In all the Galaxy Z Fold 8 excitement, did you notice free storage upgrades got left behind?

Andrew Romero | Jul 22 2026 - 12:25 pm PT

It turns out the RAM crisis affects more than just the cost of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, but some of the storage benefits that come with pre-ordering the device.

In all the chaos and excitement that comes with a fresh new look for a Galaxy foldable, one might miss that Samsung didn’t actually offer to turn your 256GB Galaxy Z Fold 8 into a 512GB model right before your eyes. It couldn’t have been the glasses; those don’t launch until this fall.

So what happened? It looks like reports published earlier in July that stated Samsung would drop the free storage upgrade during the Galaxy Z Fold 8 launch were right. There were some reports that surfaced shortly after that, indicating Samsung might keep the pre-order bonus around, but with the caveat that it only applied for the 256GB model.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are officially available to pre-order, but the 512GB version costs $200 more than the base model. That’s the traditional pricing structure, but we only ever see that after the pre-order period has ended.

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Samsung was rumored to enforce tighter sales initiatives this year, even though buying Galaxy devices before they were on store shelves has been considered one of the best ways to save money on the new phones. But because of the RAM crisis and other supply issues, it seems Samsung has chosen to abandon that extra benefit.

It’s not all bad news. Samsung didn’t rid itself of decent trade-in values. It looks like it boosted trade-in estimates compared to last year. Samsung is offering $1,200 for phones like the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it looks like users can get an additional $100 off using “PAYPAL100” at checkout.

You can also trade the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the same amount, and it wouldn’t be a bad deal if you purchased it for a similar price during last year’s pre-order period.

One could argue the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is less expensive than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 was last year, though it doesn’t have a third camera. That’s reserved for the “Ultra” phones, like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. That one does cost more than last year’s release, at $2,099.

With a trade-in, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 comes down to $699 for the 256GB version. If you’re absolutely set on the 512GB model, it’s $899 under the same circumstances. Considering the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the model turning heads this year, it’s still not a bad deal. Even without a trade-in, Samsung is offering credit for its store.