Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra: US Prices, Specs and Where to Pre-Order

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra on 22 July 2026. Pre-orders opened the same day; both go on general sale on 7 August.

US prices, from Samsung’s own listings: $1,899.99 for the Fold 8, $2,099.99 for the Ultra.

The more useful thing to know before you spend two thousand dollars is that these are not the same phone in two sizes. They are shaped differently, and that decides which one suits you far more than the $200 gap does.

Prices and offers below were checked on 23 July 2026, during the pre-order window.

How much do they cost in the US?

Two things worth flagging about that table.

The base prices are Samsung’s own listed figures. The higher storage tiers are from press coverage, not from Samsung’s product pages — those pages showed only “from” pricing when we checked, so treat the 512GB and 1TB rows as reported rather than confirmed.

And most coverage writes $1,899 and $2,099. Samsung writes $1,899.99 and $2,099.99. A dollar either way changes nothing, but if you are comparing against a quoted total, that is where the discrepancy comes from.

What is actually different between them?

Thickness is given as a range because Samsung’s launch messaging and the published spec tables do not agree to the tenth of a millimetre. Both are thinner than any foldable Samsung has shipped before; the exact figure is not worth deciding a purchase on.

The shape difference is the real decision

Look at the cover screens rather than the inner ones.

The Fold 8’s cover display is 5.5in at 1972×1248 — that is a squat, nearly square panel. Unfolded it opens to a 4:3 sheet. Samsung calls this the wide form factor, and the point of it is that the phone is usable closed in a way book-style foldables historically have not been, and that the open device suits documents, side-by-side apps and reading.

The Ultra’s cover display is 6.5in at 2520×1080 — a conventional tall phone screen, the shape every non-folding phone you have owned uses. Closed, it behaves like a normal phone. Open, the 10:9 inner panel is closer to square.

So:

• If you want the closed phone to feel normal, the Ultra is the one. Its cover screen is a regular phone screen.
• If you mostly use the phone open — reading, documents, two apps at once — the Fold 8’s wider proportions do more for you, and it is 14g lighter.

The camera is the other genuine gap: the Ultra adds a 200MP main sensor and a 3× telephoto, where the Fold 8 has none. If you photograph anything at distance, that alone is worth the $200.

Where can you pre-order in the US?

Read “up to” as a ceiling, not a quote. This is the same pattern worth watching in any big retail event — our Prime Day 2026 guide goes through how headline discount figures are constructed. The $1,200 trade-in credit is the maximum for the best-case device in the best condition. What you actually get depends on what you hand over, and Samsung’s own page pairs that figure with “up to $1,900 in carrier deals” — a different number, on different terms, that not everyone will qualify for.

The carrier $0/mo offers are instalment plans, not free phones. They are typically bill credits spread over 24 or 36 months, which means they are contingent on you staying with that carrier for the full term. Leave early and the remaining balance usually becomes due. We have not reproduced each carrier’s terms here; read them before signing.

Two colours are only available directly from Samsung — Pistachio on the Fold 8 and Green Shadow on the Ultra. If you want either, the retailer choice is made for you.

When do the pre-order deals end?

7 August 2026 — when the phones go on general sale. That is the practical deadline for anything on this page.

It also means this article has a short shelf life. Pre-order offers are the most aggressive discounts these phones will see for a while, but they are also the least stable information here: they vary by retailer, change without notice, and stop entirely once the phones ship. Everything above was checked on 24 July.

So which one should you buy?

Answering only what the specifications support, since neither phone has been in our hands.

The Ultra earns its $200 on the camera. A 200MP main sensor and a 3× telephoto against a 50MP main with no telephoto is not a marketing gap — it is the difference between having optical zoom and not having it. If that matters to you, the decision is made.

The Fold 8 is the more interesting design. 201g is light for a book-style foldable, and the wide format is a genuine attempt to fix the thing that has always been awkward about this shape — the narrow, tall cover screen that makes the closed phone worse than a normal phone. Whether it works is a question about using it, not reading about it.

Storage is where the money quietly goes. Memory pricing has been under pressure across the industry — the same dynamic showing up in Samsung’s own component economics — and it lands on the consumer at the configuration step. If the reported tier pricing holds, moving from 256GB to 1TB costs about $600 on either phone. That is a third of the base price of a Fold 8 for storage — worth deciding deliberately rather than at checkout.

What we cannot tell you yet is how either screen holds up, how the hinge ages, or whether the battery figures translate into a real day. Those need the phones, and reviews of retail units. We would treat the launch-window impressions accordingly.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Galaxy Z Fold 8 come out?

7 August 2026 in the US. Pre-orders have been open since 22 July.

How much is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?

$2,099.99 for 256GB on Samsung’s US site. Higher storage tiers are reported at around $2,299 (512GB) and $2,699 (1TB), though Samsung’s own pages showed only “from” pricing when we checked.

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

The Ultra has a larger 8.0in inner screen and a conventional tall 6.5in cover screen, a 200MP main camera, a 3× telephoto, a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery and 45W wireless charging. The Fold 8 has a wider, shorter 7.6in inner screen and a squat 5.5in cover screen, a 50MP main camera, no telephoto, and is 14g lighter.

Is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 waterproof?

Both carry an IP48 rating — protected against dust particles above 1mm and against immersion in fresh water to 1.5m for 30 minutes. That is not the same as being safe in salt water, chlorinated water, or under pressure.

How long will these phones get updates?

Samsung guarantees seven major Android OS upgrades on both, from Android 17 with One UI 9.