This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 are likely to feel more affordable than ever soon. | Image by Samsung
Water is wet, grass is green, and a 2026 phone is about to be released at a higher price than its 2025 predecessor. Make that three new phones, one of which technically doesn't have a predecessor to speak of. Still, there's no question that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (Wide) will be expensive around the world, and the same clearly goes for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 as well.
Now, while I can't tell you exactly how much Samsung's next-gen foldables will cost in the US just yet (at least not for sure), the price tags recently revealed by two very credible sources for Germany and South Korea make it pretty easy to come up with some guesstimates that have every chance of panning out and not leaving you too disappointed... if you look at them from the right angles.
These are my (almost) final predictions
Galaxy Z Flip 8 - $1,199.99 with 256GB storage/$1,399.99 in a 512 gig variant;
Galaxy Z Fold 8 - $1,999.99 with 256GB storage/$2,199.99 with 512GB/$2,499.99 with 1TB;
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra - $2,149.99 with 256GB storage/$2,349.99 with 512GB/$2,649.99 with 1TB.
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is unsurprisingly likely to cost more than last year's Z Fold 7. | Image by AndroidHeadlines
Am I ready to bet the house on these US numbers? Absolutely not. But based on the price hikes tipped for other key markets of late, they make the most sense to me... and they're really not that horrible.
Of course, if you go back to the Galaxy Z Fold 5, for instance, and remember that the 2023 powerhouse made its commercial debut at $1,799.99, you can't possibly be satisfied with seeing the Z Fold 8 Ultra start at 350 bucks more... potentially. Especially when you recall that everyone was expecting foldable devices to become cheaper three or four years ago rather than even costlier.
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What do you think about these rumored 2026 Samsung foldable prices?
Then again, no one could have predicted the memory chip cost crisis that's making life so hard for all smartphone and tablet manufacturers right now, and in this context, I think Samsung actually deserves a bit of praise (emphasis on "a bit") for the pricing structure of its 2026 foldable lineup.
A stroke of branding genius or the ultimate switcheroo?
You know, I've been pondering Samsung's seemingly inexplicable decision to go for a simple and yet somewhat confusing Galaxy Z Fold 8 name for its first-of-a-kind wide-style foldable ever since I heard about this surprising change of strategy for the first time, and the reasoning has finally clicked for me.
It's not because a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide or Galaxy Z Wide Fold moniker would have been clunky and unfit for a $2,000 phone (although that's definitely also true), but rather Samsung's plan here is (I believe) to make it seem like the "standard" Z Fold 8 is not costlier than last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is unlikely to look like a classic Galaxy Z Fold 7 sequel. | Image by AndroidHeadlines
The problem, of course, is that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will look quite a bit different from the Z Fold 7 at first glance, and personally, I'm still not sure the new shape, aspect ratio, and revised screen sizes will instantly go mainstream (no matter how many or how few iPhone Ultra units Apple will be able to sell this year).
Nonetheless, I will admit that Samsung's new foldable naming convention has a pretty good chance of convincing quite a few first-time foldable buyers they're making a sensible decision by opting for the non-Ultra Galaxy Z Fold 8. Is it a little misleading? Definitely, but at the same time, the Z Fold 8 is reportedly set to upgrade the Z Fold 7 in a few key ways (including battery size and charging speeds), and perhaps most importantly for Samsung, the iPhone Ultra is all of a sudden rumored to cost more than even the Z Fold 8 Ultra.
It's all about the 2026 (and 2027) competition
Is it heartbreaking to see the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra expected to start at $150 or $200 more than the Z Fold 7? Obviously. But as painful as it might be to acknowledge and accept the situation, the mobile tech landscape has changed a lot over the past year or so, and most of these changes haven't been positive.
Compared to the iPhone Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is expected to feel pretty affordable. | Image by fpt on YouTube
That's why I believe it's far more relevant to take into account the iPhone Ultra's newly rumored $2,300 starting price (which may even end up higher than that according to some sources), as well as something like Motorola's Razr Fold, which costs $1,899.99... with a non-Elite Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor under the hood.
Motorola actually makes the Galaxy Z Flip 8 look pretty good as well at a projected starting price of $1,200 with the $1,499.99 Razr Ultra (2026), although there is also the more than respectable $799.99 Razr (2026) to factor in the equation.
Something is missing from Samsung's 2026 foldable portfolio
I know I've said this (several times) before, but I don't understand why the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is not getting a sequel... and why the Galaxy Z Fold 8 family is not getting a Fan Edition.
I know, I know, Samsung's first budget-friendly foldable somehow managed to flop even harder than the Galaxy S25 Edge, but that's only because it wasn't affordable enough (at the time of its release) and its marketing was non-existent.
The Z Flip 7 FE was not a hit, but that doesn't mean Samsung should give up on affordable foldables. | Image by Samsung
If the Galaxy Z Flip 8 is indeed set to cost $100 or $150 more than its predecessor, that creates the perfect opportunity for Samsung to try its hand at a Fan Edition flip phone again to challenge the aforementioned "vanilla" Razr (2026). Otherwise, Motorola might well be able to become the number one foldable vendor in the US, at least until the iPhone Ultra is properly and widely released (which is unlikely to happen before 2027).
That would be a huge embarrassment and an inexplicable unforced error for Samsung, but we're not there just yet, and perhaps the company can avoid defeat by keeping the Z Flip 7 around at a permanent discount if no Z Flip 8 FE model is in the pipeline. Let a boy dream, will you?
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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