Yesterday, Samsung rented out the Barclays Center to unveil its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9. We were in Brooklyn for the event and were able to get our hands on the new smartphone, but Samsung also, maybe unexpectedly, announced a few other products that got us excited. There’s the Galaxy Watch, the company’s true rival to the Apple Watch. And then there’s the new Galaxy Home, Samsung’s upcoming smart speaker. You’ll find everything you need to know about these new gadgets below. Stay tuned for more in-depth reviews.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is bigger, more powerful, and comes with way more storage than the Note 8. It also touts a 4,000mAh battery, the largest that’s every been put in a Galaxy smartphone. There are a bunch of new specs and features, maybe most interestingly is a redesigned S Pen (it’s yellow!) that now comes with Bluetooth. It works the same as previous S Pens, only it now has a little button on it that allows you to use it as a remote. You can toggle through slides of a presentation or even use it as a remote control for your phone’s cameras (yes, you can take better selfies). The Note 9 will start at $1,000 and be available for pre-order today (August 10) and it’ll ship on August 24.
Samsung Galaxy Watch
The Galaxy Watch looks like a hybrid between the fitness-focused Gear Sport and rugged Gear S3 smartwatches. It has the rotating bezel of the Gear S3, but the sleeker look of the Gear Sport. It also comes in LTE models, so it can go completely sans phone. The Galaxy Watch will be available in two models: a 46mm silver version ($330) and 42mm black and rose gold versions ($350). You can pre-order either model today (August 10) and they’ll start shipping on August 24.
Samsung Galaxy Home Smart Speaker
Late is better than never, and that’s exactly what Samsung is thinking with its first-ever smart speaker: the Galaxy Home. It’s a fabric-wrapped speaker that stands on three stubby-looking metal legs. As for sound, has six built-in speakers and a subwoofer. And it responds to “Hi, Bixby.” Expect more pricing and release date information to come in November.
