Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Sets Pre-Order Records in Korea & Europe

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Smashes Pre-Order Records in Korea & Europe

Samsung's newest foldables just did something no Galaxy launch has done before: set an all-time pre-order record in South Korea — while prices went up and freebies were cut. With more than 1.44 million pre-orders in Korea and a 20% year-on-year jump in Europe, the Galaxy Z Fold8, Flip8, and Fold8 Ultra have turned the foldable from a niche curiosity into a mainstream event. And it all happened just as the category braces for its biggest test yet: Apple's first foldable iPhone, expected this September.

Update (August 16, 2026): The reviews are in

The Fold8's passport-style redesign was the story of the pre-order period — and now that the phones are shipping, the first full reviews are landing. The consensus: the design gamble worked, with caveats.

The Guardian called it a break from the folding-phone mould, praising the squat, passport-like shape (reminiscent of a BlackBerry) and noting the phone starts at £1,699 in the UK. CNET's review highlights the minimized crease on the main display, battery life that outlasts the Z Fold 7, and solid camera quality — while flagging that the unusual form factor takes some getting used to. Independent reviewers have been even more enthusiastic, calling the passport form factor "unlike anything else on the market" and praising the silicon-carbon battery.

What the reviews reinforce: the wider, squatter design is not a gimmick. It changes how the phone feels in one hand, and the uniform squared-off look gives the Fold8 a distinct identity in a market full of near-identical slabs. The trade-off is price — at roughly $1,900 in the US and £1,699 in the UK, it remains an ultra-premium device, and early reviews say the camera, while solid, does not leap ahead of rivals.

Bottom line: the pre-order records we covered on August 14 are translating into strong early reviews — and Samsung's bet that a passport-shaped Fold would stand out from every other foldable is paying off.

A Galaxy record in South Korea

Over a seven-day window from July 22 to August 3, 2026, the Galaxy Z Flip8, Z Fold8, and Z Fold8 Ultra collectively pulled in more than 1.44 million pre-orders in Samsung's home market — an all-time Galaxy pre-order record, beating the Galaxy Note 10 series' 1.38 million (SamMobile).

More than 70% of those Korean pre-orders were for the Fold8, with the Flip8 and Fold8 Ultra splitting the rest (SamMobile). The wide new form factor is the star of this generation — the clearest signal yet that Samsung's biggest foldable has become the one people actually want.

The wider "everyday" form factor is the draw

The 70% Fold8 mix is the headline within the headline. Samsung has spent years selling foldables as futuristic tech demos; the Fold8's wider, more conventional shape is the first of its line that reads as an everyday phone rather than a party trick. The pre-order data suggests buyers agree.

That matters beyond a single sales cycle. Every record-breaking launch normalizes the category a little more — and quietly raises the bar for whoever comes next.

Europe: up 20%, with the Fold8 leading

The momentum is not confined to Korea. According to Samsung's own newsroom, Galaxy Z Series pre-orders across Europe were up more than 20% year-on-year within the first 11 days, and the Z Series pre-order target was surpassed in that same window. The Fold8 accounted for almost 40% of European pre-orders, the Fold8 alone was up 70% versus the Fold7 in the region, and the range went on sale from August 7, 2026 (Samsung Newsroom UK, 9to5Google).

Records despite price hikes and trimmed perks

Here is the remarkable part: Samsung achieved all of this while making the lineup more expensive. All three phones carry higher price tags than their predecessors due to the memory chip shortage, and Samsung trimmed pre-order perks — dropping extras such as the free storage upgrade. It still set records (SamMobile).

That is the strongest evidence yet that foldable demand has moved past early-adopter novelty. Buyers are choosing the Fold8 on its merits — the wider, more "everyday" form factor — rather than on promos. When a product sets records without giveaways, the product itself is the draw.

So hot that Samsung ordered a million more

The response reportedly caught Samsung off guard. Some Fold8 variants went out of stock or saw heavy shipping delays during the pre-order window, with demand exceeding Samsung's expectations (9to5Google).

In response, Samsung has reportedly ordered an additional 1 million Fold8 units, per ETNews, lifting the total production target to close to four million — up from an initial plan of around 2.8 million (9to5Google).

The supply-chain irony

There is a pointed irony at the center of this story: the same memory-chip crisis that pushed prices up — the AI-driven shortage that has raised RAM and storage costs across the industry — failed to dent demand for Samsung's foldables. Higher prices and fewer perks should have cooled enthusiasm. Instead, buyers lined up anyway, and Samsung is now scrambling to build a million more phones to catch up.

The Apple showdown looms

The record run also sets the stage for a fight. Apple is expected to launch its first foldable iPhone at its September 2026 event (CNBC) — barely a month after the Fold8's record-breaking pre-order run. Samsung's numbers suggest the incumbent will not be easy to dislodge: a more than 70% Fold8 mix in Korea, a 70% year-on-year jump for the Fold8 in Europe, and a production pipeline stretching toward four million units.

What it means

For buyers, the takeaway is practical: if you are eyeing a Fold8, expect possible delays while Samsung races to restock — the most popular variants sold out quickly. For the industry, the message is bigger: after years of skepticism, the foldable has officially arrived as a mainstream category — price hikes and all.