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Earlier today, Samsung announced five brand-new products as part of its second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year.
The second big annual outing for Samsung is the foldable, flippable, and wrist-wearable one. Last year, in Brooklyn, we received the biggest update to the Z Fold lineup in years, a much slimmer smartwatch, and a relatively mild update (complete with a new ‘budget’ edition) to the much-loved Flip series.
So, what does Samsung do one year later? Well, firstly, they switch venues to somewhere far closer to home for yours truly – London. In terms of what they’ve actually launched, thankfully, it’s far more interesting than it could have been. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Samsung has rewritten the rulebook for foldables, and not a moment too soon.
I’ll get to that in a bit, but first, let’s run through the other updates. I’ve been hands-on with all of this stuff at a super-secret briefing in London, but my full reviews will follow in the coming weeks.
Z Fold 8 Ultra
Ooh, a new name!
Don’t get too excited, though. The Z Fold 8 Ultra isn’t a brand-new type of smartphone from Samsung – it’s the regular Fold form factor that was updated last year, but it has simply been repositioned for reasons that’ll become clear later.
This is, as is so often the case, Samsung’s thinnest Z Fold ever (only by a minuscule amount, mind), with a brand-new easy-to-open-and-close mechanism borrowed from the bonkers Trifold.
At first glance, the Z Fold 8 looks identical to the phone it replaces, but it’s an entirely new design with pretty much every single element having been replaced. And it feels very different in the hand for one simple reason – the new hinge.
That new hinge uses something called Flex Titanium, which is a piece of titanium alloy film that sits under the internal OLED screen, alongside a titanium plate. This results in it being thinner and stronger, with a less pronounced crease. Despite this, it’s still capable of pumping out 3,000 nits of peak brightness (a 400-nit jump from the Fold 7). It’s also now anti-reflective, just like the flagship S-series phones (although it doesn’t feature the S26 Ultra’s privacy display).
Powering the Z Fold 8 is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, which offers some meaningful performance improvements, and a 5,000mAh battery. The latter is the biggest Samsung has ever placed into a foldable device and offers up to 27 hours of video playback along with 45W wired and 20W wireless charging. Oh, and it’s apparently made from silicon carbon, too. So, that’s one less thing for the anti-Samsung crowd to point out.
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The cameras have received a modest update with the 200MP main camera now supporting HDR in 200MP mode, and the ultra-wide being upgraded from 12MP to 50MP. The telephoto, I believe, is unchanged. Which is a shame, because that’s the one area of the Fold I’d love Samsung to improve on.
There’s also a bunch of AI additions which I won’t get into now, but I will update you on them once I review the device fully.
Storage goes from 256GB to 1TB, with RAM placed at 12GB or 16GB, depending on the model you go for. Oh, and colour-wise, there’s a rather lovely military-like green option available as an online exclusive.
Price? £1,899 in the UK. So, Samsung’s granddaddy foldable is still expensive, but it remains, at least on first impressions alone, the most confident of the bunch.
If you skipped the Fold 7, this is the one to get.
…or is it?
Z Fold 8 Ultra u2014 Key Specs at a Glance
The Z Fold 8 Ultra features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 5,000mAh silicon carbon battery with 45W wired charging, and a 200MP main camera. It starts at u00a31,899 in the UK.
Z Flip 8
Every year, I review the latest Samsung Z Flip, and every year, I dearly wish it were for me. They’re such cool little devices, and I totally understand why some people love the form factor. Maybe this year I should give it a real go.
The Z Flip 8 isn’t a huge upgrade over its predecessor. How can it be? How much further can Samsung take this design and concept?
If it ain’t broke, etc.
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Once again, it’s the thinnest Flip thus far and the most “AI-native”, whatever that means. The weight reduction is due in part to a shaving of the overall dimensions (not at the expense of screen real estate, you’ll be glad to hear) and the use of advanced armour aluminium.
There are no big hardware updates to shout about here. The main story is the AI additions, which include AI automation and an upgraded Now Brief for the front Flex Window.
Not a big year for the Flip. But that doesn’t matter. It’ll still fly off the shelves, and for the right reasons. Even if it starts at £1,149.
We took a close look at Samsung’s previous big foldable outing — see our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review for the full verdict.
Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
I was a big fan of the Galaxy Watch Ultra, even if it was a little sluggish at times and, just like the Apple Watch Ultra, didn’t really offer battery life that lived up to the device’s name.
It just looked cool and did everything else pretty well.
Now, we have the second generation of Samsung’s most expensive and apparently most capable smartwatch. It’s still made from titanium, but it’s 12% thinner, 26% lighter, and has a softer band.
It’s also the first Galaxy Watch to be powered by a Snapdragon chip (the Wear Elite), which Samsung says has a 32% faster CPU and 19% faster GPU. That can only be a good thing.
They didn’t stop there. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has an 800mAh battery, which is, again, the biggest ever to go into a Samsung watch, and 35% bigger than the previous generation’s power unit. Again, this can only be a good thing.
Oh, it features the brightest smartwatch display Samsung has ever used, too – 5,000 nits, to be exact. And, apparently, the brightest smartwatch display on the market. The display itself is also slightly bigger, thanks to thinner bezels.
For anyone bonkers enough to entertain the eternally frightening idea of trail running, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 could be for you, thanks to a new tracking feature for that activity. It includes live route guidance, elevation, and AI-powered hydration alerts (no, really).
If diving is your thing, Samsung’s latest ultra watch also includes diving activity tracking for the first time – a feature which is matched by 10ATM/100m water resistance.
Just as before, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 comes in one size (47mm), and just two colours – silver and grey.
Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 u2014 What’s New
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is 12% thinner and 26% lighter than its predecessor, packs an 800mAh battery, and features the brightest smartwatch display on the market at 5,000 nits. It now includes diving activity tracking for the first time.
Galaxy Watch 9
If the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a bit too much for you, the Watch 9 is probably where you should spend your money. During our briefing, Samsung referred to it as “the everyday health and wellness companion”. Which is warm, fuzzy, and entirely non-trail runnery.
The design is largely unchanged from the Watch 8, but there is a softer and 17% lighter band with an air pocket structure, so the Watch 9 should be even more comfortable (the previous generation was no slouch in that regard).
Under the hood, we have the same Snapdragon Wear Elite chip as the Ultra 2, and a 390mAh battery in the 40mm version, which is 20% bigger than before. Display-wise, the Watch 9 can pump out a still-not-shabby-at-all 3,000 nits.
The real focus this year, however, is Samsung’s move from reactive to proactive preventative health monitoring. This includes the introduction of a new Heart Health Score, Daily Cardio Load, and Fitness Index.
Oh, and you can now raise the watch to chat to Gemini.
The Watch 9 comes in two sizes – 40mm (£349) and 44mm (£379).
Right. I’ve kept you waiting long enough. Onto the big one.
The Standout: Z Fold 8
Let’s not beat around the bush – this could have been a very tame Unpacked without the device I’m about to write about.
The Z Fold 8 – possibly confusingly – isn’t an update to the Z Fold 7. Although that’s fine, because as noted earlier, that particular foldable form factor from Samsung now comes with an ‘Ultra’ moniker.
This means we have a brand-new device. And it isn’t a lesser version of the Fold. Well, it is, but not in terms of specs. In fact, the Z Fold 8 contains most of the same internals as the Z Fold 8 Ultra, albeit with a slightly smaller battery (although it’s still bigger than the one in the Fold 7 and still capable of delivering 26 hours of battery life) and just two cameras on the back.
What’s different is the form factor. It is totally new. Closed, it’s shorter and wider than the Fold 8 Ultra. Open, it’s… well, a similar story.
Think of the Z Fold 8 like a passport-sized device, and you’re close.
Pick one up in the flesh and, I promise, you’ll be immediately impressed. I made a video about the iPhone Ultra rumours a while ago and mused that a passport-sized phone sounds like the perfect phone. My first impressions of the Fold 8 confirm that it really possibly is.
Samsung tells us that the Z Fold 8 is built for people who actually watch and consume content. Interestingly, it’s being positioned as a flagship, too – a point that’s kinda confirmed by the price. This combination results in an entirely new type of phone, which is an utter joy to use – straight away.
The Z Fold 8 is also the lightest Fold device Samsung has made (spot a pattern here?), but it still packs a 3,000-nit anti-reflective screen with Vision Booster tech. And it looks lovely.
Closed, it’s a pleasingly squatty little thing which is great to type on and ideal for most apps you’ll scoot through daily. Opened, the Z Fold 8 features either a 4:3 aspect ratio landscape layout or a 3:4 portrait orientation, both of which land perfectly for either watching stuff, reading stuff, or doom-scrolling social media sites. Instagram, in particular, was a joy to use on that screen.
It works great for viewing photos, too; the new camera app offers preset shooting ratios which perfectly match the Z Fold 8’s display.
At £1,699, it’s still expensive, but for the first time in a long time, the Z Fold 8 gave me a proper “wow” moment when I first got my hands on it. That doesn’t happen very often these days in smartphone land. In fact, the last device that did that to me was the iPhone Air.
I wonder who’s going to be next with a device like the Z Fold 8..?
Oh, and yes, I’m aware that Huawei has already done this. But, well, you try buying one outside of China and making it work like a regular Android phone.
Curious about the iPhone Air that also delivered a “wow” moment? Read our iPhone Air review to see how it holds up.
Wrap-up
Remember – these are first impressions only. My full reviews will arrive soon, but it’s clear there’s one standout at this year’s summer Galaxy Unpacked.
That Z Fold 8 just feels right. More importantly, it feels new, and in a world of bland smartphone updates and endless midrange drudgery (good drudgery, but not particularly exciting to review), we needed this.
By ‘we’ do I mean ‘you’ or ‘we reviewers’? That’s for you to say. Get involved in the comments!
4 Comments
I’m really impressed with the Z Fold8 improvements! I’ve always struggled with how bulky foldables felt, but you made these updates sound super exciting. Have you tried multitasking on it? How does it hold up in real-life scenarios? granny 1
The Flex Titanium hinge feels more meaningful than another routine spec bump. A less pronounced crease, an anti-reflective 3,000-nit inner display, and a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery all address practical Fold complaints rather than just padding a spec sheet. At £1,899, the real test will be how that hinge and battery behave after months of daily opening and closing. This sharper hardware geometry is also the kind of reference I like testing in an AI image-to-3D tool, because foldables quickly expose whether a model captures thickness and hinge gaps properly. I’m looking forward to the long-term review.
The “wow” factor is something that has become rare in the smartphone market, so it’s impressive when a device can create that first impression. Innovation is not always about adding more features, but about creating a different experience for users, whether on a phone, an app, or even casual online entertainment such as slope.
Every Football Bros online match feels different because you’re facing real players with different strategies. Some play aggressively from the start, while others wait for counterattacks. Adapting to each opponent keeps the experience fresh.