Samsung Unpacked 2026 brings wider foldables

Samsung used its July 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event to refresh its foldable phone and smartwatch lineup, with three new handsets - the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8 - alongside the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Pre-orders for the new devices started the same day as the event, and Samsung said they will reach shelves on August 7.

Three foldables share Samsung's new platform

The new foldables share several core specifications. All three phones run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, while the base configurations include 12GB of RAM with either 256GB or 512GB of storage. The two Fold 8 models also get a higher-end configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage.

Samsung is also pushing a new structural approach called Flex Titanium. The company said, "Flex Titanium helps strengthen display support, absorb pressure and impact and reduce crease visibility," while making the devices feel smoother and more natural to open. The prior generation used a rigid titanium plate behind the entire display, while the new foldables add a titanium alloy layer beneath the flexible OLED.

The camera setup has some shared DNA as well. Tthe selfie cameras are all 10MP wide-angle lenses, with the Flip 8 and the cover selfie cameras on both Fold 8 models capable of 4K video at 60fps. The main selfie cameras on the Fold 8 phones support FHD footage at 60fps.

One notable omission remains Qi2. The new foldables still do not natively support Qi2 charging, meaning buyers need a compatible magnetic case to get the most out of a Qi2 charger.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra takes the top slot

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is Samsung's premium foldable for this cycle, it starts at $2,100, which is $100 more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 started at last year. On the outside, it has a 6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, while the inside opens to an 8-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel. Both screens support a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

The Fold 8 Ultra includes a 200MP main camera, a 50MP ultrawide and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and 30x Space Zoom. The camera array can shoot 8K video at 30fps. Samsung also gave the phone a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging, a 7.6-ounce weight and a 4.1mm thickness when open. The company also said the device uses "an expanded graphite cooling structure" to help dissipate heat during demanding tasks.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 goes wider

The standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,900, and it makes the more interesting design shift. Instead of continuing Samsung's recent vertical emphasis, the Fold 8 uses a horizontal fold, making it wider than it is tall.

The interior display is a 7.6-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The exterior screen is a 5.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel with a 10:16 aspect ratio and up to 3,000 nits of brightness. Folded, the device is about 9mm, or 0.4 inches, wider than the Fold 8 Ultra. It weighs seven ounces, or 201 grams, making it 0.6 ounces, or 14 grams, lighter than the Ultra.

The Fold 8 carries a 4,800mAh battery, larger than the Z Fold 7's 4,400mAh pack, and supports Super Fast Charging 2.0 over a wired connection as well as Super Fast Wireless Charging. Its rear camera array drops the telephoto lens, using a 50MP main sensor and 50MP ultrawide with 10x digital zoom and 8K video at 30fps.

Watches, glasses and Samsung's card round out the event

Samsung also announced the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Bboth watches run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, a 3nm processor with a dedicated Hexagon NPU capable of supporting AI models with two billion parameters.

Samsung offered another look at the smart glasses it developed with Google, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Pricing and release timing remain unannounced, though the models are expected later this year. The glasses run on a Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, and Samsung said they will last up to nine hours on a charge, with the case providing up to seven additional full charges.

Ahead of Unpacked, Samsung also revealed the Samsung Galaxy Card, a credit card that offers five percent cashback on certain Samsung device purchases. Taken together, the event pushed Samsung's foldables wider and more expensive, while its wearables moved to Qualcomm's newer smartwatch silicon.