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In recent months, Samsung has been rumoured to have developed a Galaxy Z ‘Wide Fold’ to take on the Apple iPhone Fold. Now, early evidence has identified that a second book-style foldable is in the works, and possibly as a cheaper alternative to the Galaxy Z Fold8 too.
To recap, rumours about Samsung having created a ‘Wide Fold’ to combat the impending Apple iPhone Fold emerged during summer 2025. Now, the first concrete evidence of such a device existing has emerged on IMEI databases. For context, Samsung assigned the model number SM-F766 to the Galaxy Z Flip7 and SM-F966 to the Galaxy Z Fold7, with various suffixes added to denote regional variants.
Thus, it stands to reason that the SM-F776U shown below relates to the Galaxy Z Flip8, with the ‘U’ suffix denoting a global variant. Likewise, the SM-F976U will serve as the successor to the SM-F966U with the marketing name ‘Galaxy Z Fold8’. However, SM-F971U has no direct predecessor.
Instead, Samsung has used ‘1’ to denote a cheaper variant in the past, as was the case with the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE and its ‘SM-F761’ model number. By contrast, the Galaxy Z TriFold sits a step above the Galaxy Z Fold7 as the ‘SM-F968’. At this stage, it is unclear whether Samsung’s typical designations will also apply to SM-F971U. Nonetheless, the SM-F9xx root number indicates that the SM-F971U is a new book-style foldable of some sort.
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Alex Alderson – Senior Tech Writer – 13960 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
Prior to writing and translating for Notebookcheck, I worked for various companies including Apple and Neowin. I have a BA in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, which I have since converted to a Law Degree. Happy to chat on Twitter or Notebookchat.
Alex Alderson, 2026-01- 7 (Update: 2026-01- 7)
