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The cost of phones has been slowly rising for many years now, but with RAMageddon and the rapid rise in component costs, we're likely to see the cost of new smartphones explode over the coming months. Thankfully, some devices may be lucky enough to escape the price hikes — including the cheapest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.
According to leaker @TheGalox_ on X, Samsung will release three different variants of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 with prices starting at $1,999 for a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That's the same price and configuration you'd get if you went out and purchased a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 right now.
Galaxy Z Fold8 will likely start at $1999But the storage upgrades will definitely be more expensive than previous years. Likely prices of the Z Fold8• 12/256GB: $1999• 12/512GB: $2199• 16/1TB: $2499 pic.twitter.com/yfUnXQpqajMarch 31, 2026
As for the other two models, the leaker claims that the 12GB/512GB model will cost $2,199 and the 16GB/1TB model will cost $2,499. Those of you who are familiar with Z Fold 7 pricing will notice that these models are $90 more than their respective Galaxy Z Fold 7s.
Article continues belowIt's unclear why the prices have increased, and whether it's due to rising production costs, tariffs or something else entirely. There are so many reasons why phone prices could go up at the moment that we can't pinpoint a single root cause right now. The hike could be down to a variety of factors, for all we know.
Interestingly, it's different from the way Samsung altered pricing for the Galaxy S26 series. In the case of its non-folding flagship, prices were hiked for the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus in the U.S., while the Galaxy S26 Ultra remained the same. We never got any explanation as to why the prices changed, and it's unlikely Samsung will be any more open about its pricing strategy with the Z Fold 8.
Galaxy Z Fold 8: What to expect
Don't expect a lot of major design changes with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, since rumors suggest that it'll look more or less the same as the Z Fold 7. We might see the phone get a little slimmer and slight shrinkage thanks to thinner bezels, but that's about it.
The big upgrade is likely to be in the battery, with rumors claiming that the Z Fold 8 will come with a 5,000 mAh battery. That's 600 mAh larger than the Z Fold 7, and the same size as the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Other rumors also suggest that the wired charging speed will increase to 45W, which is on par with the Galaxy S26 Plus.
It's also speculated that Samsung will increase the resolution on the Ultrawide camera from 12MP to 50MP. The telephoto lens is expected to get a more conservative upgrade, keeping the 3x optical zoom but with 12MP resolution instead of 10MP. Plus, as usual, we should see an increase in performance power thanks to the inclusion of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
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