Samsung’s well-rounded product lineup is why I’m all in on the brand

Now that the consumer tech space has fully matured, the battle of ecosystems is more important than any one set of competing products. Most people aren’t just buying a great smartphone; they’re buying into a family of cohesive products. Apple has its famous ecosystem, Samsung has the Galaxy ecosystem, and Google has the Pixel ecosystem. When comparing the “big three” ecosystems in North America, I’ve always thought Samsung’s was severely underrated. You can buy a phone, television, refrigerator, and washing machine all from the same company — that’s something no one else offers.

That’s been the case for a while but now feels like the perfect time to jump into the Samsung ecosystem. The company just unveiled new foldables, a Galaxy Watch Ultra, a brand-new Galaxy Ring, and a redesigned set of Galaxy Buds. That’s on top of the Galaxy Book 4 Edge launch last month, which is a Samsung laptop packing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chipset.

Put it all together, Samsung is offering an incredibly well-rounded consumer electronics ecosystem. It doesn’t really matter if some of its products are carbon copies of Apple’s, or if others are somewhat boring. There’s a reason we see Samsung resting on its laurels a bit. It’s because the company has a really good pitch, and if I was buying into an ecosystem from scratch today, I would definitely go with Samsung’s.

Top-notch smartphones

There’s plenty to like, whether you want foldables or flagships

Tech ecosystems start with smartphones, so it’s fitting that no company has that product covered more than Samsung. I’m not saying that Samsung makes the absolute best phone — I think Google, OnePlus, and Apple all give Samsung a run for its money in their own ways — but it definitely offers the most high-quality smartphones. If you’re looking for a foldable, there’s the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. For a more traditional phone, you have the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. Budget buyers have the Galaxy A-series, too.

Whatever your needs are, there’s probably a Samsung phone that suits them. The one knock on Galaxy phones right now is its cameras because both the S and Z series have camera systems that haven’t been materially updated in quite some time. If you can look past that, Samsung phones are a great starting point for the Galaxy ecosystem.

Premium wearables

Watches and rings have you covered, whichever you prefer

Forgetting the Apple-inspired design of the Galaxy Watch Ultra, last week’s Galaxy Unpacked event brought great news for the brand’s wearables. I already loved the Galaxy Watch 6, and the new Galaxy Watch 7 brings a few iterative improvements over that model. Now that the Galaxy Watch Ultra exists, there’s a true rugged and capable smartwatch to rival the Apple Watch Ultra. We’ll be reviewing the new Galaxy Watches for ourselves, but I suspect they’ll be a great pairing for Galaxy phones.

To round things out, there’s the Galaxy Ring. It won’t be for everyone, but this new smart ring gives Samsung’s ecosystem a key advantage over its competitors. No other mainstream smartphone manufacturer sells a smart ring, and thus, the Galaxy Ring will provide ecosystem-level integration for the first time in this category. I always wanted a smart ring that would play nice with my phone, and the Galaxy ecosystem is the only one that offers that.

Great earbuds

The Galaxy Buds 3 might be AirPods lookalikes, but they’re still good

Say what you want about the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro design, because Samsung actually made the right call here. The company already had great drivers in the Galaxy Buds, and the redesign of the newer pairs adds better comfort, microphone quality, and active noise-cancellation. These are true AirPods rivals, and they’re the ANC earbuds you should buy if you have a Galaxy phone. I thought the weird shape of the older Galaxy Buds (and more so the Galaxy Buds Live) held back the Samsung ecosystem, but that isn’t the case anymore. The new Galaxy Buds 3 lineup is a reason to buy in to the Galaxy brand.

Don’t forget about tablets

The Galaxy Tab S9 series is still the best of what Android has to offer

It’s easy to forget about Samsung’s tablets, because the flagship Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra hasn’t been updated since August 2023. Even still, the Galaxy Tab lineup represents some of the best Android tablets have to offer. It’s nearly impossible to topple the iPad, but the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra gets as close as possible. There’s also the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and the budget Galaxy Tab S9 FE.

Personally, I think tablets have lost a bit of their luster lately, as their feature set tends to overlap with smartphones and laptops. That’s why it doesn’t bother me as much that Apple is ahead of Samsung in the tablet race. But if you’re into tablets, Samsung still has good offerings that won’t hold the ecosystem back.

Laptops, too

The Galaxy Book 4 Edge rounds out the Samsung ecosystem

When you think of Samsung, you probably don’t think of laptops. However, it’s possible that Samsung made more progress with laptops this year than any other product category. Last month, it released the Galaxy Book 4 Edge, which is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite chipset. It’s based on Arm, just like Apple’s M-series Macs. That allows the Galaxy Book 4 Edge to offer a lot of performance while maintaining great efficiency. It’s a Windows laptop with great battery life, and one of the few Copilot+ PCs on the planet. If you want a device ecosystem that includes a fantastic laptop, Samsung’s got one with the Galaxy Book 4 Edge.

It’s the most well-rounded ecosystem ever

Apple’s may feature tighter integration, but Samsung’s is all-encompassing

Switching device ecosystems is not easy. Smartphones, wearables, tablets, and laptops have become expensive, and buying a product in every one of those categories at once could result in a hefty bill of thousands. That’s why it’s often easier to slowly upgrade within your current ecosystem, one product at a time. However, if the timing is right for you to upgrade a handful of products in your ecosystem, there’s a strong case for buying into Samsung’s Galaxy family of products.

The company’s recent announcements may not have been the most ambitious or the most exciting. I wish Samsung did more, but the bottom line is that it’s still a leader in every category, even without putting its best foot forward. The company’s flagship phones can hang with the best of them; the Galaxy Watch Ultra is a true Apple Watch Ultra competitor, and the Galaxy Ring rounds out the wearable category. Throw in great earbuds, tablets, and laptops, and you’ve got a complete package just by sticking with Galaxy.

There’s also the benefit that Samsung devices sort of work with two ecosystems. They’ll work with the Samsung ecosystem, of course, and come with features like Samsung Health and Samsung Find. But they’ll also work with Google’s ecosystem in a slightly-more-limited fashion, through things like Find My Device and Google Fit.

It’s rare that a company is at the top of its game throughout its entire product stack. Sure, you could say that the OnePlus Open is better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and I’d probably agree with you. However, the fact that Samsung is in the conversation for having the best product in every aforementioned category is downright impressive. Apple’s ecosystem simply doesn’t cover as many bases as Samsung’s, and Google’s is simply weaker. That’s why if I were overhauling my tech ecosystem right now, I’d be buying Samsung products.