Samsung has just rewritten the rulebook for its foldable phone lineup. At the Galaxy Unpacked event held in London on July 22, 2026, the company didn’t launch one or two foldables like it usually does it launched three at once. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Galaxy Z Flip8 are now official, and all three are already up for pre-order in India, with deliveries expected to begin in the first week of August.
This is a big shift in strategy for Samsung. For years, the Z Fold series tried to be one phone that did everything a productivity tool, a media device, and a status symbol rolled into one. This year, Samsung has split that job between two separate Fold models, while giving the Flip series its slimmest, lightest design yet. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about buying a foldable, this launch changes the calculus quite a bit, especially for buyers in India where three clear price tiers are now on the table.
Here’s a complete breakdown of what each device offers, how much they cost in India, and what’s genuinely new this year.
A Three-Way Foldable Lineup for the First Time
Until now, Samsung’s foldable strategy was simple: one book-style Fold and one clamshell Flip, launched together every year. That changes with the Z8 series. The Fold line itself has now been split into two distinct products aimed at very different kinds of buyers:
- Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra — the direct successor to the Z Fold7, built for people who want maximum performance, a sharper camera, and a screen tuned for serious multitasking.
- Galaxy Z Fold8 — an entirely new “wide” foldable aimed at buyers who want a lighter, more content-friendly device rather than a productivity workstation.
- Galaxy Z Flip8 — the compact clamshell, now thinner and lighter than any Flip Samsung has made before.
The idea seems to be that not every foldable buyer wants the same thing, so instead of one do-it-all Fold, Samsung is now giving Indian buyers a genuine choice between a workhorse, a wide-screen media companion, and a pocketable clamshell.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra: Samsung’s First “Ultra” Branded Foldable
This is the headline device of the launch, and the naming isn’t accidental. Samsung has used the “Ultra” badge on its S-series flagships for years to signal the top-of-the-line variant, and this is the first time that branding has made its way to a foldable. The Fold8 Ultra effectively takes over from the Z Fold7 as Samsung’s flagship folding phone.
Some of the standout details:
- Display: An 8-inch main foldable screen paired with a 6.5-inch cover display, both running LTPO AMOLED panels with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling and better battery efficiency.
- Build: At just around 4.1mm thick when unfolded and roughly 215 grams in weight, Samsung is calling this its slimmest Fold design ever, despite packing in more hardware than before.
- Camera: A big jump here a 200-megapixel primary sensor with HDR support, joined by a new 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens. Samsung says this combination brings noticeably better low-light shots and supports 8K video recording, making it the most capable camera system it has ever put on a foldable.
- Performance: Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, a version of Qualcomm’s chip specifically tuned for Samsung’s software.
- Battery: A 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support, along with improved internal cooling to handle heavier workloads like gaming or video editing without throttling.
- Durability: IP48 rated for dust and water resistance.
- Software: Ships out of the box with Android 17 and One UI 9.
- Colours: Graphite, Cream, and Violet Shadow, with an online-exclusive Green Shadow option.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra Price in India
The Fold8 Ultra comes in three memory configurations:
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage — around ₹1.99 lakh
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage — around ₹2.19 lakh
- 16GB RAM + 1TB storage — around ₹2.59 lakh
This makes it Samsung’s most expensive foldable in India to date, positioning it firmly as a flagship-plus device rather than a mainstream purchase.
👉 Buy Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra: Amazon.in – Check Price | Flipkart – Check Price
Galaxy Z Fold8: The New “Wide” Foldable
If the Fold8 Ultra is built for power users, the standard Galaxy Z Fold8 is aimed at people who simply want a foldable that’s easier to live with day to day. Samsung has redesigned its proportions entirely, giving it what the company describes as a passport-like form factor wider and more compact when folded, which makes it noticeably easier to use one-handed compared to older Fold models.
Key highlights:
- Design: At approximately 201 grams and 0.45cm thick when folded, Samsung is calling this a category record for lightness in the Fold lineup.
- Displays: The cover screen uses a tall 10:16 aspect ratio built for quick, one-handed use like scrolling social feeds or replying to messages without unfolding the phone. Once opened, the main screen switches to a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is tuned more for reading, watching videos, and browsing than for split-screen productivity.
- Performance: Also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset.
- Battery: A 4,800mAh battery rated for up to 26 hours of video playback on a single charge.
- Software: Android 17 with One UI 9 and the full suite of Galaxy AI features.
- Colours: Lavender and Pistachio, alongside the standard Graphite and Cream options.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Price in India
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage — around ₹1.79 lakh
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage — around ₹1.99 lakh
- 16GB RAM + 1TB storage — around ₹2.39 lakh
Essentially, the Fold8 undercuts the Ultra by roughly ₹20,000 across each matching storage tier, while trading some camera and battery muscle for a lighter, more pocket-friendly design.
👉 Buy Galaxy Z Fold8: Amazon.in – Check Price | Flipkart – Check Price
Galaxy Z Flip8: Samsung’s Slimmest, Lightest Flip Yet
The clamshell side of the lineup gets a meaningful refresh too. Samsung says the Galaxy Z Flip8 is its thinnest and lightest Flip phone so far, and on paper it’s a fairly significant jump over the Z Flip7.
What’s new:
- Build: Just 6.1mm thick when unfolded and 180 grams in weight, making it one of the more pocketable flagship phones available right now.
- Main display: A 6.9-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate and Vision Booster for better outdoor visibility.
- Cover display: A redesigned 4.1-inch Super AMOLED FlexWindow running at up to 120Hz. This isn’t just a clock-and-notifications panel anymore it supports full apps, Galaxy AI features, and voice-driven automation through Gemini Intelligence, all without needing to unfold the phone.
- Cameras: A 50-megapixel wide-angle main camera with 2x optical zoom, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 10-megapixel selfie camera on the inner display.
- Chipset: Interestingly, the Flip8 moves to a 2nm Exynos chip rather than the Snapdragon silicon used in the Fold8 duo, a notable change for buyers who track chipset performance closely.
- Battery: Sources point to a battery in the 4,300–4,800mAh range, an improvement over last year’s Flip.
- Colours: Pink and Mint, along with Graphite and Cream.
Galaxy Z Flip8 Price in India
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage — around ₹1.24 lakh
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage — around ₹1.44 lakh
This keeps the Flip8 as the most affordable entry point into Samsung’s 2026 foldable lineup by a fair distance, even after this year’s price bump.
👉 Buy Galaxy Z Flip8: Amazon.in – Check Price | Flipkart – Check Price
Galaxy AI Gets Smarter Across All Three Phones
Software is a big part of this year’s pitch, and Samsung has leaned hard into agentic AI meaning the phone doesn’t just answer questions, it can actually complete multi-step tasks on your behalf.
A few features worth knowing about:
- Now Brief and Now Nudge: Personalised daily summaries and smart, context-aware notifications that adjust based on your routine.
- My FanCam: An AI editing tool that can automatically reframe a video around a specific person you select from a clip, useful for turning group videos into focused highlight reels.
- Gemini-powered agentic tasks: Samsung demonstrated a scenario where sharing a photo of a landmark and asking the AI to find nearby hotels results in the assistant searching, shortlisting, and presenting options for approval, even while you continue using other apps in the background.
- Cross-platform sharing: All three phones support sharing files directly with Apple devices over Bluetooth, expanding on the AirDrop-style compatibility Samsung introduced with its S26 series earlier this year.
- Smart Switch upgrades: iPhone users switching over can now transfer their data wirelessly by simply scanning a QR code.
As part of the launch offer, buyers also get a six-month free trial of Google AI Pro, which includes 5TB of cloud storage.
India Price Summary at a Glance
| Model | Variant | Price (India) |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra | 12GB + 256GB | ₹1,99,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra | 12GB + 512GB | ₹2,19,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra | 16GB + 1TB | ₹2,59,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Fold8 | 12GB + 256GB | ₹1,79,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Fold8 | 12GB + 512GB | ₹1,99,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Fold8 | 16GB + 1TB | ₹2,39,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Flip8 | 12GB + 256GB | ₹1,24,000 approx. |
| Galaxy Z Flip8 | 12GB + 512GB | ₹1,44,000 approx. |
(Prices are based on official India MRP announced at Unpacked; actual listed prices on retail platforms may vary slightly by seller and offer.)
Availability in India
Pre-bookings for all three phones opened the same day as the global unveiling, through Samsung’s official website, Samsung Exclusive Stores, and select retail partners across India. Early deliveries for pre-order customers are expected to begin around August 4, with wider retail availability following in the days after, roughly in line with Samsung’s usual two-week gap between announcement and full sale.
Should You Wait or Buy Now?
If you’re upgrading from an older Fold or Flip, the differences this year are more than skin-deep. Samsung splitting the Fold line into an Ultra and a standard “wide” variant genuinely changes what kind of buyer each phone suits the Ultra leans into camera performance and battery life for power users, while the standard Fold8 is built around comfort, lighter weight, and everyday usability. The Flip8, meanwhile, keeps its identity as the compact, expressive option, and this year that comes with a noticeably upgraded cover screen that behaves almost like a mini smartphone of its own.
Given the higher price tags this year, it may be worth watching for bank card offers, exchange bonuses, and early-bird deals that typically show up in India within the first couple of weeks of a Samsung flagship launch, before deciding which of the three fits your budget and usage best.
Prices, specifications, and availability dates are based on official information shared at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22, 2026, and may be updated as more details become available closer to the India retail launch.
