Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked 2026: New foldables, smartwatches, more

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Close Home Tech Smartphones Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked 2026: New foldables, smartwatches, more Samsung just announced its latest-gen foldable smartphones and smartwatches at its Unpacked event. We're on the ground in London - here's the rundown. Written by Kyle Kucharski, Senior EditorSenior Editor July 22, 2026 at 6:01 a.

m. PT Written by Kyle Kucharski, Senior EditorSenior Editor July 22, 2026 at 6:01 a.m.

PT Kerry Wan/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Samsung unveiled its latest devices at Unpacked 2026 in London.It launched three smartphones, two smartwatches, and more.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is lighter, with a bigger battery and less crease.Samsung's 2026 Unpacked event just went live in London, and ZDNET is on the ground going hands-on with all the new tech. This year, Samsung is uniquely positioned to improve its foldable phone technology to rival the rumored foldable iPhone launching this fall, and after seven years, it appears Samsung has created its best foldables yet.

Also: 4 surprise products we could see at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (including the Galaxy Glasses)Beyond the new phones, Samsung also announced two smartwatches -- the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 -- and teased some new smart glasses. Here's everything Samsung announced at Unpacked 2026. How to (re)watch Samsung Unpacked 2026 If you missed the livestream, you can still watch it on Samsung's official YouTube channel or at the Samsung Newsroom website.

ZDNET's sibling site, CNET, also broadcast the event with live reactions and commentary from editors and analysts. All-new foldables Samsung has been spearheading the foldable phone form factor for eight generations now, incrementally improving the build with each generation. This year, we get the first "Ultra" foldable and an improvement to the number one drawback -- the crease in the display -- with a new "flex titanium" material made of a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate to improve flexibility (and reduce its visibility).

It's an improvement, to say the least. ZDNET's Adam Doud had praise for the new phones' build while on the ground in London: "The crease on the Z Fold 8 is the best Samsung has ever shipped." Whether it's the best foldable on the market is up for debate, but it might be Samsung's boldest yet with a unique size and aspect ratio.

Let's take a look. 1. Galaxy Z Fold 8 Cover screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETSamsung's flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, sports a unique, passport-sized form factor that is surprisingly slim and lightweight, measuring 9.7mm thick when closed and 4.5mm when opened, and weighing just 201 grams.

In fact, Samsung says it's the lightest Z Fold it's ever made. The cover screen has a 10:16 aspect ratio, designed for messaging, social updates, and quicker actions, while the unfolded main display has a 4:3 ratio for more immersive use cases: watching videos and gaming. For cameras, it has a rear dual-50MP wide-angle camera, a 10MP main camera, and a 10MP selfie camera.

Also: I tried Samsung's new wide Galaxy Z Fold 8, and it's my favorite product of Unpacked 2026The base-level foldable features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset and a 4,800mAh battery (up from 4,400mAh in the Galaxy Z Fold 7). Perhaps the biggest upgrades, however, are the form factor and display crease.