New cheaper Galaxy Z Fold reveals itself alongside Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8 amid rumours of Apple iPhone Fold rival
Rumours about Samsung releasing two book-style foldables this year have been gaining traction in recent months. In part, that could be because the company has offered two larger foldables annually since 2024 with the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition and Galaxy Z TriFold arriving a few months after the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Fold7, respectively (curr. $1,809 on Amazon).
To recap, rumours about Samsung having created a 'Wide Fold' to combat the impending Apple iPhone Fold emerged during summer 2025. Now, the first concrete evidence of such a device existing has emerged on IMEI databases. For context, Samsung assigned the model number SM-F766 to the Galaxy Z Flip7 and SM-F966 to the Galaxy Z Fold7, with various suffixes added to denote regional variants.
Thus, it stands to reason that the SM-F776U shown below relates to the Galaxy Z Flip8, with the 'U' suffix denoting a global variant. Likewise, the SM-F976U will serve as the successor to the SM-F966U with the marketing name 'Galaxy Z Fold8'. However, SM-F971U has no direct predecessor.
Instead, Samsung has used '1' to denote a cheaper variant in the past, as was the case with the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE and its 'SM-F761' model number. By contrast, the Galaxy Z TriFold sits a step above the Galaxy Z Fold7 as the 'SM-F968'. At this stage, it is unclear whether Samsung's typical designations will also apply to SM-F971U. Nonetheless, the SM-F9xx root number indicates that the SM-F971U is a new book-style foldable of some sort.
Source(s)
Add as a preferred