Samsung will produce another million ‘small’ Fold 8

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 has proven to be more successful than the manufacturer itself had hoped. Due to record pre-orders and an overwhelmingly positive consumer response, Samsung has decided to increase production of its latest foldable phone by an additional million units, signaling strong confidence in the appeal of the new, wider format.

Record pre-orders are crushing everything in front of them

According to initial plans, the company intended to produce 2.8 million units of the Z Fold8, along with two million of the Z Fold8 Ultra and 1.5 million of the Z Flip8. However, now Korean media is reporting that Samsung has increased its production target for the standard Z Fold8 by as much as one million units, bringing the total for 2026 to almost four million. Component suppliers have reportedly already received additional orders.

The move was prompted by the incredible success of the pre-order period. The new Z8 series broke the 2019 record set by the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+. In South Korea alone, 1.44 million Z8 series devices were pre-ordered, of which a whopping 70 percent were for the Z Fold8. Global projections suggest a total of 4.7 to 5.2 million pre-orders for the entire series, which is the most successful start for any Samsung foldable series to date. The Z Fold8 accounts for about 59 percent of those global orders. The series has also proven to be extremely popular in Europe, where the wider clamshell model accounted for 40 percent of all pre-orders.

The wider format has proven to be a hit

The redesigned, lower and wider form factor of the case seems to be the main driver of its popularity. The new format offers an external display with an aspect ratio of 10:16, which is ideal for using social networks, while folding it opens up a 4:3 main display, suitable for watching videos and multitasking at the same time. The design has clearly hit home with users, and so much demand has led to shortages and delays in delivery for certain configurations in different regions.

What prompted such a rush?

One well-informed source attributes the huge interest to pre-order benefits, fueled by fears of rising memory prices.

​- As memory semiconductor prices have risen this year, initial demand may have jumped due to pre-orders that offered the convenience of ‘double storage’, i.e. a 512GB model for the price of a 256GB one. With the Z Fold8 receiving positive feedback, demand for Samsung’s foldable phones is expected to increase compared to last year, leading to higher production volumes, the source said.

Competition in the foldable phone market

There is clearly a strong demand for the new wide format foldable phone. Huawei, which pioneered such a design with its Pura X models, is not currently in a position to capitalize on the trend. Samsung’s success further solidifies its dominant position in the foldable market, where it held a 64 percent share in the third quarter of 2025.

Meanwhile, the competition is not sleeping. Apple is reportedly developing its own wide-screen foldable, rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra. While there are rumors of a possible delay, Apple’s entry into the market is expected to significantly expand the category and make foldable phones even more popular. The success of the Z Fold8, despite its premium price tag of $1,899.99, shows that consumers are willing to pay for innovations that offer an improved user experience.