Samsung anticipates Apple with a radical change in its next folding cell phone: this will be the Galaxy Z Fold 8

The preview, published by the specialized media Android Headlinesarrives in a strategic moment for the mobile industry. While Apple has not yet officially confirmed his first foldable iPhone (although it is expected in September), Samsung search consolidate the advantage which it has built since 2019, when it commercially inaugurated this category with the first of the Fold.

Suspicions about this new design began on Samsung’s social networks, mainly on Instagram (@samsungmobile). From one moment to the next, the publications were archived to make way for other suggestive ones that hinted at the new foldable phone format.

This was accompanied by some images spread through various profiles and specialized sites about the profound change compared to the original Galaxy Z Fold family. Instead of the classic tall and narrow design, which unfolds like a book, the new device adopts a shorter and considerably wider formatvery similar to that of a passport when it is closed.

The decision, according to the leaks, aims to resolve one of the main criticisms that these phones received in recent years: the discomfort to use the external screen to write messages or navigate with one hand.

When unfolded, the phone offers an experience much closer to a compact tablet, with a more usable display area for productivity, gaming and multimedia consumption.

According to rumors, the external screen would shrink to 5.4 incheswhile the internal flexible panel would reach 7.6 inches, both with AMOLED technology and a 120 Hz refresh rate. A considerable change when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 model whose external screen was 6.5 inches and when unfolded it rose to 8.0 inches.

In addition to all this, the leaks and rumors only fuel speculation about the next steps of Apple and the announcement that I would have prepared around your first foldable phonea device that would seek to differentiate itself precisely through a wider format than the traditional Fold.

In fact, the motto chosen by Samsung for the next Galaxy Unpacked —“A New Shape Unfolds” (“A new form unfolds”)—seems to refer to the redesign of the team and a new stage for the category.

If the rumors are true, Samsung will hit the market several weeks before its main competitor, an important advantage in a segment that still represents a small portion of the global marketbut where innovation weighs as much as sales.

On the other hand, the leaks not only revealed the main details of the design, they also glimpse a major hardware upgrade.

Specifically, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 would incorporate the powerful processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 —the same as the Galaxy S26 Ultra— accompanied by up to 16 GB of RAM and storage options that would arrive up to 1TB.

Another expected change appears in the battery. The device could have a capacity of 4.800 mAhsuperior to that of the previous generation, with fast wired charging and wireless charging compatible with the Qi2 standard, which would allow the use of magnetic accessories similar to MagSafe.

In the photographic section, rumors speak of a 50 megapixel main camera accompanied by an ultra wide angle also 50 MP. Unlike the eventual Ultra model, this Fold would dispense with the dedicated telephoto lens to prioritize a more compact design.

Since the launch of the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung has maintained a dominant position in the market of folding phones, although in recent years it began to feel pressure from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Honor, Oppo and Vivowhich achieved thinner devices with more comfortable external screens.

The redesign of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 seems to respond precisely to that competition, abandoning the traditional format to approach a more natural experience for daily use.

The leaked images also show a more stylish teamwith reduced bezels and a redesigned hinge that would seek to further minimize the visible fold of the flexible screen. Although Samsung did not officially confirm these changes, various leaks agree in that direction.

If the leaks end up being confirmed during the Galaxy Unpacked of the July 22the South Korean company will not only present a new phone: it will also will seek to set the standard with which Apple’s first foldable will inevitably be compared when it is finally presented.