Samsung’s upcoming foldables and wearables, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and Galaxy Watch 9, have edged closer to launch after getting regulatory approval from the FCC.
The filings don’t give us much detail on what to expect from the devices, but they confirm that three foldables are landing this summer, likely including the new “Wide” Fold.
It also means Samsung has finalised the hardware ahead of next month’s Unpacked, which might include an interesting clue about the visibility of the screen crease in one of the new foldables.
What Does FCC Clearance Actually Mean For The Galaxy Z Fold 8?
As I said, the FCC filing isn’t particularly revealing. The avalanche of leaks over the last few weeks has covered that ground already. But it does tell us the hardware is final, or close enough to it. The certification covers device names and wireless capabilities: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. No surprises there, but major design changes to these components after this point are unlikely.
It also confirms which devices are heading to the U.S. simultaneously. The Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Flip 8, Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are all cleared together, ruling out a staggered rollout.
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What We Know About The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Series
We’ve seen several leaks about both the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Wide Fold, but the real question is how much the phones will cost. Will Samsung keep the entry-level 256GB price flat for the Ultra model, while raising the price of higher storage tiers as it did with the Galaxy S26? Or will the pressures of the RAM crisis force a broader price hike?
A recent leak from tipster Lanzuk on the Naver Blog says a price increase is “confirmed,” although they don’t say for which storage models. As we saw with the Galaxy S26 release, the pricing situation is very much live. Unpacked is still three weeks away and Samsung will likely be finding ways to keep prices as low as possible.
On specs, the Z Fold 8 Ultra carries a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging and comes in at 4.1mm when unfolded, making it one of the thinnest foldables Samsung has made.
There wasn’t much left to shave off with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, because when unfolded, one panel is as thick as the USB-C port, which acts as the phone’s hard stop on thickness. So it’ll be interesting to see how Samsung has managed to cut it down even further. It also weighs 215g, the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and won’t come with a privacy screen either.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is reportedly lighter at 201g, with a 4,800mAh battery, 45W charging, and a 50MP main camera. Its 5.4-inch outer screen uses a wider 4:3 aspect ratio that works more like a standard smartphone. The 7.6-inch inner screen will be wider and is said to support widescreen video without the aggressive letterboxing you get on a tall foldable.
Interestingly, ZDNet Korea reported this week that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide has roughly 30% thicker ultra-thin glass on its inner display than the Ultra. The Wide uses 60μm glass, up from 45μm on the Z Fold 7, while the Ultra stays at 45μm.
ZDNet notes that thicker glass means a more durable display in day-to-day use, but it comes with a slightly higher risk of spontaneous cracking. Knowing how extensively Samsung tests its foldable displays, I suspect that’s an unlikely scenario for buyers. But it’ll be interesting to see what a thicker display means for the screen crease.
Samsung Display demoed a crease-free panel for foldable phones at CES this year, but it’s not clear if that will make it into either of the Korean company’s new flexible handsets. The difference in display thickness could be a clue that one of the two devices has a less visible crease than the other.
Elsewhere, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will launch with One UI 9 and Gemini Intelligence out of the box. July 22 is the first time Samsung and Google’s full AI suite ships on new hardware, with a host of new agentic abilities. Read more about what that means for your phone’s security here.
