By Prince Osuagwu Hi-Tech Editor

The smartphone is no longer content to sit quietly in your palm.

It wants to open up, stretch out, think for you, follow your subjects on camera, organise your notes and even suggest what you should do next.

That is the experience Samsung Electronics West Africa is betting on with its latest foldable smartphones — the Galaxy Z Fold8 and the premium Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra — unveiled in Lagos for the Nigerian market.

With bigger screens, thinner bodies, powerful cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) woven into virtually every aspect of the devices, Samsung is clearly taking its foldable ambition beyond simply making a phone that bends.

At the launch, the company presented the new Galaxy Z series as mobile companions designed for work, entertainment, creativity and everyday productivity.

Samsung Electronics West frica’s Head of Mobile Experience, Joy Tim-Ayoola; Head of Marketing Communications, Oge Maduagwu; and Product Manager, Mobile Experience, Stephen Okwara, took turns unveiling what the company believes could change how Nigerians interact with their smartphones.

Tim-Ayoola said the new series demonstrates Samsung’s continued commitment to innovation while giving consumers more choices based on their lifestyles and productivity needs.

“The Galaxy Z series opens a new chapter for foldable smartphones by delivering distinct experiences designed for productivity, immersive content consumption and self-expression,” she said.

The phone that works like a tablet

The Galaxy Z Fold8 is designed to blur the line between smartphone and tablet.

At 201 grammes, Samsung describes it as the lightest Galaxy Z Fold device yet, while its redesigned form factor is intended to make the foldable experience more natural for everyday use.

Open it up and the device offers a larger 4:3 main display suited to reading, gaming and streaming video. Close it and the 10:16 cover display provides a more conventional smartphone experience for quick interactions.

It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy and a 4,800mAh battery.

But Samsung has not ignored one of the enduring concerns about foldables — durability.

Its new Flex Titanium display technology uses a titanium-based structure designed to improve durability while reducing the visibility of the familiar crease that has become something of a signature of foldable phones.

The camera trickery

For content creators, the Fold8 comes loaded with photography and video features designed to turn the smartphone into a pocket-sized production studio.

The device features dual 50MP cameras and Dual Recording, which allows users to record simultaneously with the front and rear cameras.

Then there is My FanCam.

Powered by AI, the feature automatically tracks subjects while recording video — a feature that could prove particularly useful for sports enthusiasts, event videographers and social-media creators who do not want their subjects wandering out of frame.

Fold8 Ultra

If the Fold8 is Samsung’s attempt to make the foldable practical, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is the company’s statement that a foldable can also be seriously powerful.

Targeted at professionals, creators and power users, the Fold8 Ultra comes with an 8-inch foldable display but measures just 4.1mm when unfolded and weighs 215 grammes.

Okwara described it as Samsung’s “Ultra” smartphone experience squeezed into a foldable form.
And the camera department appears determined to make that claim count.

The Fold8 Ultra packs a massive 200MP main camera, alongside a 50MP ultra-wide camera, enhanced Nightography and 8K video recording using Samsung’s new APV codec.

For creators who want to shoot, edit and publish without constantly reaching for a laptop, Samsung believes the Ultra could become a serious mobile workstation.

“The Fold8 Ultra is designed for users who demand maximum productivity and creativity from a single device,” Okwara said.

The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a larger 5,000mAh battery. It also supports Samsung’s new dual-path 45W fast-charging technology and an improved cooling system designed to keep performance steady during demanding tasks.

The AI legacy

Now, the phone can think too

But perhaps the biggest battle Samsung is fighting is no longer about how thin or powerful a phone can be.

It is about how intelligent it can become.

AI is therefore at the heart of the new Galaxy Z experience.

Samsung has optimised Galaxy AI for the larger foldable screens, introducing features such as Now Brief, which delivers personalised daily insights, and Now Nudge, which recommends context-aware actions during conversations.

Enhanced Gemini Intelligence can perform tasks across more than 40 supported applications, while Gemini Notebook allows users to bring notes, images, audio recordings and documents together in one workspace.

The AI can then help organise the material and generate reports, summaries and other content.

In other words, the phone is increasingly becoming less of a passive device waiting for instructions and more of an assistant anticipating what the user may need.

With greater AI capability comes the inevitable question of privacy.

Maduagwu said Samsung was conscious that consumers would want to know what happens to their personal information as smartphones become more intelligent.

She said the new devices combine AI innovation with Samsung’s security architecture, including Samsung Knox, Personal Data Engine and Knox Vault.

A new AI Assistant Activity dashboard also gives users greater visibility and control over how AI features access and process personal information.

Nigeria gets first taste

Samsung said Nigerian consumers can begin pre-ordering the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra immediately.

The Fold8 comes in Graphite, Cream and Lavender, while the Fold8 Ultra is available in Graphite, Cream and Violet Shadow.

To sweeten the deal, buyers of the new foldables will receive a six-month free trial of Google AI Pro, including 5TB of cloud storage.

Samsung is also upgrading Smart Switch to make it easier for customers migrating from iOS and other devices to transfer their data.

And for those worried about what happens if their expensive new toy takes a fall, Samsung Care+ offers additional device protection, with customers purchasing through Samsung.com getting the first three months of coverage free.