Samsung didn’t waste the first day of July. This morning, the company officially started teasing its next foldable lineup — and confirmed what leaks have been saying for months: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is getting a completely new shape. Wider. Shorter. And aimed directly at the wave of foldable competition heading its way from Apple this fall.
A New Form Factor, Confirmed Today
Samsung Electronics released a teaser video for its next-generation foldable phone lineup, the Galaxy Z8 series, formally confirming the launch of a new form factor called the Galaxy Z Wide-Fold. The Wide-Fold is a passport-shaped foldable phone with a wider horizontal ratio than the existing Z Fold, designed to improve user productivity for video watching, gaming, and multitasking.
Samsung is going hard on the “new shape” for Galaxy Z Fold 8, posting teaser videos across social media depicting elongated rectangular objects being transformed into shapes with longer horizontal ratios — alluding to the wide-screen design.
This is a meaningful pivot. Every previous Z Fold has used a tall, narrow aspect ratio when folded — functional, but awkward for landscape content and split-screen multitasking. The new 4:3 layout changes that equation entirely.
Launch Date: July 22 in London
Samsung is widely expected to announce the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide at Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026, in London. The date was first reported by Korea Economic TV and has since been confirmed by SamMobile, Android Authority, Tom’s Guide, and Android Police.
Samsung’s Members app in Malaysia is now showing vouchers redeemable on the “next foldable” and “next wearable,” both valid starting July 22 — an indirect confirmation of the event date from Samsung itself.
The choice of London is deliberate. Samsung has historically held its summer Unpacked events in Seoul, New York, or San Francisco. London puts Samsung front and center in Europe, one of Apple’s strongest premium markets, just months before Apple is expected to announce its own foldable iPhone.
Full Specs: What’s Leaked
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rumored to adopt a wider 4:3 design. Leaked specs point to a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 12GB RAM, up to 1TB storage, and a 4,800mAh battery.
In terms of design, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rumored to measure just 9.7mm thick when folded and only 4.5mm when unfolded — making it impressively light for a foldable at around 200 grams. For context, the previous Z Fold 7 came in at over 230 grams.
On cameras: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is reportedly set to feature a 50MP primary camera alongside a 50MP ultra-wide sensor on the back, with 10MP sensors on both the cover and inner selfie cameras.
Software-wise, all three models — the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 — are expected to run Android 17-based One UI 9.
Three Phones, One Event
Unpacked won’t be just about the wide Fold. Samsung is also expected to announce the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at the Unpacked event. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is essentially the successor to last year’s Z Fold 7 — the traditional tall foldable — while the standard Z Fold 8 takes on the new wide identity.
This is a smart portfolio move: Samsung keeps both form factors alive, letting buyers choose between productivity-focused wide-screen and the familiar tall format, rather than forcing everyone onto the new design.
The Apple Factor
The timing of all of this is not a coincidence. Three things make the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide more than just another Samsung hardware refresh. First, Apple’s foldable iPhone is coming. Widely referred to as the “iPhone Fold” or “iPhone Ultra,” Apple’s first foldable is expected in September 2026. Samsung’s July launch gives the Wide a roughly two-month window in the market before Apple ships a single unit.
Samsung is betting that getting a wide-screen foldable into buyers’ hands before Apple can define the category is worth the aggressive July timeline. Whether that bet pays off depends entirely on what Apple reveals in September.
Pricing Expectations
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra may experience a price hike, with the phone currently rumored to start at $2,100 — making it Samsung’s most expensive mainstream phone to date. Pricing for the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide has not yet leaked definitively, but is expected to come in below the Ultra variant.
Pre-orders are expected to open the same day as the July 22 announcement, with devices shipping in early August 2026.
