Samsung’s upcoming foldable phones and watches are ready for US launch

Samsung is expected to launch three new foldable phones and three new smartwatches during its Galaxy Unpacked event next month, and five of those devices have now cleared a major regulatory hurdle in the US. They have received FCC certification, which is required before they can be sold in the country.

Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Watch 9, and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 gain FCC certification

FCC certifications for several unannounced Samsung devices were recently spotted by Android Authority. The devices carry the following model numbers:

SM-F776U: The Galaxy Z Flip 8's carrier-locked version for the US.
SM-F971U: The Galaxy Z Fold 8's carrier-locked version for the US.
SM-F976U: The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's carrier-locked version for the US.
SM-L340 and SM-L345: The Galaxy Watch 9's (40mm) Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular variants, respectively.
SM-L350 and SM-L355: The Galaxy Watch 9's (44mm) Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular variants, respectively.
SM-L715 (SM-L715F and SM-L715U): The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2's Wi-Fi + Cellular variant's global and US carrier-locked versions.

The FCC documents reveal few specifications and do not mention the devices’ marketing names. However, they indirectly confirm that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.

All three foldable phones support multi-band LTE, 5G NR (FR1), Wi-Fi 7 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be across the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands), Bluetooth, NFC, wireless power transfer, NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks), and SCS (Satellite Communication Services). NTN and SCS enable direct satellite connectivity for emergency calls and messages.

The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 feature Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and 10W wireless charging. Unfortunately, it appears Samsung has not upgraded charging speeds compared to the current-generation Galaxy Watch models.

Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra rumored specifications

The Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are expected to feature improved hinges and foldable OLED screens with less visible creases.

Samsung reportedly has not made any camera hardware changes to the Galaxy Z Flip 8. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rumored to feature a 50MP + 50MP dual-camera setup on the rear.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra could feature a 200MP primary camera, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. All three phones are expected to feature 10MP front-facing cameras.

They are also rumored to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, except for the Galaxy Z Flip 8, which is expected to use the Exynos 2600 in South Korea and select European markets. All three phones are expected to feature 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Android 17-based One UI 9.0 software.

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is expected to feature a 4,300mAh battery, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 could use a 4,800mAh battery. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is rumored to feature a 5,000mAh battery.

Both Galaxy Z Fold 8 models are expected to support 45W fast wired charging, while the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could remain limited to 25W fast wired charging. All three phones are expected to support wireless and reverse wireless charging.