Samsung lowers Galaxy Z Fold 8 price, raises Ultra to foil foldable iPhone plans

Samsung is playing both sides of the foldable market — trimming the price on its new wider Fold variant while raising it on the standard successor, a deliberate two-track strategy that may be designed to undercut Apple's foldable iPhone even before it arrives.

Consumers are already bracing for higher smartphone prices as the AI-driven memory crunch has left vendors little choice but to pass surging mobile chip costs down the line. Into that climate, Samsung dropped its next-generation foldable lineup at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on Wednesday, led by the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — a wider, content-first device the company is betting will resonate in an era defined by endless streaming.

The Fold 8 starts at 2,278,000 won ($1,539) for the base 256-gigabyte model, undercutting the Z Fold 8 Ultra's entry price by roughly $200. That gap looks even more pointed when set against Apple's rumored foldable, which is expected to carry a starting price ranging between $2,000 and $2,500.

Samsung's math is deliberate: load the price increases onto the Ultra while keeping the new wider Fold accessible. 

That is why the Z Fold 8 Ultra is priced 198,000 won higher than its predecessor, the Z Fold 7 — a clear sign of where the component bill landed.

"As AI evolves, mobile devices will become the closest touchpoint to users, naturally woven into daily life with the deepest understanding of who they are," said Roh Tae-moon, president and CEO of Samsung's device experience division. "The new Galaxy Z series represents our most refined foldable lineup yet, and will usher in the next era of intelligence by elevating the mobile experience and delivering truly personalized services."

The Fold 8's main display spans 7.6 inches at a 4:3 ratio — closer to a tablet's proportions than a phone's, and deliberately so. Samsung pitches it as a natural fit for video, e-books, web browsing and gaming. Fold it shut and the cover display steps in at 5.5 inches with a 10:16 ratio. 

At 201 grams (7 ounces), the Fold 8 is Samsung's lightest foldable yet. Another key physical update to look out for is whether display creases have been smoothed out. The company says it has applied its new Flex Titanium technology to both the Fold 8 and Ultra, replacing the plastic film inside the display with an ultrathin titanium alloy that resists the persistent crease problem without stiffening the hinge, yet making it more durable.

On chips, Samsung uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 across all regions for both the Fold 8 and Ultra. But for the Flip 8, it splits between Snapdragon in the United States and select markets and Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600 in Korea, Europe and India.

Domestic preorders open July 28 and run through Aug. 3, with the official release set for Aug. 7 across major markets including the United States, Britain, India and Brazil. All three models ship in Graphite and Cream. The Ultra adds Violet Shadow and Green Shadow exclusives; the Fold 8 gets Lavender and Pistachio; the Flip 8 gets Pink and Mint.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]