- Samsung is reportedly giving up on foldable small screens
- This means that the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be the last in the series
- It’s a credible claim, but if enough people vote with their wallets, the flip line might still be salvageable
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is an excellent phone, earning 4.5 stars in our review. But despite its excellence, Samsung might give up on this clamshell series after the Galaxy Z Flip 8 launch.
This is according to reputed leaker @UniverseIce, who stated on X that “Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 will likely be Samsung’s last small folding product.”
They didn’t say why that might be, but we can guess. First, while the Flip line used to be Samsung’s most popular foldable phone series, there are signs that this trend may be starting to change. e.g. FN News reported that, at least in South Korea, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 received more pre-orders than the Z Flip 7.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 will likely be Samsung’s last small folding product. pic.twitter.com/9zN4nNRLT29 July 2026
So there may be a growing appetite for book-style foldable big screens, which makes sense given that larger conventional phones tend to sell better than compact models. And with the book-like iPhone Ultra reportedly launching this year, the appetite for the foldable style is only likely to grow.
Plus, arguably one of the main selling points of the Z Flip line was that it provided a relatively affordable way to get a foldable phone, but with increasing memory costs that may cease to be the case.
And to top it all off, Samsung is reportedly launching a shorter, wider book-style foldable this year alongside its conventional successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, with this new form factor larger than a Flip but still smaller than the company’s current foldable big screens. So Samsung might see this as something that fans of smaller phones could buy instead of a new Flip.
A phone that would be missed
While this claim by @UniverseIce is credible, I sure hope they’re wrong. Despite all the caveats above, Flip is still an appealing line of fofldables.
They are extremely compact when folded, which will certainly appeal to some people, and even with increasing memory prices, they are likely to remain cheaper than folding books. So it would be a shame for choice and variety if they disappeared.
Still, it’s likely that Samsung will look at sales of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 and the new wider Galaxy Z Fold before making final decisions, so if the former does particularly well or the latter struggles, there’s still hope for a Galaxy Z Flip 9.
In other words, if it’s something you’d like to see, you should vote with your wallet this year and give Samsung’s upcoming clamshell device some love.
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