Samsung Galaxy Unpacked preview: Everything we expect from the July event

Samsung is set to capture the tech world’s attention next week when it hosts its next big mobile launch event.

The Korean tech giant is hosting a Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, and Mashable will be there, reporting live on all of the big announcements. We’re fully expecting to see at least five new devices from Samsung, including the latest batch of flagship foldable phones. As per usual with Samsung, these devices haven’t been leaking so much as flooding.

So, as we prepare for the big show, here’s everything we know (and everything we think we know) about the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event.

When is the next Galaxy Unpacked?

The next Galaxy Unpacked Event takes place on Wednesday, July 22 in London. The livestream will begin promptly at 9 a.m. ET. We expect all the new devices to be available for pre-order immediately after the event.

Mashable will be attending the event and hosting a live blog, so check back next week to unpack all of the day’s news with us.

Three new foldables are arriving, including the Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra.

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Samsung’s new foldable phones typically debut during a summer Galaxy Unpacked event, and Samsung recently confirmed that it will be announcing new details about its next-gen foldables on July 22.

We don’t have official confirmation on which devices will be announced, but all reports indicate that three new foldable phones will arrive at Galaxy Unpacked 2026:

This is where things get a little confusing. You’d think the Z Fold 8 Ultra would be the new addition to the lineup, but recent reports indicate that the Z Fold 8 is actually a new device this year. Rumors for months have pointed to Samsung releasing a wider foldable this year, and it sounds like that phone will take the Z Fold 8 name, while a true successor to the Z Fold 7 will be called Z Fold 8 Ultra.

The new phones will probably arrive with price increases

Again, we don’t have any official details, but it’s very likely the successors to the Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 will indeed cost more. Most early reports and leaks indicate a price increase of $100, which is in line with the price increases we’ve seen from Motorola. The global memory crisis has led to price hikes for laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and virtually every product that requires memory, and Samsung probably won’t be the exception.

Recently, South Korean outlet SEDaily reported that the starting price of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will be $2,099, a $100 price increase over the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The same outlet reported the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide model will start at $1,899.99. Finally, according to leaker Lanzuk (as reported by PhoneArena), the new Galaxy Z Flip 8 will likely have a starting price of $1,199, or $100 more than its predecessor.

TL;DR: Thanks to RAMageddon, do not be surprised to see year-over-year price increases for all of the new devices.

A new Z Fold 8 to compete with the iPhone Ultra Fold

Rumors indicate that the new Z Fold 8 will potentially have a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner display when unfolded. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, it will be a book-style foldable. These dimensions are very similar to the rumored design of the still-unannounced foldable iPhone, suggesting Samsung wants to introduce this third foldable as a direct competitor to Apple’s upcoming device. It’s the latest salvo in the ongoing Apple iPhone vs. Samsung Galaxy battle for smartphone dominance.

The Z Fold 8’s rumored specs, via PhoneArena:

• Processor: Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy

• RAM: 12GB

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB

• Main display: 7.6 inches

• Cover Display: 5.5 inches

• Cameras: 50MP primary lens, 50MP ultra-wide lens, 10MP selfie lens

The new flagship: Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

As mentioned above, we think the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will actually be a successor to last year’s Z Fold 7, which we enjoyed testing. This new foldable should have a new chip and a stronger 200MP main camera on the back. Samsung is also said to have done some work to make the crease on the folding display less visible this year. Finally, a Korean news report indicated the Z Fold 8 will be slightly lighter than the Fold 7, which was already impressively thin and lightweight.

At this point, pretty much all of the specs for the upcoming devices have leaked. So, while none of these details are official, we think the Z Fold 8 Ultra will have the following specs, via PhoneArena:

• Processor: Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy

• RAM: 12GB or 16GB

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB

• Main display: 8 inches

• Cover display: 6.5 inches

• Cameras: 200MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto

This week, Samsung revealed that its new foldables (which it didn’t mention by name, unfortunately) will feature a new Flex Titanium technology. In short, a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate will better support the phones’ flexible display, creating a more durable device and a less noticeable crease. Samsung said more details will be revealed on July 22.

The new Z Flip 8 will look very familiar

Last year’s Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 on display.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

If the rumored specs for the new Galaxy Z Flip 8 are correct, this year’s flip phone-style foldable will look a lot like the Z Flip 7, but with a better processor and a less visible crease.

Until recently, the rumor mill indicated that the Z Flip 8 would get a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. However, leaker WinFuture (as reported by 9to5Google) claimed that instead, the flip phone will get a new Samsung Exynos 2600 processor.

And here are the rumored specs:

• Processor: Samsung Exynos 2600 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

• RAM: 12GB

• Main Display: 6.9 inches

• Cover Display: 4.1 inches

• Storage: 256GB or 512GB

• Cameras: 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP selfie

New Galaxy Watches are also on the way

Samsung usually uses this summer event to showcase its latest smartwatch advancements, and 2026 looks no different. This year, we expect to see two new Samsung watches:

It’s generally accepted that both of these watches will see fairly incremental changes from before. There will surely be new health-tracking features, and some small design changes, with the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 in particular said to incorporate classic numbers on the watch face, a thinner bezel, and better side buttons. Most importantly, for some, it sounds like Samsung is skipping out on a new Galaxy Watch Classic this year. You’ll get a base model and a premium model, and that’s it, as far as anyone can tell.

Finally, don’t forget that Samsung is all-in on artificial intelligence, so we expect major upgrades to the Samsung Health app and the watches’ overall health-tracking features.

Could we see Galaxy Glasses make their big debut?

The upcoming Galaxy smart glasses as designed by Gentle Monster (left) and Warby Parker (right).
Credit: Samsung

Lastly, Samsung’s long-awaited smart glasses could also make their debut at Unpacked in July. Most likely called Galaxy Glasses, we expect these specs to work similarly to the ones Meta has been releasing for a few years now. We saw a preview of these specs at Google’s recently developers’ conference, and we know Samsung is working with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on the designs.

These smart glasses will not include any augmented reality or heads-up display features, focusing instead on on-board cameras and a built-in AI assistant, courtesy of Google Gemini, to provide information about what you’re seeing, should you ask. We expect the first generation of these glasses to arrive in 2026, and we’re holding out hope that the glasses will get a shoutout or even a proper introduction at the London Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22.

It should be a pretty packed showcase, so stay tuned for all of our coverage as we get closer to Galaxy Unpacked.

Remember: Mashable will be attending the live keynote in London, and we’ll have a live blog with real-time updates on all the day’s news. Don’t miss it!