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Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor
News Analysis
Nov 6, 2026
Waiting to buy a wide foldable until Samsung delivers a true flagship camera experience? Get ready for disappointment in 2027
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In an incredibly boring year, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been a rare bright spot. Samsung’s new-look wide foldable has been a smash hit, delivering the phone-tablet hybrid that many of us have been craving.
Early signs suggest the iPhone Duo is struggling to match it. However, it’s far from perfect, with the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens standing out as a major flaw. In our otherwise praiseworthy 4.5-star Z Fold 8 review, Luke Baker described it as the phone’s “main drawback” and “incredibly limiting”. Samsung’s camera phone pedigree means this is simple to address, and the book-style Fold 8 Ultra has shown how easy it is to add to foldables. But that doesn’t mean the Fold 9 is about to do it…
Status quo should be a no-go
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Galaxy Z Fold 9 and Fold 9 Ultra rumours started almost as soon as the Fold 8 series began shipping, but they’re now starting to gain steam. The latest comes from a highly respected source — Korean leaker Lanzuk (yeux1122) on Naver — and it makes for frustrating reading.
According to a translated version of the post, the Fold 9 will “maintain current configuration” and be “just the same”. It means the phone will likely stick with the exact same hardware as the Fold 8, with a 50Mp main sensor supported by a 50Mp ultrawide.
This is disappointing on multiple levels. The lack of a dedicated telephoto lens is the obvious one, as it massively limits the device’s versatility as a camera system. Predictably, Luke’s testing found that images from the Fold 8 delivered a big image quality drop beyond 4x, which makes total sense, given it’s relying entirely on digital zoom rather than any optical sensors.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8’s camera system is badly hamstrung Luke Baker
His concert example is a prime example, and something I can really relate to. In 2026, it shouldn’t be too much to ask to be well away from the stage and still deliver crisp photos, especially when you’re paying at least £1,699/$1,899 for your device! Many mid-range phones have a dedicated telephoto lens while costing less than half the price.
You might be able to excuse this if the other sensors on the Fold 8 were top tier. But they’re not. The main 50Mp lens is a decent shooter, but it’s a clear step down from the Fold 8 Ultra, which itself remains well behind the best camera phones you can buy. If you were tempted to step up to the Fold 9 Ultra to get the telephoto, there’s no good news there, either. Lanzuk mentions the exact same 200Mp main and 50Mp ultrawide lenses, plus an unchanged 3x optical zoom.
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Even with a dedicated telephoto lens, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is still a clear step down from the very best camera phones Anyron Copeman / Foundry
They describe the configurations on both foldables as “identical” to the current range. Ugh. With RAMageddon continuing to wreak havoc on the global tech industry, there’s a real chance that the Fold 9 series could ship with a price rise and no major upgrades. The unchanged camera specs certainly make for concerning reading.
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