Samsung just pulled a surprise at Galaxy Unpacked. Alongside the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, we got a second book-style foldable: the Galaxy Z Fold8, the wider 2026 variant that fans have nicknamed the “Wide” (aka Galaxy Z Fold8 Wide). It is the wider, more iPhone Ultra-shaped one, and a lot of people are excited about that cover screen. I am not one of them. After sitting with the official specs and the actual hardware, here are the five reasons I am skipping the Galaxy Z Fold8 (the Wide).
1. The ‘wide’ fixes the cover screen, not the inner canvas
The headline feature of the Galaxy Z Fold8 (the Wide) is the squarish outer display that finally feels like a normal phone. That is nice. But unfold it and the main panel is still 7.6 inches, not the 8 inch screen on the Fold8 Ultra. If your dream was a bigger canvas for video and games, the Wide does not really deliver that. It is a better phone experience, not a larger workspace. For me, the whole point of a Fold is the big screen inside.
2. Single-sided speakers mean no stereo in landscape
This is the one that defeats the purpose of the wide form factor. The Galaxy Z Fold8 (the Wide) keeps its speakers on the same edge, so when you rotate into landscape to watch something, sound comes from one side with no true stereo separation. A wide inner screen exists to make video feel like a tiny TV. Robbing it of stereo sound undercuts the exact reason to unfold. That is a miss I cannot unhear.
3. The inner selfie cutout sits in an awkward spot
Look at the unfolded screen and the front camera cutout lands on the right panel, dead center. It stays in view whether you hold the phone in portrait or rotate to landscape, a small black dot sitting through every movie and every video call. Samsung shrank the hole this year, but it is still there, right in the middle of your content. On a device built for immersive viewing, that persistent interruption matters more than people admit. Honestly, just remove the inner camera. Almost nobody uses it anyway. We use the sharp outer camera for selfies and the outer screen for video calls. Kill it, give us a clean full screen, and spend the budget on the speakers instead.
4. It is first generation, and Samsung’s first gens have stumbled
The Fold8 Ultra is the polished successor to years of Samsung book-style folds. The Galaxy Z Fold8 (the Wide) is brand new, a different shape with different hinges and weight balance. First-generation anything carries risk, and Samsung’s history here is not reassuring. The original Galaxy Fold in 2019 shipped review units with screens that broke within days, forced a delayed launch, and was pulled from reviewers entirely while Samsung reworked the display and hinge. The Wide will almost certainly be more robust than that 2019 device, but the pattern is worth remembering: Samsung’s first attempt at a new foldable shape has often needed a do-over. I would rather let someone else be the long-term test unit.
5. You pay flagship price for a narrower experience
Samsung positioned the Galaxy Z Fold8 (the Wide) closer to last year’s Fold7 pricing, which in the Philippines lands around Php 109,990 to Php 151,990 depending on storage. That is serious money for a device with a 7.6 inch inner screen, 12GB of RAM, and a single-sided speaker setup, while the Ultra hands you a larger canvas, 16GB of memory, and a bigger battery for not much more. The Wide is the more conservative buy on paper, but the value story leans toward the Ultra.
Bottom line
The Galaxy Z Fold8 (the “Wide”) is a smart move for people who hated Samsung’s thin cover screen. It is just not the phone for me. I want the bigger inner display, the extra RAM, clean stereo sound, and the proven Ultra line. The Wide will find its fans. I will be waiting to see what generation two looks like.
