SerpApi.Org
Today, Samsung used its Unpacked summer 2026 event to reveal a host of new devices – including, most critically of all, the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 8.
While the foldable's naming convention follows suit with its predecessor, the Z Fold 7, the new device is anything but – a 16:10 external aspect ratio, with a 4:3 aspect panel within.
That's an important difference to the typically 'narrow and tall' foldables of recent years, in particular because Android devices have consistently swerved a 4:3 aspect ratio – unlike Apple's iPad, which is precisely that form.
Has Samsung effectively just shown us the iPhone Ultra, expected to be revealed in September of this year? In a way, yes.
How's that the case? Well, Samsung is the producer of AMOLED panels – Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode – and it's largely expected that Apple will be a customer of this new panel.
Therefore this size and scale – 5.5-inches on the exterior at 16:10; 7.6-inches on the internal at 4:3 – is widely expected to be the very format that Apple also brings into the world of foldables.
But Apple has its own ecosystem, of course, with iOS and iPad OS fundamental to iPhone and iPad products – unlike Google's Android system, on which Samsung is based (with its own One UI interface).
That's the area where Apple could really excel in a way that Android hasn't quite presented in foldables as yet. Indeed, Samsung hasn't presented specific differences that the Z Fold 8 can offer compared to its Ultra, for example.
All that said, however, while Samsung may well sell the panel to Apple, it's not selling all of its research and development. And, with eight years of experience under its belt – the first Z Fold launched in 2019 – the South Korean maker has a lot to offer.
Indeed, the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra both utilise what Samsung is calling Flex Titanium technology. Which is literally a laser-etched micro-thin layer of titanium that sits beneath the panel, ensuring flatness, rigidity and negating the crease more than any product of this type before it. Apple's not going to have that straight out of the gate.
None of this is guaranteed, of course, as it's all speculative. But it makes sense: if Samsung can claim to be first, with Apple doubling down on the new foldable format, then it ought to gather greater momentum. That's a winner for both sides – and all of us, the intended users.
With the Z Fold 8 confirmed to be priced from £1,699 in the UK, however, it remains a pricey piece of kit. Many think Apple's effort will be nearer to the £1,999 mark – which could be too much of a hurdle for many buyers. Guess we'll have to wait and see what comes later this year.
Like this article? For more stories like this, follow us on MSN by clicking the +Follow button at the top of this page.
