Latest Smartphones: Samsung's 2026 Foldables, Motorola's New Razr, and the Burgeoning Foldable Field

The clearest snapshot of the latest smartphones right now is not a new slate-style flagship, but a cluster of folding devices arriving in late July and early August 2026. Samsung's newest book-style foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, plus the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 8, went official on July 22 and are scheduled for general release on August 7, according to Droid-Life. Pre-orders are already live through Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy and the major carriers.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the most dramatic redesign. Samsung made the device noticeably wider and squatter, giving it a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X main display with a 4:3 aspect ratio when unfolded and a 5.5-inch cover screen. Engadget noted the payoff is less letterboxing on widescreen video and extra viewable area for older 4:3 content, making it feel more like a small tablet and less like a tall, narrow slab. At 201 grams with a 4,800mAh battery, Samsung claims it is the lightest Fold it has produced and it now charges at 45W wired and 20W wireless, up from last year's 25W and 15W.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, meanwhile, keeps the familiar productivity-focused shape but trims bezels and thickness even further. Its unfolded dimensions are 158.4mm by 143.2mm by 4.1mm, with an 8-inch main display and a 6.5-inch cover display. The battery is a 5,000mAh cell, also supporting 45W wired and 20W wireless charging, and the weight sits at 215 grams. Both Z Fold 8 models use Samsung's new Titanium Flex components to reduce the visible crease and screen glare, and both run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

Camera differentiation is straightforward. The Ultra carries a 200MP main wide sensor with HDR support in full-resolution mode, a 50MP ultra wide and a 10MP 3x telephoto with 30x Space Zoom. The standard Fold 8 uses a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra wide and 10x digital zoom. Selfie cameras are 10MP on both the inner and cover displays for both phones.

Samsung also delivered a milder update to the Galaxy Z Flip 8. It keeps the 6.9-inch FHD+ main display and grows the cover display to 4.1 inches, now with an adaptive 60Hz to 120Hz refresh rate. The phone weighs 180 grams, runs the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, comes with 12GB of RAM, and has a 4,300mAh battery. Pricing starts at $1,199 for the Flip, $1,899 for the Z Fold 8, and $2,099 for the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Software is another focus. All three devices ship with Android 17 under Samsung's One UI 9. New additions include Now Brief surfacing security and privacy insights, plus Google's Gemini Intelligence and Gemini Notebook preinstalled. Gemini Intelligence can use apps and services on the phone to order food or transportation and currently works across more than 40 apps.

Not everything from previous Folds carries over. The Irish Times reported that Flex Mode, which let earlier Samsung foldables stay half open and adjust app layouts, is gone from the Fold 8 because the new hinge snaps shut rather than holding partway positions. That trade-off helped make the phone thinner and lighter.

Samsung is not alone in this cycle. Motorola's Razr Fold has arrived as a direct challenger, competing with the Z Fold 8 at $1,900, the Z Fold 8 Ultra at $2,100, and Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold at $1,799, as Android Police laid out. Motorola's device leans into ergonomics, a fun camera, decent battery life and a clean Android experience. Outside the US, the field also includes the Honor Magic V6 and Oppo Find N6.

Taken together, the latest smartphone launches point to foldables becoming the defining form factor of late summer 2026, with Samsung trying to widen the appeal of its book-style Fold, Motorola and Google pressing on price and usability, and the rest of the Android slate racing to match the new hinge, display and AI features.

Still, most mainstream non-folding flagships have seen smaller updates this cycle, so anyone searching for the absolute newest phone is mostly comparing folding options right now.