The few doubting Thomases who still say the foldable smartphone is a gimmick at best and a flimsy nostalgia play at worst might have to finally get on board after the latest Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra foldable smartphones made their debut, and they’re both available for preorder. If you preorder directly from Samsung, you can get up 40 $1,200 in instant trade-in credit. If you preorder through Amazon, you’ll receive a $350 gift card.
Both the Z Fold 8 (starting at $1,900) and Z Fold 8 Ultra (starting at $2,100) begin to ship on August 7, ready to state their case that the foldables are here to stay.
See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Samsung
See Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at Samsung
See Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at Amazon
Galaxy Z Fold 8: Big-Screen Clout
The most significant change Samsung made with the Z Fold 8 is the one that’s hardest to convey with a black-and-white spec sheet: the new aspect ratio. The closed cover screen is 5.5 inches and measured at a 10:16 ratio. That’s shorter and wider than previous Z Fold generations, which tended to feel more narrow than they actually were. Open up the Z Fold 8 and you get a 7.6-inch AMOLED tablet at a 4:3 ratio. That 4:3 inner screen means less letterboxing when you’re watching 16:9 or 16:10 video, and it produces a larger effective picture diagonally than you’d get on phones like the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Galaxy S26 Ultra. For anyone who buys a foldable primarily for media consumption, this is the one you’ll notice immediately.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip runs the show for the Z Fold 8, paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM depending on the storage configuration you choose (256GB and 512GB in the 12GB tier, 1TB with 16GB). The 4,800mAh battery is an improvement over the Z Fold 7. Charging tops out at 45W wired and 20W wireless, though Samsung has not added a magnetic ring, which means no Qi2 or MagSafe compatibility. The cameras are 50-megapixel main and ultrawide, with 10-megapixel hole-punches on both screens.
The Z Fold 8 also brings Samsung’s new Flex Titanium hinge construction, which uses a titanium-alloy plate beneath the inner screen surface. The crease on foldables has always been a major concern, and Samsung’s reduction in crease visibility on the Fold 8 is substantial. One notable trade-off: Flex mode, which lets you prop the phone open at an angle like a small laptop, is absent on the Z Fold 8 and present only on the Ultra.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: More of Everything
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is Samsung’s productivity pick. The inner screen is 8 inches; the cover screen is 6.5 inches. Brightness on both panels hits 3,000 nits. The battery upgrades to 5,000mAh, which addresses a recurring complaint about the Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh cell falling short of heavy users’ expectations. The ultrawide camera jumps from 12 to 50 megapixels, the main sensor reaches 200 megapixels, and the telephoto is a 12-megapixel 3x. The Ultra also supports Cine LUT color grading and 8K video editing. Flex mode is present on the Ultra where it’s absent on the base model.
There may be some sticker shock with these two big drops, but it’s been seven years since the original Galaxy Fold, and Samsung is still asking nearly the same price for a book-style foldable. The Z Fold 8 comes in Cream, Lavender, Graphite, and Pistachio (the last one is Samsung.com exclusive). The Ultra comes in Violet Shadow, Cream, Graphite, and Green Shadow (also Samsung.com exclusive for Green Shadow). Preorders are open now for both; units ship August 7.
Don’t forget the preorder offers: Samsung is offering up to $1,200 in instant trade-in credit, and Amazon in including a $350 gift card with preorders.
See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Samsung