iPhone Ultra will boost Galaxy Fold 8 sales – change my mind

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra are hitting the market a month or two before Apple’s expected debut foldable, currently known as the iPhone Ultra. And I think this is great timing on Samsung’s part. Why?

Because this will allow the market enough time to familiarize itself with Samsung’s new foldables, including the new passport-style form-factor of the Fold 8, before Apple’s own iPhone Ultra foldable arrives. At the same time, Samsung’s release window is almost overlapping with that of Apple, so its phones will be seen as a perfectly modern, legitimate alternative.

In short, Samsung gets early sales, market familiarity, and the full effect of the Apple-induced foldable sales boost that will happen when the iPhone Ultra arrives.

Wait, what was that last part about?

iPhone Ultra will compete with Galaxy Fold 8, but it will mostly help its sales

Here’s the thing about foldable phones: Samsung has been spearheading this category for 7 years now, alongside many other phone makers. We’ve been enjoying foldable phones for a while now, and we’ve seen the technology evolve and mature to a point where almost all the inherent technological issues have been ironed out.

The hinges, the weight, the flexible screen durability, the crease, even water and dust resistance to an extent… all of these things have been fixed. Today’s foldable phones, like the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8, or the Honor Magic V6, or the Moto Razr Fold, or the Oppo Find N6, or the Huawei Mate X7, are all spectacular products without major compromises.

Despite that, foldables remain an imposing investment for many consumers. Not only are they still seen as less rugged, but they often cost almost double what a normal flagship does.

As such, even after seven years of foldable phones, their penetration rate has remained quite low. Counterpoint Research put foldable phone market share at around 2.5% of all smartphone shipments towards the end of 2025.And my point is this: Apple absolutely has the wherewithal to make the whole category much more mainstream, to the point where other market participants’ sales, like those of Samsung or Honor, will surely benefit from its entry into the market.

You’ve probably heard the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats.

It’s better to be 2nd or 3rd in a huge market than 1st in a tiny one

As it stands, Samsung is currently the undisputed market leader in foldables with around a 40% share. This is usually a great place to be, and while we do hear that the new Galaxy Fold 8 is setting new pre-order records, the reality is this phone is setting these records in a fairly tiny niche.
I think all this is about to change when Apple launches the iPhone Ultra in a month or so. If you still have doubts we'll finally see the foldables iPhone – don't. It's pretty safe to assume it's coming at this point. We have all the rumors, leaks, and leaked dummies to take as evidence.

Sure, it’ll be an extremely expensive phone, and not everyone will immediately make the jump from a bar-style iPhone 18 Pro to a foldable iPhone Ultra. But consumers trust Apple way more than they do other phone manufacturers, and for good reason.

People are also more willing to pay premium for Apple products. Apple is really at a place where it can just name any price for any Apple product, and a huge number of people would be, like, “Okay, sure, give me two!”

Many people buy each new iPhone Pro Max model, and if there was something even more exclusive and higher-end, they would get it in a heartbeat.

For these reasons, I believe this is the best chance foldable phones are going to get.

Analysts project Apple to quickly gobble up market share, but expect Samsung to retain its leadership.

However, there hasn’t been a premium market segment where Apple isn’t dominating. So I’m fairly confident that Apple will continue to quickly expand its market share in foldables over the following years, leaving Samsung and other competitors behind.

But again, this shouldn’t be seen as a problem for Samsung. It may sound counterintuitive, but it is actually a good thing.

Android’s iPhone Ultra

I believe Samsung has actually played its cards right. It managed to get the new, passport-style Galaxy Fold 8 out the door already, and we all know this new form-factor is a direct, preemptive maneuver in the face of the iPhone Ultra tsunami, which is also believed to have a similar, shorter and wider shape – in contrast to what most foldable phones have looked like so far.
Samsung has also smartly positioned the Fold 8 as a less expensive foldable this year. Not that it’s inexpensive, starting at $1900, but you know, that’s how it looks next to the Fold 8 Ultra’s $2100 starting price.

When we were speculating about a foldable phone by Apple a couple of years ago, I always believed that $1999 would have been a very likely price tag for Apple to stick on it. You know, a nice, round number.

In 2026, however, something around $2299 (to start) sounds way more likely.

And, as usual, many users fancying an iPhone Ultra but not willing to pay the price, would automatically look for more affordable alternatives. For now, there aren’t many. Internationally, it’s only the Galaxy Fold 8 that currently has almost the exact same form-factor.

Huawei has the Pura X Max, which is very successful in China, but it’s not a real alternative in the States.

And this is where the brilliance of Samsung’s move shines – give people an iPhone Ultra-like foldable, which is just as cool, but at a more affordable price. It’s sounds like a very simple idea, but it’s very difficult to pull off the right way.
Until other phone makers like Moto, Google, Honor and the like come out with their own passport-style foldables, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 8 will be the only option, and I’m sure it’ll make a ton of sales thanks to the halo effect of the iPhone Ultra.

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