NEW YORK — Samsung Electronics unveiled its next generation of foldable smartphones at its summer Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, headlined by the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8 with slimmer designs and expanded artificial intelligence features.

The company had teased the launch for weeks, and UK retailers began offering trade-in discounts on older Galaxy Ultra handsets ahead of the announcement. Samsung's mobile division president, TM Roh, presented the devices at a venue in Brooklyn, emphasising thinner hinges, brighter displays and improved battery life over the previous generation.

Samsung said the new foldables run its latest One UI software built on Android, with deeper integration of Google's Gemini assistant and Samsung's own Galaxy AI tools for on-device photo editing, translation and summarisation. The Z Fold 8 features a larger cover screen, while the Z Flip 8 gains an expanded external display, according to the company's presentation.

The launch intensifies competition in the premium foldable market, where Samsung faces pressure from Chinese manufacturers including Honor and Oppo, as well as Google's Pixel Fold line. Counterpoint Research analysts noted that foldable shipments remain a small but fast-growing segment of the global smartphone market.

Samsung opened pre-orders immediately after the event, with general availability expected in the following weeks across major markets including the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea.