Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide: No 200 MP camera, but One UI 9
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide positions itself between the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – it’s a horizontally foldable smartphone, but smaller and, unlike the square Z Fold 8, offers a wider display. But will this device be more similar to the Flip or the Fold in terms of hardware?
As far as the cameras are concerned, the answer is more “similar to the Flip”. According to a report by GalaxyClub and SamMobile, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide will feature a 50MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, as opposed to the 200MP sensor of the regular Z Fold.
But there’s also good news: The ultra-wide-angle camera is also expected to have a 50 MP sensor (with an f/1.9 aperture). This makes it the same as the ultra-wide-angle camera as in the Z Fold8 and better than the rumored camera setup for the Galaxy Z Flip8, which combines a 50 MP main camera with a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle camera.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide with new telephoto camera
Leaked information about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide suggests a new, dedicated telephoto camera – a 12MP unit with 3x zoom, replacing the old 10MP module with 3x zoom – as well as a new 50MP ultrawide camera (previously 12MP). It has been known for some time that the Galaxy Z Fold Wide will only have two rear cameras, but there has always been hope for a 200MP sensor in the main camera.
With a 200MP main camera, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide could have offered good 2x and decent 4x zoom capabilities even without a separate telephoto lens. Instead, the zoom quality is on par with that of the Galaxy Z Flip 8.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide will, however, have two additional cameras – two 10MP selfie cameras (one on each screen) that will feature smaller punch-holes similar to the regular Z Fold8.
Today’s two posts finally confirm a report from mid-March stating that both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide and the Galaxy Z Fold8 will have larger batteries than the Galaxy Z Fold7, with 4,800 mAh and 5,000 mAh respectively. For comparison, the Z Fold7 has a 4,400 mAh battery and the Galaxy Z Flip7 has a 4,300 mAh battery. The new Z Flip8, incidentally, will not receive a battery upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide with One UI 9
Yesterday, Samsung announced that the first beta version of One UI 9 would be released this week in several regions. However, the English-language press release left the timing unclear. Today, the company published a nearly identical press release in Korean, which, however, hid some interesting details in the footnotes.
The beta version of One UI 9 will initially be available in Samsung’s usual test countries: South Korea, the USA, the UK, Germany, Poland, and India. However, according to the new press release, Poland and India are part of the second testing phase, and the beta program there will start on May 26 (in two weeks).
The remaining four countries thus form the first beta wave. If you have already participated in previous beta tests, you will be familiar with the procedure: You need a compatible smartphone, must be located in a supported region, and must register for the beta channel via the Samsung Members app.
The list of supported smartphones is currently quite short: Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. Older devices will follow soon, but the Galaxy S25, S24, and S23 series, as well as the foldable Z models, are currently using the stable One UI 8.5 version.
However, this list is missing the Galaxy phones that will launch directly with One UI 9 based on Android 17. These are the new foldables – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Wide, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Z Flip8. The company hasn’t announced an official release date yet, but since the last three Z generations were all unveiled in July, this is a likely scenario.
Meanwhile, Google Pixel smartphones have been running Android 17 betas for some time, but the final version is expected to be announced at the Google I/O conference on May 19th and 20th (Tuesday and Wednesday next week).
