Samsung Electronics will unveil a foldable smartphone with a 4:3 screen ratio and a wider horizontal width than existing products on the 22nd. It is expected to reorganize the existing Fold-type product as "Ultra," position the new wide-format device as the standard Fold model, and expand the foldable lineup to three models.
According to the industry on the 19th, Samsung Electronics will hold "Galaxy Unpacked 2026" at 2 p.m. local time on the 22nd at Old Billingsgate in London. The event will be streamed live via the Samsung Electronics Newsroom, Samsung.com, and YouTube.
On the event invitation, Samsung Electronics included the phrase "A New Shape Unfolds" and an image of a shape unfolding wider horizontally than before. The industry sees this as hinting at the launch of a "wide Fold" applying a 4:3 screen ratio.
The foldables to be unveiled this time are expected to be three models: Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8. Samsung Electronics is said to attach the Ultra name to the high-spec model that succeeds the existing Fold form, while introducing the new passport-like, wider-horizontal device as the standard Fold 8.
Fold 8 will have an approximately 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display, and is expected to achieve a screen ratio close to 4:3 when unfolded. Compared with the existing Fold, it reduces cropped areas when viewing web pages, documents, and photos, and improves multitasking convenience.
Samsung Electronics is said to have allocated the largest production volume to the newly added Fold 8. In panel terms, the industry expects production of about 2.8 million units for Fold 8, 2 million for Fold 8 Ultra, and 1.5 million for Flip 8. This is seen as a judgment that initial demand will concentrate on the product with the new screen ratio.
Fold 8 Ultra is expected to inherit the form of the existing Fold products while enhancing camera and battery performance. Options under discussion include three rear cameras featuring a 200-megapixel main camera and a larger battery than the previous model.
Prices may rise from the previous model due to higher costs for key components such as semiconductors and memory. In the industry, there is talk that at 256 gigabytes (GB), Fold 8 is likely to be set at $1,899 (about 2.83 million won), and Fold 8 Ultra at $2,099 (about 3.13 million won).
For Galaxy Z Flip 8, Samsung Electronics' Exynos 2600 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation are expected to be installed differently by sales region. Exynos 2600 is an application processor (AP, a semiconductor that serves as the smartphone's brain) designed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business and produced by the Foundry Business on a 2-nanometer (nm) Gate-All-Around (GAA) process.
The new products are also expected to adopt a "Flex Titanium" display technology to reduce screen crease and thickness. It uses a titanium alloy film together with a titanium plate that supports the screen to keep the display structure stable even through repeated folding and unfolding.
Sales performance of the new foldables is also expected to affect Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor business. If adoption of Exynos 2600 expands in Flip 8, it could lead to increased shipments for the System LSI Business and the Foundry Business. Samsung Display is known to supply foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics is expected to supply camera modules, semiconductor package substrates, and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC).
At this event, Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil the Galaxy Watch 9 series and artificial intelligence (AI)-based health management features. There is also talk that specifications and launch plans for Android-based smart glasses being co-developed with Google could be revealed.
In the industry, Samsung Electronics is seen as segmenting product formats and price ranges ahead of Apple's entry into the foldable phone market. The analysis is that it aims to cultivate new demand with the wide-format Fold 8 and defend the premium market by concentrating high-spec components in the Ultra model.