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At Unpacked in London overnight, Samsung officially unveiled its 2026 lineup of foldable smartphones, with the most notable being the book-styles Galaxy Z Fold8.
The event had been locked in for weeks, and Samsung didn't hold back once it got there. The new Galaxy Z Fold8 gets a proper 4:3 main display when unfolded, closer in shape to a paperback than a widescreen, with a narrower 10:16 cover screen for quick checks on the go.
Samsung reckons that ratio suits the way people actually use their phones through the day, whether that's scrolling, gaming, reading an ebook, or settling in for a film.
Rotate the main screen and that same 4:3 ratio is meant to work just as well for long-form reading, so you're not stuck holding a widescreen shape to get through an ebook or article.
The Fold8 is also the lightest Fold Samsung has made, at 201g, and pairs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip with a 4,800mAh battery.
Despite the lighter build, the main screen can still hit up to 3,000 nits of brightness, which should help with visibility outdoors on a bright Australian day.
On the camera side, the Fold8 keeps things relatively simple with dual 50MP wide and ultra-wide lenses. Dual Recording lets you shoot from the rear cameras while previewing yourself on the cover screen at the same time, handy for capturing your own reaction alongside whatever you're filming.
There's also My FanCam, which automatically tracks a chosen subject and reframes the footage into whatever aspect ratio you're after, so there's less manual cropping needed once you're ready to post.
Sitting above it is the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which finally brings Samsung's Ultra badge to a foldable. It's the spiritual successor to last year's Fold7, slimming down even further to just 4.1mm unfolded.
There's an 8-inch main display, a 200MP main camera with a 50MP ultra-wide and 10MP telephoto alongside it, and a 5,000mAh battery with a new dual-path charging setup for faster top-ups.
That 200MP main camera now shoots with High Dynamic Range at full resolution, which should mean less blown-out skies and lost shadow detail in tricky lighting. The new 50MP ultra-wide also picks up macro shots, so you can get in close on detail shots without switching lenses.
Low light performance gets a boost too, with an improved Nightography mode designed to keep photos and video looking brighter and cleaner after dark. For anyone shooting video seriously, there's 8K recording through a new APV codec, plus Cine LUT for colour grading straight from the phone.
Powering all of that is the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip as the standard Fold8, backed by an expanded graphite cooling structure to keep things running smoothly under heavier workloads. The dual-path charging setup gets you to 67 per cent in around 30 minutes with a 45W charger, which is handy given the bigger battery.
At 215g it's heavier than the standard Fold8, which makes sense given the larger battery and extra camera hardware packed in.
Then there's the Galaxy Z Flip8, which drops to 180g and 6.1mm thick, Samsung's slimmest and lightest Flip to date.
The bigger change is the FlexWindow, which now acts as a proper AI-native home screen rather than just a widget shelf.
Samsung's Now Brief and Gemini Intelligence can both be triggered straight from the cover screen, so you can fire off a request without ever opening the phone up.
On the camera front, the Flip8 gets a 50MP selfie camera with Samsung's ProVisual Engine, which the brand says brings its most advanced Flip selfie experience yet, with natural skin tones and better bokeh.
Flex Mode makes hands-free shooting easier across a wider range of angles, while a new Camcorder Grip with Zoom Rocker gives you a steadier hold when filming on the move.
Super Steady video stabilisation now comes with a Horizontal Lock option, so footage stays level even if you're moving the phone around.
There's also FlipShot for personalising the FlexWindow and shooting more expressive mirror selfies, plus Mirror View for a quick, realistic look check before you head out.
Under the hood, the Flip8 runs on Samsung's own Exynos 2600 chip rather than the Snapdragon in the Fold models, paired with a 4,300mAh battery.
Across all three, Samsung is leaning hard on its new Flex Titanium display structure, which combines a titanium alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate to make the foldables thinner while, in theory, keeping the crease less visible and the hinge feeling smoother over time.
Nathan Rigger, Head of Product for Mobile eXperience at Samsung Electronics Australia, said the Fold8 marks a genuine shift for the category locally.
"The Galaxy Z Fold8 represents a new chapter for foldables, and it is the first of its kind in Australia. With 84% of Australians claiming size and portability as an important smartphone purchase driver, we are excited to introduce a new foldable standard, a device that reimagines the smartphone design and redefines content consumption."
Samsung is also bundling in a six month free trial of Google AI Pro with each device, which includes 5TB of cloud storage and normally costs $32.99 a month.
Compare specs:
| Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra | Galaxy Z Fold8 | Galaxy Z Flip8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main display | 8.0-inch, 2,504 x 2,256, 120Hz | 7.6-inch, 1,848 x 2,448, 120Hz | 6.9-inch, 1,080 x 2,520, 120Hz |
| Cover display | 6.5-inch, 1,080 x 2,520, 120Hz | 5.5-inch, 1,248 x 1,972, 120Hz | 4.1-inch, 948 x 1,048, up to 120Hz |
| Weight | 215g | 201g | 180g |
| Thickness (unfolded) | 4.1mm | 4.5mm | 6.1mm |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Exynos 2600 |
| Rear cameras | 200MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto (3x) | 50MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide | 50MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 4,800mAh | 4,300mAh |
| Charging | 45W wired, 20W wireless | 45W wired, 20W wireless | 25W wired, 15W wireless |
| Water resistance | IP48 | IP48 | IP48 |
| Storage options | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB |
| Colours | Cream, Graphite, Violet Shadow (online exclusive: Green Shadow) | Cream, Graphite, Lavender (online exclusive: Pistachio) | Cream, Graphite, Pink (online exclusive: Mint) |
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra starts at $2999 for the 12GB/256GB model, rising to $3299 for 12GB/512GB and $3899 for the top 16GB/1TB configuration.
The standard Galaxy Z Fold8 runs from $2699 through to $3599 depending on storage.
Meanwhile the Galaxy Z Flip8 opens at $1949 for 12GB/256GB and $2249 for 12GB/512GB.
All three are available for pre-order in Australia from July 23, through Samsung.com.au, Telstra, Optus and TPG (Vodafone), with pre-order offers running until August 13.
Samsung.com.au is throwing in bonus trade in credit or an Eco Voucher on pre-orders, while the telcos have their own bundle of payment plan discounts and trade in bonuses depending on carrier.
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