Samsung Electronics will unveil its next-generation foldable phone lineup at ‘Galaxy Unpacked 2026’ on July 22 (Korea time) at Old Billingsgate in London, UK. The centerpiece of the event is the arrival of a ‘passport-style fold,’ which significantly widens the horizontal width so that it can be used like a regular smartphone when folded and a tablet when unfolded. Samsung Electronics is targeting the premium market by introducing a two-track strategy for the first time, splitting the lineup into standard and Ultra models.

A total of three products will be revealed at this Unpacked event: the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8. The most significant change is the segmentation of the Fold model into a standard and Ultra version, mirroring the bar-type S series smartphones. This is interpreted as a strategy to firmly capture top-tier premium demand. In particular, the new ‘wide fold’ form factor, which has been shrouded in secrecy, resembles a passport with a wider horizontal width and shorter vertical length compared to its predecessor.

Samsung Electronics has focused on solving the display crease problem, long considered the biggest weakness of foldable phones, by extensively applying its new ‘Flex Titanium’ display technology, which utilizes titanium, to these new products. Furthermore, the top-of-the-line Fold 8 Ultra pushes hardware specifications to the extreme by being the first to feature a 200-megapixel main camera.

Declaring War on the Display Crease with ‘Titanium Film’

The core of the ‘Flex Titanium’ technology, jointly developed by Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display, is the insertion of a titanium alloy film between the OLED panel and the backplate. Previously, a plastic film was used, but the newly applied titanium alloy film has 20 times the rigidity of the existing polymer film. This film is manufactured to be as thin as one-third the thickness of a human hair through an ultra-precision rolling process, reducing product thickness while increasing resistance to external impact and deformation.

This is combined with a titanium plate designed to evenly distribute the force generated when folding by reducing the size of microscopic holes in the hinge area. A Samsung Electronics representative stated, “We have developed a titanium dual structure that combines a titanium alloy film with an upgraded titanium plate,” adding, “Through this, we will present a new standard for foldable displays, achieving both a thin design and improved crease visibility.”

Specifically, for the passport-style wide fold model making its debut, the cover window UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) thickness has been designed to be approximately 60 micrometers (μm), over 30% thicker than before, further improving the display crease and enhancing durability against external shocks. In contrast, the UTG thickness of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which inherits the previous design, remains at 45μm, the same as its predecessor.

Meanwhile, Apple is also preparing to launch its first foldable product in the second half of this year and has chosen a proprietary technology to reduce the display crease. Apple has differentiated itself from Samsung by using a glass material called ‘G-Barrier’ between the OLED and the titanium backplate. This serves the same role as Samsung Electronics’ titanium alloy film but differs in material. Apple is known to have adopted a ‘UTG top and bottom’ structure, using glass not only for the cover window UTG but also on the backplate side.

200MP Camera, Surpassing 3 Million Won… The Pros and Cons of a Two-Track Strategy

According to leaked specifications published by the German IT media outlet WinFuture, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 features a 5.5-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch internal display, both utilizing Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels with a 120Hz refresh rate. It is equipped with a ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy’ processor and offers 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. The battery has a 4800mAh capacity and supports 45W wired charging. The European launch price is expected to start at 1,999 euros (~3.41 million won), and the US launch price at $1,899 (~2.8 million won).

The top-tier model, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, is characterized by an increased resolution while maintaining the same 8-inch display and 3:2 aspect ratio as the previous Fold 7. The biggest differentiator from the standard model is the rear camera, as it is the first in the Fold series to feature a 200-megapixel main camera, previously reserved only for top-tier standard smartphones. This is complemented by a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom telephoto camera and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The battery has slightly increased to 5000mAh, while the charging standard remains the same at 45W wired charging.

As specifications are maximized, the price also rises significantly. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is expected to start at 2,199 euros (~3.75 million won) in Germany and $2,099 (~3.1 million won) in the US. This is the first time a Fold series device has broken the 3 million won (approximately $2,027) price barrier. This has even led to the industry nickname ‘Emperor Fold.’

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, to be unveiled alongside, is reportedly designed to handle most tasks even when folded, thanks to significantly enhanced Google AI assistant features. The ‘on-device AI’ performance, which runs artificial intelligence directly on the device, has also evolved a step further, promising smoother real-time translation, document summarization, and cross-app information linkage utilizing the large screen.

Key Specifications Comparison

ModelGalaxy Z Fold 8Galaxy Z Fold 8 UltraCover Display5.5-inch (1972×1248)6.5-inch (2520×1080)Internal Display7.6-inch (2448×1848, 4:3)8.0-inch (2504×2256, 3:2)ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5Main Camera50MP (OIS)200MP (OIS)Battery4800mAh5000mAhWeight201g218gUS Launch Price$1,899$2,099Europe Launch Price€1,999€2,199

Note: Specifications are based on pre-release leaked information and may differ from the actual product.

AI Era Heats Up Server and Robot Markets

In the same week as Galaxy Unpacked, the ‘2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC)’ was held in Shanghai, revealing the latest trends in AI infrastructure and the robotics industry. At the event, MiTAC Computing Technology unveiled a slew of liquid-cooled server rack solutions for AI training and inference, targeting the data center market. MiTAC showcased a 52U high-density liquid-cooled rack equipped with up to 96 AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs, improving GPU density by 50% compared to existing 48U racks.

Meanwhile, the evolution of humanoid robots was also notable at the WAIC venue. The biggest change is the shift in how robot training data is acquired. As the ‘Human Data’ method, where people wear data collection equipment to record movements, becomes widespread, the amount of trainable data has exploded from hundreds of hours to over 500,000 hours. Consequently, cloud-based AI computing demand is rapidly increasing, with Tencent Cloud’s related business computing demand growing 4 to 5 times year-over-year.

However, industry experts predict that the increase in data volume will not immediately lead to a dramatic improvement in robot capabilities. This is because the absolute amount of ‘Real Machine Data’ collected directly by robots is still insufficient, and data specialized for specific work sites is particularly scarce. Ding Zhang, co-founder of IoU Intelligence, forecasted, “Data, computing, models, scenarios, and the robot body must all interlock,” adding, “It will take another 2 to 3 years for the data flywheel to truly start spinning.”