The second Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 has been and gone (and only five months on from the first), with London providing hosting duties for the summer session.
This time it was the turn of Samsung's flagship foldables to take pride of place, with an all-new Z Fold 8 revealed to show off an entirely new format, alongside Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 devices.
All of these new flagship foldables are now available for pre-order, with our Best Pre-Order Page highlighting any deals ahead of the August on-sale date.
T3's Tech Editor, Mike Lowe, was on the ground at the event – and handling The Gadget Show Podcast – to deliver live coverage.
You can see all that in the original blog below, but here are the key headline takeaways you'll most want to read:
The biggest headlines from Unpacked July 2026
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 pre-orders: The best Samsung Z Fold and Flip deals
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: First impressions of foldables' big future
- Z Fold 8 'Wide' or Ultra? – I tried both, so you don't have to
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review: 5-star stunner
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 or Flip 7?
Original Live Blog continues below...
It was only five months back that Samsung's first Unpacked showcase of 2026 wrapped, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Privacy Display the king of that reveal.
Now the next Unpacked event is upon us, this time with the best foldables set to be centre stage – and T3's tech editor, Mike Lowe, is on the ground at the event to report on all the news.
Samsung's second Unpacked of 2026 runs from 14:00 BST (06:00 PDT, 11:00 EDT) today – Wednesday 22 July. You can watch live, using the embedded YouTube video below, or follow along in the run-up to the event itself as we dissect the rumours.
As ever, in this live blog, we'll be highlighting the most important news related to the new folding handsets – expected to be the 'wide' Galaxy Z Fold 8, updated Z Fold 8 Ultra (with new name appendage), and Z Flip 8 – plus any additional surprises.
This is also the Unpacked where health will be showcased, with Samsung's latest wearables, the Watch Ultra 2 and Watch 9, expected as part of the package. So stay tuned – there'll plenty to see and adsorb, with news, opinions and previews to follow.
Hello from London
Samsung has chosen the UK capital for this year's second Unpacked event, so I'm on home soil ahead of the event kicking off by the Thames.
I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for any billboards or accidental giveaways ahead of the event kicking off at 14:00 BST, should anyone slip up.
Is anything ever secret anymore?
Well, that's a bit of a giveaway, isn't it? BTS' J-Hope is pictured holding the purported 'Wide' Galaxy Z Fold 8, showing off the new-form foldable for all to see. In a fetching purple finish of all things, too.
READ: Hello Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, where have you been all my life?
Given the Korean popstar's ties with Samsung, this seems to be no accident, more a coordinated tease of what the new wider-and-shorter foldable looks like – complete with its duo of cameras.
There's a lot more that Samsung will have to say about the latest Z Fold, though, so this glimpse is just that. It's the displays that we really want to see in action in this new aspect ratio.
The new standard?
Wait, hold up, that's not a Galaxy Z Fold 8. Here's where things are going to get interesting – as it's widely expected that Apple will reveal the 'iPhone Ultra' in September of this year.
Samsung, however, has beaten the Cupertino company to the punch. Sure, it was already several years ahead anyway, but this new format is likely to become the 'new standard' in what consumers expect.
It's believed that Samsung will be providing the AMOLED panel for Apple's foldable, which makes it even more likely that it'll be the very same base solution – hence the dummy render image, above, looking mighty similar.
What does that mean for the tall-and-narrow foldables market? We'll just have to wait and see. Samsung is expected to support both formats, but for how long?
Heavy metal
But here's one key aspect to Samsung's latest foldables that's already officially been released, as we reported last week.
That's all to do with the brand's new sub-structure, which uses a titanium-alloy film directly behind the display panel, replacing a polymer film. Samsung says this offers greater mechanical stiffness – up to 20x – which also means better anti-'crease' properties.
That ought to set the latest Galaxy Z Fold devices apart from the competition, as the crease has blighted foldable devices across all brands for many years now.
The end of the crease?
Samsung, like every other folding phone maker, has rightly been preoccupied in recent years with the crease in the middle of its phones' displays. Minimising that crease makes the internal display nicer to use, so it's a major goal – and leaks suggest this generation of phones could improve things massively.
A new image shared on social media today, ahead of Samsung's launch event, appears to show last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 next to this year's Z Fold 8 Ultra. The harsh lighting makes it easy to see the crease on the older model, but the newer version next to it looks much smoother.
The angle is flattering, admittedly, and it's not the most scientific of comparisons given we only have the one image, but it's a great sign for those hoping Samsung would be able to keep things nice and flat on its new internal display.
What are we to make of this new shape?
As the leaks we've showcased already today demonstrate, this is a big moment for Samsung – it's not every day that a phone-maker completely redesigns one of its flagships. In a world where a new camera bump dominates headlines in iPhone-land, imagine if Apple completely changed the phone's shape one year: it'd be bedlam.
So, what does this new, squatter shape mean for Samsung? We can only assume that it's done an absolute shedload of market research and focus testing to back up the idea that taller folding phones aren't for everyone.
While we don't have the stats to back that up ourselves, it's worth throwing things way back to the Surface Duo, Microsoft's own bi-fold phone from a few years ago. It went the way of the dodo after a couple of iterations, but reviewers were consistently won over by its size and shape, which looks an awful lot like Samsung's new design.
Some things might not change as much
Of course, while the new size and shape of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is going to draw a lot of attention, we're expecting more than one phone today, and the reality is that the Z Flip 8 will likely be the bigger seller.
The flip-phone is a more common sight on the streets of London, in our experience, and its far lower cost of entry seems to be persuasive alongside its fun and dinky size. It's also highly like that we're going to see far less change between versions on this format.
That doesn't mean there won't be progress, and we'd assume that there will be internal upgrades as well as some display spec bumps, but the design is expected to be largely consistent with what came before – which is no problem, based on our glowing four-star review.
Watch out!
But it's not just about folding phones this Unpacked. As we reported yesterday, there's also expected to be new wearables.
Principally the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 leaked, courtesy of serial leaker Evan Blass, who appears to have acquired official marketing images from a Spanish-language source, as posted on his X feed.
Key to the Ultra 2 is its brighter-than-ever display rated at an apparent 5,000 nits. The battery is also purported to deliver up to 60 hours of runtime, which sounds mega.
More info from Unpacked come 2pm (London time), no doubt, so keep your eyes on the site for more.
Privacy, please?
But back to the phones for a moment. Back when Samsung revealed the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the addition of Privacy Display turned out to be a bit of a controversy.
The feature, which when enabled turns off some pixels to narrow the field of view, makes would-be snoopers unable to see your S26 Ultra's screen. It can even be regionally applied, as to only affect notification areas, for example.
This being Samsung's big feature breakthrough for 2026, surely the latest and priciest Galaxy phones will feature it? But there's not been a peep in the leaks about Privacy Display in the new foldables.
Therefore, we don't anticipate that it will feature – not even for the devices' front displays. That might be for the best in some people's eyes, however, instead leaving the focus on the new titanium sub-structure as the key talking point.
Colour me excited
Pictured above is the Z Fold 7 model, released last year, in its trio of colourways. The Blue Shadow is the standout winner for me.
So what to expect this year for the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra? Rumour has it that there'll be exclusive new colour options, as it typical of Samsung Store.
A new source suggests those will be rather green in nature, with Pistachio, Green Shadow and Mint the purported exclusive options for the Z Fold 8, Ultra and Flip, respectively.
Those will join the base Cream, Graphite and Lavender options, expected to be available from wider retail sources.
Time for a trek...
Right, it's 12:30 (BST), so my time has come to trundle on over to the Galaxy Unpacked venue in London before the show kicks off.
I'll leave this live blog in the hands of my T3 colleagues to update with any rumours and wonders ahead of the start time – when, Wi-Fi permitting, I'll be live-blogging to my heart's content.
Elvis (well, Mike) is entering the building
We're here and it's packed already! News editor Rik taking over for a little while as Mike finds his way to a seat inside the venue.
I must have covered more than 50 Samsung events in my time as a journalist and they always draw the crowds. But will there be anything extra to see today? I wonder if Samsung might tease something Android XR-related at the end of the show – maybe its first smart glasses with a display or even the Galaxy XR 2.
I hope so, as we know most of the rest of it already.
I'll have a piece of that
And just like that, I'm back in the hot seat. Well, an Unpacked seat! It's bustling inside, with 45 minutes to go before the official kick-off.
Samsung is showing off the social teasers about the assumed Z Fold 8 and Watch Ultra 2 that it put out the other week – albeit on the big screen.
That's clearly going to be the focus of this Unpacked event, I'd wager.
BTS: I Believe That's A Samsung
Tomorrow’s the day it all unfolds 🙌I “hope” you’re excited as much as I am!Come and watch #GalaxyUnpacked live with me! 🤩👀 #GalaxyAILive on https://t.co/D6nxwskXj1. pic.twitter.com/oc7TvRFFY6July 21, 2026
Samsung is leveraging its BTS tie-in, as ever, with an X (formerly Twitter) post showing off a shadowy glimpse of the Z Fold 8.
It's not actually expected to launch in black, mind, per my previous colourways post – so let's assume it's just heavyweight retouching.
Unless, who knows, it's a special edition BTS version. Surely not?
Pre-order benefits
I was just browsing Samsung.com to see if there are any obvious last-minute giveaways.
Instead, however, the countdown timer confirms there'll be "exclusive pre-order benefits" for those who sign up.
That could well be worth it, therefore, as previous years have seen a free doubling of storage for those who pre-order.
It's not expected that's the exact deal for this year – but Samsung has been tight-lipped on what to expect. Time will tell!
Aye, aye, cap'n AI
Just a thought for a moment about AI, too. Samsung has previously gone to town with Galaxy artificial intelligence feature pushes – but that seems to have quietened somewhat in the run-up to this particular Unpacked.
It seems that, while Galaxy AI will very much continue as it stands, that new features will be minimal. Instead, the focus is clearly going to be on Samsung's all-new foldable in that all-new form factor.
And we're off!
A nice flyover of London to kick off Unpacked with a VT. It's not actually quite so sunny today, but there we go...
TM Roh kicks off proceedings
The big boss and CEO, TM Roh, takes to the stage to kick off Unpacked 2026 – with a little tease of Samsung's new AI Glasses.
Curtain Up
The curtain behind TM Roh opens and we're on to more VT.
But nothing's a secret anymore: I've already seen all of Samsung's 2026 foldables – from Z Fold 8 to Z Fold 8 Ultra to Z Flip 8 – as covered on the site.
Check out the key links below:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: First impressions of the future of foldables
- Z Fold 8 'Wide' or Ultra? – I try both folding phones, so you don't have to
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review: Samsung's best yet
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 or Flip 7 – What's new?
Flex Titanium
Here's the lowdown on the Flex Titanium technology, as presented by Kadesh Beckford, UK Product Manager for Samsung Mobile.
It's literally a thin layer of titanium – which, let's not forget, is a metal – with laser-etched mesh to enable it to fold across the hinge.
As titanium is so robust and rigid, it helps to maintain a flat and sturdy surface that largely negates the central 'crease'.
Better battery
Big news klaxon! Samsung has finally added a silicon-carbon battery to its line-up, meaning greater capacity from the higher density type.
In the Z Fold 8 Ultra that's a larger 5000mAh capacity, with 45W charging being faster than predecessors – and charging to 67% in just 30 minutes.
Snapdragon inside
The partnership between Qualcomm and Samsung continues, with the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip used here – in its 'for Galaxy' overclocked form.
It's still not yet clear whether this will be the chip in all three devices, however, as the Z Flip 8 is rumoured to feature Samsung's own Exynos hardware instead...
The one we've been waiting for
The all-new Galaxy Z Fold 8 is official, confirming the foldable's new format.
Ideal for playing games that are less "squished" with its 4:3 aspect ratio inside, or flipping it around for 3:4 for some quality reading time.
The Z Fold 8 is upselling its case for content consumption. It, too, uses Flex Titanium technology like the Ultra, to help negate that central crease.
My FanCam
Samsung's new social forward feature, My FanCam, allows you to select subjects in a video and crop to the ideal format for your preferred social platform.
Z Flip 8 – the thinnest yet
The Galaxy Z Flip 8 brings a refresh to the range, boasting that it's the thinnest in the series ever – although only by a whisker.
Like all the other handsets, it comes with Samsung's One UI software over Android 17 – and in the Flip 8 in particular, the cover display can run full.apps, which Samsung had previously limited in earlier devices.
My Spidey senses are tingling
Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned Leeds in the recent Spider-Man movies – including Brand New Day, which is due in cinemas at the end of the month – takes to stage.
Financials
In the US, Samsung is to enter the banking market, offering a card with competitive cashback.
This Unpacked is getting weirder by the minute...
Be healthy
Now it's wearables time! The Galaxy Watch 9 is revealed – certainly not to scale, as it's the size of Big Ben on screen – along with its core Vitals feature, to support heart health.
A new FDA-cleared capability can detect sleep apnea and whether you need further medical assistance to monitor your condition. The Galaxy Ring will also adopt this feature.
Introducing the Ultra 2
At the top of the tree is Samsung's latest Ultra 2 – which we've already reviewed on T3.com.
In short: It's the toughest, most powerful and brightest Galaxy Watch ever.
Closing remarks – surely?
Samsung's COO, Won-joon Choi, takes to the stage. He was appointed Head of Mobile (MX) last year, so is a critical figure for Samsung's phone products.
"Welcome to the family", he says to those joining the Galaxy family for the first time.
"AI is no longer a feature you use from time to time. You can spend less time managing your phone and more time living your life."
"Agentic AI is a new way to use your phone – where you simply say what you want and your phone takes care of the rest. Together with Google, we're building the future."
Rik Osterloh, Google's SVP of Platforms and Devices, is welcomed to stage, talking about Gemini's evolution.
Gemini Notebook will come pre-installed on all of Samsung's new foldable devices. And there's 6 months Google AI Pro subscription included, too.
Beyond the phone
Gemini Intelligence is coming to more than just phones, though.
The Google and Samsung partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker is no secret – but we'll have to wait to learn more in the future.
Oh, there's more
Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, is here too. Samsung is rolling out all the big guns, eh?
He's bigging up the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 'for Galaxy' that features in some of Samsung's foldables – although it depends where you're based, as the Flip 8 gets Exynos for the UK market.
The all-new Snapdragon Wear platform is also inside the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, of course, which helps aid with its longer battery life and general all-round goodness.
Intelligent Eyewear
More about the AI Glasses. I've already seen them – but Samsung isn't permitted them to be worn or tested in any way at this stage. And touching them doesn't really give much away.
The next generation of Samsung's XR experience is intended to be far more 'all day, every day' than the current Galaxy XR device.
Full collection will be "this Fall" – so we're got to wait until nearer to the end of the year for the bigger picture.
That's a wrap...
So there we have it. From curtain up to curtain down, Galaxy Unpacked summer 2026 is over and out.
There was more on show than expected, with a longer runtime than usual, but it's all about the Z Fold 8's new form factor.
