The history of Samsung Unpacked – Explained! And your chance to win a Samsung prize pack

Samsung has a long history of cutting edge products and innovative technology. The regular Unpacked events are where you get your first glimpse of the new products the company has been working on and we're only a few short days from Unpacked 2018.

This year Samsung is making its big new Galaxy reveal in Barcelona just ahead of the Mobile World Conference event. You'll be able to follow along via the official livestream on February 25 at 6pm Central European, which is February 26 at 4am AEDT.

But what can you expect from Galaxy Unpacked 2018? The tagline of the event certainly gives a pretty big hint of what Samsung wants to show us: "The Camera. Reimagined".

Superior snaps.

Samsung's no slouch when it comes to smartphone cameras. Back in the dim dark past of 2004, well before the Galaxy range, the company had the first mobile phone with a 5-megapixel CCD camera in the whole world.

There's no need to delve that far into ancient history to see Samsung's commitment to innovating the way we snap photos on our phones. The Galaxy S4, which we first got a look at during Unpacked 2013, sported the Dual Shot mode, letting you combine the 2-megapixel front camera and the 13-megapixel rear camera for a picture-in-picture image.

Even more recently, the Galaxy S7 from 2016 had a professional-grade Dual-Pixel Sensor camera with some remarkable features. The larger pixel size and wide aperture meant better use of available lighting and that made for great low-light photographer. The camera on the Galaxy S7 was also able to focus three times faster than the camera on the Galaxy S6.

The Galaxy Note8 from just last years was Samsung's first phone with a dual rear camera system. This meant access to the ever popular "bokeh" effect, where a person or object is in focus and the rest of the photo artfully blurred. For a lot of users, it was a game changer for taking portrait snaps!

But it's not just the camera that makes Samsung phones so popular. Here are a few of the other big innovations we've seen at Unpacked events in the past.

Superb screens and lightning fast processors.

In a world of high-end smartphone photography and streaming video services, a big, high-res screen is king. Back in 2011, the first Galaxy Note raised eyebrows around the world for its (at the time) massive 5.3-inch screen. In 2018 the Galaxy Note8 not only had a 6.3-inch screen, it also featured the Infinity Display, curving over the sides of the phone and all in Quad HD+ resolution.

Of course, a big display needs a powerful processor behind it. Samsung's chipsets are used around the world and not only in Samsung products. Just earlier this year, Samsung overtook Intel as the world's biggest seller of chipsets -- the first time that's happened in 25 years. Last year's Galaxy S8 had the world's first 10mn processor which set a new standard for better-performing phones.

And if you're worried about running out of memory on your phone, Samsung is committed to expandable memory. You can boost the storage on the Galaxy S8 and Note8 by a massive 256GB if that's what you need (Micro SD cards sold separately).

Security front and centre.

Our phones contain so much personal data these days that security should be on everyone's mind. Samsung packs its Knox service into every handset. Samsung Knox is a mix of overlapping defence and security technologies, protecting against intrusion, malware, and even more malicious threats.

That's backed up with smart biometric security. The Galaxy S8 offered not only a fingerprint reader, but options for facial recognition and even iris scanning to ensure only you get into your phone. There's even physical security, thanks to an IP Rating of 68 -- basically meaning that you can drop your phone in water, up to 1.5M for up to 30 minutes, and not go running for a bag of rice like the old days.

Convenience

At Galaxy Unpacked 2017 we met Bixby, Samsung's voice-powered personal assistant. Bixby doesn't just listen for voice commands -- it's built into the camera as well. Bixby Vision can identity objects in real time and search for similar products or items. It can tell you about landmarks if you're on vacation or even read the label on a bottle of wine and suggest food to pair it with.

Speaking of convenience, the latest Galaxy phones also support wireless charging. Just pop the phone down on a charging pad (sold separately) and you're set.

 Gear, DeX and beyond

All of that's just looking at the phones themselves. There are a host of other Samsung products that work with the Galaxy range, from the Gear Smartwatch range, to the ever-evolving Gear VR headsets and even the DeX Docking Station that can hook up your phone to a compatible monitor, keyboard and mouse for even more productivity.

We won't know what's next for the Galaxy range until Unpacked 2018, so if you want to stay up to date, sign up here and remember to set the alarm and catch the livestream direct from Barcelona at 4am AEDT on February 26.

Although details are still under wraps until the Unpacked event, thanks to Samsung Australia we are giving one lucky Australian reader the chance to win a Samsung prize pack. All you need to do is complete the form below and tell us in 25 words or less what feature you would be most excited to see on the next Samsung Galaxy handset?

The winner will be chosen based on the most creative answer and entries close on February 25th AU EST, so get your entry in now! This competition is only open to residents of Australia over the age of 18. Click here to read the full terms and conditions.