Samsung Electronics unveiled its most expansive foldable smartphone portfolio yet on Wednesday, introducing a new "passport-sized" Galaxy Z Fold8 alongside the premium Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip8, while raising prices on its flagship foldables amid rising component costs and intensifying competition in the category it pioneered.
The South Korean technology giant priced the Galaxy Z Fold8 at $1,899, while the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra will retail at $2,099 and the Galaxy Z Flip8 at $1,199, both $100 more than their predecessors.
The launch comes as Samsung braces for what analysts expect will be Apple's entry into the foldable smartphone segment later this year, potentially reshaping the premium smartphone market.
"Strategically, this is one of Samsung's most important foldable launches," Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at market research firm IDC, said. "Samsung has to defend the category it created, and that's why it cannot play it safe."
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According to Samsung, the new Galaxy Z lineup is designed to cater to different user needs. The company described the Galaxy Z Fold8 as a new form factor built for immersive content consumption, while the Fold8 Ultra targets productivity-focused users with a larger display and advanced camera system. The Galaxy Z Flip8, Samsung said, focuses on portability, self-expression and AI-powered interactions through its redesigned FlexWindow.
All three devices are powered by Google's Gemini AI, with Samsung saying Galaxy AI has been optimised for each foldable form factor to improve multitasking, automation and personalised experiences.
"As AI becomes more agentic, mobile devices will become the most personal entry point to experiences that understand and adapt to each user," TM Roh, Chief Executive Officer, President and Head of Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience Division, said in a statement. "By setting a new standard for foldables, we are once again advancing the premium mobile experience and opening the next era of intelligence to more people."
Samsung's latest launch comes at a challenging time for the smartphone industry. IDC expects the global smartphone market to contract 14% in 2026, partly because of a shortage of memory chips that has pushed up manufacturing costs.
Those higher chip prices are expected to weigh on Samsung's mobile business, with analysts forecasting the division could post its first quarterly loss for the April-June period. At the same time, the company's semiconductor business is benefiting from the same surge in memory prices.
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According to Omdia, memory and storage account for more than 60% of material costs in budget smartphones and over 30% in premium devices.
"Memory is a much smaller share of the bill of materials on a device above $1,500 than on a mid-range phone, so there is more room to absorb (higher chip prices) at the top-end," Sheng Win Chow, senior analyst at Omdia, said. "The harder question is what justifies the price. A bigger screen alone is no longer enough."
Samsung said the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra are powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon processor, while the Flip8 will use either Qualcomm or Samsung's Exynos chipset depending on the market.
Despite the broader smartphone slowdown, IDC expects foldable smartphone shipments to grow 20% this year, with Samsung likely to increase its share of the global smartphone market.
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