From CNET: Samsung’s latest foldables bring upgrades over last year’s models — including a new wider-screen device — but they also carry the industry’s favorite trend: higher prices.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 each cost $100 more than last year’s Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, while the brand-new, confusingly named Galaxy Z Fold 8, lands between them in price. Foldables have always sat at the top of the smartphone price ladder, and none of Samsung’s new ones are bucking that trend. Raising prices on some of the most expensive phones you can buy only pushes them further into niche territory.
Samsung said the higher prices reflect increased memory and component costs, which have affected phones, PCs and other products across the tech industry. The company also pointed to improvements over last year’s devices, including the new Titanium Flex displays, larger batteries and better 50-megapixel ultra-wide cameras on the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra.
That pricing pressure isn’t unique to Samsung. Nearly every 2026 phone has either cost more than its predecessor or arrived with so few upgrades that the price stayed flat, and Samsung’s foldables are also facing similarly pricier competition from Motorola’s Razr lineup.
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