Everything you need to know: Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra!

This summer’s Galaxy Unpacked once again took place in London after several years, where our editorial team last attended the launch of the Fold4 four years ago. Samsung had saved the most significant change to the Fold series since its inception in 2019 for this event. Instead of one model, we are getting two – the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which is the de facto successor to last year’s Fold7 with a tall “book-like” body, and the Galaxy Z Fold8, which establishes a completely new category (for Samsung) of shorter and wider foldables. Just a few weeks ago, it was even nicknamed the Fold8 Wide, but it ultimately inherited the final name from the entire series.

One Fold is no longer enough

The logic behind the split is clear. The tall and narrow format of previous Folds was suitable for multitasking, but the outer display resembled more of a remote control, and when watching videos on the inner panel, massive black bars remained around the image. The wider Fold8 with an inner display in a 4:3 aspect ratio eliminates both drawbacks – when folded, it handles like a regular phone; when unfolded, it functions as a portable cinema. The Ultra, on the other hand, retains the proven proportions and packs maximum features. The timing is no coincidence, as the first foldable iPhone is expected to arrive later this year, and Samsung clearly doesn’t want to lose any market segment.

This is what the front of the new Galaxy Z Fold8 looks like:

Galaxy Z Fold8: a pocket passport instead of a remote control

The series newcomer features a 7.6″ inner Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a resolution of 2,448 × 1,848 pixels and a 5.5″ outer display with a resolution of 1,972 × 1,248 pixels, whose aspect ratio is closer to regular phones – no more typing on a “remote control.” Both panels offer a 120Hz refresh rate, brightness up to 3,000 nits, and a new anti-reflective coating. When folded, the body indeed resembles a passport – it measures 161.4 × 123.9 mm, is 4.5 mm thin when unfolded, and at 201 grams, it is the lightest Fold in history. The construction is complemented by IP48 protection.

However, there are compromises, and not small ones. The camera setup includes only two 50Mpx sensors – a main one with an f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization, and an ultrawide one with f/1.9. The telephoto lens is completely absent, and 2x zoom is handled by a crop from the main chip, which Samsung markets as optical quality zoom. This might not be too disappointing thanks to features like Dual Recording, which records simultaneously with both front and rear cameras, and My FanCam, which automatically tracks a selected person in the shot during recording. The 4,800 mAh battery charges at 45 W for the first time in the series’ history – you can get from zero to 63% in half an hour, whereas last year’s Fold 7 had to settle for 25 W. You can choose from graphite, cream, and lavender colors; pistachio is exclusive to samsung.cz.

Z Fold8 Ultra: Fold 7 successor without a crease across the display

The flagship received a 6.5″ outer display with a resolution of 2,520 × 1,080 pixels and an 8″ inner panel with a resolution of 2,504 × 2,256 pixels and a density of 422 ppi. The main star, however, is the Flex Titanium construction – a combination of a titanium support plate and a titanium alloy film, thanks to which the display remains perfectly flat when unfolded, and a visible crease does not form even over time. The hinge itself has also been redesigned with optimized magnetic force, making the phone easier to open and putting less strain on the display. After years of accepting the crease as a necessary evil of foldables, this is a step forward that you will notice at first glance and touch.

The body’s figures are also impressive: when unfolded, the Ultra is only 4.1 mm thin and weighs 218 grams. The sensor array remained similar to last year – a 200Mpx main sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and optical stabilization is complemented by a 50Mpx ultrawide lens and a 10Mpx telephoto lens with 3× optical zoom. Thanks to Adaptive Pixel technology, the main chip handles 2x zoom without visible loss of detail and can record video up to 8K at 30 fps. 10Mpx cameras handle selfies on both displays.

The battery has grown to 5,000 mAh – a 14% jump compared to the 4,400 mAh in the Fold 7 – and promises up to 27 hours of video playback. Charging has accelerated to 45 W, and wireless charging is also present. The color palette includes cream, graphite, and shades of Green Shadow and Violet Shadow.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for both, up to 1 TB storage

Under the hood, the siblings do not differ. Both are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, a specially tuned version of the most powerful chipset for Android, which we know from the Galaxy S26 series. The base includes 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and fast UFS 4.0 storage with a capacity of 256 or 512 GB, while the terabyte version of the Fold8 Ultra gets 16 GB of RAM. Connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, 5G, NFC, and USB-C.

One UI 9: Android 17 sooner than on Pixels

Both new devices run on One UI 9 built on Android 17 – thanks to Google’s shifted development cycle, the latest system will appear on Samsung foldables sooner than on Pixel phones from Google itself. The focus is on Gemini Intelligence agent functions, which now work in over 40 applications: simply describe what you need, and the system will go from finding tickets to booking a restaurant. The Now Brief overview serves personalized information from your calendar, health, and security, while the Now Nudge feature on the large display advises on next steps when planning trips, and Gemini Notebook merges notes, photos, recordings, and documents into a single workspace.

Samsung also considered oversight of what artificial intelligence is allowed to do: the new AI Assistant Activity panel shows all automatic actions you have permitted on one screen, and sensitive data is protected by encrypted Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection spaces. A practical highlight is that Quick Share is now compatible with AirDrop, so you can finally send files in both directions with iPhone owners without complications.

Czech prices and bonuses: trade-in of an old Fold can cut up to 10 thousand

Pre-orders start today at 3:00 PM and will run until August 6th; all new products go on sale on August 7th. Czech prices are as follows:

Galaxy Z Fold 8:

• 12/256 GB: 48,999 Kč
• 12/512 GB: 53,999 Kč
• 12 GB/1 TB: 63,999 Kč

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra:

• 12/256 GB: 53,999 Kč
• 12/512 GB: 58,999 Kč
• 16 GB/1 TB: 68,999 Kč

It’s interesting that the base Fold 8 starts 4 thousand lower than the Fold 7 cost last year – the wider model is clearly intended to attract a new audience. The price can also be significantly reduced: when trading in an old functional device, Samsung adds a bonus of 5,000 Kč to the trade-in price, and if you hand in an older Galaxy Z foldable, it’s a full 10,000 Kč. In addition, it’s worth mentioning a 10% discount on a second wearable electronics product or tablet, a 30% discount on an accessory, a 7% student discount, and six months of Google AI Pro service for free (otherwise 3,300 Kč) with 5 TB of cloud storage and access to Gemini 3 Pro. For reviewing a new phone, Samsung is giving away a Jet 65 Pet stick vacuum cleaner or Galaxy Buds4 Pro headphones.

Which of the new Folds makes more sense to you – the wide Fold8, or the more feature-rich Ultra?

Source: Samsung