Samsung’s next foldable season is looking less like minor iteration and more like a small identity crisis. New leaks suggest the company will ship a redesigned, wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 alongside a narrower model that may be rebadged as the ‘Ultra’ — and the screen crease problem that’s dogged foldables could finally get a meaningful fix.
A crease that might actually matter
The loudest bit of chatter comes from long-standing leaker Ice Universe, whose posts on X (formerly Twitter) pointed to a “significantly improved” crease on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. That comparison name-checked the OPPO Find N6 — currently regarded as having one of the least intrusive creases — which is a meaningful benchmark. Earlier comments from the same leaker had downplayed crease improvements, so the pivot is notable: either Samsung’s made rapid progress in testing, or the company has a better prototype than anyone expected.
Why this matters: the visible fold line is the single most obvious complaint about book-style foldables. If Samsung can bring the crease close to OPPO’s level, it reduces one of the last major usability and aesthetic objections to folding phones — just as Apple’s rumored iPhone Ultra foldable and other rivals circle the market. Samsung showed a demo called Advanced Crease-less at CES, and these latest leaks hint that the tech might be moving from demo stage toward production.
There’s still uncertainty around another display trick Samsung introduced this year: the Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’s unclear whether the Fold 8 lineup will inherit that feature; Ice Universe has been inconsistent on that front. Samsung’s previous moves with the S26’s privacy screen suggest it’s on the company’s radar, but whether it appears on either internal or cover displays remains to be seen. For context on Samsung’s privacy display work, see the Galaxy S26 Ultra discussion on the feature Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra puts a privacy screen under your thumb — with trade-offs.
Two shapes, one messy name
Leaked hands-on photos — again surfaced via Ice Universe and picked up across the usual leak channels — show two dummy units side-by-side. One is wider, leaning toward a 4:3-like aspect ratio that folds into a near-tablet canvas. The other keeps the taller, narrower proportions Samsung fans are used to. Rumors say the wider design will be marketed as the Galaxy Z Fold 8, while the narrower successor to the Fold 7 would, oddly, become the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
That naming flip is already raising eyebrows. From a buyer’s perspective it’s confusing: the product most visually similar to last year’s Fold would lose the simple incremental naming, while a new wider model would inherit the base number. Industry observers think the move is partly defensive — a bid to line up a product that directly competes with Apple’s expected foldable, which is rumored to favor a wider, tablet-like aspect ratio iPhone Ultra: Apple’s slim, wide fold that could upend the foldable market — while still preserving an “Ultra” prestige tier for Samsung’s top-shelf foldable.
Critics argue the branding could mislead mainstream buyers who don’t follow leaks. An Ultra badge usually implies the best possible specs; here, those marketing signals might not map cleanly to which model best matches Apple’s expected approach. It’s also the sort of naming contortion that suggests Samsung is thinking more about headlines and price anchoring than about clarity.
When, and what to expect
Multiple leaks point to a late July launch window (some reports specifically mention July 22). Aside from the crease and the two form factors, whispers include modest battery improvements and the usual camera refinements — nothing yet that screams generational overhaul, but a set of tweaks that matter for real-world use.
Samsung’s decision to push a wider Fold follows earlier signals that the company was exploring larger, more varied foldable formats — a roadmap that’s been teased in other leak threads and product rumors Samsung’s next trick: wider foldables, a notebook-sized Fold and a resurrected TriFold idea.
There’s plenty left to confirm: pricing (expect Ultra-level premiums), final specs, and whether the crease improvement is a production-ready change or a promising lab result. For now, Samsung looks set to play both offense and defense — courting people who want a tablet-like foldable while keeping an Ultra flagship for the existing loyalists.
If the rumors hold, this summer’s Fold reveal won’t just be about another iteration. It could mark a pivot in how Samsung organizes its foldable family — and whether that pivot helps or hinders customers will be a story in itself.
