Samsung should kill the Z Flip after the Z Flip 8, ready to come back stronger in 2028

We are just round the corner from the announcement of Samsung’s next Galaxy folding phones, and the arrival of the Galaxy Z Flip 8 seems like a pretty safe bet.

However, rumors regarding the phone have shown up suggesting it’ll be Samsung’s last compact folding phone. The more I think about this prediction, the more it sounds like a good idea.

Where does Samsung go?

It has already shown it’s at the end

I really like the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and enjoyed the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Importantly, I was such a fan of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, I bought my own when Samsung took back its review sample.

Samsung’s advancements on the cover screen brought everything together with the Z Flip 5, and the line has become a wonderful blend of convenience and performance ever since.

I haven’t felt the need to trade in my Z Flip 5 after using the Z Flip 6 or Z Flip 7 though. It still scratches the compact folding phone itch today. If you have a Z Flip 4, you would see improvements, but the essence of what makes a phone like the Z Flip so good is unchanged.

Samsung arguably reached the end of Z Flip development with the Z Flip 5, evident by the incremental updates since then. The Z Flip 6 and Z Flip 7 are excellent, but they’re built on the sturdy backbone of the Z Flip 5.

If Samsung really is finished with the current line of Z Flip phones after the Z Flip 8, it will have been a mature decision, unless the Z Flip 8 suddenly turns the range on its head, and does something innovative and exciting.

However, if, once again, it hasn’t given the Z Flip line the same level of attention as the Z Fold line over the last couple of years, it seems unlikely it’ll do so now. Goodbye Z Flip, I think you’ve been great.

Handing over the reins to Motorola?

It has also hit a wall

That’s it then? End of article? No, because if Samsung does end the Z Flip model range, it’ll hand over control of the space to Motorola, which has three different compact foldable phones in its 2026 range.

Instead of this being a silly business decision, it may add evidence to why Samsung may be wise to close down the current Z Flip range.

I recently reviewed the Motorola Razr (2026), also known as the Razr 70, and it was practically impossible to tell the difference between it and the Razr (2025). The 2025 model wasn’t exactly a massive step forward over its predecessor either.

If Samsung is running out of places to go with its compact flip phones, Motorola has reached the end of the line already. The Razr (2026) is fine, but it’s a lazy release made to ensure buyers have a 2026 model to purchase, despite it being the same as the 2025 one.

Outside Samsung and Motorola, buyers in the US and UK have no other compact foldables to consider. The design is fairly rare globally, compared to big folding phones, and it doesn’t have quite the same eye-catching cache either.

With this in mind, Samsung is likely looking in Apple’s direction for 2027. Apple’s folding iPhone is expected to be a big-screen model, and attention from buyers will shift even more in this direction because of it. Samsung will want to heavily promote, and probably spend its budget refining, the Z Fold series to compete.

Take a year off

Come back better than ever

Assuming the Galaxy Z Flip 8 is a small, annual upgrade over the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and also accepting the rumors Samsung will end the line here are correct, shutting the range down is probably the right decision.

The competition has already either petered out, or not been there at all to push innovation, and all eyes will be on big-screen folding phones in 2027, provided Apple launches a large folding iPhone later this year.

However, I don’t want Samsung to stop making a Z Flip phone forever. Let 2027 play out, and come back in 2028 with a newly revised, completely upgraded line.

We could have all managed without the Razr (2026), so it’s not like a year off will dramatically alter the landscape. It’ll be worth Samsung keeping a Z Flip FE on the books, just to remind everyone it can make a compact foldable in the meantime.

As a committed fan of the Z Flip series, I’m looking forward to the Galaxy Z Flip 8. I also won’t mind if Samsung takes some time to regroup, and think about where the series can go next. Compact foldables will probably be better for it.