Samsung Electronics will hold Galaxy Unpacked 2026 at 10 p.m. on July 22, Korea time, in London, U.K., and unveil the Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra, and Flip8. With the addition of an Ultra model, the foldable lineup will expand from two products to three.
The Fold8 is expected to feature a 7.6-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, designed in a passport-sized wide format aimed at improving video viewing convenience. The Ultra is said to come with an 8-inch display, the thinnest and lightest body in the series so far, and a 200-megapixel camera.
The first smart glasses, called Intelligent Eyewear, will also be unveiled. They were developed based on Google and Android XR, with design collaboration from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
With Meta holding about 80% of the global smart glasses market, the key point to watch is whether the Samsung-Google alliance can alter the competitive landscape.
Samsung Electronics will hold Galaxy Unpacked 2026 at the Old Billingsgate in London at 2 p.m. local time on the 22nd, which is 10 p.m. the same day in Korea, and the event will also be livestreamed online.
Products expected to be introduced include the next-generation foldable smartphones Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra and Flip8, the Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra 2, and the company’s first smart glasses, Intelligent Eyewear.
The event’s overarching theme can be summed up in two directions: a strategy to segment demand by splitting the foldable lineup, and an attempt to expand beyond smartphones into glasses-shaped AI devices.
The biggest change is the creation of the Fold8 Ultra. The foldable lineup, which had consisted of the Fold and Flip two-product system, will grow to three models this year.
The standard Fold8 has rewritten the display formula. When folded, it has a 5.5-inch cover screen in a 10:16 ratio, and when unfolded, it becomes a passport-sized wide model with a 7.6-inch main display in a 4:3 ratio. The existing Fold series had a long, narrow screen that made videos feel cramped vertically, and industry watchers say the wide format is a design aimed at addressing that issue.
The Fold8 Ultra will carry over the existing screen ratio as a premium model. Its 8-inch main display is designed to improve multitasking performance, and it is reported to be the thinnest and lightest Fold series model ever. It is also expected to feature a 200-megapixel main sensor, the first 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor in the Fold series, and a large 5,000mAh battery.
Analysts say the lineup segmentation follows a formula already proven in the Galaxy S series, dividing basic and Ultra models to capture both mass-market and premium demand. As the foldable market matures, the company appears to believe that one product can no longer satisfy all needs.
Samsung has refreshed its foldables every year since launching the first model in 2019. Splitting the lineup into three models in the eighth generation is being interpreted as a declaration that foldables will be developed as a mainstream product category, not a niche one.
The choice of venue also appears calculated. Following the 2024 event at the Louvre Museum in Paris, Samsung has continued to hold foldable Unpacked events in major European cities. The move is seen as a strategy to reinforce its leadership in foldables in Europe, a region where Apple is strong. Ahead of the event, Piccadilly Circus, double-decker buses, and major billboards across central London were reportedly filled with Unpacked invitation advertisements.
The Flip8, which folds vertically, will also be unveiled. When folded, it shrinks to palm size. If the Fold targets large-screen productivity, the Flip serves portability and design-oriented demand.
A key technological point to watch is the Flex Titanium Display. This technology, expected to debut in Galaxy foldables for the first time, uses a titanium alloy material to reduce screen creases and make the device thinner.
Screen creases, thickness, and weight have been among the main reasons consumers hesitate to buy foldables. Creases are a natural result of the folding display, while thickness stems from stacking two screens together. The adoption of new materials is seen as a direct attempt to remove one of the biggest barriers to mass adoption.
Although foldable smartphones are entering their seventh year on the market, many believe they still account for only a single-digit share of the overall smartphone market. Price, durability, and weight have long been identified as barriers to broader adoption.
The software will also change. The new products will be the first to run the latest One UI 9 operating system. The standard Fold8 is also expected to become the lightest Fold series model ever while offering a generous battery capacity. Expanding the battery while reducing thickness remains a key design challenge.
Price is another variable. With the addition of the Ultra model, the top-end price is likely to rise, while interest will focus on whether the standard Fold8 can lower the entry barrier.
The competitive environment in the foldable market is also part of the backdrop. As Chinese manufacturers continue releasing new foldables and catching up, Samsung appears to be aiming to prove the technological gap built since its first product in 2019 through improvements in weight, thickness, and creases.
The Intelligent Eyewear smart glasses, unveiled for the first time at the event, represent a first step beyond smartphones.
Smart glasses are devices that let users use AI assistants with their eyes and ears instead of their hands, and they have been considered a candidate for the smartphone successor form factor. Meta opened up the market through products developed with the eyewear brand Ray-Ban, and sales have grown rapidly alongside the spread of conversational AI.
The product Samsung developed in collaboration with Google is based on the Android XR platform. Android XR is Google’s operating system for extended reality devices, creating a structure in which Samsung hardware, Google’s platform, and Galaxy AI are combined.
Launch is expected in the second half of the year. The company is said to have worked with the eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to create a design natural enough for everyday use. Expectations include AI assistant conversations, real-time translation, navigation, and camera-based information searches.
The market position is that of a challenger. Meta, working with Ray-Ban, holds about 80% of the global smart glasses market. Samsung and Google’s entry is being regarded as the first serious move by the Android camp to field a rival. An ecosystem strategy linking smartphones, watches, and glasses through Galaxy AI is seen as a key differentiator.
New wearable products are also coming. The Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra 2 are expected to strengthen health management and exercise analysis features, while expanding personalized health coaching functions based on Galaxy AI.
For consumers, preorder benefits, domestic launch timing, and carrier subsidies will be the key factors in determining whether to buy. Detailed specifications and prices will be officially announced at the event, and the direction of the main model among the three foldables is expected to be decided by preorder performance.
With both the foldable lineup overhaul and the smart glasses push on the table, Unpacked 2026 is seen as the stage that will reveal the next five years of Samsung Electronics’ mobile strategy.