Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s annual Unpacked product events usually center on its flagship Galaxy S smartphone family, but this year brought a whole lot more.

The company debuted its latest-generation Galaxy S10 models at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco today, alongside the highly anticipated Galaxy Fold foldable phone (pictured). The launch represents a milestone for Samsung in more ways than one. The handsets are the electronics giant’s first products to support 5G, the emerging wireless standard expected to bring up to 100 times faster connectivity for mobile users.

The Galaxy Fold is particularly well-suited to take advantage of that extra bandwidth. In tablet mode, consumers can use the device’s primary 7.3-inch display to view up to three different app windows at once with a 2152-by-1536-pixel resolution. The Galaxy Fold can close like a book into a smartphone and uses a smaller, 4.6-inch screen on the front to display apps in this configuration.

Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, sees the device as a natural evolution of Samsung’s product roadmap. Its introduction follows a decade in which mobile screens have gotten progressively larger in response to user demand.

“Simply put, users want more display area to do more with the phone,” Moorhead said. “While I don’t think the experience will be ‘perfect,’ it doesn’t have to be, but I do believe the experience will be better than the first ‘phablets’ and any other announced foldable.”

Beyond the uniqueness factor, the Galaxy Fold boasts an impressive set of specifications. The device packs no fewer than six cameras: three on the back, two on the inside next to the primary 7.3-inch display and another adjacent to the secondary 4.6-inch screen. Under the hood is a seven-nanometer, eight-core processor from Qualcomm Inc. supported by 12 gigabytes of memory.

This expansive feature set will carry a steep price: Samsung plans to sell the Galaxy Fold starting at an eye-watering price. “At $1,980, it’s super premium, will be a niche product, but I believe it will sell out and become a status symbol,” Moorhead said.

Samsung’s 10th-anniversary Galaxy S10 smartphones have less extraordinary price tags. The first three models in the series, the S10E, S10 and S10 Plus, will be available for $750 to $1,000 in their basic configurations. Screen sizes range from 5.8 inches in the S10E, the most affordable of the trio, to 6.4 inches in the premium S10 Plus.

The three devices are set to be accompanied by a fourth, supersized model dubbed the S10 5G that will launch at an unspecified later date. Samsung hasn’t yet released pricing information but the phone will almost certainly be the priciest of the bunch. It features 5G support, a massive 6.7-inch screen and six cameras just like the Galaxy Fold — two on the front and four at the back.

“I am glad Samsung brought out three Galaxy models, the S10E, S10 and S10 Plus,” Moorhead said. “Some may call it confusing, but as markets mature, companies need to segment product lines more and be more precise with offerings with a certain set of features at a certain price to lure in buyers and improve profits. This is the way the auto industry operates and why it is still profitable.”

Samsung’s product segmentation strategy is clearly reflected in the four S10 variants’ internals. The low-end S10E starts with 128 gigabytes of storage and a 6 gigabytes of memory, while the S10 Plus offers up to to a terabyte of storage and 12 gigabytes of RAM. The pricier variants will also feature an in-display fingerprint fingerprint that uses Qualcomm’s recently unveiled ultrasonic sensing technology.

All four S10 variants share a number of new software features that were also unveiled today. One them is an artificial intelligence capability that can automatically preload apps at the specific times the user typically accesses them, making the overall mobile experience smoother. Another feature called Bixby Routines can disable or enable phone features and apps depending on what the user is doing at a given moment.

The S10E, S10 and S10 Plus will become available on Feb. 21, while the 5G model is set to launch sometime in the second quarter. As for the Galaxy Fold, Samsung plans to start shipping the device beginning April 26.

Photo: Samsung