Samsung revamps foldable branding amid rising memory costs

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, left, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 are displayed at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps

LONDON — Samsung Electronics has reorganized its foldable smartphone lineup, assigning its highest “Ultra” branding to the traditional bar-type foldable form factor while giving the newly introduced wider model the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 name without any additional modifier.

Samsung said the branding reflects its strategy of applying the "Ultra" designation to its highest-specification model and offering foldable devices tailored to different user needs. However, it is also seen as part of Samsung's pricing strategy to cope with soaring memory costs by securing greater flexibility to sustain premium pricing.

The company said the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at 2.58 million won ($1,740) for the 256-gigabyte (GB) model, rising to 2.83 million won for the 512 GB version and 3.45 million won for the 1-terabyte model. The prices represent increases of 8.3 percent, 11.5 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively, from the launch prices of corresponding Fold 7 models.

After memory prices began rising sharply this year, Samsung raised prices for higher-storage Fold 7 models in April, and the Fold 8 Ultra's launch prices were set even higher than those adjusted levels.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Despite the steep price increases, industry officials said not only Samsung but also other smartphone makers need to raise prices even further to break even given the continued rise in memory costs.

Market tracker TrendForce said in a recent report that memory prices for smartphones surged by up to 200 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, raising memory’s share of total smartphone bill of materials costs to 30 to 40 percent from the previous 10 to 15 percent.

However, passing on the full increase in memory costs to consumers remains difficult due to concerns over weakening demand. The situation is particularly challenging for budget smartphone makers, as their lower-priced models offer little room for price increases without hurting sales.

According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo declined 24 percent, 18 percent and 21 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the second quarter, as surging memory prices directly affected their portfolios, which rely heavily on budget smartphones.

On the other hand, Apple's premium smartphone shipments increased by 10 percent in the first quarter, despite its average selling price reaching $1,129, the highest among smartphone makers during the period. Market research firm Omdia said the trend suggests the global smartphone market is undergoing a structural shift to one centered on higher-value products.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 shows Howdy Korea's YouTube channel. / Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

Some analysts expect Samsung's smartphone-making Mobile Experience (MX) division might post an operating loss for the second quarter for the first time, as increased memory costs were reflected during the period. Samsung Securities estimated the division posted an operating loss of 1.4 trillion won in the second quarter, while Eugene Investment & Securities projected a loss of 1 trillion won.

Against that backdrop, Samsung appears to have a compelling reason to position its highest-end foldable under the Ultra branding, allowing the company to further differentiate its premium smartphones and gain greater flexibility in pricing.

At the same time, assigning the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 name to the new wider form factor is also seen as reflecting the company’s belief that the design could become the mainstream direction for foldable devices by appealing to both consumers seeking a more compact form factor and those wanting the larger display experience unique to foldable devices.

“The lineup reorganization is interpreted as an effort to secure greater flexibility in pricing while helping broaden the foldable smartphone user base," an industry official said. "With the MX division facing the possibility of posting an operating loss, this product launch could mark an important turning point."