On a Wednesday morning in London, Samsung gathers to present its latest vision for the foldable phone — a form factor it has championed for nearly a decade and now must defend against its most formidable challenger yet. The announcement of new Z Flip and Z Fold models, alongside a wider book-style foldable, is less a product reveal than a declaration of intent: that Samsung means to define what these devices are before Apple arrives to redefine them. It is the familiar rhythm of technological competition — the incumbent shaping the conversation before the disruptor can enter the room.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2026: Live Coverage of New Foldables and Wearables
Apple's entry into the space would represent a watershed moment
Mark
Why does Samsung need to announce a new foldable design right now, specifically one that's wider and shorter?
Mimi
Because Apple is coming. If Apple launches a foldable in September with a particular form factor, that becomes the reference point everyone compares everything else to. Samsung wants to get there first and say, "This is what a foldable should look like."
Mark
But Samsung's been making foldables for years. Doesn't it already own the category?
Mimi
It does, but ownership in tech is fragile. Apple doesn't need to be first—it needs to be Apple. When it enters a category, it resets the conversation. Samsung knows this.
Mark
So the wider, shorter design is defensive?
Mimi
It's both defensive and offensive. It's saying Samsung has thought about what a foldable should be, and it's not waiting for Apple to answer that question.
Mark
What about the smartwatches? Are those just filler?
Mimi
No. They're ecosystem glue. Samsung wants you to buy the foldable, the watch, and the earbuds all together. It's a complete picture of what Samsung thinks mobile computing should be.
Mark
Do you think foldables will actually matter to regular people by the end of 2026?
Mimi
That's the real question, isn't it? Samsung's been betting on this for years. Apple's entry will either validate that bet or expose it as a niche that never quite became mainstream.
Le Pouls
- Apple's rumored September foldable debut has injected rare urgency into Samsung's summer showcase, transforming a routine product cycle into a strategic preemptive strike.
- A new wider, shorter book-style foldable sits at the center of the tension — a device designed not just to sell, but to anchor consumer expectations before a rival can set them.
- Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 round out the announcement, signaling that Samsung is competing not just phone-to-phone but ecosystem-to-ecosystem.
- The deeper disruption is cultural: Apple's entry into foldables would tell mainstream consumers that the category has graduated from expensive novelty to legitimate choice — a signal no Samsung keynote alone can manufacture.
On a Wednesday morning in London, Samsung gathers to present its latest vision for the foldable phone — a form factor it has championed for nearly a decade and now must defend against its most formidable challenger yet. The announcement of new Z Flip and Z Fold models, alongside a wider book-style foldable, is less a product reveal than a declaration of intent: that Samsung means to define what these devices are before Apple arrives to redefine them. It is the familiar rhythm of technological competition — the incumbent shaping the conversation before the disruptor can enter the room.
Samsung returns to London on July 22 for its second major Unpacked event of 2026, arriving at a moment when the foldable phone market is on the verge of its most significant shift since the category began. Gizmodo's reporters will be live on the ground as the company unveils what is expected to be a refreshed Galaxy Z Flip, a new Galaxy Z Fold, and — most notably — a wider, shorter book-style foldable that appears engineered specifically to get ahead of Apple's anticipated September entry into the space.
That third device carries the most strategic weight. Samsung has held near-total dominance over the foldable market since the original Z Fold launched in 2019, but Apple's arrival would do something Samsung's years of marketing cannot: signal to ordinary consumers that foldables are a real product category worth considering. The new form factor looks like Samsung's attempt to set the terms of that conversation before Apple can.
Alongside the phones, the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are expected to make their debut — part of Samsung's broader effort to present a unified hardware ecosystem rather than a collection of individual devices.
The larger question the event raises is whether foldables have finally crossed the threshold from luxury experiment to mainstream contender. Durability has improved, prices have edged lower, and the competitive pressure is now real. What Samsung shows on July 22 will offer the clearest indication yet of whether the company believes it can hold its ground once Apple steps into the ring.
Samsung is heading back to London on Wednesday, July 22, for its second major product showcase of the year, and the company appears ready to double down on the foldable phone category just as the competitive landscape is about to shift. Gizmodo's Raymond Wong and Adriano Contreras will be on the ground for the keynote, which begins at 9 a.m. Eastern time, live-blogging the announcements as they happen.
The summer Unpacked event has become Samsung's reliable stage for foldable phones and wearables, and this year's gathering should follow that script closely. The company is expected to introduce refreshed versions of both the Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Z Fold—its two flagship foldable lines that have defined the category for years. But there's a third device that may prove more strategically significant: a new book-style foldable that's reportedly wider and shorter than previous iterations, designed explicitly to get ahead of Apple's own foldable phone, which is rumored to arrive in September.
That timing matters. Samsung has owned the foldable market almost entirely since the Z Fold's debut in 2019, but Apple's entry into the space would represent a watershed moment for the category. A device from Apple carries weight that no amount of Samsung marketing can match—it signals to mainstream consumers that foldables have moved from niche experiment to legitimate product category. Samsung's new wider, shorter design appears to be a preemptive strike, an attempt to establish its vision for what a foldable should be before Apple gets to define the conversation.
Beyond phones, Samsung is also expected to unveil new smartwatches: the Galaxy Watch 9 and a second iteration of the Galaxy Watch Ultra. These devices typically arrive alongside the foldables, part of Samsung's broader ecosystem play. The company has invested heavily in wearables as a complement to its phones, and the timing of these announcements suggests Samsung wants to present a complete picture of its hardware ambitions.
The question hanging over the event is whether foldables have finally reached the inflection point where they become more than a luxury curiosity. For years, they've been expensive, fragile, and aimed at early adopters willing to pay premium prices for novelty. But the category has matured. Durability has improved. Prices have begun to inch downward. And now, with Apple preparing to enter the market, the entire industry is watching to see whether mainstream consumers will actually want these devices or whether they'll remain a niche product for the foreseeable future.
Samsung's announcements on July 22 will offer the clearest signal yet of how the company sees the foldable future unfolding—and whether it believes it can maintain its dominance even as Apple enters the ring.
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