The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 are thinner but more expensive

Prefer WhistleOut in Google

Samsung has revealed its latest foldable phones - the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 - and once again, Samsung has managed to slim the pair down. Both have a higher starting price, however.

The two new foldables are joined by the "new" Galaxy Z Fold 8, which has a new form factor. When folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 almost looks like a passport; when unfolded, the device resembles an iPad mini.

When it comes to pricing, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $2,699, which makes it a little bit more affordable than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will set you back a minimum of $2,999, which is a $100 increase on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 it succeeds. Lastly, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 now costs a minimum of $1,949, which is a $150 hike.

Higher storage price variants have increased by as much as $350 year-on-year, however. The Galaxy Z Flip 8's 512GB model is $2,249 this year, up from $1,999. Meanwhile, the 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is up $200 to $3,299 and the 1TB model is up $350 to $3,899. 

Some of the pre-order bonuses on offer do help temper these prices, however, and orders open on July 23 ahead of an August 14 release date. The deepest discounts are available for those who pick up their new foldable on a mobile plan.

Optus has the simplest pre-order offer. No matter which phone you pick, you'll get a $750 discount across the life of your plan. That's a saving of $20.83 per month on a 36-month term. 

Telstra has the deepest discount if you're after the most expensive phone: an $800 saving on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. These discounts drop to $700 for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and to $500 for the Galaxy Z Flip 8. These discounts are applied across the length of your plan. You can also get up to $300 in bonus credit if you trade in an old device. 

Lastly, Vodafone has a $700 discount on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and a $500 discount on the Galaxy Z Flip 8. Once again, you'll get $300 in bonus credit if you trade in an old device. 

If you'd prefer to grab any of the new phones outright, the best offers come from retailers like Amazon, Harvey Norman, and JB Hi-Fi who are throwing in a $300 gift card with any of the phones. We don't have the full specifics, but in past years, the voucher has been for the store itself. For example, if you pre-order through Amazon, you'll get an Amazon gift card.  

Samsung's own pre-order offer is a little less exciting. If you pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, you can pick between $150 in extra credit if you trade in an old device or a $150 voucher to put toward Samsung accessories. If you opt for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, this drops to $100. 

Pre-orders may ship from as early as August 4, depending on who you pre-order with. 

Complete outright pricing for the phones, excluding discounts, is as follows:

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is perhaps the most interesting of Samsung's new foldables, thanks to the new, wide form factor. It is still a book-style foldable, but when unfolded, it has a 7.6-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. This is a more conventional aspect ratio for tablets, reduces the amount of black bars when watching content in landscape, and makes it feel more like a Kindle in portrait. 

Folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 5.5-inch external display that's almost shaped like a passport. It's a bit shorter than a conventional slab-style phone, making it short and stout when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 8's internal display has an anti-reflective coating as we've seen on Samsung's past Galaxy S Ultra phones, and a new titanium structure that greatly reduces the crease. 

Other key specifications include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, 12GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 4,800mAh battery. In terms of cameras, the phone has a 50MP primary lens, 50MP ultra-wide lens, and two 10MP selfie cameras.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 will get seven years of major operating system upgrades and seven years of security updates.

You can read our hands-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 here. 

As aforementioned, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the successor to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7. It may have a new "Ultra" designation, but it has the same overall design. The front display is still a tall and lanky 6.5-inch panel, paired with a squareish 8-inch display on the inside. Samsung has, however, shaved 0.1mm from the phone, meaning it is now just 4.1mm thick at its thinnest part. 

While the internal display is the same size as what we saw last year, Samsung has upgraded it with a higher resolution, increased peak brightness, and an anti-reflective coating. And as with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Samsung is using a new titanium structure to minimise the crease. 

The one key camera upgrade is a 50MP ultra-wide lens, replacing the 12MP ultra-wide lens on last year's model. These are joined by a 200MP primary lens, a 10MP 3x zoom lens, and a 10MP selfie lens in each chipset.  

Samsung has also kitted out the Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a 5,000mAh battery, which is the largest it has used in a foldable so far. That's a 600mAh increase, and the company says this is enough for 27 hours of video playback. 

The only other significant update is the move to a custom variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will get seven years of major operating system upgrades and seven years of security updates.

Editor's Pick: The best NBN 500 plan

Dodo's NBN 500 Unlimited plan is our pick for the best NBN 500 plan for September.

Dodo Editor's Pick

Dodo FTTP, HFC Editor's Pick nbn500 Unlimited Plan FTTP, HFC nbn® 500/48 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $30/mth discount for 6 months based on the standard price $92.99/mth*. Ends 08.12.26. T&Cs apply. $62.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $92.99/mth Min. cost $62.99 Go to Site

$62.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $92.99/mth Min. cost $62.99

Go to Site

Sorted by avg. monthly cost

See More Plans ~ Last Updated 2/10/2026

Powered By

How WhistleOut Works

Lastly, there's the Galaxy Z Flip 8. The phone's main hardware changes include a new Samsung-made Exynos 2600 chipset and a thinner and lighter build. The phone weighs in at 180g and measures 6.1mm at its thinnest point. That's 8g lighter and 0.4mm thinner than last year's Galaxy Z Flip 7. Samsung says the Galaxy Z Flip 8 also has a stronger hinge.

While the hardware changes aren't huge, Samsung has revamped the software experience when using the Galaxy Z Flip 8's 4.1-inch external display. 

Other key specifications for the Galaxy Z Flip 8 include a 6.9-inch internal display, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, IP48 water-resistance, and a 4,300mAh battery. When it comes to photography, there's a 50MP primary lens, 12MP ultra-wide lens, and 10MP selfie camera.

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 also gets seven years of major operating system upgrades and security updates.

Here are the complete specs for all three phones. 

In addition to new foldables, Samsung also announced two new wearables - the Galaxy Watch 9 (pictured above) and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Both get a larger battery and weight reduction, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is also 12% thinner. The pair are now powered by Qualcomm's new Wear Elite chipset, and have brighter displays.

New software features are overwhelmingly focused on fitness and health. These include overnight vital tracking, a heart health score, daily cardio load, and an overall fitness index. 

The Galaxy Watch 9 starts at $649 for a 40mm model, while the Watch Ultra 2 sells for $1,299.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

Read full bio