Samsung is about to tip off the year with its first Galaxy Unpacked event – and you can watch the whole thing LIVE right here, where we will see the Samsung Galaxy S24 family of smartphones as well as the launch of Samsung Galaxy AI.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is taking place today at 10:00 PST / 18:00 GMT, which is January 18 at 05:00 AEDT. The livestream of the event is embedded below, and we will be updating this page live with our commentary of the announcements as they happen. So even if you're not able to have the audio playing, you can read our play-by-play of the event – along with our thoughts on what's happening!
Follow along with the official launch on the YouTube link above
When is Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024?
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 is happening on Wednesday January 17 in the US and UK, which is Thursday January 18 in Australia.
The event starts at 10:00 PST / 18:00 GMT on January 17 for American and British audiences, and at 05:00 AEDT January 18 for Australians.
What products will be launched?
The main attraction of this instalment of Unpacked is the reveal of the Samsung Galaxy S24 family of phones, which is expected to include the base S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra.
In addition, Samsung has teased that "Galaxy AI is coming" at the event – and indeed, beyond the immediacy of Samsung launching its latest flagship phone line, Galaxy AI is going to be the far more interesting and long-term important of the announcements.
Galaxy AI will be a central feature of the S24 series, of course. We've already seen leaked info detailing features like Generative Edit, Nightography Zoom and Live Translate, along with further leaks revealing video AI features such as removing objects from your footage. Samsung also teased at CES 2024 that the phones will be able to act as webcams.
With just a few hours to go, we won't have to wait long to see if the rumor and speculation proves true. Join us right here to watch the live launch!
Looks like Samsung has some tasty pre-order incentives ready for early S24 adopters. Forbes is reporting that the manufacturer is giving away everything from a free Galaxy Watch 6 to a "double your storage" offer, where buying the 128GB model will be upgraded to the 256GB phone and so on.
Yay, free things!
I somehow missed this video when it came out (probably because it came out on January 04, when I was still recovering from new year overindulging), but it illustrates the AI-based Zoom feature that's being fully revealed at Unpacked.
Of course, you take risks when you invite users to "pinch to enlarge" part of a photo they've taken…
I'm curious: does anyone actually record 8K video on their phone? I mean, I was an early adopter of 8K cameras (having bought the Canon EOS R5 on day one) and even I barely shoot 8K when I'm doing proper video – let alone wanting to do it on my phone.
It kills battery and fills memory, and there's really nowhere to put it – 4K is fine for everything I shoot and, to be honest, the everyday tat I record on my phone is still in FullHD (although admittedly that's because I'm always doing the low memory dance).
Still… someone must use it, right?
Also, I'm curious as to the extent of the AI integration when it comes to the cameras in the S24 family.
I know I'm not alone in being impressed at the cleverness of the AI in the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro. However, I also know that I'm not alone in wondering to what extent that AI cleverness compromises the actual art of photography.
Personally I just want a phone that takes a photograph of what's in front of me. not one that embellishes and "improves" it for me.
(Wow, I really am a grumpy old man today.)
