Samsung has officially unveiled its 2026 foldable lineup, featuring three distinct models: the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The devices, which include updated smartwatches, will be available for purchase starting Friday, August 7, following an initial registration period.
Expansion of the Galaxy Z8 Foldable Lineup
For the first time in its eight-gen foldable family, Samsung is offering three separate models to consumers. The Galaxy Z8 series introduces the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra as the successor to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, sitting alongside the standard Z Fold 8 and the thinner Galaxy Z Flip 8. While the Z Fold 8 Ultra maintains the familiar tablet-style form factor of the last few Samsung tablet-style foldables, the Z Fold 8 is marketed as a wide-body foldable designed for media over multitasking.
For more on this story, see Samsung Unveils Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8 Wide, Z Flip 8.
The design choices reflect a shift toward specific user needs. The Ultra model features an 8-inch main display that creates a near-square aspect ratio, which is optimized for running two phone apps side-by-side. Conversely, the Z Fold 8 features a 7.6-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, intended to provide a better viewing experience for widescreen video content and portrait-oriented document reading.
Pricing and Hardware Specifications
The Galaxy Z Flip 8 starts at $1,200, while the Z Fold 8 is priced at $1,900. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra commands the highest entry point at $2,100.
This follows our earlier report, Caviar Unveils Messi Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at $13,130.
Performance upgrades are consistent across the series, with all three models utilizing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor. Battery capacity has also seen a boost in the larger models: the Z Fold 8 houses a 4,800 mAh cell, and the Ultra model reaches 5,000 mAh. This is a notable increase from the 4,400 mAh capacity found in the Z Fold 7. Samsung has also improved charging, allowing the tablet-style foldables to reach up to 45W charging speeds, though the Z Flip 8 remains capped at 25W.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 22: Z Fold8 and Watch 9 Expected to Debut.
Galaxy Unpacked and August Availability
The company confirmed that the Galaxy Unpacked event is scheduled for July 22 in London.
Samsung is currently incentivizing early interest through a registration program.
The benefits include an invitation to the official livestream of the event. While the keynote is occurring later in the summer compared to the July 9, 2025 event held in Brooklyn, the release cadence remains similar. Following the July 22 event, pre-orders are expected to open immediately, with the full retail launch slated for August 7, 2026.
Worth a look
