Definition

Samsung Galaxy

Nick Barney
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What is Samsung Galaxy?

Samsung Galaxy is Samsung Electronics' flagship line of Android smartphones and tablets. The original Samsung Galaxy smartphone debuted in 2009, and the line's first tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab, came out the following year. Samsung Galaxy also includes internet of things (IoT) devices, such as smartwatches and Bluetooth earbuds.

All Samsung Galaxy phones and other devices, including the company's Chromebook laptops, offer touchscreen capabilities and device pairing, which lets customers use multiple Samsung Galaxy devices at once. Samsung Galaxy devices are available for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and other cellular carriers.

Samsung Galaxy mobile devices use One UI, a user interface based on Google's Android operating system (OS). The latest Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone offers a 108-megapixel camera and can shoot video in 8K ultra-high-definition resolution. The Samsung Galaxy S10+ offers users 1 terabyte of internal storage.

Samsung Galaxy's top competitor is Apple iPhone. As of December 2022, Samsung and Apple each had about 27% of the global market for mobile devices, according to StatCounter. In the tablet market, Samsung's 30% global market share was second to Apple's 51%.

Photo of the Samsung Galaxy S22 phone
Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphones offer an array of features, including a Night Mode camera for nighttime photography, an S Pen for note taking and drawing, a 4-nanometer processor, a battery lasting up to 12 hours and a 3x optical camera zoom.

Types of Galaxy devices

There are several types of Galaxy devices, including smartphones, tablets, wearables and laptops.

Phones

Samsung Galaxy has a variety of phones, such as the following:

  • Galaxy Z series. This line of foldable Samsung smartphones includes Galaxy Z Flip LTE, Galaxy Z Flip3, Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Fold4.
  • Galaxy S (Super Smart) series. Samsung's high-end line includes Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra.
  • Galaxy A (Alpha) series. These midrange smartphones include Galaxy A53 5G and Galaxy A13.
  • Galaxy M (Millennial) series. Samsung's line of lower-cost smartphones is available only on com.
  • Galaxy F (Fun) series. These phones are only available in India, Bangladesh and China.
  • Galaxy XCover series. Samsung's durable line of water- and dust-proof phones is designed for rugged work environments.

Tablets

Samsung Galaxy tablets, known as Samsung Galaxy Tab, include the following:

  • Galaxy Tab S series. This is Samsung's most expensive tablet series with the popular Tab S8.
  • Galaxy Tab A series. The Tab A line is Samsung's less expensive series of tablets.
Photo of Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 has split-screen viewing, a 10.5-inch-wide display, Quad Dolby Atmos surround sound speakers, Octa-core processor with up to 4 GB RAM, screen recording and Samsung TV Plus.


Samsung Galaxy Gear

Samsung Galaxy Gear includes the following wearable devices:

  • the Samsung Galaxy Watch smartwatch series, including the Galaxy Watch5, which runs on the Tizen OS;
  • activity trackers, such as the Samsung Galaxy Fit series, which also runs on Tizen; and
  • Bluetooth earbuds, such as Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds2 Pro.
Photo of Samsung Galaxy Watch5
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 offers cross-platform texts and calls; body readings, such as heart rate, ECG and sleep trackers; fitness trackers that connect users to live coaching sessions; and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity when a user is out of range of Wi-Fi.


Laptops

Samsung Galaxy laptops are based on Google's ChromeOS and include displays that can rotate from laptop to tablet. These laptops include the following:

  • Samsung Galaxy Chromebook
  • Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2
Photo of Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 4
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 4 has an array of features, including 128 GB of internal storage, a 15.6-inch HD screen, access to Google services, up to 10 hours of battery life, a voice-activated Google assistant and Knox security.

Key features of Galaxy devices

The latest Samsung Galaxy products share the following common key features and functionality:

  • S Pens. Samsung's line of styluses available for phones and tablets let users write, draw and take notes on their screens.
  • Cross-platform syncing. This feature enables users to sync files across different Galaxy devices, including phones, tablets, wearables and laptops. Users can connect different devices together for dual-screen experiences and to respond to phone texts from their laptop or tablet keyboards.
  • Design customizations. Galaxy users can customize the colors of their Galaxy watches, home screens, widgets and the themes of their other devices. Colors include Lively Bora Purple and Phantom Black, among others.
  • Knox Vault. Samsung's Evaluation Assurance Level 5+-certified hardware security layer stores personal identification numbers, passwords and other critical data on Galaxy S and F series devices. In the case of a physical intrusion, Knox locks a user's device.
  • Privacy settings. These settings provide the ability to turn off location tracking on specific applications and opt out of ads. A privacy indicator alerts users when an app is trying to access their microphone, camera or location.
  • Fast charging and long-lasting battery life. Galaxy batteries last up to 12 hours after a full charge.
  • Cinema-quality displays. Galaxy displays use the same active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, or AMOLED, technology used in professional TV and digital cameras.
  • 5G mobile network. Samsung phones can access the fastest 5G cellular networks available.
  • Wi-Fi 6E access. Users have access to Wi-Fi 6E networks, the most advanced and fastest wireless networks.
  • IP68-certified technology. Galaxy devices can survive significant dust and over a meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
  • Folding screens. The Z Flip and Z Fold models let users spilt their screen and use three applications at once. Samsung also offers a real-time split-screen, real-time translation feature.
  • Nightography camera mode. This capability captures high-quality photos and videos at night by combining 30 images into one shot or frame per second.
  • AI photo editing. Samsung’s S24 features an AI-powered Edit Suggestion tool for photos, complete with a watermark for photos altered by AI.
  • Android Auto. This capability lets users ask for AI-generated summaries of messages in the car and AI-generated reply suggestions while driving.
Checklist of latest Samsung Galaxy device features
The latest Samsung Galaxy devices offer a variety of features.

Galaxy device release history

The most important Samsung Galaxy product releases are the following:

  • 2009, the Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
  • 2010, the Samsung Galaxy S series, one of Samsung's oldest and most popular lines of smartphones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.
  • 2011, the Samsung Galaxy XCover series.
  • 2013, Samsung Galaxy Gear.
  • 2014, the Samsung Galaxy A series of smartphones and tablets and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S series.
  • 2015, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A series.
  • 2019, Samsung Galaxy Fit, the Samsung Galaxy Z series of foldable smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy M series and Samsung Galaxy Buds.
  • 2020, the Samsung Galaxy F series and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook.
  • 2022, the Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4.
  • 2024, the Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphone series.

The Samsung Galaxy line includes smartphones and smartwatches, both of which play significant roles as IoT devices. Learn more about the top types of IoT devices.

This was last updated in January 2024

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