Galaxy Foldable Phone Innovations Unveiled... AI Glasses Also Debut

'Galaxy Unpacked' to Be Held in London on July 22

Samsung Electronics' three foldable smartphones in the 'Galaxy Z Series' and the new Galaxy Watch will be unveiled on July 22 (local time) in London, United Kingdom. The artificial intelligence (AI) glasses, scheduled for release later this year, will also be showcased. As a global leader in the foldable phone market, Samsung Electronics aims to further solidify its position through this year's Unpacked event.

Galaxy Unpacked 2026 Invitation. Provided by Samsung Electronics

The most attention-grabbing product is the 'Galaxy Z Fold8', which features a wider display than its predecessor. Samsung Electronics has distinguished the flagship Ultra model as a 3:2 aspect ratio device, while the newly introduced 4:3 ratio model is named the 'Fold8'. This distinction is reflected in the Unpacked event invitation's tagline: "A New Shape Unfolds."

The 'Fold8' with its wide screen is expected to include a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display. The 'Fold8 Ultra' will stand out with a triple-camera system featuring a 200-megapixel main camera and the largest battery capacity among previous Fold models to date.

For the smartphone's core application processor (AP), the models will feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Storage capacity will reportedly be available up to 1TB. The battery has been upgraded from 4,400mAh (Fold7) to 4,800mAh, and it will support 45W wired fast charging.

The vertically folding 'Flip8' will reportedly offer a mix of Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Electronics' Exynos 2600 processors, depending on the country of release. It maintains the same 4,300mAh battery as its predecessor, and will be equipped with a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Its unfolded thickness has been reduced by 0.4mm to 6.1mm.

With an increase in component costs, a price hike for the foldable phones has become inevitable. Overseas, the 'Fold8 Ultra' (256GB) is expected to be priced at around $2,099, and the 'Fold8' at $1,899. In Korea, the launch prices are anticipated to be approximately 2.6 million won for the 'Fold8 Ultra' and somewhat lower for the 'Fold8'.

Samsung Electronics and Google unveiled the 'AI Glasses' at the annual developer event 'Google I/O 2026' held in May at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Gentle Monster (left) and Warby Parker designs. Provided by Samsung Electronics

Through this Unpacked event, Samsung Electronics also aims to strengthen its presence in the AI wearable market. The 'Galaxy Watch9' and 'Galaxy Watch Ultra2' will offer customized coaching and health management through the analysis of highly detailed sleep and activity data powered by AI. With improved battery efficiency and overall performance compared to previous models, these devices are especially targeted at running and hiking enthusiasts.

There will also be mention of the AI glasses jointly developed with Google. This device is designed to deliver an advanced AI experience in daily life without the need for users to take out their smartphones. Equipped with microphones and cameras on the frame, the glasses can understand the user's situation in real time and execute a wide range of convenient features through voice commands. The design is the result of collaborations with global eyewear brands such as Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.

Currently, Meta dominates the smart glasses market with an 80% share. Industry watchers are focused on whether the Samsung Electronics and Google partnership can shift the industry landscape. Samsung Electronics stated, "We will focus on expanding the Galaxy AI ecosystem—currently centered on smartphones—to wearable devices in order to provide meaningful user experiences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.