Samsung officially teases wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 via Spider-Man tie-in
A Marvel movie marketing post has given us the clearest look yet at Samsung's redesigned, landscape-first foldable ahead of its 22 July London reveal.
By Priya Sharma · Phones, Tablets & Cameras Editor · Updated July 09, 2026What you need to know
- Samsung's Spider-Man: Brand New Day tie-in post is the first official image showing the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8's physical design
- The teaser reveals two rear cameras, a thinner frame, and repositioned buttons moved up to the top corner
- Galaxy Unpacked takes place in London on 22 July 2026, livestreamed at 2pm BST; phones expected on sale 7 August
Samsung drops its most revealing Fold 8 tease yet — dressed in a Spider-Man costume
Samsung has officially broken cover on the Galaxy Z Fold 8's new wider design, using a Spider-Man: Brand New Day marketing image posted to Twitter/X and other platforms on Thursday 9 July to show the foldable in the flesh for the first time. The post depicts the superhero's web catching the phone against a city skyline — and crucially, unlike the abstract teaser videos that have preceded it, this one actually shows the device itself.
You can make out two rear cameras, a noticeably thin profile, and — most tellingly — a set of repositioned buttons. Where the Galaxy Z Fold 7 placed its buttons roughly halfway down the frame, the Fold 8's buttons have shifted up to the top corner, a change that reflects the phone's new shorter, broader silhouette. Samsung captioned the campaign: "the drop of the summer is almost within reach," while pointing fans towards a reservation page for the next Galaxy device.
A teaser campaign that's been hiding in plain sight
Today's Spider-Man post is the most direct moment in what has been a sustained, multi-week teaser operation. Samsung has released a series of short videos featuring everyday objects — pizza slices, chocolate bars, paint rollers, jigsaw puzzles, photo strips — all being reshaped into wider rectangular forms, accompanied by slogans including "A New Shape," "A Whole New Slice," and "Bold Stroke, New Shape."
The brand also made a dramatic move on Instagram, deleting nearly everything from its @SamsungMobile and @SamsungMobileUSA accounts and leaving just six posts that together spell out "New Shape, New Joy." Those posts show the top of the Galaxy Z Fold 7's tall, narrow silhouette being sliced off — leaving behind the squatter proportions of the Fold 8. It is, by any standard, an unusually aggressive pre-announcement campaign for a company that usually keeps its hardware under wraps until Unpacked day.
What we know about the phone itself
The device teased today is expected to launch simply as the "Galaxy Z Fold 8" — the wide, landscape-first model carrying internal model number SM-F971. Confusingly, it is the traditional tall design — confirmed via a Bluetooth SIG filing as the "Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra" (SM-F976) — that carries the premium suffix. The plain "Fold 8" name goes to the new shape.
Leaked specifications, which Samsung has not confirmed, point to a 7.6-inch inner OLED display with a 4:3 aspect ratio — think iPad mini proportions rather than a stretched smartphone screen — and a 5.4-inch cover display. Both panels are said to support adaptive 1–120Hz refresh and peak brightness of up to 2,600 nits. Leaked CAD dimensions suggest the device will measure 123.9 × 161.4 × 4.9mm when unfolded, and 123.9 × 82.2 × 9.8mm when closed.
On cameras, leaks point to dual rear sensors — a 50MP primary and a 50MP ultrawide — with no telephoto. The chipset is expected to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, the same overclocked variant found in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, paired with a 4,800mAh battery. None of these specifications are officially confirmed.
Samsung is also expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 8 at the same event, alongside two new Galaxy Watches and possibly its first smart glasses. The Fold 8 Ultra is expected to retain the traditional tall form factor while adding a 5,000mAh battery, 45W wired charging, and a 50MP ultrawide camera — the last point addressing what was widely considered the most criticised weakness of the Fold 7, whose 12MP ultrawide produced a drop in quality described by reviewers as like switching from HD to DVD.
London Unpacked: 22 July, 2pm BST
Samsung will hold its Galaxy Unpacked event on 22 July 2026 in London — the first time the company has launched a foldable device on UK soil. The event will be livestreamed on Samsung's YouTube channel and official website from 2pm BST. Devices are expected to go on sale on 7 August, following a two-week pre-order window.
Leaked UK pricing from Roland Quandt via WinFuture — described by multiple outlets as a reliable source — puts the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at £1,699, the Fold 8 Ultra at £1,899, and the Flip 8 at £1,149 for 256GB models. Samsung has not confirmed any UK pricing; official figures will be announced at Unpacked.
The London venue is a strategic choice. Samsung is launching in Europe's premium smartphone heartland roughly two months before Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable — reportedly targeting a starting price above $2,000 in the US, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Hosting Unpacked in London gives Samsung time to establish the Fold 8 in European retail before that rival arrives.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day — the film tied to Samsung's campaign — hits UK cinemas on 31 July 2026, just nine days after Unpacked.
Why it matters
The Galaxy Z Fold 8's shift to a wider, 4:3 aspect ratio is the most significant redesign of Samsung's book-style foldable since the category launched, and it matters for UK buyers because it directly targets how people actually consume content — widescreen video will fill the inner display without ugly letterboxing for the first time. Holding the London Unpacked event before Apple's expected September foldable reveal is a deliberate land-grab for European retail space, and with leaked prices starting at £1,699, Samsung is pitching this as the premium foldable to own before anyone else has a credible rival on shelves.