We’re still months away from Samsung launching their 2026 range of foldable smartphones but EFTM has been sent what we believe to be an exact specification “dummy” of a new model coming to the Samsung range this year – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Wide.

Based on consumer research or perhaps just on the pure ideal of chasing the competitors rumours, Samsung’s Wide format Foldable appears remarkably similar to the yet to be announced but strongly rumoured Apple iPhone Ultra (Fold) which we showed you leaked dummies of just weeks ago. They aren’t identical, but they are utterly similar.

If our dummy model is to be believed, the Wide Samsung is 3.4cm shorter than the Fold 7, and about 1.8cm wider when opened. What the Wide format carries forward is the thin form factor, at around 4.9mm thick on the sides. Samsung’s Wide Fold is 6.7mm taller than Apple’s iPhone Ultra (Fold), while Apple’s is less than 2mm wider.

What’s fascinating is the similarity. Internet commenters will tell you that Huawei did it first with the Huawei Pura X Max – great, but that’s a device not available pretty much anywhere direct (Grey imports aren’t a good thing folks!), and it actually helps us all ask the question – who did it first?

With Samsung likely to announce a Wide Fold, it expands their range to three form factors, the Flip, the Fold and the Fold Wide.

All this expansion is great for the foldable sector, which now includes Motorola’s flip format Razr, and Oppo’s Find N6. But will it help take foldables mainstream?

No formal word on when Samsung will announce their lineup, but it’s likely to be in mid July and Europe is the likely venue given the World Cup will be on in the USA at the time

Comparing the Samsung Wide format Foldable to Apple’s is fascinating to me, but of course it’s common for these companies to have the same rumours we do, and more – including potentially people on the inside leaking directly.

Whatever the case, we are likely to have two VERY similar devices launching later this year.