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Samsung's all-new foldable — Galaxy Z Fold 8 — is selling so well that the South Korean firm has been forced to ramp up production. At the time of writing, it's possible to order one of these £1,699 Android handsets for next-day delivery in every colour ...apart from Pistachio, which is exclusive to the Samsung online store. If you want to pocket this Pistachio phone, you'll need to wait until mid-September for delivery in most configurations.
That suggests Samsung is struggling with the popularity of certain models. Behind the scenes, reports suggest the South Korean manufacturer has increased production by an additional one million units to ensure that buyers aren't waiting too long for their shiny new smartphone.
The unexpected popularity of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is shorter than any previous foldable we've seen from Samsung to ensure the foldable screen offers a widescreen-like aspect ratio for bingeing boxsets, blockbusters, and playing cinematic video games on-the-move, has even pushed executives at the Suwon-based company to consider launching another widescreen foldable phone next year, sources told ET News.
It's true, sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 have been such a runaway success that Samsung wants to launch two wider Galaxy Z Fold models in 2027.
One is widely tipped to be a direct successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 8, most likely called Galaxy Z Fold 9, with the usual year-on-year improvements you'd expect to the dual camera system, performance from the Qualcomm-designed system-on-a-chip, new colours, and more.
However, Samsung will also purportedly debut an entirely new Galaxy Z Fold model with an even wider widescreen form-factor.
While the main AMOLED display unfurled from the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is an 4:3 aspect ratio, removing some of the black bars found at the top and bottom of video in earlier foldables from Samsung and resembling a Kindle e-reader when held in a portrait orientation, this new model could stretch to 16:9.
That would remove any black bars from Hollywood blockbusters and cinematic television, including shows like House of the Dragon, Slow Horses, Widow's Bay, Stranger Things, The Boys, Fallout, The White Lotus, Reacher, and more. Elsewhere, sources speaking to ET News reiterate that Samsung is also working on a Galaxy Z Flip 9, Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra, and a successor to its triple-folding Galaxy Z TriFold, which inspired the redesigned titanium-backed hinge in the newest lineup of Galaxy Z Fold devices announced just a few weeks ago.
Samsung wants to offer as many different (folding) screen sizes as possible to cater to different tastes. Attracting first-time buyers to foldables will accelerate growth of this product category, rather than relying on improvements to existing models, like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra — now in its seventh iteration since its debut back in September 2019. This approach should also avoid cannibalising sales of its existing Galaxy Z series devices.
Expect an impressive lineup with as many as five different foldables from Samsung to launch next summer.
All will launch with One UI 10, based on Android 18. Expect more advanced AI-powered features, new camera tricks, multi-tasking between apps across the larger screens, and automations.
As mentioned, the newly-launched Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 offers a new screen size optimised for bingeing your favourite boxsets on the move, while the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra squeezes more processing power and a taller display for productivity on the move.
We've just seen the latest effort from Google, which launched its Pixel 11 Pro Fold with the same passport-style design offering a more widescreen folding display in exchange for a shorter, squatter design when closed. It comes as Motorola launched a version of its Razr flip phone that opens like a paperback to compete with the best from Google and Samsung.
According to the latest whispers, we're weeks away from incoming Apple CEO John Ternus showcasing the first iPhone with a folding screen — offering an iPad-like experience that fits into your pocket — during its annual September event.
