Is the Galaxy Z Flip 8 Samsung's last foldable flip phone?

Samsung is due to launch its new foldable phones in the next couple of months. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 will be launched alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and possibly Samsung's new wider Galaxy Fold model.

There's some speculation now that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 might be Samsung's last clamshell foldable phone, as no signs have emerged as yet about the Galaxy Z Flip 9 being in development.

The speculation appears to emerge from the musings of a Weibo tipster, rather than any news report, so it would be best to take it with a grain of salt for now.

The tipster feels that given the Galaxy Z Flip 8 has reached the end of its development cycle ahead of the impending launch, there should have been signs that development of the Galaxy Z Flip 9 have begun.

However, no such signs have emerged as yet, leading the tipster to speculate that perhaps Samsung isn't going to make one next year. They believe that the reasons behind this move might include higher costs, little room for further improvement in the design, and a conscious shift towards wider foldable models.

This might make sense, given that the Galaxy Z Fold is already outselling the Galaxy Z Flip, but it feels a bit premature to write the Z Flip's obituary. Samsung still sells a few million units of this model every year and while every other brand is making foldables that compete with its Galaxy Z Fold, there are only a handful making clamshell foldables.

It's also worth noting that Samsung expanded its clamshell lineup just last year with the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, which seems to suggest that the company is fine with expanding the clamshell lineup, rather than giving up on it altogether.

Still, it's very early days, and there's a long way to go until next year. It's possible that we may see signs of the Galaxy Z Flip 9 being in development a few months from now.