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Samsung unveils new Galaxy Z8 foldables and Galaxy Watches, available August 7
The rumors haven’t left much to the imagination, but Samsung has unfurled its 2026 foldable lineup today. There are three models for the first time in Samsung’s eight-gen foldable family, including the top-of-the-line Z Fold 8 Ultra. That phone is the successor to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the Z Fold 8 is new—the company’s first wide-body foldable designed for media over multitasking. And then there’s a new, thinner flip phone, plus a pair of smartwatches.
You can preorder Samsung’s new hardware today, but the component shortage has made these already spendy product lines more expensive this year. Even the Z Flip 8 is now well over a grand, and the Ultra costs almost twice as much.
| Specs at a glance: Galaxy Z8 series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Z Flip 8 ($1,200) | Galaxy Z Fold 8 ($1,900) | Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra ($2,100) | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
| Memory | 12GB | 12GB, 16GB | 12GB, 16GB |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Display | Main: 6.9″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 400ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 4.1″ AMOLED (948 x 1048) 342 ppi, 60/120Hz | Main: 7.6″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1848 x 2448) 403ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 5.5″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1248 x 1972) 428ppi, 120Hz | Main: 8.0″ QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2504 x 2256) 422ppi, 120Hz; Cover: 6.5″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1080 x 2520) 422ppi, 120Hz |
| Cameras | Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 12MP Ultra Wide (F2.2); Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) | Rear: 50MP Wide (F1.8, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) | Rear: 200MP Wide (F1.7, OIS), 50MP Ultra Wide (F1.9), 10MP Tele (3x Optical, F2.4, OIS); Main/Cover Selfie: 10MP (F2.2) |
| Software | Android 17 / One UI 9 | Android 17 / One UI 9 | Android 17 / One UI 9 |
| Battery | 4,300 mAh, up to 55% charge in ~30 min with 25W Adapter, 15W Wireless Charging | 4,800 mAh, up to 67% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging | 5,000 mAh, up to 63% charge in ~30 min with 45W Adapter, 20W Wireless Charging |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, SIM+eSIM | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, SIM+eSIM |
| Measurements | Unfolded: 166.9 × 75.4 × 6.1 mm Folded: 85.7 × 75.4 × 13.1 mm, 180g |
Unfolded: 123.9 × 161.4 × 4.5 mm Folded: 123.9 × 81.9 × 9.7 mm, 201g |
Unfolded: 158.4 × 143.2 × 4.1 mm Folded: 158.4 × 72.8 × 8.9 mm, 215g |
| Colors | Pink, Graphite, Cream, Mint (online) | Lavender, Graphite, Cream, Pistachio (online) | Violet Shadow, Graphite, Cream, Green Shadow (online) |
The Z Fold 8 Ultra has the same basic form factor as the last few Samsung tablet-style foldables. A 6.5-inch OLED on the outside is about the same ratio as a standard smartphone screen. Open it up, and you get an 8-inch display that’s roughly twice as wide. That makes the main display close to square.
While the Ultra’s display is perfect for running two phone apps side by side, it’s not ideal for content consumption. The 5.5-inch cover display has a chunky 10:16 ratio. Unfold it, and the Z Fold 8 becomes a 7.6-inch 4:3 display. This gives widescreen videos a little more breathing room with smaller black bars, and it’s allegedly an ideal shape for reading documents in portrait orientation. Both the Ultra and wide-body Folds are impressively thin at 4.1 mm and 4.5 mm (unfolded), respectively.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 goes wide.
Credit:
Samsung
Samsung’s larger foldables should have noticeably better battery life. The Z Fold 8 has a 4,800 mAh cell, and the Ultra goes all the way to 5,000 mAh. The Z Fold 7, which slimmed down Samsung’s foldable silhouette considerably, only managed to fit 4,400 mAh. The Z Flip 8 is slightly slimmer than past devices of its type, and the battery capacity remains at 4,300 mAh. Samsung has mercifully improved charging speeds this year, but only for the tablet-style foldables. Both those phones now max out at 45 W instead of 25 W, where the Z Flip 8 remains.
