Everything announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2026: Can Samsung compete with the rumored foldable iPhone?

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Samsung launched three new foldable telephones and two smartwatches at Galaxy Unpacked in London. 
• The Galaxy Z Fold 8 takes a daring design with a 4:3 side ratio, larger battery, and fewer crease.
• The telephones will compete with a rumored foldable iPhone this fall. 

Samsung simply held its 2026 Galaxy Unpacked occasion in London, and ZDNET was there going hands-on with all the brand new tech. This 12 months, Samsung is uniquely positioned to ship foldable telephones to rival the rumored foldable iPhone launching this fall. Meaning bolder designs and an emphasis on its mature engineering — in any case, Samsung has been making flagship foldables for seven years now. 

Additionally: 4 surprise products we could see at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (including the Galaxy Glasses)

The spotlight is the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a novel telephone with a 7.6-inch AMOLED inside display screen (120Hz refresh price), an even bigger battery (lastly), and anti-reflective coating that appears particularly good. There’s additionally a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, with a extra conventional slender design and a 5,000mAh (up from 4,400mAh) battery.

Past the brand new telephones, Samsung additionally introduced two smartwatches — the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and teased some new sensible glasses. The whole lot is on pre-order now and anticipated to ship on August 7, 2026. 

Methods to (re)watch Samsung Unpacked 2026

In case you missed the livestream, you may nonetheless watch it on Samsung’s official YouTube channel or on the Samsung Newsroom web site. ZDNET’s sibling website, CNET, additionally broadcast the occasion with reside reactions and commentary from editors and analysts.

All-new foldables

Samsung has been spearheading the foldable telephone type issue for eight generations now, incrementally enhancing the construct with every era. This 12 months, we get the primary “Extremely” foldable and an enchancment to the primary disadvantage — the crease within the show — with a brand new “flex titanium” materials made from a titanium-alloy movie and a titanium plate to enhance flexibility (and cut back its visibility).

It is an enchancment, to say the least. ZDNET’s Adam Doud had reward for the brand new telephones’ construct whereas on the bottom in London: “The crease on the Z Fold 8 is the perfect Samsung has ever shipped.” Whether or not it is the perfect foldable available on the market is up for debate, but it surely is likely to be Samsung’s boldest but with a novel dimension and side ratio. Let’s have a look.

1. Galaxy Z Fold 8

Samsung’s flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, sports activities a novel, passport-sized type issue that’s surprisingly slim and light-weight, measuring 9.7mm thick when closed and 4.5mm when opened, and weighing simply 201 grams. In actual fact, Samsung says it is the lightest Z Fold it is ever made.

The squat type issue is a little bit of a danger, but it surely’s one Samsung hopes will repay in differentiating itself from opponents, Apple specifically, which is rumored to drop its personal foldable iPhone this fall. Truthfully, we were a little unsure concerning the type issue once we first noticed it, however after a couple of minutes, it warms as much as you. 

Additionally: I tried Samsung’s new wide Galaxy Z Fold 8, and it’s my favorite product of Unpacked 2026

“The brand new Flex Titanium tech decreases the crease to a minimal,” ZDNET’s Prakhar Khanna mentioned of the enhancements. “Gone are the utterly flat shut sides. Now, you could have thinner sides with a minute hole within the center.” It is also extra snug to carry and lies totally flat when opened — a giant usability enchancment.  

The quilt display screen’s 10:16 side ratio is designed for messaging, social updates, and faster actions, whereas the unfolded essential show has a 4:3 ratio for extra immersive use circumstances: watching movies and gaming. For cameras, it has a rear dual-50MP wide-angle digital camera, a 10MP essential digital camera, and a 10MP selfie digital camera.

The bottom-level foldable contains a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset and a 4,800mAh battery (up from 4,400mAh within the Galaxy Z Fold 7). Maybe the most important upgrades, nevertheless, are the shape issue and show crease.

2. Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely

Samsung’s high-end flagship, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, will probably be a stable competitor to the foldable iPhone rumored to launch this fall. It is barely bigger than the Z Fold 8, with an 8-inch inside display screen, a 6.5-inch cowl display screen at a 120Hz refresh price, and a complete weight of 215 grams.

It additionally boasts main battery and charging enhancements, lastly upping the capability to five,000mAh from the 4,400mAh score that is plagued the Z Fold collection for years now. The system additionally helps as much as 45W wired charging (from 25W), which makes the occasional top-up a lot faster. It might probably cost from 0 to 67% in half-hour, in accordance with Samsung.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely has the perfect cameras of the brand new telephones, with a 200MP essential digital camera, 50MP ultrawide, and 10MP 3x telephoto. It additionally helps 8K video recording by the brand new APV codec and will get a bump in battery life because of the bigger battery.

So far as chipset and reminiscence go, the Extremely has the identical configuration as the bottom Galaxy Z Fold 8: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, 12GB of RAM with 256GB or 512GB of storage, or 16GB of RAM with 1TB of storage.

The largest variations listed here are the powerhouse battery within the Extremely, the bigger screens, and the higher cameras. Probably the most notable digital camera improve is the bigger 50MP ultrawide sensor, which ought to be able to capturing extra element and extra correct colours, whether or not it is a landscape-spanning shot or a macro one, whereas additionally benefiting videographers who wish to seamlessly mix their footage throughout completely different lenses.

Additionally: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs. Z Fold 7: After a year of usage, I’m ready to upgrade

The broader type issue of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is getting a variety of reward for a way nicely optimized it’s for watching video content material, however the Extremely excels at this, too. Samsung made some key enhancements to the Extremely mannequin, together with 3,000 nits of brightness and that gorgeous-looking anti-reflective coating.

3. Galaxy Z Flip 8

Samsung’s new flip-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, is its slimmest, lightest telephone of the bunch (and likewise essentially the most reasonably priced). It has a 6.9-inch dynamic AMOLED inside show at a 120Hz refresh price, with a redesigned “FlexWindow” that brings extra apps, notifications, and actions to the duvet display screen.

Additionally: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs. Z Flip 8: Is a foldable or a flip the better option?

The Flip’s 50MP digital camera has some distinctive options as nicely, together with hands-free taking pictures and auto stabilization within the Camcorder Grip with Zoom Rocker function, in addition to a “mirror view” with the selfie digital camera and canopy display screen, which Samsung says is for fast look checks whereas on the go.

It is barely thicker than final 12 months’s Galaxy Z Flip 7, but it surely’s about eight grams lighter, weighing simply 180 grams. Equally, it has the same-sized 4,300mAh battery, but it surely has sooner 45W charging. It options an upgraded Exynos 2600 processor with 12GB of RAM. It’s going to are available 256GB and 512GB storage choices in Cream, Graphite, or Pink colorways.

4. Galaxy Watch Extremely 2

The brand new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is Samsung’s strongest smartwatch thus far, designed for high-performance athletes and adventure-seekers trying to push their well being monitoring to the max. It is received a blindingly brilliant show at 5,000 nits, the most important battery in a Galaxy Watch thus far at 800mAh, and improved sturdiness with a formidable IP69K score — which means you may truly go diving with it.

Additionally: I wore the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 for a week – it’s a true Apple Watch Ultra 3 rival

Regardless of the large battery (35% bigger than final 12 months’s mannequin), it is truly 12% slimmer than the earlier era. Samsung coupled this with lighter, slimmer watch bands for an total extra delicate look that no less than makes an attempt to maneuver away from the chunky, rugged smartwatch look.

Samsung additionally introduced a flurry of AI-powered well being monitoring options with the brand new watches, together with vitals monitoring, sleep apnea monitoring, and listening to insights, however one of many standout options is the brand new Coronary heart Well being rating, which incorporates blood stress monitoring.

“Whereas it is not FDA licensed nor medical grade, it could possibly assist present consciousness of the place your blood stress is and whether or not drugs should be adjusted,” ZDNET’s Adam Doud mentioned of the function. “Having a watch that may report a probably-mostly-accurate blood stress measurement is vastly superior to not recording any in any respect.”

5. Galaxy Watch 9

As Samsung’s base mannequin smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 9 has a handful of upgrades that might make Pixel Watch or different Android watch homeowners convert. The Galaxy Watch 9 is Samsung’s on a regular basis smartwatch for all-day monitoring, with 3,000 nits of brightness and a light-weight aluminum casing.

It will get an upgraded battery with its capability prolonged to 390mAh, offering round 30 hours of life with the At all times-On Show enabled. Samsung packs a number of new options that carry its health-monitoring software program nearer to rivals, particularly Oura, Google, and Apple. That final one is huge.

Additionally: Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Galaxy Watch 8: I’ve compared both models, here’s my advice

“Samsung is in a novel place to compete with Apple, however with out competing for Apple’s clients,” mentioned ZDNET’s wearables and well being tech editor, Nina Raemont. “Since an iPhone person cannot use a Galaxy Watch, and vice versa, we see some copycat options, however I am not complaining. The latest watch will get path working, the Mares app, and the Vitals tab for monitoring biomarkers that deviate from a wholesome baseline. These are three options already out there on the Apple Watch Extremely.”

6. Sensible glasses (someday this 12 months?)

Samsung teased its new sensible glasses throughout its Unpacked occasion, however they’re nonetheless a piece in progress, with no set launch date, however probably releasing this 12 months. Samsung appears to to set itself aside with fashionable body designs from each Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, manufacturers choosing a extra fashionable look than opponents, that are notoriously chunky. 

One of many greatest options, nevertheless, is Samsung’s declare of 9 hours of battery life on a single cost — placing them close to the highest of sensible glasses out the market proper now. Their case may cost them as much as seven instances, offering much more portability. 

Throughout the occasion, Samsung demoed the glasses’ capabilities at the side of Gemini Intelligence, exhibiting their hands-free AI-powered options like reserving dinner reservations or ordering a espresso. As anticipated, they’ve a bunch of integrations with Samsung’s personal ecosystem, together with summarizing conferences and transferring to Samsung Notes, and dealing with pinch and faucet gestures with the Galaxy Watch. 

Samsung has a novel alternative to construct further integrations inside its personal ecosystem right here, and the glasses’ distinctive quality-of-life options are definitely one thing that might set them aside from competing sensible glasses coming down the pipeline.