Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024: What time, how to watch, and what to expect

Every year, Samsung holds a few Galaxy Unpacked events. The first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event for 2024 is happening today and will showcase the new Galaxy phones amongst other things.

Typically, Samsung doesn’t just announce new phones and call it a day. It usually launches other hardware and makes announcements about software features on myriad devices. There are also sometimes celebrity guests and other surprises.

If you want to watch Galaxy Unpacked yourself, you’re in the right place! Here’s what you need to know about viewing Unpacked and everything we expect to see there.

What time is the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event?

Samsung will hold the first 2024 Galaxy Unpacked today, January 17, at 1 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. You can convert that to your own local time at the link. The event will happen in San Jose, California. The official livestream video is above, so you can come back here to watch it at the scheduled time.

At almost every Unpacked show, Samsung opens pre-orders for the devices it announces that same day. Although we can’t guarantee it, you should go ahead and expect pre-orders to open on January 17, right around the time the event ends.

If you want to be reminded about the Unpacked launch and earn $50 off your eventual pre-order, be sure to reserve your next Galaxy using the button below.

What to expect from Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024

The star of the show today will be a new slate of Galaxy smartphones. However, that’s not all we expect. Here’s everything we’re likely to see!

What Samsung phones will be released at the Unpacked 2024 event?

Although Samsung hasn’t come out and said so, we will surely see the Galaxy S24 series debut today. These will be the 2024 flagship phones from Samsung, featuring the best cameras, processors, and software features.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 will be the standard model. It will probably look a lot like the Galaxy S23 with a flat display, a centered display cutout for the selfie camera, and a triple-lens rear camera system. It will also almost certainly be comparatively sized to the Galaxy S23.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Plus will probably look like a larger version of the Galaxy S24 and feature most of the same specs.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, as one would expect, will be very similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. One notable rumor we’ve heard, though, is that this phone could, for the first time, have a flat display. It could also have a slightly reworked camera system.

To learn everything we know (or think we know) so far about the Galaxy S24 series — including specs, prices, colors, and more — be sure to visit our Galaxy S24 rumor hub. Also, if you intend to buy a Galaxy S24 phone when pre-orders open, you’ll want to reserve your next Galaxy so you can save $50.

What other products can we expect at the Unpacked 2024 event?

The most prominent thing we expect Samsung to discuss at Unpacked isn’t a physical product. We know for certain that Samsung will officially launch Galaxy AI at Unpacked today, and this will surely take up the bulk of the show.

Galaxy AI will be Samsung’s answer to the generative AI craze created by products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Copilot. We only know a little bit about Galaxy AI so far. We know some of its features will work on-device, but most will be cloud-based, so they’ll require a data connection. We also know there are three aspects to Samsung Gauss (the underlying system powering Galaxy AI), including Language, Code, and Image cores. It’s not difficult to decipher what we can expect from Galaxy AI with those abilities baked in, but we’ll need to wait for the full launch to see how these systems will integrate into the Galaxy S24 series.

On a related note, we expect Samsung to launch One UI 6.1 alongside the Galaxy S24 series. This will be an iterative upgrade to One UI 6 (based on Android 14). Most of the new features in One UI 6.1 will likely make their way to other Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S23 series, but it will debut on the Galaxy S24 phones.

Will there be any other hardware?

Samsung could also launch other hardware at this event. So far, the most likely item could be the Galaxy Fit 3, the first pure fitness tracker from Samsung in years. We’ve already seen leaked Galaxy Fit 3 renders, so if it doesn’t land at Unpacked, it will certainly land soon.

We could also see an update on the mysterious XR experience Samsung and Google teased at the launch of the Galaxy S23 series. So far, we know this device — likely a VR/AR headset — will be powered by Android and feature the top-of-the-line Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 processor. Other than that, we are in the dark. Hopefully, we’ll at least learn something new about it, but a full-on launch is not likely.

We do not expect new laptops, tablets, smartwatches, or earbuds at Galaxy Unpacked. However, that doesn’t mean Samsung won’t announce any — we just don’t have any evidence that will happen.

How to watch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event

Unfortunately, it is not easy to get into the physical Unpacked event in San Jose. You need an invitation from Samsung, which is only given out to exclusive media personnel and partners. Thankfully, Samsung livestreams the event for free so that anyone can watch it from the comfort of their own home.

The easiest way to watch Galaxy Unpacked 2024 will be at Samsung’s official YouTube channel. However, you’ll also be able to watch it at Samsung.com and through the company’s various social media accounts.

Remember, the livestream starts promptly at 10:00 AM PT on January 17, so be ready!

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