Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Series Tipped to Cost More Than the Fold 7

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 series is tipped to cost more than last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 in Asian and European markets. South Korean tipster Lanzuk, writing on a Naver blog and citing retailers and sales channels, claims both the rumoured Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Samsung’s first wide-folding Galaxy Z Fold 8 will see a price hike when they launch later this year. The driver, Lanzuk says, is rising manufacturing costs.

That claim lands against a memory chip shortage Samsung itself has called unprecedented. Counterpoint Research expects the average selling price of smartphones in 2026 to rise 6.9% year on year. Samsung’s co-CEO has already warned that cost increases for new devices this year are inevitable.

The Lanzuk Leak and the Memory Crunch Behind It

Lanzuk, who posts as @yeux1122 on X, has been a steady Samsung supply-chain source for several years. The new claim, originally in Korean, sits in a Naver blog post that translated coverage of the Lanzuk Naver post has surfaced in English. Lanzuk does not name exact figures; the claim is that retailers and sales channels have confirmed the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series will cost more than the Z Fold 7 in those regions.

The Z Fold 8 series, across multiple reports, includes two book-style foldables. The first is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, the direct successor to the Z Fold 7. The second is the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wider form factor Samsung is bringing to market for the first time. A Galaxy Z Flip 8 is also expected to share the stage. The Ultra name has now been confirmed in the June 3 Bluetooth SIG entry for the Ultra, giving the branding more weight than the early rumour mill had.

A separate supply-chain report suggests the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra’s 256GB base variant may launch at the same price as the Z Fold 7’s launch price, while the 512GB and 1TB storage versions cost more than the current model’s equivalents. The Lanzuk leak does not list India among the affected markets. Whether the Wide model reaches India at all is one of the questions Samsung has not yet answered.

The Memory Crunch Driving the Hike

Counterpoint’s December 2025 smartphone price forecast projects the average selling price of smartphones in 2026 to rise 6.9%, nearly double an earlier projection of 3.6%. Global smartphone shipments could fall 2.1% in 2026, against a previous outlook of flat-to-positive growth. Higher prices, fewer units.

The squeeze is on the components that go into every phone. Counterpoint says memory prices could rise another 40% through Q2 2026, on top of a year in which contract DRAM prices have already surged 90% to 95% and NAND flash 55% to 60%, per TrendForce’s Q1 2026 DRAM and NAND projections. Bill-of-materials costs for low-end smartphones under $200 are up 20% to 30% since the start of 2025, with mid-range and high-end segments seeing 10% to 15% increases.

The cause is an industry-level reordering. Memory makers including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI data centres, where margins are higher. Conventional DRAM and NAND for consumer devices have become a residual supply.

Samsung sits on both sides of this shift. The same conglomerate that builds the Galaxy Z Fold 8 also sells DRAM into Nvidia’s AI infrastructure. Samsung’s co-CEO T.M. Roh told Reuters in early January that the memory situation is unprecedented and that price increases for 2026 devices are inevitable. The Z Fold 8 price leak is the consumer-facing edge of an internal transfer payment between Samsung’s semiconductor division and its mobile division.

• 6.9%: Counterpoint’s 2026 smartphone ASP forecast (CNBC, December 2025)
• 40%: Forecast memory price rise through Q2 2026 (Counterpoint via CNBC)
• 90-95%: Surge in DRAM contract prices (TrendForce via Tech Wire Asia)
• 55-60%: Surge in NAND flash prices (TrendForce via Tech Wire Asia)
• 20-30%: Bill-of-materials rise for sub-$200 phones since early 2025 (Counterpoint via CNBC)

The Z Fold 7 Price Samsung Has to Beat in India

The Z Fold 7 launched in India in July 2025. Samsung’s price for the base 12GB + 256GB variant is Rs. 1,74,999. The 12GB + 512GB version arrived at Rs. 1,86,999, and the 16GB + 1TB top-end at Rs. 2,16,999. Colour options at launch were Blue Shadow, Jetblack, and Silver Shadow. Those are the numbers any Z Fold 8 India pricing will be measured against.

Lanzuk did not name India among the markets getting a hike. Counterpoint’s Yang Wang expects Asian markets, including India, to see the steepest downward revisions to 2026 shipment forecasts as the memory crunch pushes sub-$200 devices out of reach. Counterpoint’s MS Hwang argues that the largest phone makers are best positioned to weather the squeeze, but value-tier players will find it tougher. If the Z Fold 8 carries even a partial hike in India, the gap between Samsung’s flagship foldable and the rest of the market widens.

Apple and Samsung are best positioned to weather the next few quarters. But it will be tough for others that don’t have as much wiggle room to manage market share versus profit margins.

Two Foldables, Two Shapes

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the more conservative update. Per Ice Universe’s leaked Z Fold 8 Ultra and Wide specs, the Ultra measures 4.1mm unfolded (down from the Z Fold 7’s 4.2mm), 8.9mm folded, and weighs 215g, the same as the Z Fold 7.

Display sizes stay in the same ballpark as the Z Fold 7, while the chipset moves to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The bigger changes sit inside: a 5,000mAh battery, around 13% bigger than the Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh cell, and 45W wired charging, up from the 25W the Z Fold 7 stuck to.

The Wide is the unusual entrant. Ice Universe says it will weigh 201g, lighter than the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 214g, with a 4,800mAh battery (400mAh bigger than the Z Fold 7’s) and 45W charging. It does not support the S Pen, and per Forbes, has no privacy screen. A Samsung employee spotted at a South Korean restaurant with an unidentified wide foldable kicked off the first round of naming speculation, and how the Fold 8 lineup names ended up tracks the path from that leak to the final Ultra badge. The early Wide Fold review on ergonomics flags the wider front screen as a real fix for the cramped cover displays that have dogged Samsung’s book-style foldables since 2019.

Samsung’s Own Sales Plan Says It Out Loud

ZDNet Korea, citing component industry sources, says Samsung has revised its sales targets for the three summer foldables downward overall, with one notable exception. The combined target for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide has been trimmed from roughly 6.5 million units to a band of 5 million to 6 million units. The biggest cut is on the Z Flip 8, whose target has been halved from 3 million to between 1.5 million and 2 million units.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is the exception. Its original target of 500,000 units has been revised up to 1.5 million to 2 million units, a fourfold increase. Samsung is hedging by calling the Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 the hero products in marketing material, framing the Wide Fold as optional in marketing material. That hierarchy suggests Samsung is betting its margin on the Ultra while testing the Wide as a new high-margin category. Samsung’s revised production plan for summer foldables tracks the same pattern.

The Foldables Headed to Samsung’s July 22 Unpacked

Samsung is widely expected to host its summer Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026 in London, per multiple Korean press reports. The Z Fold 8 Ultra headlines the event, with the new Z Fold 8 Wide form factor arriving alongside. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 rounds out the foldables, while the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are also tipped. Samsung and Google’s Intelligent Eyewear smart glasses are the expected non-foldable reveal.

For buyers, the more useful data points arrive after the event. Forbes notes that Samsung has run surprisingly aggressive discounts on the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the months after launch. Jay McGregor predicts the Wide Fold and Ultra will see similar post-launch deals within weeks because Apple’s iPhone Fold is on the way.

The Lanzuk leak is not a confirmed price list. It is one Korean supply-chain source reporting that retailers have been told to expect a hike. Samsung has not announced pricing. The Z Fold 7’s India pricing, the Wide’s fourfold volume ramp, and Counterpoint’s 6.9% ASP forecast all sit behind the leak, and any of them could move before July 22.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will Samsung launch the Galaxy Z Fold 8?

Samsung is widely expected to host its summer Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026, in London. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 should share the stage, with pre-orders likely to open the same day and shipping within two weeks.

How much will the Galaxy Z Fold 8 cost?

Samsung has not announced pricing. The Lanzuk leak says both the Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Z Fold 8 Wide will cost more than the Z Fold 7 in Asian and European markets, with manufacturing costs cited as the reason. A separate supply-chain report suggests the Ultra’s 256GB base variant may match the Z Fold 7’s launch price, with the 512GB and 1TB versions costing more.

Will the Z Fold 8 price hike reach India?

Lanzuk did not list India among the markets getting a hike. Samsung sets India pricing separately, and the Z Fold 8’s India launch price will only be confirmed at or after the launch event. Counterpoint Research has warned that Asian markets, including India, will see the sharpest cost pressure in 2026.

What is the difference between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide?

The Ultra is the direct successor to the Z Fold 7, with a similar footprint, a 5,000mAh battery, 45W charging, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. The Wide is a new passport-style form factor, lighter at 201g, with a 4,800mAh battery and 45W charging, but without S Pen support or a privacy screen.

Why are smartphone prices going up in 2026?

An AI-driven memory chip shortage has pushed DRAM and NAND prices sharply higher, with memory makers prioritising high-bandwidth memory for AI data centres. Counterpoint Research expects smartphone average selling prices to rise 6.9% in 2026, and Samsung’s co-CEO T.M. Roh has said price increases for 2026 devices are inevitable.