Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 series launches at Unpacked London in July. The event will debut an entirely new type of Samsung foldable phone, called the “Wide” Fold that has a completely different shape than what we’ve seen from the Korean company so far.
It even has a direct competitor in the Apple iPhone Fold, which will land this September if the hinge design doesn’t hold up.
But what can buyers expect from the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 in terms of specs, features and most importantly, price? And how will it compete with the potential juggernaut that will be Apple’s first foldable phone?
Here’s what we know about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series so far.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Release Date and Sale Date
Several leaks have so far indicated that Unpacked will take place in late July, with the 22nd being the most consistently reported date.
Samsung typically opens pre-orders on the day of the announcement and ships devices about two weeks later, putting the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 on sale around August 7.
The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold will store similar dimensions to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide. (Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Samsung’s popular dual-storage deal is expected to survive the RAM crisis-induced pricing, according to tipster Lanzuk at Naver. However, there may be more room to go through to qualify for the pre-order deal, or it may be watered down, Lanzuk claims.
But we don’t know where the dual storage offer will be available. Going by the launch of the Galaxy S26, Samsung dropped the free memory upgrade for US buyers but kept it in Europe.
Instead, American shoppers received up to $900 in trade-ins, or $150 in store credit with no trade-in. Amazon stepped in with its own double storage deal and a $200 gift card. A much better deal than Samsung, so don’t be surprised if Amazon or other third-party retailers have their own aggressive pre-order deals.
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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 series: Three devices for the first time
Samsung is launching three foldables in July.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the tall book-style foldable that replaces the Z Fold 7. The Ultra name is new as Samsung aligns its foldable with the Galaxy S Ultra brand, explicitly positioning it as its most premium foldable phone. It will be interesting to see what this means for the specs (more on that below).
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 (also referred to as the Wide Fold) is a completely new design. A landscape-oriented foldable with a wider 4:3 external display, designed to function more like a standard smartphone with one hand, but look more like a tablet when unfolded.
The idea is that widescreen videos will look much more natural on the big screen, instead of having big black boxes above and below the video like it does on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is Samsung’s foldable phone. Leaks suggest that this will remain a mid-range phone aimed at casual buyers with a maximum of 512GB of storage, rather than Fold power users who will want 1TB of storage.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 colors and storage
Digital Citizen published the full range of colors and storage options, which was also supported by prolific tipster Samsung Ice Universe. Here’s what to expect.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Cream, Graphite, Green Shade, Violet Shade—256GB, 512GB, 1TB.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 (Wide): Cream, Graphite, Lavender, Pistachio—256GB, 512GB, 1TB. Additional online-exclusive colors are also expected, with green hues among them, according to Lanzuk on Naver.
Galaxy Z Flip 8: Cream, Graphite, Mint, Pink—256GB and 512GB only.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Specs: What We Know
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging. It comes in at around 4.1mm when unfolded, making it one of the thinnest foldables Samsung has ever made, according to Ice Universe. It weighs around 215 grams (the same as the Z Fold 7) and won’t include an S Pen slot.
Ice Universe also confirmed this week that Samsung has significantly improved the screen resolution on the Z Fold 8 Ultra. At face value that just suggests a higher resolution display with a higher pixel density. This might be why Samsung is calling this phone “Ultra” compared to the Wide.
At a press briefing for the Galaxy S26 series this year, I asked a Samsung representative about the UK price hike and got a response about how much more buyers are getting for the phone, especially the privacy screen. This twist may be an insight into new premium features on the Fold 8 Ultra.
On the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide camera: it is expected to have a 50MP main sensor, which supports 24MP native mode, along with a 50MP ultra-wide lens. Based on camera specs alone, don’t be surprised if the Wide Fold is the cheaper of the two and Samsung’s entry-level book-shaped foldable in the coming years.
For the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra camera: it is expected to have a 200MP main sensor with OIS, a 50MP ultrawide, which would be a significant upgrade from the Z Fold 7’s 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. This will be the first time the Fold series comes close to matching the Galaxy S Ultra’s camera hardware.
Both Fold 8 models are expected to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with the Flip 8 powered by the Exynos 2600. This will change by country.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide: The Surprise Device
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is the device I’m keeping an eye on because it’s new, it’s a direct competitor to Apple’s iPhone Fold, and like I said, it’s new and shiny. It’s also light at 201g, weighing less than the Ultra.
Part of this will be the smaller 4,800 mAh battery with 45W charging and a dual camera system: main 50 MP and ultra-wide 50 MP, without a telephoto lens.
The two screens are the main feature here. The cover display is a 5.4-inch panel, while the internal display is expected to be 7.6 inches. But it is the shape of both that matters most. The wider aspect ratio on both, but especially the flip, means videos will fit more naturally than on a tall flip phone. Like a traditional tablet. Here is a good illustration of how they differ from the Ice Universe.
ZDNet Korea it also reported that the Wide Fold uses ultra-thin 60μm glass on its internal display, 30% thicker than the 45μm used in the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Thicker glass should mean a more durable screen in everyday use, with better resistance to drops and impacts.
Samsung Display showed off a crease-free panel for foldable phones at this year’s CES, but it’s unclear if that will make it to any of the Korean company’s new flexible handsets. The difference in screen thickness could be an indication that one of the two devices has a less visible bezel than the other.
What we still don’t know about the Galaxy Z Fold 8
Price. No reliable source has confirmed the final US price for any of the three devices. I imagine Samsung is still working out the math on how it can maintain margins in the midst of a memory chip shortage that’s driving up component prices while not scaring away buyers with a major competitor lurking on the horizon.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 price increase in April may give us an idea of how much the Fold 8 series will cost. Samsung has increased the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 1TB to $2,499.99 from $2,419.99 in the US, a jump of $80. The 512GB model is also up $80 to $2,199.99, while the entry-level 256GB remains at $1,999.99.
The entry-level Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra staying at $1,999.99 while higher storage tiers increase would make sense. Or maybe the Wide is the budget option with its smaller specs. That would mean the Wide remains at $2,000 while the Ultra reaches new, unknown price heights justified by premium specs.
What we do know, though, is that prices will eventually come down. After raising the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung did several discounts that dropped the price again by hundreds of dollars. The same was true for the Galaxy S26 series, which finally got its own dual storage deal in the US months after launch. Whichever Galaxy Z Fold 8 model you buy, make sure you buy it at the right time.
