Samsung opened its annual summer Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday morning with a fresh wave of foldable phones and Galaxy watches. After weeks of leaks and speculation, the company introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 8, featuring a fully redesigned body that is shorter and wider than last year’s Fold, alongside a new “Ultra” Fold, an upgraded Flip model, and the latest versions of its Galaxy smartwatch lineup.
Missed the livestream? Here’s a quick rundown of the biggest Samsung Galaxy Unpacked announcements from this year’s showcase.
Photo: David Imel / The Verge
The centerpiece of Galaxy Unpacked was the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which brings a major design shift compared with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This year’s model has a shorter, wider shape and includes a 7.6-inch inner display paired with a 5.5-inch cover screen. It is also slightly thicker than its predecessor, measuring 4.5mm when unfolded and 9.7mm when folded, versus 4.2mm and 8.9mm on the Z Fold 7.
Samsung also reworked the hinge and added its new Flex Titanium display technology to the Fold 8. The inner screen crease has not disappeared entirely, but it is far less obvious than on Samsung’s earlier foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 are getting the same Flex Titanium display upgrade as well.
Inside, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, with configurations offering up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Its camera system is a step back from the Z Fold 7 in one notable way: Samsung has moved from three main cameras to two, combining a 50MP wide camera with a 50MP ultrawide. The 10MP cover screen camera and 10MP inner camera remain the same as on the Z Fold 7.
Pricing for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899. Samsung will sell the foldable in lavender, graphite, cream, and pistachio, with the pistachio finish available exclusively for online orders.
Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
While the standard Z Fold 8 got a revamped design, the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra inherited the design from last year’s Z Fold 7. Samsung’s new top-tier foldable is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The Ultra features a larger 5,000mAh battery, compared to the 4,400mAh battery in the Z Fold 7. The phone also supports 45W wired charging and 20W wireless charging, an improvement over the Z Fold 7’s 25W wired / 15W wireless charging. The camera setup is similar to the Z Fold 7 with a 200MP wide / 50MP ultra wide / 10MP telephoto main camera and 10MP selfie cameras on the inside and cover displays.
The Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at $2,099 and comes in four colors: graphite, cream, violet shadow, and green shadow (for online orders only).
Photo: David Imel / The Verge
Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip 8 with some spec bumps, but no major design changes. It now runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, an upgrade from the Exynos 2500 chip that powered the previous Z Flip 7. It also includes 12GB of RAM with options for 256GB or 512GB of storage (but still no 1TB option).
Like last year’s model, it has a 6.9-inch inside display and a 4.1-inch cover display, with a 4,300mAh battery. While it looks the same overall, the cover display is a bit more versatile now thanks to a few new gestures and access to an app drawer. It’s also slightly thinner at 13.1mm folded and 6.1mm unfolded. Unfortunately, it’s also $100 more expensive than the Flip 7, starting at $1,199. The phone comes in four colors: pink, graphite, cream, and mint (for online orders only).
Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
The Galaxy Watch got a refresh at Galaxy Unpacked with a new processor, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear Elite. It once again comes in two sizes, 44mm and 40mm. The larger 44mm model has a 1.47-inch display and a 445mAh battery, while the 40mm version includes a slightly smaller 1.34-inch display and a 390mAh battery. Samsung says both sizes can last up to 30 hours per charge with the always-on display turned on. Both also include 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
In addition to spec improvements, the highlight of this year’s Galaxy Watch refresh are four new preventative health metrics: Vitals, Heart Health Score, Daily Cardio Load, and Fitness Index. All four will also be available on the new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, and may help Samsung’s smartwatches compete with Apple’s wearables.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy Watch 9 got a $30 price bump from last year, so it now starts at $379. The 44mm version comes in graphite and silver while the 40mm one is available in graphite and cream.
Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, not to be confused with the second-generation version of the original Galaxy Watch Ultra from last year. The new Ultra includes a significantly larger battery at a whopping 800mAh, up from 590mAh in last year’s Ultra, which somehow fits into a case that’s 12 percent thinner than the previous model. Samsung says it can last up to 60 hours per charge with the always-on display turned on. The updated Ultra is also getting the same new preventative health metrics as the base Galaxy Watch.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Like the previous version, it’s available in just one size, 47mm, with a 1.52-inch display. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also got a $50 price hike, bringing it up to $699, with two color options, titanium silver and titanium gray.
Google also made an appearance at this year’s Galaxy Unpacked with a couple of new frames for the upcoming smartglasses it’s making in collaboration with Samsung. It unveiled new designs from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, following two earlier designs from both brands announced in May at Google I/O. The first pairs of Google’s smartglasses are expected to launch later this year.
