Samsung just took a huge gamble on a passport-shaped foldable ahead of Apple’s entry

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 unfolds into a 7.6-inch display designed for reading, multitasking and video playback. (Image: The Indian Express/ Anuj Bhatia)

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker, hopes that its wider smartphone experience will allow it to offer multiple form factors and sizes, depending on how consumers use their devices. The South Korean company has been selling foldable phones since 2019, but it was only last year that its foldables began to impress critics with a combination of durability, practical use cases, and display innovation.

“The new passport-style Fold 8 expands Samsung’s foldable line-up, helping to underline its leadership in this category. However, it is also a big bet on whether consumers want a device that is more focused on content consumption,” said Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight.

Both the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra feature a new technology called Flex Titanium, designed to make the main display thinner and more durable while also minimising the crease. They are also getting brand-new silicon-carbon batteries including the Flip 8, which promise higher energy density, faster charging, and greater longevity. All three foldables also come with AI-powered features, particularly Samsung’s Galaxy AI and Google’s Gemini.

All three foldables are up for pre-order and will go on sale beginning August 7.

Growth of foldable phone market

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the foldable phone segment is expected to grow 20 per cent year over year in 2026 and another 20 per cent in 2027, reaching 24.4 million units this year and 29.3 million units in 2027. That being said, the foldable market still accounts for less than 3 per cent of total smartphone shipments. However, the real opportunity in the smartphone market is shifting toward value rather than volume, and Samsung is clearly targeting the ultra-high-end segment. IDC expects average selling prices for foldable phones to rise by 21 per cent to $1,700.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 joins the Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8 in Samsung’s expanded foldable smartphone lineup.

Samsung may be the most prominent smartphone brand offering foldable phones at scale, but competition is heating up across major markets, including the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and India.

Lenovo Group Ltd’s Motorola and Alphabet Inc’s Google are investing heavily in the foldable smartphone segment, while Chinese brands Huawei and Honor continue to expand their foldable portfolios in their home market. In fact, Huawei beat Samsung earlier this year with the launch of the Pura X Max, a foldable phone featuring a similarly extra-wide display to Samsung’s Fold 8.

“I think foldables are doing fine, mostly because with the exception of the Flip models, they have been ultra-premium devices for people who don’t care as much about the price of the device,” Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst, Smartphones, Wireless, PC, 5G and XR at Moor Insights & Strategy told indianexpress.com.  “Samsung’s foldables haven’t really increased much in price, so there’s a good reason to believe volumes may be up slightly. I think this launch gives Samsung the market leadership it needs to remind people of, and why it is still the leader in foldables,” he added. 

Apple’s foldable

Samsung’s biggest competitor has yet to launch a foldable phone, but that could change as early as this year. Apple is widely expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone, with many suggesting it will feature a wide, book-style design. Apple’s entry into the foldable smartphone market could benefit Samsung as well.

Many analysts believe that Apple’s arrival would help expand the foldable segment from a niche category into the mainstream, creating awareness around folding phones.

Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been optimised for apps and multitasking on its wider display. (Image: The Indian Express/ Anuj Bhatia)

IDC forecasts that Apple will account for 29 per cent of global foldable smartphone shipments in 2026 and 35 per cent in 2027, making it the world’s largest foldable smartphone brand and overtaking Huawei, Samsung, and Motorola. Although the foldable iPhone may cost more than $2,500, consumers in many markets, including India, are increasingly buying premium smartphones through monthly EMI financing plans.

Sag believes that the launch of the wider Fold 8 and Apple’s first foldable iPhone—which may also feature a short and wide design when closed, almost like a passport, and open up into what feels like a mini iPad—could help establish this unusual screen ratio as the standard for foldable phones going forward. “I think it could become the standard because it offers so many different aspect ratios that can address virtually all types of content better than previous generations,” he said.

But the big question is: will consumers be willing to pay $2,000 for Samsung’s experimental, wide-screen smartphone? The Fold 8 arrives at a time when the global smartphone market is under pressure from rising component costs, driven in part by growing demand for memory chips as the AI race accelerates, as well as broader geopolitical uncertainties. The increasing cost of chips has pushed smartphone prices higher, weighing on consumer demand and slowing sales. Even so, experts believe there will always be a market for a device like the Fold 8 despite its premium price tag.

Samsung also previewed AI-powered smart glasses developed with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster during Galaxy Unpacked. (Image: The Indian Express/ Anuj Bhatia)

“Apple and Samsung secured supply well ahead and are protecting flagship margins, so both are streamlining thinner-margin models rather than touching hero devices,” said Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President, Client Devices, IDC.

That is why Samsung is banking on the Fold 8, alongside the newly launched Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8, to expand its share of the premium smartphone market as competition intensifies in the multibillion-dollar industry.

Galaxy Watches launch

Wednesday’s event also saw the launch of the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9, both positioned as premium smartwatches. However, one product missing from the launch event was a screenless fitness tracker, a category that has surged in popularity as many consumers seek health insights without adding another screen to their lives.

“I think screenless smart bands are absolutely growing as a market segment and when you consider an entire generation grew up with smartphones and not wearing watches, I can see a big chunk of the user base not even thinking about a smartphone. I think the challenge is that having a display is genuinely better in so many ways, so we’ll see the screened ones or smartwatches have a resurgence once this latest wave of fitness bands ends,” Sag said.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9 were unveiled alongside Samsung’s latest foldable smartphones at Galaxy Unpacked. (Image: The Indian Express/ Anuj Bhatia)

Samsung also offered a preview of its upcoming smart glasses, which it is developing in partnership with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster The smart glasses feature an external camera, a microphone, and speakers, allowing users to interact with Google’s Gemini AI through voice commands.

They are aimed at competing with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which also include an external camera, microphone, and speakers but do not feature a display in the lenses. Samsung said more details, including pricing and availability, will be announced in the coming months.

“Samsung’s smart glasses teaser felt more like a placeholder than a launch moment. It is certainly offering stylish designs, but there was little clarity on timing. There may well be some nervousness given the entire device category remains a lightning conductor for privacy concerns,” Wood added.