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.
It’s a slippery slope between AI photo editing tools and a full-on slop machine.
You don’t have to spend thousands on a brand-new phone during RAMageddon.
Memory executive Jaejune Kim said in the company’s latest quarterly earnings call that “tight supply conditions” will continue in 2028, driven by demand from AI. As it predicted, Samsung reported record quarterly revenue of 195.3 trillion Korean Won ($146.3 billion), and said its 2027 supply of HBM RAM is already sold out.
The Duo’s imminent release means the EU released its energy and durability ratings, including its rated battery capacity of 4,883mAh. Rated capacities are lower than typical marketed capacities, so this battery is bigger than in either the Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra, but still smaller than in foldables from Oppo and Honor.
[European Commission]
The Samsung Health app has made Sleep Coaching reports more detailed, and now only requires three days of data within the past two weeks to initiate the feature, instead of seven days within a month. Additional Health app updates include expanded Running Coach programs, and new nutrition managmenet features for meal-logging and diet score assessments.
We’ve seen the Google-powered glasses twice before, designed in collaboration with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. But now SammyGuru has published what it claims are leaked images of every design and color, plus core specs. The glasses are rumored to launch next month. Here are a few frames, head to SammyGuru for the rest.
That’s according to analysts at Counterpoint, who also say sales in Q3 2026 were 20 percent down on the previous year, as supply shrinks and prices rise. Samsung held the top spot, helped by Galaxy Z Fold 8 sales, with Apple close behind.
When Googlebooks launched last week, Galaxy phones couldn’t use features linking the laptops to Android 17 phones. Mishaal Rahman confirmed on Reddit that an update is rolling out now adding support. Read our first Googlebook impressions here, and look out for my detailed thoughts on the Android side of things later today.
Android Authority cites a report from the Korean outlet Money Today, which says Samsung could decrease smartphone production by up to 30 percent in the fourth quarter. An unnamed source tells Money Today that Samsung’s smartphone sales currently aren’t yielding profit due to skyrocketing memory prices.
Another quarter another record profit, fueled by AI demand for the company’s memory chips.
Projected quarterly operating profit is 782% higher from a year earlier. Revenue forecast of about 195 trillion won is up nearly 127% from the same period last year.
The Galaxy A57 5G now starts at $599 on Samsung’s official website, up from $549, and $100 more than the previous A56 5G, Android Authority reports. Samsung bumped up the starting prices on the other A series phones by $20 to $40, after its Galaxy S26 phones also got a $100 price hike.
[Android Authority]
The Android XR glasses, designed in partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, were announced in May, with new designs revealed at Unpacked in July. Now The Korea Herald reports they’ll hit the market some time in November, citing confirmation from a Samsung official.
[The Korea Herald]
Seen in leaks last month, the Buds On are Samsung’s first foray into open earbuds, joining the likes of Sony and Bose. They’re powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 chip, and have 9.5 hours of battery per charge. South Korea gets them first, on October 27th for ₩299,000 (about $220), with more markets to follow.
The Samsung Art Store’s first cinematic collection includes 38 stills from A24 films that users can display like art on The Frame and other compatible TVs, including shots from I Saw the TV Glow and Midsommar.
Images shared by WinFuture suggest a return to the squircular design of the original SmartTag (unlike its pill-shaped successor), but without a cutout for key rings and carabiners. Instead an optional case could offer an attachment point, while a Spigen collaboration builds it into a pet collar. WinFuture expects it to launch in October for $29.99.
Supposedly galled the Galaxy Buds On, SammyGuru found an image of the earbuds in the Samsung Buds Manager app. Other images hint at features including automatic volume adjustment, voice memo recording, and head shaking and nodding gesture controls. Clip-ons are the new industry trend, with Bose, Sony, and Nothing already on board.
And they won’t be making more, meaning there won’t be a way to add Z-Wave devices to a SmartThings smart home. Aeotec, which makes both hubs for Samsung, told me they have about 10,000 left, which may last through the end of the year. Samsung discontinued the V3 last year and replaced it with the Smart Home Hub 2, which has twice the performance, but doesn’t support Z-Wave.
Samsung announced a new Galaxy Book6 laptop at IFA. It’s a 14-inch notebook with Intel Wildcat Lake processors, starting with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And it’ll start at $799.
It’s got more ports than the Neo and a much higher watt-hour battery. But, oddly, Samsung omitted the keyboard’s backlight just as Apple did. Not my top choice of things to copy, but okay.
8
Verge Score
The cover screen feels more like a phone than ever, but the limitations are still what makes it.
Foldables tend to struggle with the bend test, but the smaller Galaxy Z Fold 8 survived it, and this year’s Pixel foldable didn’t go up in smoke. Will Apple’s rumored ‘iPhone Ultra’ foldable fare any better?
“Galaxy Event August 2026” will take place on August 27th at 8AM ET, Samsung says. Perhaps it’ll be the launch venue for the rumored Galaxy S26 FE?
[Samsung Newsroom]
While checking out the 1,800-horsepower Destrier that Bugatti unveiled at Monterey Car Week, the folks at Road & Track also got a taste of the carmaker’s C-Seed Bugatti N1 TV.
Inspired by another 1,800hp beast, its sculptural design unfurls the 110- or 137-inch TV hiding inside in 45 seconds and can rotate up to 180 degrees.
Sales dropped 64% year-on-year in Q2, according to research from Counterpoint, as manufacturers raised prices or simply stopped shipping cheaper models. Samsung and Motorola have been the only brands to benefit, as smaller companies became unable to undercut them on price. That helped both grow their market share in prepaid phones.
Samsung’s online-exclusive “Pistachio” version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks great, and has apparently been selling well. But I’m a much bigger fan of Google’s Pixel 11 finish by the same name. It looks a lot closer to the color of a good pistachio gelato, unlike whatever minty nonsense Samsung is up to.
It’s still a stomach-clenching moment, though. He also did a cool teardown.
The FDA-approved hearing aid feature will arrive on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro in the US and select markets later this year. Samsung has also announced that users will be able to perform a hearing test with the buds, which will use the results to amplify the sounds they have trouble hearing the most.
Samsung’s adorable rolling robot was never officially killed off, but it also never made it to retail as promised. SammyGuru just discovered an unmistakable Ballie-looking icon inside an official Samsung app during an APK teardown. More proof of life or just another death rattle?
8
Verge Score
It doesn’t quite feel ‘Ultra,’ but it’s a comprehensive improvement on last year’s phone.
A report from ET News suggests that Samsung is planning to ditch the 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens on its next-gen flagship, leaving it with a 50MP 5x telephoto lens and third camera. Samsung is reportedly making the change to cut costs amid surging chip prices.
I’ve accepted that Samsung’s Ballie robot may never come out after disappearing from CES 2026. It was one of the cutest and most exciting robots ever… as of six years ago. SammyGuru has a look today at some “early UI design sketches” reminding us of what could have been.
Samsung Electronic’s memory chip business is killing it, hitting $49.64 billion for the quarter and driving over 99 percent of its operating profit. But the price gouging created by the AI hype caused its smartphone and home-appliance businesses to post modest operating losses due to the higher cost of chips and other components.
