Samsung ups prices as it launches new foldable smartphones ahead of expected Apple debut

Samsung on Wednesday launched its latest foldable smartphones as it looks to maintain its leadership in a product category that it pioneered, ahead of Apple potentially entering the market.

The South Korean tech giant unveiled its Galaxy Z8 Series at an event in London. The three devices and their prices are:

• Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra ($2,099)
• Galaxy Z Fold8 ($1,899)
• Galaxy Z Flip8 ($1,199)

Samsung’s foldable products have usually consisted of two devices — the Fold brand which opens like a book and the Flip device which opens like a traditional flip phone.

However, Samsung now has three products with the “Ultra” being its highest-spec smartphone of the series and one that resembles its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold7.

“2026 is a huge year for foldables withthe nearcertaintythat Apple will be unleashing a foldable iPhone iPhonelater inthe year,” Ben Wood, chief analyst and chief marketing officer at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

“Therefore,thisis acritical launch forSamsungwho were the marketmakersin this category, because Apple joining anycategoryimmediately gives itanotherlevel of legitimacy.”

Various reports have indicated that Apple is expected to launch its first foldable iPhone this year, adding more competition to the market that Samsung has dominated since it launched its first foldable in 2019.

Samsung’s latest products are also more expensive than their predecessors, which was largely expected. This is due to rising component costs, in particular memory chips, which have seen prices skyrocket due to high demand from the AI industry and a shortage of supply.

Those same memory chips go into smartphones. The Z Fold8 Ultra is $100 more than its equivalent predecessor, the Z Fold7. The Galaxy Z Flip8 is also $100 more than the Z Flip7.

CCS Insight’s Wood said he was surprised there wasn’t a bigger increase in price, which implies that Samsung may not be passing all of the cost rises to consumers.

“That underlines the fact that Samsung is keen tomaintainacompetitiveprice point,” Wood said.

The more than $2,000 price tag on the Ultra will be a “talking point,” Wood added.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and the Fold8 both run on Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

There are some differences between the two devices. The Ultra has a more advanced camera with three different lenses as well as a bigger battery.

There is a $200 difference between the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra which, which may not be that large at the high-end of the market where buyers are willing to pay more. It does mean that Samsung will have to provide its customers with a clear reason to buy the Fold8 over the Ultra model.

“The lower specification on the Z Fold8 means Samsung willhaveto havea very strongsales proposition for this device so consumers can understand why they would choose this device over the Z Fold8 Ultra, which is only $200 more,” Wood said.