SAMSUNG

Samsung's "ace in the hole" to face the future foldable iPhone

Samsung appears to be preparing a fierce counterattack in the foldable device market, and its secret weapon for 2026 is not just a new form factor, but the triumph of miniaturization. If you follow the market, you know that the South Korean brand has been pushing to make its flagship phones more elegant and less visually "heavy." The new Galaxy Z Wide Fold, which promises to be the great rival of the future foldable iPhone Ultra, will share with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a technical innovation that draws attention: a drastically reduced front camera. This design change, which requires complex hardware engineering, suggests that Samsung is accelerating its pace to offer a completely clean and uninterrupted viewing experience.

The latest rumors indicate that Samsung wants to establish almost absolute parity between its two upcoming foldable flagships. Aside from how they open and the aspect ratio of their screens, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy Z Wide Fold should be twins when it comes to internal specifications.

This technical “mirroring” strategy is curious. By all indications, the Galaxy Z Wide Fold is born with a very specific purpose: to curb Apple's entry into this segment. With Huawei gaining ground with the Pura X Max, Samsung cannot afford to have an “experimental” model with inferior cameras. Therefore, it decided to transfer the cutting-edge technology developed for the Fold 8 directly to the new wider-format model.

The physical reduction in the size of the front camera is not just a matter of aesthetics; it is a necessary intermediate step towards something much more ambitious. Users have long been asking for the end of the “punch-hole” (the small hole in the screen), and this extreme miniaturization indicates that Samsung is refining the components to eventually hide them completely under the pixel panel.

According to Ice Universe, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide and Z Fold 8 will have the smallest selfie camera cutouts ever seen on Samsung phones.

The hole should have a radius of only 2.5 mm, considerably smaller than the 3.7 mm hole for the front camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 7's external screen.

This would be a different approach from that adopted in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which increased the size of the hole to widen the angle of the front camera. Following this new strategy raises concerns about image quality, although Samsung did not use a hidden camera under the display, which could be even worse.

We expect more details to be revealed in the coming weeks, as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Wide are expected to be announced in July 2026.

Possible specifications of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide (below):

Internal screen: 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate and QXGA+ resolution

Aspect ratio: possibly 4:3 or close to 16:10

Platform: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

12 GB or 16 GB of RAM

256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of internal storage

Nominal battery: 4,660 mAh (dual cell)

Estimated typical capacity: around 4,800 mAh

Cell configuration: 2,267 mAh + 2,393 mAh

5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC

Android 16 running under One UI 9.0

Hardware miniaturization: New, denser sensors that occupy less physical space.

Sleeker design: A more discreet bezel and cutout area, increasing immersion.

Direct competition: Immediate response to Apple's plans for the iPhone 18 and 20 Pro.

Technological evolution: Continuation of the innovation work started with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Although the under-display camera (UDC) has existed in previous generations, image quality has been its Achilles' heel. By shrinking the traditional camera so significantly, Samsung manages to maintain the photographic quality you demand, while reducing the negative visual impact on the panel.

The race against Apple's plans for 2027... It's no secret that Apple has a "perfect" iPhone on the horizon for the brand's 20th anniversary in 2027. This model should abandon any type of notch, including the Dynamic Island, moving Face ID and the camera under the glass. However, reports from the supply chain suggest that the Cupertino giant is facing considerable technical challenges.

This is where Samsung sees its window of opportunity. By achieving a reduction in camera hardware as early as 2026 with the Fold 8 and Wide Fold, the brand is positioning itself a step ahead in practical execution. While Apple tries to solve panel transparency issues, you may have devices that, although still with a small notch, feature such a tiny bezel that the screen seems to float.

The decision to seriously invest in the processor and optics of these new models shows that Samsung has realized that foldable users no longer accept compromises. If you're going to pay a premium price, you want the best technology available, not a "stretched" version of a conventional phone. The Galaxy Z Wide Fold seems to be the definitive answer for those who want maximum usable area without sacrificing the sophistication that miniaturization allows. If this trend continues, the days of obvious notches and holes in our screens are numbered.

mundophone