Samsung has officially confirmed its next Galaxy Unpacked for July 22, 2026 in London, an event that is expected to be the company’s largest hardware showcase of 2026, with a heavy focus on foldables, wearables, and Galaxy AI.
London is a deliberate choice for the event, putting Samsung front and center in a key European market right before the back-to-school and holiday buying season.
We are set to see the launch of Galaxy Z Fold8, Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip8, and a new wave of wearables including the Galaxy Watch9 series, Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, and an all-new Galaxy Able.
The Fold lineup is getting the biggest changes. After years of tall, narrow cover screens, Samsung is finally going wider with the standard Fold8. Leaks and FCC filings point to a device called the “Fold8 Wide” and it could be the most practical Fold Samsung has made yet.
The Fold8 Wide uses a 7.6-inch inner LTPO OLED panel with a 4:3 aspect ratio. That’s a first for Samsung foldables and it makes the unfolded phone feel much more like an iPad mini than the stretched candy-bar screens we’ve had before. The cover display is also wider at 5.4 inches with a 4.7:3 ratio, so typing, browsing and using apps without opening the phone should finally feel normal. Both screens support 1-120Hz adaptive refresh, HDR10+, and up to 2,600 nits peak brightness.
Powering it is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, the same overclocked chip expected in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. No Exynos version has been reported for the 2026 Fold line. You’ll get 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and storage options of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB UFS 4.0. There’s no microSD slot. Some reports say the 1TB tier might be reserved for the Ultra, but that’s still unconfirmed.
Battery and charging get a real bump. The Wide is tipped to carry a ∼4,800mAh battery, the largest ever in a Samsung foldable. Wired charging jumps to 45W, up from 25W on the Z Fold7 and confirmed in a recent 3C filing. Wireless is listed between 15W and 25W, though Samsung hasn’t confirmed the final number. For context, the Fold8 Ultra is expected to push that to 5,000mAh.
Cameras are where Samsung is making trade-offs. The Wide drops the telephoto entirely and goes with a dual 50MP setup: a 50MP main with OIS at f/1.8 and a 50MP ultrawide at f/1.9. Both can shoot 8K 30fps and 4K 60fps. The selfie cameras are 10MP on both the cover and inner displays, without autofocus or OIS. The main sensor is said to be new, with a native 24MP output mode for better low-light shots. If you want zoom, you’ll need to look at the Ultra.
In the hand it should feel lighter and thinner than before. Leaks put it at 161.4mm x 123.9mm unfolded, 4.3mm thick when open and 9.8mm when closed. Weight is around 201g, which is lighter than the Ultra at ∼215g and even lighter than some non-folding flagships like the 232g Pixel 10 Pro XL. Build materials include an Armor Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the cover, and an IP48 rating. The fingerprint sensor moves to the side.
On software, the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra are expected to be the first phones to ship with Android 17 and One UI 9 stable, ahead of the Galaxy S26. Samsung is also loading in the full Galaxy AI suite plus Gemini Intelligence, Google’s new agentic AI layer that can handle multi-step tasks across apps. And in a big commitment, Samsung is promising 7 years of OS and security updates for the new foldables.
Beyond phones, the wearables lineup looks just as busy. Samsung is expected to reveal two new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, at the event. The Ultra 2 variant is reported to feature an upgraded battery capacity of up to 800mAh, alongside aesthetic refinements such as a thinner bezel and improved buttons.
The Galaxy Watch 9 is also likely to come with a new processor, enhanced battery life, and advanced health-tracking features. Unlike previous years, there is an expectation that the Galaxy Watch Classic may not be launched this time around.
Further developments include the anticipated launch of Samsung’s smart glasses, which were previewed at an earlier event by Google.
Taken together, this Unpacked is about making foldables less of a compromise and more of a daily driver, while pushing Galaxy AI deeper into every device. With wider screens, faster charging, bigger batteries, and longer software support, Samsung is clearly trying to move foldables from niche to mainstream in 2026.
A Julisha.co.ke/subscriptions correspondent will be on the ground in London on July 22 for the full announcements, pricing, and hands-on with the Fold8, Flip8, and the new Watch lineup. Stay tuned.
