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The Galaxy Z Fold8 upgrade UAE users may notice first is not the camera
In a conversation at Unpacked 2026, Samsung’s Omar Saheb discusses the Galaxy Z Fold8, Middle East demand for premium phones and the future of smart eyewear
- PUBLISHED: Wed 5 Aug 2026, 12:21 PM
For Samsung, the Galaxy Z Fold8 series was about making the Fold feel more natural for the people who already live on big screens.
Speaking in London during Samsung’s latest Galaxy launch, Omar Saheb, VP Marketing and E-commerce at Samsung Electronics MENA, said the appeal of the new foldables begins with the most obvious part of the experience: the fold itself.
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“The common feature across all the devices, for me, is the folding aspect,” Saheb said. “I have been using a Fold device for maybe five years now, and I haven’t gone back to a regular device.”
Saheb has always been one to use a foldable because he likes having a bigger screen, he said, but “with the new Z Fold8 aspect ratio and form factor, I believe it will be my favourite device, and I can’t wait to start using it.”
Interestingly, even Saheb admits he was not immediately convinced when he first heard about the new form factor.
“When I first heard about the new form factor, I was a bit sceptical, to be honest,” he said. “Even as someone who has used a Samsung Fold for four or five years, and even while working at Samsung, I had my doubts.”
That changed once he used the device. According to Saheb, the difference is not limited to obvious use cases such as multitasking or watching videos. It shows up in smaller, everyday moments.
“Even something as simple as looking at your gallery feels new,” he said. “It is not just about social media. Looking at your gallery images on this new form factor gives you that ‘wow’ moment. It feels very new and very different.”
One of the most practical upgrades, he added, is typing on the cover screen. For long-time Fold users, this has often been one of the compromises of the form factor.
“Typing on the outside screen is also beautiful,” Saheb said. “Typing had always been a pain point for me on the previous Fold devices.”
The hardware improvements go beyond shape. Saheb pointed to brighter screens, anti-reflection improvements, better charging and larger batteries. The Galaxy Z Fold8 comes with a 4,800mAh battery, while the Fold8 Ultra steps up to 5,000mAh.
“We expect it to last much longer, especially with the new processor,” he said. “We also expect the device to learn usage patterns and optimise battery consumption so that it can last a full day.”
For Samsung, the Middle East is not just another sales region. Saheb said the company sees the region, and particularly the UAE, as an important market because of its affluent consumer base, high internet penetration and heavy social media usage.
“In certain markets, especially the UAE, consumers are also very premium-leaning,” he said. “In our foldable portfolio, the split between Fold and Flip is skewed more towards the Fold. Even within the Galaxy S series, we see stronger demand for the Ultra model.”
That explains why the Fold matters here; UAE buyers want a flagship that can keep up with demanding daily use.
Saheb also addressed the future of Samsung’s wider ecosystem, including intelligent eyewear. While he believes glasses will become “quite an integral part” of the ecosystem, he does not see them replacing earbuds or smartphones anytime soon.
“I don’t think these devices replace each other,” he said. “They have different use cases.”
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