(VIDEO) Samsung Confirms Galaxy Unpacked for July 22, Offering Up to $1,230 Off Galaxy Z Fold 8 Preorders Now

Samsung has officially confirmed that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place July 22 in London, where the company is expected to unveil an expanded lineup of foldable phones and wearables, while opening reservations that allow prospective buyers to lock in early savings of up to $1,230 ahead of the launch.

The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Eastern time, 6 a.m. Pacific time and 2 p.m. British time, and will be livestreamed on Samsung.com, Samsung Newsroom and Samsung's official YouTube channel, with additional coverage expected across the company's social media platforms. In a press release announcing the event, Samsung said it will "introduce its latest Galaxy innovations that build on its leadership in foldables, combining intelligent capabilities and new form factors to deliver more personal, adaptive experiences and set a new standard for the AI era."

While Samsung's announcement kept specific product details to a minimum, extensive prior leaks and rumors have painted a fairly detailed picture of what is expected to debut at the London event. The company is widely anticipated to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and, for the first time, a third book-style foldable referred to in various reports as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. According to reporting from multiple outlets, Samsung may be shifting its naming conventions this year, with the standard "Fold 8" name reportedly reserved for a new, wider, passport-style device, while the more traditional tall-and-narrow form factor familiar from previous generations could carry the "Ultra" designation instead. Leaked specifications suggest the Ultra-tier model could feature a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner screen, along with a 200-megapixel main camera and S Pen support, while the standard Fold 8 is expected to offer a roughly 6.3-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner screen with a dual 50-megapixel rear camera setup.

Alongside the foldable phones, Samsung is expected to introduce updated smartwatches, with rumors pointing to the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, the latter potentially receiving a significantly larger 800 milliamp-hour battery capable of delivering two to three days of use on a single charge. The company appears to be moving away from its Classic watch design this year in favor of the standard and Ultra lineup.

Perhaps the most closely watched potential unveiling is Samsung's long-teased Galaxy Glasses, the company's first entry into the smart glasses category, which was previously teased at Samsung's February Unpacked event. The glasses are reportedly being developed in partnership with Google, Qualcomm, Warby Parker and eyewear brand Gentle Monster, and are expected to run on Android XR, offering a display for notifications, navigation and calendar information, along with speakers and microphones for AI interaction and music playback. While the glasses are not expected to go on sale alongside the rest of Samsung's new devices, multiple outlets have reported they could receive a further preview at the July event ahead of a fuller launch later this fall.

For consumers looking to secure early savings, Samsung has opened its Galaxy Reserve program, allowing prospective buyers to sign up for a $30 credit toward their eventual preorder at no obligation to actually purchase a device. Samsung has also advertised total potential savings of up to $1,230 through eligible trade-in promotions, though the company has clarified that the maximum figure includes trade-in discounts and other promotional offers that will vary depending on the specific device purchased and the condition of the phone being traded in. Industry analysts covering the announcement have generally suggested that the full $1,230 savings figure is most likely to apply to the higher-end Fold 8 Ultra model rather than the standard Fold 8 or Flip 8, given that similar maximum-discount figures in past years have typically applied to Samsung's most expensive device in a given lineup. Samsung is also running a sweepstakes tied to the reservation program, offering entrants a chance to win one of ten $500 Samsung.com gift cards.

Some coverage of this year's reservation offer noted that the incentives appear somewhat less generous than those Samsung provided ahead of last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 launch, when the company offered trade-in savings of up to $1,000 alongside additional promotional credits. Pricing leaks have also suggested that this year's devices could carry higher price tags than their predecessors, with some reports pointing to increases of roughly $100 to $280 across the lineup, a trend widely attributed to rising global memory chip prices that have affected smartphone manufacturers across the industry throughout 2026.

This year's Unpacked event marks a return to London for Samsung's summer foldable launch, a shift from last year's New York City event for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Paris venue used for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 launch in 2024. Samsung's home country of South Korea hosted the Galaxy Z Fold 5 unveiling in 2023, reflecting the company's practice of rotating its Unpacked venue across different major cities in recent years.

Beyond Samsung's official reservation program, several major retailers and carriers are expected to offer their own competing preorder incentives once the devices are formally unveiled. Based on patterns from previous Galaxy Z Fold launches, carriers including Verizon and T-Mobile have historically offered trade-in discounts reaching as high as $1,100 for qualifying customers on select service plans, while Amazon has typically provided gift card promotions in the range of $300, occasionally paired with free storage upgrades allowing buyers to receive higher-capacity models at lower-tier pricing.

With reservations now open on Samsung's website ahead of the July 22 event, prospective buyers have roughly two weeks to secure the no-commitment $30 credit and position themselves for the fuller range of trade-in discounts expected to be detailed once Samsung formally announces final pricing and specifications for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup, Galaxy Watch 9, Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, and potentially the company's first Galaxy Glasses later this month in London.