Samsung is about to overhaul its foldable lineup in a way it hasn't done since the original Galaxy Fold launched in 2019. The company's July 22 Unpacked event in London, teased with the tagline "A New Shape Unfolds," is expected to introduce three foldable phones, two smartwatches, and its first-ever smart glasses. The biggest change comes to the Galaxy Z Fold series.
After seven generations of a narrow, passport-style book foldable, Samsung is reportedly launching a wider variant with a 7.6-inch inner display at a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to CNET. The new proportions make the cover display feel like a standard smartphone rather than a remote control, and the inner screen better suits widescreen video without black bars.
But the naming scheme has turned into a puzzle. Leaks indicate the wider model may simply be called the Galaxy Z Fold 8, while the narrower, more powerful successor to the Z Fold 7 gets the "Ultra" badge.
Prominent leaker Ice Universe claims the opposite, that the narrow fold becomes the Ultra and the wide one takes the standard name. Either way, Samsung is splitting its book-style foldable into two distinct products for the first time. The Z Fold 8 Ultra (or whatever the narrow flagship is called) is expected to pack an 8-inch foldable inner screen, a 6.5-inch cover display, a 5,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
A leaked dummy unit of the wide Fold 8 showed it's strikingly thin, comparable to the Galaxy S25 Edge's 5.8mm profile when folded. On the clamshell side, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 is getting a serious weight reduction. According to a leak from Ice Universe, the Flip 8 drops to 180 grams and 6.1mm unfolded (6.6mm including display bumpers), down from 188 grams and roughly 6.9mm on last year's model.
The phone will run Android 17 with integrated Galaxy AI tools and reportedly use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip in the US and China, a switch from the Exynos-powered Flip 7. A less visible crease and improved hinge mechanism are also expected.
The Galaxy Z TriFold, which launched in January with a tablet-sized display, already signaled Samsung was experimenting beyond the standard foldable formula. Three distinct foldable form factors in a single year is unprecedented for the company.
Wearables get updates too. The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are both expected, though no new Classic model is planned.
The Ultra 2 could be Samsung's first smartwatch with 5G support and may pack an 800mAh battery, the largest of any Wear OS watch, per TechRadar. The Watch 9 is rumored to feature an Exynos W1000 chipset with two display size options.
Samsung's Galaxy Glasses could steal the show. Built on Android XR with Google's Gemini AI, the glasses are expected to function like Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, cameras, microphones, directional speakers, no display.
Leaked specs suggest a 12MP camera, 155mAh battery, and 50-gram weight. Google already confirmed a fall launch for Android XR glasses from Samsung, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster, making a preview at Unpacked likely.
Pricing is the wild card. The ongoing memory shortage (dubbed "RAMageddon") is driving component costs up across the industry.
The Z Fold 7 launched at $2,000, the Flip 7 at $1,099, and the Watch 9 and Ultra 2 at $350 and $650 respectively. All are expected to cost more this year.
Samsung will livestream the event on its website, YouTube channel, and Samsung Newsroom starting at 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. BST on July 22.
