Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and one of its promos has caught users’ eyes, including Samsung Messages app icons.

With this release, Samsung and Android have brought a new device switch feature, which makes iOS-to-Android migration easier. All the user needs to do is scan a barcode on the new device, and that will transfer all of the essential data without any extra process.

This process supports different types of data, including passwords, call logs, accessibility settings, eSIM data, and more. This makes the switch a lot easier than before, which is a great move.

This new capability was accompanied by a visual representation featuring an iPhone, which looks more like an Android flagship, transferring data to the new wide Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Among the applications shown in the promo are the Samsung Message app icons. Earlier this month, Samsung deprecated the Samsung Message app for Galaxy devices in the US and asked users to migrate to Google Messages as the default message app for a consistent Android experience.

The company gave a few reasons to make Google Messages its only choice for messaging, such as better security, RCS messaging, AI features, multi-device connection, and more.

That makes sense, but why did it still choose to feature the in-house message app icon, which it discontinued? The answer could be a market mistake. They might not have noticed that someone else won’t let it go unchecked.

You should know that Samsung Messages is discontinued only in the US and is still available worldwide. Also, the new device feature is support for devices running One UI 9 and later.

This year, Samsung unveiled its biggest-ever foldable lineup overhaul with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wide form factor with new features that make it a must-buy for new foldable users. Here’s what you should know.

Display

Samsung has introduced the phone with the Flex Titanium technology. This titanium-based display structure combines titanium-alloy film with an improved titanium plate for a thin outlook and improved display durability.

Cover

What makes it different is its passport-shape design. When closed, the 5.5-inch cover display with 10:16 aspect ratio makes the content look adaptive to almost everything you watch on social media, messaging, and short-form videos.

Main Screen

When opened, the view expands to 7.6 inches with up to 3000 nits of brightness, more than the Fold 7. Here you can multitask, get a larger view of the videos, or read content with improved visibility.

Slim design

This fold is crafted well within its bounds and weighs only 201 grams, 14 grams less than the Fold 8 Ultra. The phone only comes with two cameras, but the 50MP main and a 50MP ultra-wide angle help you capture any moment in no time.

Performance

Meanwhile, the phone ensures that you have performance and efficiency for everything within your reach with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

Battery

This phone packs 4800mAh dual batteries, which can provide up to 26 hours of battery and supports 45W charging.

Conclusion

Samsung is shipping this phone with One UI 9 (Android 17) out of the box. It has new features such as My FanCam, which provides a new way to track the favorite person in a video and a bunch of other AI capabilities.

These upgrades combined make it a perfect buy for anyone who wants to enter the foldable segment, and the price starts at $1,899. For now, the pre-order phase has some interesting perks, such as a $200 Samsung credit without trade-in and $100 off with PayPal payments.

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a new bar-type foldable smartphone at a higher price than the Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, even with the price change, this foldable is well-positioned against the current smartphone market conditions. Here’s why.

First off, the price increase?

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra costs $100 more than the predecessor, with the following prices for its variants: The 256GB costs $2,099, the 512GB at $2,299, and the 1TB at $2,699.

Users could claim a $200 Samsung Credit. They can use it to buy a Galaxy Watch 9, which is only $142 during the pre-order phase, or $430 for the Watch Ultra 2 by spending $230 extra.

Below you can check the upgrades that Samsung is trading for the above-mentioned prices.

Display

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra comes with a new Flex Titanium display, which is more stable and suports high-resolution than the Infinity Flex display used in the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The display supports the architecture, which makes the crease less visible and improves the overall viewing experience.

The cover and the internal displays are brighter up to 3000 nits compared to the 2600 nits in the previous generation.

Chipset

The Z Fold 8 Ultra equips a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The new chipset improves single- and multi-core performance for a more responsive experience than the Snapdragon 8 Elite used in Fold 7.

Camera

The new foldable brings a new 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera with an f/1.9 aperture, which is a good upgrade, while keeping the camera specs the same as last year.

Battery

A major upgrade comes from the battery segment, reaching 5,000mAh, compared to the 4,400mAh used in the last generation. This increases the video playback time to 27 hours, up from 24 hours.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra uses a dual-patch charging architecture that efficiently delivers power through the battery system for stable and reliable charging.

Cooling

Samsung has increased the graphite cooling structure inside to improve heat dissipation. This not only maintains the battery health but provides you with long-term performance support without throttling.

Conclusion

At a time when memory prices are skyrocketing, Samsung is offering a new display, a larger battery, faster performance, a better camera system, and more. With these upgrades and an early pre-order credit, the price basically remains unchanged for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Samsung Wallet just got a lot more useful for Galaxy owners in Malaysia. The company has teamed up with Maybank to bring the country’s first Samsung Wallet QR Payment experience, and it’s rolling out starting this week.

What’s changing for Galaxy users

Through a Collaboration Agreement signed with Maybank, Samsung is folding the bank’s MAE Scan & Pay functionality directly into Samsung Wallet.

It means eligible Galaxy users won’t need to jump into a separate banking app just to scan a QR code at checkout; a swipe within Samsung Wallet is enough to pull up the scanner and complete a transaction.

Regional reach and rewards baked in

The integration isn’t limited to Malaysia either. Since it runs through Maybank’s MAE ecosystem, users can scan and pay across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia as well, which is a nice bonus for anyone who travels around Southeast Asia often.

Every transaction also earns Samsung Reward points, redeemable for products and vouchers via the Samsung Members app.

Rollout timeline and launch incentives

The native QR payments feature is already arriving from July 21, 2026, through the latest Samsung Wallet and software update.

Samsung is also running a promotional campaign from July 28 to October 30, offering up to RM500,000 in rewards, including RM5 for activating QR Payment and up to RM15 in cashback or vouchers on spending.

Related news:

• Samsung Wallet to add Stablecoin support

Samsung has officially signed a strategic partnership agreement (SPA) with the Claude maker Anthropic to jointly build new AI-driven businesses in South Korea, marking one of the most significant enterprise AI moves from the Samsung camp this year.

Samsung SDS is deepening its ties with Anthropic

The agreement was signed on July 24 at an AI summit hosted at The Midway in San Francisco. Samsung SDS CEO Lee Jun-hee and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei put pen to paper, with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee present at the ceremony, a clear signal of how much weight this deal carries.

The collaboration spans three fronts: joint marketing and proof-of-concept support for new AX (AI transformation) businesses targeting Korean firms, a dedicated training program to cultivate “applied AI engineers” skilled in deploying Claude for enterprise use, and expanded Claude support across Samsung’s affiliates. Notably, Claude Enterprise is already rolling out to 20 Samsung Group affiliates and roughly 70,000 employees.

CEO Lee called it a foundation for jointly leading the growth of the Korean AI market by pairing Anthropic’s technology with Samsung SDS’s industry expertise.