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Despite leaks having already given us a pretty good look at the potential design of its next foldable phone, Samsung has officially kicked off the marketing campaign for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide and it’s… certainly something.
Several videos have dropped, seeing various shapes (some of them delicious) being chopped down from tall rectangles to squatter, long square shapes. We’re talking pizza, chocolate, South Korean dalgona, all brought to this very specific shape. The implication is clear: someone on the marketing team was hungry.
The second implication is that we’re seeing the dimensions (or thereabouts) of the new form factor that Samsung will be debuting at its Unpacked event later this month. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide (potentially adopting the standard Z Fold 8 moniker, while the more traditional tall model gets renamed as the Z Fold 8 Ultra) is a new addition to the lineup that will offer a shorter, wider appearance than previous Galaxy Folds – think something shaped a bit like a passport.
We haven’t seen a foldable like this since the original Google Pixel Fold, with most manufacturers opting for the taller design that more closely resembles a standard smartphone when folded.
What is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide?
So why is Samsung doing this now? Well, there are a few perks of the shorter form that could make the Galaxy Z Fold 8/ Fold 8 Wide a more appealing prospect to potential customers. For starters, it will be smaller, so less of a bulk in your pocket and, likely, lighter than the Ultra model – though the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was already incredibly light, so we’ll see how that goes.
There’s the obvious benefit for those with smaller hands not having to struggle to reach up to the notification bar, but the main reason Samsung is doing this is the foldable inner display. With standard smartphone dimensions, inner displays wind up roughly in a square shape, meaning that watching media and playing games that don’t support full-screen leaves you with chunky black bars around your content.
The idea with the wide design is that the foldable display comes closer to something like a tablet – it’s the same logic we’ve seen from the likes of Samsung’s three-panelled TriFold phone. While marginally more media-friendly than its square siblings, I’ll need to test out this wide format to see how much it actually helps with this problem, as of right now I’m just picturing slightly thinner black bars.
What does this mean for the Galaxy Fold?
As mentioned, the taller model is tipped to potentially adopt the same “Ultra” moniker that we see on Samsung’s non-folding smartphones, to distinguish it as the top-end foldable model.
Will it come with a price increase, along with a fancier name? Nothing is confirmed, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I have just gone on a whole rant, after all, about phones getting more expensive during this ongoing RAM crisis (for which Samsung is partly responsible).
Otherwise, I expect the Galaxy Z Fold 8/Fold 8 Ultra to be a fairly standard, iterative update on last year’s model. What will be interesting, however, will be how it affects future generations; if the wide model proves popular, could we see the taller, more expensive version phased out?
When is Samsung Galaxy Unpacked?
The official launch is rumoured to take place on 22 July 2026, and it’s not just phones that we have to look forward to. In addition to the two full-size foldables, we’re expecting to see the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, potentially another, slightly cheaper FE model – though I didn’t think much of the Flip 7 FE so it would be no real loss if it didn’t materialise – Samsung’s Galaxy Glasses and likely a couple of new smartwatches.
We’ll be in London covering the whole affair so check back in with us soon to get the first, proper, non-food look at the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide model, as well as everything else Samsung is unveiling. And if you think that the Wide phone might be for you, keep an eye out for my full review to see if it will be worth your time.
