{"id":816807,"date":"2026-07-22T15:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816807\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:32:12","slug":"samsung-galaxy-z-fold8-ultra-and-flip8-announced-australia-price-features-camera-hinge-new-shape-samsung-reshapes-the-smartphone-with-galaxy-z-fold8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816807\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and Flip8 announced: Australia price, features, camera, hinge, new shape | Samsung reshapes the smartphone with Galaxy Z Fold8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the world of smartphones is entirely predictable, other times there are changes in design or features that feel like a leap forward for devices and therefore consumers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samsung\u2019s latest foldable smartphone taps into the latter with an all-new design that\u2019s set to not just reshape the industry but draw<\/a> a line in the sand ahead of a likely entrance into the market segment by its No.1 competitor, Apple.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Samsung launched its Galaxy Z range of smartphones with foldable screens in London.\u00a0Trevor Long<\/p>\n

At an event in London<\/a> on Wednesday, Samsung revealed its Galaxy Z range of smartphones with foldable screens, including two designs now into their eighth iteration and one very new-look device that\u2019s set to capture most of the attention.<\/p>\n

These devices follow on from a remarkably successful year for Samsung\u2019s Fold smartphone.\u00a0 Launched this time last year, the Galaxy Z Fold7<\/a> was the most successful foldable for Samsung to date. Fold device sales grew 48 per cent compared to the previous Fold6, helping fuel a tripling of the user base since 2021.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s remarkable is Samsung\u2019s own data shows 62 per cent of Fold7 buyers last year were new to the Fold series and 21 per cent were new to Samsung. <\/p>\n

In fact, 9News can reveal that 17 per cent of Samsung\u2019s Z series sales come from iOS (Apple) smartphone owners, demonstrating a genuine desirability of this \u201cnew\u201d foldable smartphone.<\/p>\n

In reality though, it\u2019s anything but new. Samsung\u2019s first Fold launched in 2019. But a strong market segment already containing competitors like Motorola, Oppo and Honor has driven demand while the strong rumours that Apple will launch a foldable phone<\/a> for the first time simply cannot be ignored.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So 2026 looks set to be the year of the foldable, despite Samsung basically creating the category seven years ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The traditional Fold device from Samsung is known as the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra \u00a0Trevor Long<\/p>\n

Samsung head of product for mobile in Australia<\/a> Nathan Rigger is ready for whatever comes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome competition, this is our eighth generation, building off seven previous generations we go that extra mile to listen to what our customers want, what they use devices for, and making sure we continue to refine our user experience based on actual user feedback both in Australia and around the world as well,\u201d he told 9News.<\/p>\n

Putting it bluntly, he said, \u201cWe\u2019ve created this category\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of success over the last few years, especially last year with the Z Fold7,\u00a0 it makes sense that others want to be a part of that growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To shake things up in its own range and cater to an even wider audience, in 2026 the traditional Fold device from Samsung is known as the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra \u2013 that Ultra tag leaning into the premium camera and performance features.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Ultra tag leans into the premium camera and performance features.\u00a0Trevor Long<\/p>\n

Samsung\u2019s Flip continues as the entry level on both size and price. Its more traditional smartphone look when in use is combined with an old-school flip shut hinge for instant pocketability.<\/p>\n

New to the range this year, and in a first for Australia, Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Z Fold8 is, in fact, an all-new form factor, a wider body with a shorter overall height.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the hand, it is about the size of a passport yet it is remarkably usable in almost all normal smartphone functions this way.<\/p>\n

When \u201copen\u201d or \u201cunfolded\u201d it has a wider aspect ratio, making it ideal for viewing content like YouTube, Stan or Netflix.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turn it on its side, and you get a \u201ctaller\u201d aspect, great for reading, browsing and other online uses.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New to the range this year, and in a first for Australia, Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Z Fold8 is, in fact, an all-new form factor, a wider body with a shorter overall height. \u00a0Trevor Long<\/p>\n

This form factor is the same that was first leaked as the likely specifications for Apple\u2019s upcoming release.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s no confirmation of this other than the usual leaks and \u201cdummy\u201d models, Samsung isn\u2019t holding back. The Z Fold8 is the first of this kind in Australia and the company certainly doesn\u2019t see this as any form of copycat design, just innovation aimed at consumers.<\/p>\n

Consumers will also find tweaks to the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra, like an improved opening mechanism and hinge making it quite simply easier. There\u2019s also an outstanding internal screen with a higher resolution (422 ppi), increased brightness (3000 nits) and the first anti-reflective finish on a foldable. This screen is stunning.<\/p>\n

At 201 grams, the passport-style Z Fold8 is aimed at people who are all-in on portability, something Samsung says 84 per cent of Australians consider important.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At 201 grams, the passport-style Z Fold8 is aimed at people who are all-in on portability.\u00a0Trevor Long<\/p>\n

Like all consumer<\/a> electronics at the moment, Samsung hasn\u2019t been able to avoid price challenges due to the global memory shortage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Premium Z Fold8 Ultra will start at $2999, the new look Z Fold8 at $2699 and the Z Flip8 starts at $1949.<\/p>\n

All three devices, along with new Smartwatches from Samsung go on sale on August 14 with pre-orders starting today.<\/p>\n

Trevor Long travelled to London as a guest of Samsung Australia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sometimes the world of smartphones is entirely predictable, other times there are changes in design or features that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,63,203,105],"class_list":["post-816807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}