Well, that didn’t take long. After word of an early build of One UI 9 for Samsung’s upcoming foldables leaked out, we’re getting our first look at what the company’s wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 variant might look like, and in a twist, it’s even wider than Google’s original Pixel Fold.
We’ve known about Samsung’s plans for a “wider” Galaxy Z Fold for a couple of months now, seemingly in response to rumors surrounding Apple’s plans for its own folding iPhone heavily rumored for a 2026 debut. While the original thought behind the phone suggested a Pixel Fold-esque design — a one-and-done in the foldable industry to date, even from Google itself — these leaked animations from Android Authority sure paint a picture of an even wider device.
All of these renders are labeled with the codename H8, which appears tied to the “wide” Fold 8’s rumored model number, SM-F971U (which was also linked to this morning’s One UI 9 build). That said, specific codenames aren’t exactly needed to paint a picture of a wildly different form factor for Samsung: even at first glance, these are obviously significantly wider than any of the company’s previous Fold models — or, for that matter, basically any modern smartphone.
There’s not much else to go off of here outside of a couple of (near identical) animations, showcasing this wide folding phone opening up to reveal an even-wider interior display. Without exact specs, it’s difficult to make assumptions on anything related to these screens, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate a bit. Taking the front image in this render into Photoshop (and cropping around the display portion of the schematic) reveals a nearly perfect 16:10 rectangle, significantly wider than the 17.4:9 aspect ratio used by the original Pixel Fold. As a result, the inner display also appears wider, revealing a roughly 9:7 aspect ratio compared to the 1.11:1 ratio of the Fold 7.
I’ve prepped the above mockups showcasing this wider Galaxy Z Fold render compared to both the original Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 using their respective display specs (and, just for good measure, I double-checked with comparisons to actual device screenshots). Take these with just a sprinkle of salt; while it’s entirely possible that these animations aren’t exactly what the final product will look like, it does give us an idea of what Samsung is aiming for. Remember, we saw very similar TriFold animations months before its official announcement, and those ended up being pretty accurate when compared to the final product.
Samsung’s wide Galaxy Z Fold might fulfill some lost foldable potential
While Samsung is obviously attempting this new form factor in the face of Apple rumors — despite a very similar exercise blowing up in their face last year — I’m pretty happy to see another attempt at wider folding phones. The original Pixel Fold had plenty of things worth complaining about, but its core design wasn’t really one of them. I found its outer screen fairly novel in 2023 (and really, I still do), and despite my personal preference for the OnePlus Open’s design as far as that year’s crop of foldables are concerned, I was equally dismayed to see both Samsung and Google fall in line behind similar core designs rather than continuing to try something new.
It took Apple rumors, but it does seem like Samsung is back to experimenting. If we take these animations at face value (and at this point, what else do we have to work off of?), this year will see the launch of a Galaxy Z Fold model that might actually make for an excellent movie-watching experience, no third panel required. While I can see the value in a nearly-square display, practically all of my complaints throughout the last couple of generations of folding phones has been that 1:1 panel feeling far too constricted for life outside of spreadsheets and split-screen apps.
Obviously, I have plenty of questions about this device. Will it cost more than a standard Galaxy Z Fold 8? How will Samsung market two devices that, presumably, share their core specs outside of display size and shape? Will this 16:10 outer screen feel comfortable to type on in comparison to any other ultra-tall screen on the market right now? Time will really only tell on these questions, but frankly, I’m just happy to see foldables are quite out of their strange, experimental era just yet.
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