Samsung is gearing up for one of its biggest foldable launches yet. Two new book-style foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide, have now appeared in One UI 9 firmware files, first spotted by Android Authority. The leak gives us our clearest look yet at what Samsung is planning for mid-2026. Following earlier renders of both foldables along with the Galaxy Z Flip 8, this is the first design reference spotted in firmware code.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 & Fold 8 Wide Design Details Found in Firmware
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is the more interesting of the two. Unlike the tall and narrow form factor of previous Galaxy Z Fold phones, the Wide version features a shorter and wider build. When unfolded, it gives users a much wider screen aspect ratio, closer to a small tablet than a phone. The Wide model appears to target users who consume content and stream videos, and the deviceās aspect ratio will give them the best viewing experience.
On the camera side, the Z Fold 8 Wide drops to a dual-camera setup: a 200MP primary sensor paired with a 50MP ultra-wide. There is no telephoto here. The standard Z Fold 8, by comparison, keeps a triple-camera system with a 10MP 3x optical zoom lens added to the mix.
Compare this to the rumored iPhone Ultra, which is expected to stick with Appleās traditional form factor, a tall bar phone with a foldable display, still unconfirmed. The Z Fold 8 Wide already focuses more on a genuinely wide unfolded screen that works like a real productivity tool, not just a bigger iPhone.
Both Galaxy Z Fold 8 series phones are expected to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, the same chip powering the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung is also expected to use a creaseless OLED display on both models, which Samsung Display showcased at CES 2026.
Both will run One UI 9
Both foldables will launch with One UI 9 out of the box, based on Android 17. The key changes in the next version are thicker brightness and volume sliders in the Quick Panel, a changed music player, and smoother transitions. It may also bring the Scam Detection function to more users.
Samsung is also adding the Tap to Share feature, an NFC-based file transfer feature that lets you send files by tapping two Galaxy devices together. Further, Samsung could add more features to One UI 9 along with some exclusive Galaxy AI features.
When will it be released?
One UI 9 public beta is expected in late May or early June 2026, starting with the Galaxy S26 series. The stable rollout begins in July, alongside the launch of the Z Fold 8 series.
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