[Edaily Reporter Shin Yeong-bin ] SamsungElectronics(005930)will unveil its new strategic smartphones for the second half of the year on the 22nd in London, UK. The company is set to solidify its leadership in the premium mobile market by showcasing a foldable phone with a new form factor and AI-based wearable devices.

SamsungElectronics announced that it will host “Galaxy Unpacked 2026” on the 22nd at 10:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. local time) at Old Billingsgate in London, UK. The event will be livestreamed online via the SamsungElectronics Newsroom, Samsung.com, and the SamsungElectronics YouTube channel.

The official subtitle for this Unpacked event is “A New Shape Unfolds.” Industry observers expect SamsungElectronics to unveil its next-generation foldable phone lineup at the event, introducing foldable devices with new aspect ratios that go beyond the existing Fold and Flip series.

In particular, the new foldable phones are expected to offer a user experience closer to that of a standard “bar-style” smartphone when folded—as opposed to the existing Fold series—while providing a wider screen experience when unfolded. The company is expected to focus on enhancing the usability of foldable phones by improving aspects such as screen aspect ratio, thickness, weight, and hinge structure.

A new foldable phone with a wider horizontal design, referred to as “Wide,” is cited as a key product for this Unpacked event. It is reported to have a wider horizontal width and shorter vertical length than the existing Z Fold, with the aspect ratio shifting from the current 10:9 to closer to 4:3 when unfolded.

Alongside the next-generation Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series, SamsungElectronics is also expected to unveil new Galaxy Watch models and a range of wearable devices, including AI-powered smart glasses. SamsungElectronics is strengthening its Galaxy AI ecosystem, which connects smartphones with watches, tablets, smart home devices, and future extended reality (XR) devices.

In an op-ed published on the SamsungElectronics Newsroom ahead of the Unpacked event, Roh Tae-moon, President and CEO of SamsungElectronics’ DX Division, stated, “The question that opens the next era is no longer ‘Who has the smartest AI?’” He added, “It is ‘Who understands people best and transforms that understanding into trustworthy experiences?’”

President Noh emphasized, “The more AI acts on its own, the deeper it must first understand the individual,” adding, “The best experience comes not from the smartest model, but from the device that knows the user best.” This means that in the era of agentic AI, the ability to understand context—accumulated at the points of daily interaction with users, such as smartphones and wearables—will become a core competitive advantage.

To this end, SamsungElectronics is also emphasizing connectivity and security among Galaxy devices. The company plans to simultaneously enhance personalized AI experiences and security by protecting connections between devices through Samsung Knox and processing personal data on the device itself via the Personal Data Engine.

This Unpacked event is seen as a watershed moment for SamsungElectronics to maintain its leadership in the foldable phone market. While SamsungElectronics has pioneered the foldable phone market since launching the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, competition in the premium smartphone market is expected to intensify further with Apple’s anticipated launch of its first foldable phone this year.

Industry observers believe SamsungElectronics will preemptively respond to Apple’s market entry by segmenting its foldable product lineup and advancing its AI capabilities. It is predicted that competition will move beyond mere hardware capabilities—such as folding mechanisms—and shift toward multi-tasking on large screens, personalized AI experiences, and ecosystem integration with wearables and smart home devices.