Rumor mill: Samsung's Galaxy S21 lineup is selling well, but the company does wish it could persuade more iPhone fans to switch over to its phones. The company may be close to revealing new Galaxy foldables, and its new partnership with Google on Wear OS means new Galaxy smartwatches are on the way with an improved experience and integration.
As the mobile industry rebounded this year, Samsung reclaimed the crown as the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer by volume, but it has yet to challenge Apple in the smartwatch department. The Apple Watch continues to dominate, while Samsung's offerings are slowly declining in popularity.
The Korean tech giant is reportedly preparing a new event where it will release two new Galaxy foldable phones and two new Galaxy smartwatches. The rumor comes from leaker Max Weinbach, who has a relatively good track record when it comes to these things. Weinbach says the devices could launch as soon as August 3, which may or may not be the date for the next Galaxy Unpacked event.
Additionally, leaker Jon Prosser says the company will start shipping the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 on August 27, while the new Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 could start shipping as soon as August 11.
The new watches are expected to run Google's Wear OS with Samsung's OneUI layer on top of it instead of Tizen. More details about this integration could be revealed later this month at MWC 2021.
Previous rumors suggested that Samsung planned to release a Galaxy S21 "Fan Edition" this year in lieu of a new Galaxy Note smartphone, but supply chain insiders told Korean publication ETNews the company had suspended production of the new device due to unexpected technical issues and a shortage of Snapdragon 888 chipsets.