Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Goes Passport-Shaped July 22

Samsung's second Galaxy Unpacked of the year is set for July 22, reportedly in London, and the centerpiece is a rethink of the book-style foldable. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is tipped to move to a wider 4:3 passport-style form factor, a shift widely attributed to Apple choosing the same shape for its first foldable. If the leaks hold, Samsung is quietly conceding that the tall, narrow fold it pioneered was not the right proportion, and it is changing course before Apple's entry defines the category.

• Unpacked lands July 22, tipped for London, headlined by the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8.
• The Fold 8 reportedly adopts a wider 4:3 passport shape, with a 7.6-inch inner screen and a 5.4-inch cover display.
• Leaks cite Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, up to 16GB RAM, and up to 1TB storage on the Fold.
• The form-factor change is credited to Apple's first foldable reportedly using the same proportions, a rare case of Samsung following.

Why change the shape now?

The tall, narrow inner screen defined Samsung's Fold line, and it was always a compromise. Open, it felt cramped for reading and side-by-side apps; closed, the skinny cover screen was awkward to type on. A wider 4:3 passport ratio addresses both, giving a more book-like open canvas and a more normal phone shape when shut. The timing is the interesting part. Leaks credit Samsung's switch to Apple reportedly adopting the same proportions for its debut foldable. When the company that popularized foldables changes its signature dimension to match a rival that has not shipped one yet, it is a strong tell about which shape wins the next few years.

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What are the actual specs?

Leaks point to a 7.6-inch inner AMOLED and a 5.4-inch cover display on the Fold 8, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of storage. The Z Flip 8 is tipped to keep the clamshell format with a 6.9-inch main screen, a reduced-visibility crease, a 4.1-inch cover, and a 4,300mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging. Samsung is expected to run a dual-chip strategy on the Flip, Snapdragon in some markets and its own Exynos 2600 in others. Beyond phones, the event may also surface the Galaxy Glasses, Samsung's first Android XR eyewear.

Who is this for?

The Fold 8 targets the buyer who wants a tablet-class screen that still fits a pocket, and the passport shape widens that appeal by making the open device genuinely better for reading, multitasking, and media rather than just larger. The Flip 8 chases the style-and-value crowd who want a compact phone with a personality. The strategic audience, though, is anyone weighing a foldable against a rumored Apple entry. By moving to the proportions Apple is expected to use, Samsung is trying to make the shape feel like a category standard it already ships, rather than something Apple gets to define on arrival.

Pricing will decide how much the new shape matters. Foldables have stayed a premium niche largely because they cost far more than conventional flagships, and a wider, more usable Fold does not change that math on its own. If Samsung holds the line on price while Apple prepares a competing device, the passport redesign becomes a feature war rather than a value one. The more interesting question is whether a genuinely better-proportioned Fold finally pulls in mainstream buyers who found earlier models compelling to look at but hard to justify actually owning.

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Our take

The passport switch is the most interesting thing Samsung has done with the Fold in years, precisely because it is a concession. For six generations Samsung defended the tall-narrow shape as the foldable ideal; changing it now, reportedly to match Apple, is an admission that the proportion was never quite right and that competitive pressure finally forced the fix. That is good for buyers, who get a more usable device, and revealing about the market, which is about to get its first true two-horse race in premium foldables. Everything at Unpacked will be read through that lens: Samsung is no longer the only serious foldable maker, and the Z Fold 8's new shape is how it is preparing for that. Verify the leaks against the July 22 keynote before committing.

Original analysis by GenZTech. Reporting via Stuff. Figures current as of July 2026, and leaks may change.