LONDON — Samsung Electronics unveiled a revamped foldable phone lineup Wednesday, introducing three new devices at a launch event in London as the South Korean tech giant looks to defend its lead in a product category it helped pioneer, just weeks ahead of Apple’s expected entry into the foldable market.
The lineup includes the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a new model with a shorter, wider form factor; the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a more traditional tall book-style foldable aimed at productivity users; and the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the company’s clamshell-style device. All three phones were announced at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event and are available for preorder starting Wednesday, with a full launch set for Aug. 7.
A reshuffled lineup and higher prices
This year’s release marks a notable shift in Samsung’s foldable strategy. Rather than releasing a single Fold model alongside a Flip, as it has in years past, Samsung introduced two distinct Fold variants for the first time. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra continues the familiar tall, narrow form factor associated with previous Fold generations, while the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a shorter, wider design that Samsung says is built primarily for consuming video content, browsing social media and gaming.
The pricing also reflects an increase compared with previous years. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at $2,099, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8 starts at $1,199. Samsung has attributed the higher prices in part to rising memory chip costs affecting the broader smartphone industry this year.
What sets the two Fold models apart
Beyond their differing aspect ratios, the two Fold devices carry several other distinctions. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 features a 5.5-inch front cover screen and a 7.6-inch main internal display, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra offers a larger 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch internal display. Samsung has positioned the Fold 8 Ultra as its most advanced foldable to date, describing it in its own announcement using that exact phrase, and touting it as the slimmest foldable the company has ever produced, measuring just 4.1 millimeters thick when unfolded.
That slimness comes courtesy of a new “Flex Titanium” display backing, which replaces plastic components with titanium in much of the display’s support structure, a change Samsung says improves durability and significantly reduces the visibility of the device’s center crease compared with earlier Fold generations. The Fold 8 Ultra’s outer display also gets a peak brightness increase to 3,000 nits and an upgrade to Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 for added durability.
Camera hardware also differs between the two models. The Fold 8 Ultra includes a three-lens setup with wide, telephoto and ultra-wide-angle cameras, while the standard Fold 8 offers only wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses, lacking the Ultra’s telephoto zoom capability. Both phones run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and ship with Samsung’s Galaxy AI features alongside Google’s Gemini AI assistant built in.
The return of a fan favorite
Rounding out the lineup, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 brings a slimmer redesign to Samsung’s clamshell foldable line. The device features a 4.1-inch external cover screen for checking notifications without fully opening the phone, along with a larger 6.9-inch main interior display. Samsung has also introduced a “Horizon Lock” feature aimed at smoothing out video captured while the phone is used in a hands-free, tabletop recording mode, along with an upgraded “Flex Window” experience powered by the company’s latest software, One UI 9.
A broader wearables push
Alongside its new phones, Samsung also refreshed its smartwatch lineup at Wednesday’s event, introducing the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. The company additionally debuted its first smart glasses, developed in partnership with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, marking Samsung’s initial entry into the increasingly competitive smart glasses category.
Racing Apple to market
Samsung’s latest foldable lineup arrives roughly two months before Apple is widely expected to launch its own first foldable iPhone in September. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s device is likely to be priced above $2,000, putting it in direct competition with Samsung’s higher-end offerings once it becomes available.
Samsung currently dominates the global foldable smartphone market, with Counterpoint Research estimating the company captured roughly 40% of global foldable sales in 2025, ahead of Chinese rival Huawei at 30%. Industry analysts widely expect that landscape to shift once Apple enters the category, given the company’s scale and brand loyalty among existing iPhone users who have so far had no foldable option within Apple’s own ecosystem.
A preview of the standard Fold
Reflecting on a hands-on preview of the devices, one technology reporter who tested the new Fold 8 said the shorter, wider model offered a genuinely distinct experience from its taller sibling, describing a preference for its unique proportions despite it representing a departure from Samsung’s traditional Fold design. Notably, that reporter also observed that the new Fold 8’s design bears some resemblance to early leaks depicting Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone, a similarity that could add another layer of comparison once Apple’s device becomes official later this year.
With preorders now open and a full retail launch scheduled for Aug. 7, Samsung’s latest foldable lineup sets the stage for what is expected to be one of the most closely watched product rivalries in the smartphone industry this year. Whether Samsung can maintain its market lead once Apple formally enters the foldable category in September remains an open question, one that industry analysts, and rival engineers, are likely to be watching closely as both companies’ devices reach consumers within weeks of each other.
