Android

Samsung’s new foldables have only just gone up for preorder, so we may be waiting quite some time before we see traditional discounts — roll on Black Friday. However, Amazon is offering the next best thing, throwing in gift cards worth up to $350 with the unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. That gives you two potential incentives to choose the Bezos mega-retailer over buying directly from Samsung. To get specific, the unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 8 costs $1,199.99 and comes with a $200 Amazon gift card. The $1,899.99 Galaxy Z Fold 8 includes a $350 gift card, as does the $2,099.99 Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. These Amazon deals are better than Samsung’s direct preorder credit offers if you aren’t trading in a device. Samsung is offering $150 in credit with the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and $200 with either Fold model, so Amazon gives you an extra $50 on the Flip and $150 more on the two larger foldables.

Credit: Curtis Joe / Android Authority TL;DR Instagram appears to be down for thousands of users. Meta’s other services appear to be experiencing issues as well. If you’re noticing problems with Instagram, you’re not the only one. The social media platform appears to be down. And it may not be the only Meta service experiencing issues this morning. Thousands of users are reporting on Downdetector that Instagram is experiencing an outage. At the time of writing, there are nearly 1,400 reports, and it looks like they started around 7:30 AM ET. Looking at the heat map, the outage is affecting several major cities, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

TL;DR A firmware leak has revealed the hardware specs of the now-canceled ASUS ROG Phone 10 and 10 Pro. ASUS intended to outfit the two phones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a triple rear camera setup. The devices were in development but had to be shelved after the company’s decision to step away from the smartphone business. ASUS took the bold call of pausing its smartphone business earlier this year, pivoting to AI-based hardware, including commercial PCs and smart glasses. Among the victims of this decision was the ROG Phone 10 series, devices that were in development but never saw the light of day. Now, in a bittersweet development, a leak has spilled the beans on some of the hardware specs of these gaming-oriented Android phones. Leaked firmware files from a prototype seen exclusively by NotebookCheck offer insight into the cameras, connectivity options, and the chipset. As one would expect from a 2026 flagship, ASUS was testing both the ROG Phone 10 and 10 Pro prototypes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

I didn’t know what to expect when I got my hands on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. I knew what I’d read in the leaks, but it’s difficult to get the full story until you use the device yourself. I was most excited about the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8, and that phone hasn’t disappointed. But I was still curious what changes Samsung made to earn the Ultra moniker. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra enters a different marketplace than its predecessor. The Motorola Razr Fold is impressive, with plenty of innovations, and I was eager to see how Samsung would counter. There are plenty of reasons why you’d want a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in your pocket, but the phone has left me with one expensive question.

https://youtu.be/RGTGAkNOjCU The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is now official. And while that means new, exciting hardware is available for enthusiasts to handle, it also means a fresh batch of wallpapers has arrived. The great thing about wallpapers is that they’re a quick way to give your phone a new lick of paint without forking out for a new device. Download the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 wallpapers here Let’s start with the basics. We advise you to avoid simply saving the image previews shown below. These wallpaper previews are compressed and optimized for improved website performance. Instead, click the button below the gallery to download the full-resolution wallpapers.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR The Exynos-powered Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 supports Linux Terminal functionality. This feature lets you run a Linux environment and full-fledged Linux desktop apps on your phone. Unfortunately, the feature isn’t available on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Fold 8 Ultra, and is only available on some Flip 8 models. Samsung has just launched the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at its Unpacked event. It looks like there’s a foldable phone for every need, but what if you want to run Linux on your device? Well, it turns out there’s only one foldable for you, if you’re lucky. Android Authority has confirmed that the Exynos-powered Galaxy Z Flip 8 supports Linux Terminal functionality. The feature is visible via developer options and can be toggled to access the Linux development environment. Check out our images below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR Spigen has launched new cases for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8. The Fold cases offer either mechanical hinge protection or a slimmer magnetic fabric design. Highlighted options range from $24.99 to $34.99, with styles covering rugged, minimal, and more colorful designs. Samsung’s newest foldables are unlikely to be impulse purchases. If you’re busy pre-ordering one of the company’s expensive new phones, spending another few bucks to keep it protected might be a bit of a no-brainer. Spigen has now launched its case lineup for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8, offering a host of interesting options. The company is taking two different approaches to protecting the hinge on Samsung’s new Fold models. The more rugged cases use a mechanical hinge cover with a spring and rotating mechanism, which automatically encloses the phone’s hinge. Slimmer options instead use a flexible TPU or PU fabric connector with built-in magnets, trading some bulk for a lighter feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is available in both Exynos and Snapdragon variants. The phone has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor in Canada and the US. However, it has an in-house Exynos 2600 chipset in South Africa and the UK. Samsung has just announced a trio of foldable phones at its Unpacked event, namely the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra. The latter two devices are exclusively powered by Snapdragon silicon, but the Galaxy maker is taking a different route with the Flip 8. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is powered by either the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy or the in-house Exynos 2600 chip, depending on your region. More specifically, we can confirm that the Snapdragon variant is available in the US and Canada, while the Exynos version is available in South Africa and the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR The Galaxy Z Fold 8 series is official, and the phones come with impressive specs. However, neither the Z Fold 8 Ultra nor the Z Fold 8 supports Samsung’s S Pen. The company originally removed S Pen support with last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8 at its Galaxy Unpacked event in London today. While the phones come packed with powerful specs and useful features, there’s one thing that’s missing yet again — the S Pen. Neither the Galaxy Z Fold 8 nor the Z Fold 8 Ultra comes with S Pen support. That’s not entirely surprising, since Samsung removed support for its stylus back with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, if you were hoping the wider Z Fold 8 would bring back S Pen support, you’re unfortunately out of luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwK4ME8ma2M TL;DR Samsung has announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Watch 9, and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra builds on last year’s Z Fold 7 with a bigger battery, 45W charging, ultra-grade cameras, and an easier-to-open design. Unlike the new wider Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Fold 8 Ultra remains Samsung’s flagship book-style foldable with premium hardware and AI features. After what felt like an endless stream of leaks and rumors, Samsung has finally made its next-generation foldables official. The company used today’s Unpacked event to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8, while also taking the wraps off the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. The foldable lineup is where things get really interesting, though. Samsung is selling two book-style foldables for the first time ever, but don’t think of them as two versions of the same phone. They’re built with entirely different priorities in mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra now support 45W wired charging (up from 25W) and 20W wireless charging (up from 15W). Samsung claims both phones reach 65% in 30 minutes, while our Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra testing hit 67% in the same timeframe. The Fold 8 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery, while the Fold 8 gets 4,800mAh, making this one of the most meaningful battery and charging upgrades the Fold lineup has seen in years. If you’ve been waiting for Samsung to finally do something about charging speeds on its foldables, this year’s launch might be the one you’ve been hoping for. Samsung’s foldables have improved in plenty of ways over the years. They’ve become thinner, lighter, and more durable. But one thing barely changed: charging speeds. That’s finally different this year, and if you’ve ever found yourself plugging in your phone just before heading out, this upgrade could be one of the most useful additions to the Fold 8 lineup.

TL;DR Samsung has released One UI 9 stable (based on Android 17) for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip 8. However, Galaxy S26 users must wait for the stable release to roll out to their phones. Key features in One UI 9 include an AI Assistant Activity dashboard, enhanced Privacy Alerts, a Warranty and Care hub, and seamless iPhone transfers (passwords, passkeys, eSIM) via Smart Switch. The update also adds My FanCam auto-reframing, Cine LUT color grading (Fold 8 Ultra), an AI-native FlexWindow (Flip 8), and Now Brief security insights. Samsung has been running One UI 9 betas for the Galaxy S26 series for a while now. Today, with the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip 8, Samsung is also launching One UI 9 stable based on Android 17. Galaxy S26 users will have to wait a bit, though, as you can get One UI 9 stable only on these new foldables for now. Samsung hasn’t explicitly shared a changelog for all the changes One UI 9 brings over One UI 8. But as part of its foldable launch, Samsung says One UI 9.0 introduces a new AI Assistant Activity dashboard, which sounds very similar to Android 17’s AI-related upgrades to the Privacy Dashboard. The AI Assistant Activity dashboard on the new foldables gives users a centralized view of AI automations running on their behalf, allowing them to review AI actions in one place and navigate directly to the relevant agent for additional context and settings.

The Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch Ultra introduced a new design for Samsung watches that you either love or hate. I’m in the former camp, so when I got to try the new Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, I was excited to see what refinements Samsung had made. The reality is that not much has changed, and what impressed me the most was a software feature from Google.

TL;DR Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra all have silicon-carbon batteries. These are therefore the first Galaxy phones with silicon-carbon battery technology. Samsung didn’t disclose more details about the tech but said you should expect battery health that’s “consistent” with previous products. Smartphones with silicon-carbon batteries have been around since 2024, when HONOR debuted the tech. We’ve since seen the likes of OnePlus, OPPO, Xiaomi, and others all embrace this battery technology. Samsung has been one of the few high-profile holdouts, but that changes today. Samsung confirmed during a media briefing and a media roundtable that the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra all have silicon-carbon batteries. That means these are the first Galaxy phones with this technology. Furthermore, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also benefits from a silicon-carbon battery, making it quite possibly the first Samsung watch with this tech.

Samsung has just peeled the curtain back on three new foldable phones at its Unpacked event today, and most eyes are on the Fold line. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a wide aspect ratio and a compact form factor, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra receives significant hardware upgrades. Where does that leave the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, though? After spending some time with this new clamshell foldable, I don’t think even Samsung knows. And this is even more worrying in light of recent rumors that the Flip line could be discontinued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR Gemini Intelligence is becoming more capable, letting Samsung’s latest foldables perform real-world tasks like ordering food, booking tickets, and understanding on-screen content. Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 get Gemini-first perks, including the pre-installed Gemini Notebook app and a free six-month Google AI Pro subscription. Gemini is also expanding beyond Samsung’s phones, with wrist-raise activation on the Galaxy Watch 9, and support for Samsung’s upcoming intelligent eyewear later this year. Google has bigger ambitions for Gemini than simply answering questions. Through Gemini Intelligence, it’s steadily evolving into a system-level Android assistant that can understand context, work across apps, and complete tasks on your behalf. A few months ago, we reported that Samsung’s next foldables could become the perfect playground for Gemini Intelligence. Now that the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 are official, that prediction has turned out to be spot on. The biggest change is that Gemini is becoming much more action-oriented. Rather than simply telling you how to do something, it can now help get the job done. The assistant can carry out tasks such as ordering food or booking event tickets while also understanding what’s currently on your screen. So if you’re chatting with friends about dinner plans, for example, Gemini can use that context to help you find a restaurant or complete a booking without making you jump between multiple apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR Samsung has quietly confirmed that it’s using a plastic back on the $1,200 Galaxy Z Flip 8. The company says this is a “Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer” and has previously been used on the Galaxy Z TriFold. Plastic is seen as a less premium material than glass and is more prone to scratches, but it’s also lighter and more drop-resistant. Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8 in London, and I wouldn’t blame you if you thought the Flip 8 was the least exciting phone of the lot. That’s due to Samsung’s Snapdragon/Exynos chip lottery, iterative specs, and a higher price tag. However, we can also add another potential reason to the list. Samsung has quietly confirmed via a shared spec sheet that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 has a glasstic (i.e., glass-like plastic) rear cover. More specifically, the company says it’s using a “Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer.” In other words, a type of plastic. This is a notable change from the Galaxy Z Flip 7‘s glass back.

Credit: Paul Jones / Android Authority TL;DR At the Unpacked event, Samsung showcased two new designs for its upcoming smart glasses with Gemini. These glasses are made in partnership with Google and eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. These are non-display versions with cameras for Gemini and would likely offer nine hours of battery life under heavy usage. While they’re being showcased today, these smart glasses won’t launch until fall this year. Google has been teasing its entry into the smart-glasses category with template designs and a dedicated software experience under the banner of Android XR. However, its previous troubles with smart glasses, primarily the Google Glass, may not set a good precedent for new ones. Admitting its shortcomings as a hardware company, Google is limiting itself to the software, especially the Gemini-powered AI bits, while letting other companies handle the hardware. And its choice of hardware partner is Samsung, which is now showcasing its upcoming pair of AI smart glasses. In addition to the new devices it unveiled at Unpacked today, Samsung is also shedding light on the upcoming pairs of “Intelligent Eyewear.” At the event, it revealed two new designs for smart glasses with a variety of colors, both for the frame and the lenses.

When I first saw the Galaxy Z Fold 8 leaks and rumors, I was ready to write it off. I assumed it was just a half-hearted effort to make a wide folding phone before Apple — this year’s version of the trend-chasing we saw with the Galaxy S25 Edge. I’m pleased to say I was wrong. I spent a few hours with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 last week, and of the three folding phones Samsung is releasing this year, this is by far my favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTGAkNOjCU TL;DR Samsung’s latest foldables have a new My FanCam feature that lets you reframe a video around a chosen subject after you’ve already recorded it. Galaxy AI automatically detects people in the scene, allowing you to crop the footage into multiple aspect ratios and have the selected subject tracked throughout the video. The resulting video isn’t the sharpest, but it’s more than good enough for quickly creating social media posts. Samsung’s latest foldables are packed with new AI features, but one of the most interesting additions isn’t about writing emails or editing photos. Instead, it’s designed to solve a problem almost everyone has run into after recording a video. Imagine filming your child at a school performance, your favorite player during a sporting event, or a friend at a concert. When you look back at the footage later, you realize the subject you actually wanted to capture is just one person among dozens in the frame. Normally, you’d be stuck with the original video unless you were willing to manually crop and edit it yourself.

TL;DR Samsung is making it much easier to run apps directly on the Galaxy Z Flip 8’s outer screen. In addition to allowing 16 apps straight out of the box, Samsung is improving the flow for installing and running required tools to run virtually any app. With this change, the app launcher experience on the Galaxy Z Flip 8’s cover screen is also getting upgraded. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is moving into its eighth generation, and some even speculate it might be its last. Despite that, Samsung isn’t just offering a lip-service upgrade over last year’s Flip 7; it’s stocking the new Galaxy Z Flip 8 with a more reliable Snapdragon chip (for some markets) and making the Flip even slimmer than before. Aside from that, the outer display may look the same, but it’s getting a major utility upgrade, with expanded app support and a more seamless app-launching experience without ever having to open the screen. The Galaxy Z Flip series typically receives biennial design updates, and since Samsung updated the cover screen only last year, we aren’t seeing any other major changes. Apart from some bulk shedding, the Flip 8 is largely the same as the Flip 7 from the outside, though Samsung claims a big improvement for the previously messy cover screen.

TL;DR Samsung has officially debuted One UI 9 on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip 8, introducing a central AI Assistant Activity dashboard. Powered by Gemini Intelligence, the new devices support background app automations, like ordering food or booking event tickets, directly from the context on your screen. The dashboard prevents user confusion by providing a single location to monitor background AI actions and access agent settings. Samsung is launching the first stable release of One UI 9 with today’s launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip 8. While we wait for the company to release an official changelog, Samsung has revealed that One UI 9.0 on the new foldables comes with a new AI Assistant Activity dashboard.

TL;DR Samsung is formally launching its latest smartwatches, the 40mm and 44mm Galaxy Watch 9, and 47mm Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. This generation, Samsung moves to a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite chip for up to 32% better performance. The Watch Ultra 2 sets some new bests for Samsung’s wearables, including an 800mAh battery and 5,000 nits max screen brightness. Samsung’s latest hardware is finally official, and alongside the new foldables led by the extra-wide Galaxy Z Fold 8, we’re also meeting the very latest entries in Samsung’s growing smartwatch lineup with the launch of the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. While last year brought us the Galaxy Watch 8 alongside the Watch 8 Classic and only a slightly refreshed Watch Ultra, this year Samsung’s skipping the Classic entirely and actually giving us a proper Ultra sequel. Let’s take a look at all this new hardware, and exactly what you should expect from it!

TL;DR The Galaxy Watch 9 is getting a raise-to-talk feature. Raising the smartwatch two to four inches from your mouth will activate Gemini without the need for a hotword or button press. Lowering your arm or interacting with the screen will cancel the prompt. After all the leaks and rumors, Samsung’s summer Galaxy Unpacked event is finally here. As expected, the launch event saw the debut of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the Galaxy Watch 9, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. However, today’s show wasn’t just about introducing us to new hardware; Samsung also revealed a feature coming to the Galaxy Watch 9. During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung announced that the Galaxy Watch 9 would have Gemini raise-to-talk. Until now, raise-to-talk was only available on Pixel Watch 4 devices running Wear OS 6 or later. Now this function is expanding to Samsung’s latest smartwatch. Android Authority first spotted Samsung working on this feature back in March.

TL;DR The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Fold 8 feature an improved Now Nudge with multi-window support. It can suggest opening apps in split view, surface suggestions for adding events, sending an email, and more. Now Nudge with multi-window support is a part of a new class of agentic experiences, including advanced automation and Gemini Notebook. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 series is official, and all three foldables have something unique to offer. While it’s easy to get distracted by the spec sheet on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the wide form factor of the Z Fold 8, Samsung has also made some really useful software updates to the phones. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Z Fold 8 feature Now Nudge with multi-window support. So, if a user receives a text message asking whether they’re free at a specific time, Galaxy AI will prompt them to open their calendar, much like Magic Cue does on the Pixel. Assuming the user taps on the prompt, the Z Fold 8 series will open the calendar app in split view. It can also suggest opening a maps app if the text message specifies a location.