Samsung’s Entire Galaxy Lineup Goes Snapdragon, Qualcomm (QCOM) Rallies 1%+ After Hours

Samsung Electronics unveiled a slate of new products at its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event on July 22 (Beijing time; morning of July 22 ET), including three foldable phones and two smartwatches. Every device runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform, further cementing the long-standing partnership in mobile chips. As of after-hours trading on July 22, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares were at $175.63, up 1.23% (+$2.13) from the prior close of $173.50, with an intraday high of $178.65 and a low of $170.595.^{[The Verge]}

Three Foldables All Powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

The star of the show was the Galaxy Z Fold 8, featuring a new wider design that is shorter and wider than the Z Fold 7, with a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch outer display. According to The Verge, the device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, starting at $1,899.^{[The Verge]}

Samsung also introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for the first time, positioning it as the top-tier foldable. It inherits the design language of the Z Fold 7 and also runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, with a larger 5,000mAh battery supporting 45W wired and 20W wireless charging, starting at $2,099.^{[The Verge]}

The clamshell-style Galaxy Z Flip 8 also got a spec upgrade, swapping last year’s Exynos 2500 for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The starting price was not disclosed in the report.^{[The Verge]}

Engadget noted that all three new phones feature Samsung’s latest Flex Titanium display technology, which adds a titanium layer beneath the flexible OLED to enhance support, absorb pressure and impact, and reduce crease visibility. However, none of the three phones natively support the Qi2 wireless charging standard; users will need a magnetic-compatible case to get full Qi2 functionality.^[Engadget]

Smartwatches and Smart Glasses Expand the Snapdragon Ecosystem

Beyond phones, Samsung also launched the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, both powered by the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip that Qualcomm released earlier this year. Engadget reported that this is the first Snapdragon wearable chip built on a 3nm process, with a dedicated Hexagon NPU capable of supporting AI models with up to 2 billion parameters.^[Engadget]

On the smart glasses front, Samsung showed off a new design for its Android XR smart glasses, developed in partnership with Google, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker. According to Engadget, the glasses are powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip, with a battery life of up to 9 hours on a single charge and a charging case that provides an additional 7 full charges. Pricing and release dates have not yet been announced.^[Engadget]

Google Gemini Deep Integration, AI Features Take Center Stage

9to5Google reported that at Galaxy Unpacked, Google announced a series of Gemini AI updates for the new Galaxy devices. Gemini task automation has expanded from an initial 6 apps to over 40, covering shopping, restaurant reservations, travel booking, and event ticketing. Galaxy Z Flip 8 users can activate the feature directly on the Flex Window by long-pressing the power button.^[9to5Google]

Additionally, the Gemini app now has advanced reasoning capabilities, allowing it to understand on-screen content and parse complex images as prompts. Google noted that “sometimes the simplest way to explain a need is to show Gemini a shopping list or an inspiration photo.” The new phones also come pre-loaded with the recently renamed Gemini Notebook app, enabling drag-and-drop multitasking on the Fold 8’s large screen. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8, and Flip 8 all come with a 6-month subscription to Google AI Pro.^[9to5Google]

Samsung Biologics Strong Q2 Results, Pushes 1.46 Billion Swiss Franc Acquisition

Beyond consumer electronics, Samsung Group’s biopharmaceutical subsidiary Samsung Biologics released its second-quarter earnings on the same day. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the company’s Q2 net profit rose 29.1% YoY to 430.7 billion won (about $291.6 million), operating profit increased 22.9% to 586.4 billion won, and sales grew 30.2% to 1.3 trillion won. The company attributed the growth to full-capacity operations at its four plants in Songdo, capacity ramp-up at a fifth plant, and a weaker won.^{[Korea JoongAng Daily]}

BioSpace reported that Samsung Biologics also announced the launch of an all-cash public tender offer on the same day, offering 44.31 Swiss francs per share for all fully diluted shares of Swiss peptide CDMO PolyPeptide Group AG, implying an equity value of approximately 1.46 billion Swiss francs. PolyPeptide’s board has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer, and its largest shareholder (holding about 55.65%) has made an irrevocable commitment. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 66⅔% and regulatory approvals.^[BioSpace]

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