For a few years there, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series felt a bit boring. Most releases were very minor revisions of the previous year’s design, and Samsung didn’t demand the same specifications as before. But last year Galaxy Z Fold 7 changed when it debuted as the thinnest foldable of all time, and Samsung likely didn’t make any major design changes for the rumored 2026 release.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 It’s rumored to debut in two sizes for the first time, and it follows the industry trend of making book-style foldables wider rather than taller. If you don’t like this trend, that’s okay, because Samsung will offer both a tall and a wide variant of the Z Fold 8, along with a few other changes in store.
Is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 worth the wait? Considering that we will see the opening in a few weeks on July 22 (rumored) I’d say there’s no reason to rush into a buying decision until then.
What changes can we expect for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8?
While the Galaxy Z Fold 8 family is sure to get the latest round of Qualcomm processors, the rumored size changes probably have Samsung considering a slight name change to the Z Fold 8. Here’s what we expect to see:
- Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: It’s said to be the “true” successor to the Z Fold 7 and looks almost identical to that phone. High-end specs with the same tall dimensions, three cameras on the back, and a slightly larger battery than last year. It is rumored to be 2mm thicker than the Z Fold 7.
- Galaxy Z Fold 8: The standard Z Fold 8 is said to be the wider model, which actually looks like someone took the Z Fold 7 and crushed it. It’s expected to be more passport-shaped, with room for only two rear cameras, according to claims, and likely to have a smaller battery than the Ultra.
- S Pen support it is rumored to be added to at least one of these models. Which one would I have to put money on, it would be the Ultra, as it’s rumored to be thicker than the Z Fold 7.
S Pen support seems up in the air, depending on which rumor you follow. The latest rumors suggest that the Ultra will be 2mm thicker than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and 0.18mm thicker than the recently released. Motorola Razr Fold.
Motorola’s excellent foldable feature supports stylus input on both internal and external displays, something Samsung never offered on the Z Fold series, so this thickness increase for the Z Fold 8 Ultra is almost entirely due to the S Pen.
2 big reasons to wait
If you’re happy with the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s current size and shape, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra should offer a similar look and feel in a slightly thicker form factor (assuming the rumors are true). It’s likely that Samsung chose the Ultra name for this model because it packs all the tricks, rather than focusing on a single ultra-thin model like the 2025.
This means that potential Z Fold 8 Ultra buyers can expect better battery life than the Z Fold 7 potential camera improvements and possibly S Pen support. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 to 6 supported S Pen input on their foldable internal screens, but Samsung removed that support to keep the Z Fold 7 as slim as possible.
The stylus support has a thicker build, and with the Z Fold 8 Ultra rumored to be 2mm thicker than the Z Fold 7, we’re feeling pretty good about a potential S Pen support return. The increase in thickness is unlikely to be just for the battery area, as the battery is rumored to only increase to 600 mAh.
Also, if you find book-style folding devices too cumbersome and tall, Samsung’s rumored Galaxy Z Fold 8 might be the device you’re looking for. Oppo launched the wide folding first in 2021, but abandoned the extensive design a few years later. Google also debuted the first Pixel Fold with a wide design, and I hate to tell you this, but Google got it right the first time.
Now the wide design trend is back and it looks better than ever. Huawei just released Its second generation is widely foldedand now there are rumors that Vivo, Honor and even Apple there is this year introduces a wide range of foldable phones.
That means there is a Samsung a lot About the upcoming competition in this space, so if you’re looking for a wider fold, I don’t think you should really buy anything until you hear from the rest of those companies this fall while you wait for the Z Fold 8.
Plenty of reasons to consider something else
Samsung gets a lot of things right, but the company has been guilty of “coasting” in more than one area over the past few years. Samsung’s foldable phones almost always have the latest processors and really great software that will back them up for years to come, but the rest of the specs fall short of the competition in some key areas.
With the exception of the Google Pixel Fold models, every other Android vendor with a book-style foldable phone puts significantly higher-capacity, faster-charging silicon-carbon batteries inside their devices. This means longer battery life than Samsung phones and less time spent on the charger.
Other companies like Honor and Motorola also offer better build quality and life protection than Samsung. The Razr Fold, for example, has an IP49 rating, making it more resistant to water jets and other water-related activities than Samsung’s IP48 rating. Those outside of North America can also choose Oppo Find N6offering an IP59 rating or Honor Magic V6it has an IP69 rating.
Even as the company often experiments with things like anti-reflective displays and its trademark, Samsung also often lags behind in cameras and displays. Privacy Screen. Rumor has it that the Z Fold 8 and 8 Ultra won’t see any of these display improvements, and there’s no word on whether or not Samsung will eventually make their screens safe. PWM sensitive people.
Over the past two years, we’ve seen a huge jump in the quality of foldable phone cameras with brands like Honor, Oppo and (surprisingly). Motorola is the leader. Much of this comes from hardware and design innovation, as manufacturers find new ways to fit large camera sensors into thin phones.
The Z Fold never had advanced cameras, and the Z Fold 8 family probably won’t either. That’s even more if you’re considering the wider Z Fold 8 model it is rumored to have only two cameras on the back.
One more thing
If you’re looking to buy any new electronics this year, you’re aware of the huge price hikes sweeping the world as AI data center construction drives up memory and RAM prices. Given that Samsung has already raised prices on many of its existing phones, there’s no doubt about the Z Fold 8 family. will be exposed to the same price increases.
Obviously, Samsung isn’t alone in this, but almost any new phone will cost you more than it did last year, and that’s a hard reality to deal with in a year of high inflation. Even if you’re going to buy an existing phone, you’ll pay higher prices, so you might as well wait for the new model and see what the final word is.
The souped-up Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 certainly sound enticing, especially if you live in North America and have fewer options than the rest of the world, so why not wait until mid-July to decide? I know I definitely would.
