Samsung’s Unpacked event was all about its newest flagship smartphone: the Galaxy S8. It was the key to winning back the support of the public and the tech industry after all the mistakes of 2016.
However, Samsung also made a flurry of other announcements, ranging from updates to its VR line to smart home connectivity. So here are five important announcements from the event that you may have missed:
5. AKG headphones bundled-in with the Galaxy S8
The Galaxy S8 does in fact have a headphone jack—and are making a point of it by bundling in a pair of really solid AKG headphones with the phone. The headphones normally go for $99, so adding them in for free is a pretty sweet deal. It’s nothing that companies like HTC and LG haven’t done in the past, but it’s still a nice offer.
4. New motion-controller for Galaxy Gear VR
Samsung has been at the front of pushing mobile VR and it doesn’t seem like they’re slowing down at anytime soon. At the event, the company announced a new Galaxy Gear VR headset, as well as a new VR motion-controller.
The motion controller is similar to what Google launched last year with the Daydream View, except that this controller has an actual trigger, which could make it a bit more useful for things like games and menus. The controller will be sold bundled in with the Gear VR at a new $129 price point, or at $40 sold separately.
3. New Samsung 360 Camera
Along with the VR theme, Samsung also announced a new 360 camera that it handed out to attendees of the press event. It’s significantly smaller and sleeker than the previous version, as well as being able to shoot in 4K. It comes with two 8.4-megapixel sensors that actually work with both Android and iOS.
2. The Samsung Dex attempts to turn your smartphone into a desktop
One of the most surprising announcements was something the company calls Samsung Dex. Essentially, it is a hub to plug your smartphone into that can transform it into a desktop-like environment on a bigger monitor.
It’s very similar to what Microsoft has done with its Continuum product, though Samsung’s desktop software looks a bit more like Chrome OS than Windows. We’re still not sure who will actually want to use something like this on a consistent basis, but the technology is still pretty impressive.
1. Samsung releases a new IoT Hub
Lastly, Samsung made a big push for the Galaxy S8 has a hub for connectivity. It launched a new app called Samsung Connect, which is a software hub (similar to Apple’s Home app) which lets you control all the various smart products in your home.
Alongside the app, Samsung announced something called the Samsung Connect Home, which is a router and physical smart home hub, similar to something like the Google Home. It’s not clear if it will have the same voice capabilities of a product like that, but after the success of the Amazon Echo, Samsung no doubt wanted to get in the game.
