While Samsung’s focus may currently be on the impending release of the Galaxy S26 series later this month, the company also has other hardware in the pipeline for 2026. This includes the annual refresh of the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series, and, if a November report is to be believed, a foldable featuring a “wide-type” display with an 18:9 aspect ratio (18:18 when unfolded).
Subsequent reporting indicated that this device may be Samsung’s response to Apple’s rumored foldable, which is expected to feature a similar near-square screen. Now, freshly surfaced information offers our first potential hint that Samsung’s wide-body foldable may appear on US shores, in addition to other global markets.
The folks over at Smartprix have dug up multiple models of this upcoming foldable via GSMA’s IMEI database. Among the newly discovered model numbers, SM-F971U and SM-F971U1 refer to the carrier-locked and unlocked models of the foldable (via SamMobile).
For reference, this wider Galaxy Z Fold model is codenamed H8 internally, which is distinctively different than the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which reportedly goes by Q8.
The ‘Wide’ Galaxy Z Fold may be more widely available than expected
Meanwhile, this wide-frame Galaxy Z Fold model will also make its way to Canada (SM-F971W) and Samsung’s home region of South Korea (SM-F971N), in addition to global markets (SM-F971B). This gives the impression that Samsung intends to make this smartphone more widely available than one may have initially expected.
Much like last year when Samsung released the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE to complement the standard model, the company intends to release a second book-style foldable this year in the form of this wider Z Fold model. However, unlike the Flip 7 FE, this version will aim for the premium segment, thereby offering hardware that may be similar or comparable to the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8.
With that in mind, Samsung could outfit the “wide” Z Fold variant with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. A 25W wireless charging setup is also rumored for the upcoming foldable.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra will officially be the first Samsung flagship to upgrade from the current 15W wireless charging speeds to 25W, with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the wide-body Z Fold model expected to follow suit in the middle of the year. It will be interesting to see how Samsung will price this wider Z Fold model, given that it is expected to launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
