Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 live — all the last-minute leaks for the Z Fold 8, Z Flip 8, Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and more

Samsung's second big phone launch of the year is almost here — and while the leaks have given us lots of hints, we're here to untangle all of the official news on the its new foldables and smartwatches.

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>Samsung's second big phone launch of the year is almost here — and while the leaks have given us lots of hints, we're here to untangle all of the official news on the its new foldables and smartwatches. And who knows, maybe Samsung will have a surprise in store too.</p><p>According to the rumors, it's going to be a particularly big day for foldables. We're expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, , and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra all make their debuts — and the Z Fold 8 could also be a sneak peak of what to expect from the incoming iPhone Ultra.</p><p>But if you've been waiting for a sequel to the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra or Galaxy Watch 8, it'll worth tuning in for those too. Both are expected to get successors today, when the event kicks off at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm BST / 11pm AEST on July 22.</p><p>So if you want to see what Samsung has in store today, join us for all of our live reactions and first impressions from inside the London event...</p><div class="youtube-video" data-nosnippet ><div class="video-aspect-box"><iframe data-lazy-priority="high" data-lazy-src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Nul7mPL7Nt4" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><h2 id="welcome-to-galaxy-unpacked-2026-the-sequel">Welcome to Galaxy Unpacked 2026 (the sequel)</h2><p>Hello, and welcome to our liveblog for Samsung's second big phone launch of the year, Galaxy Unpacked 2026.</p><p>We'll be reporting live from the London event, which kicks off at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm BST / 11pm AEST. But first, it's time to take you through all of the last-minute rumors on what we're expecting to see — and we certainly haven't been short of leaks...</p><h2 id="the-z-fold-8-is-winning-the-hype-battle">The Z Fold 8 is winning the hype battle</h2><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey guys, let's guess what he's holding? pic.twitter.com/H9jwX1OCPt<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2079572363369468303">July 21, 2026</a></p></blockquote><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>The Galazy Z Fold 8 is emerging as the potential star of today's Unpacked event — and the foldable has just appeared in a new teaser poster (above).</p><p>It's the Z Fold 8's wider, passport-style design, which will likely separate it from the taller Fold 8 Ultra, that makes it the one I'm most interested in from today's launches. Partly because it also probably gives us an early peak of the iPhone Ultra's likely form factor.</p><p>We're expecting to see a 5.5-inch cover display and 7.6-inch inner display, both with a 120Hz refresh rate. The teaser poster matches some of the leaked dummy units that we saw earlier this year (below).</p><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First look at dummy units of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Wide, and Z Flip8. The Fold8 Wide lines up closely with the expected size of the iPhone Fold. pic.twitter.com/NVP3agwsrM<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2048587127416611042">April 27, 2026</a></p></blockquote><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><h2 id="what-are-you-most-excited-to-see">What are you most excited to see?</h2><p>We've done a full rundown of <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-phones/5-things-to-expect-at-samsung-galaxy-unpacked-from-foldable-phones-to-samsungs-first-smart-glasses">everything we're expecting to see at Unpacked 2026</a>, so that's worth a read as we get closer to kick-off (in just over two hours).</p><p>But the short version is that we're expecting three foldables (a Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8), plus two Galaxy Watches (the Watch Ultra 2 and Watch 9), and (potentially) also Samsung's first smart glasses.</p><p>Which one are you most excited about? Let us know in the poll below...</p><div style="min-height: 250px;"> <div class="kwizly-quiz kwizly-O6kRQX"></div> </div> <script src="https://kwizly.com/embed/O6kRQX.js" async></script><h2 id="we-ve-landed-at-unpacked">We've landed at Unpacked</h2><figure role="gallery"><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/D7Bvwv8Vz4L9eHc7Mqm97b.jpg" alt="Photos from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 July event" /><figcaption><small role="credit">Future</small></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9PtzMQ69xUrhi2aeoMPK6b.jpg" alt="Photos from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 July event" /><figcaption><small role="credit">Future</small></figcaption></figure></figure><p>We're very keen here at TechRadar, so we've already arrived at the Galaxy Unpacked event in London, and it's very... quiet.</p><p>That's understandable, as we're still two hours away from kick-off and many international attendees will be coming from hotels much closer to the start time.</p><p>A London-based Unpacked is a rarity — last year, Samsung did a mix of US-based and virtual events, while this year's earlier Unpacked in February was in San Francisco. </p><p>You have to go back to 2012 for the last time London hosted Samsung's main event, which saw the arrival of the Galaxy S III...</p><figure role="gallery"><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LCazSkM3Cgm5XKYKqfVbya.jpg" alt="Photos from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 July event" /><figcaption><small role="credit">Future</small></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qnpV7Kr7nkdoMYrtqKVE5b.jpg" alt="Photos from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 July event" /><figcaption><small role="credit">Future</small></figcaption></figure></figure><h2 id="will-samsung-finally-solve-foldable-creases">Will Samsung finally solve foldable creases?</h2><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">pic.twitter.com/Ck4rIXaXxA<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2079780828301717711">July 22, 2026</a></p></blockquote><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>There's a good chance that we'll see another big step towards crease-free foldables today. We recently visited <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-phones/inside-samsung-displays-secret-labs-where-it-builds-and-stress-tests-next-gen-displays-and-says-its-ready-for-apple-to-launch-a-foldable-we-mean-it-we-love-other-companies-to-join-this-market">Samsung Display's secret labs </a>where it talked to us, among many other things, about its new "Flex Titanium Technology".</p><p>This includes a special structure at the fold to give added flexibility and help reduce crease visibility. We've recently more leaks on that theme — and while the image above doesn't look like a particularly fair comparison in terms of lighting, I'm hoping this new feature lives up to the hyper when we see it in person later.</p><h2 id="if-you-host-an-event-in-london">If you host an event in London...</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:4000px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.30%;"><img id="C4JLGQR86vv6TcbcaqaFo3" name="20260722_121234" alt="People holding umbrellas at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C4JLGQR86vv6TcbcaqaFo3.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="4000" height="2252" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Future)</span></figcaption></figure><p>The umbrellas are already out at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 queue. We've had what feels like months without rain in London, but right on queue the dark clouds are forming.</p><p>It's now just over 90 minutes till kick-off time, so hopefully we'll be ushered inside soon...</p><h2 id="brace-yourself-for-price-hikes">Brace yourself for price hikes</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:5025px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.26%;"><img id="ZFsHn3P6MntgAXkjMetkuL" name="DSC_8510" alt="Someone using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 when unfolded, with three separate apps open at once." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZFsHn3P6MntgAXkjMetkuL.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="5025" height="2827" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Future)</span></figcaption></figure><p>Some slightly less positive news from today's Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event is likely to be price hikes for the Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8.</p><p>A recent report from Korea (via <a href="https://www.phonearena.com/news/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-8-z-flip-8-prices-just-as-bad-as-you-think-new-report_id181635" target="_blank">Phone Arena</a>) suggested that both foldables could be about $130 pricier than their predecessors. In the grand scheme of RAMageddon, that wouldn't be too bad — and the Fold and Flip series have never been the most affordable phones anyway.</p><p>Samsung has also already increased the prices of the Z Fold and Flip 7 series over the past year, so hopefully that will soften today's potential price rises...</p><h2 id="a-self-healing-crease">A self-healing crease?</h2><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Exclusive!Galaxy Z Fold8 series creases are self-healing.<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2079883342292345340">July 22, 2026</a></p></blockquote><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>Samsung's upcoming foldables might not just have smaller creases than their predecessors, they could also have self-healing ones if the latest leak (above) is to be believed.</p><p>It's unclear how this would work, but perhaps it would ensure the crease doesn't become more visible over time. It also reminds us of the self-healing finish on the LG G Flex series, which could automatically fill in minor scratches.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how Samsung's take on this works, but if this leak is accurate then it could be Samsung's secret weapon against the upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra.</p> </article> ]]>