM report puts it in perspective: Last quarter, the company earned nearly twice as much from memory as from its entire TV and appliance business.
Samsung’s mobile biz was still bigger than memory ($22.8B vs. $18.2B), but not by much!
They’re available “starting today,” Google says. And system-level “autospatialization,” which turns 2D content into 3D, is coming next year, Google announced during its Android Show presentation.
Wondering how to use the extra screen space in Samsung’s new Galaxy Z TriFold? Don’t worry, we’ve got it figured out.
airpower:
Finally, a device that lets me watch TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all at the same time.
Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.
Samsung promoted its head of consumer hardware to co-CEO, joining Young Hyun Jun, head of the memory business. Roh led mobile since 2020, taking on TVs and appliances in an acting role this year, which is now permanent too.
The shuffle follows the death of former co-CEO Jong-Hee Han in March.
[Samsung Newsroom]
