Samsung Unpacked London Just Repriced the Entire Used Android Market
Today — 22 July 2026 in London — Samsung officially launched three new foldables at once: the Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8. The company has previously held its launch events mostly in the US; now, nearly 14 years after the Galaxy S3 event, Samsung has brought Unpacked back to London. It is the most product-dense foldable launch Samsung has staged, and it does something useful for everyone who is not planning to spend north of £1,800 on day one: it immediately softens the price of everything that came before it.
If you have been sitting on the fence about a refurbished Galaxy S25, S25 Ultra or Z Fold 7, this is the moment to pay attention.
What Actually Launched — and Why the Hardware Is Significant
The defining move of Unpacked 2026 is a form factor split Samsung has never attempted before. Instead of one book-style foldable, there are now two — and they take different views on what a closed foldable should feel like. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a shorter, wider "passport" shape, with a cover screen that expands to 5.5 inches at a 16:10 ratio — wide enough for two-thumb typing without the awkward stretching that made previous Fold cover screens feel like a compromise.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, by contrast, retains the tall book-style silhouette that Fold owners have used since 2019, and is expected to ship with a 200-megapixel main camera, a 5,000 mAh battery, and 45W wired charging. Both Fold 8 models are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, running Android 17-based One UI 9. The Galaxy Watch 9 series was also confirmed, as expected from earlier regulatory filings.
Pre-orders opened the same day, with retail availability expected around 7 August. That two-week gap matters: it is exactly when refurbished stock of the outgoing models becomes the better-value story.
Is the Galaxy S25 Still Worth Buying After the Fold 8 Launch?
Yes — and arguably more so than it was yesterday. The S25 and S25 Ultra are conventional slabs, not foldables, so they were never going to be made obsolete by a foldable launch. But today's announcement pushes Samsung's new flagship foldables firmly into the spotlight, which pulls retailer and media attention away from the S25 range entirely. That means more refurbished S25 units coming to market, and prices that reflect a phone now two news cycles old rather than one.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra launched in the UK at £1,249 for the 256GB model, rising to £1,349 for 512GB. With the S26 already on shelves and now the Fold 8 taking the headlines, refurbished S25 Ultra prices have dropped significantly — UK refurbishers are now pricing the 256GB model from around £700, a saving of roughly 44% off original retail. For a phone with a 200MP camera, Snapdragon 8 Elite, built-in S Pen, and seven years of guaranteed software updates, that is a serious proposition.
The standard Galaxy S25 follows the same logic. It launched in the UK from £799, and refurbished units are now available meaningfully below that. If you want a compact, capable Android daily driver without paying for technology you launched three months ago, the S25 is one of the cleanest options on the market right now.
Browse refurbished Samsung Galaxy phones to see current stock and pricing.
How Much Has the Galaxy Z Fold 7 Dropped in Value?
Meaningfully — and today's launch will push values down further on the used market. Even before Unpacked, Samsung was signalling a repricing: Samsung dropped the Z Fold 7 by up to £300 cashback in the UK in the weeks leading up to the event. In the US, Samsung went further, cutting $500 off every Z Fold 7 configuration — bringing the base 256GB model to $1,500, its lowest ever price direct from Samsung.
That kind of official discount is the clearest possible signal of where secondhand prices are heading. When a manufacturer drops the new price by 25%, used values typically follow within weeks. For refurbished buyers, that means the Z Fold 7 — already a compelling device — becomes available at a significantly improved value point over the next month or two.
What does the Z Fold 7 actually give you for that money? The Z Fold 7 is the seventh-generation book-style foldable, featuring a much thinner design, expanded Galaxy AI features, and the same 200MP main camera as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It is the phone to consider if you want a thin and light foldable, a cover display that functions like a regular smartphone, flagship performance, and excellent OLED quality. The Fold 8's headline change is the new passport-shape form factor — if you prefer the classic tall Fold silhouette, the Z Fold 7 loses nothing by comparison.
Should I Buy a Refurbished Galaxy S25 or Wait for the S26?
Buy the S25 now, unless you specifically need the S26's incremental spec bumps. The Galaxy S26 is already on shelves — this is not a case of waiting for something imminent. Waiting longer simply means paying new or near-new prices for the S26 while the refurbished S25 Ultra continues to drop. The vast majority of software updates for the Galaxy S26 Ultra will also be available over the air for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, so the software longevity argument points firmly at the older model as the better-value purchase.
The same logic applies to the Z Fold 7 versus the Z Fold 8. The Fold 8 Ultra is the continuation of the Fold line that existing users know; the standard Fold 8 is a bet on where the category goes next. If you want a proven, refined foldable experience at a price that just got meaningfully cheaper, the Z Fold 7 is the more straightforward decision.
The Case for Refurbished Right Now — Not in Three Months
- Prices drop immediately post-launch. New device announcements push used values down within days, not weeks. The window between announcement and the market fully adjusting is where refurbished buyers win.
- You get a verified device, not a lottery ticket. Every phone we sell at Tech4Cash is checked with PhoneCheck — a professional diagnostic tool that verifies battery health, display condition, cameras, connectivity, and IMEI status. You know exactly what you are getting. See how we grade our devices for the full breakdown.
- Warranty included. A refurbished phone from a reputable seller comes with warranty cover. Buying privately — from someone selling their Fold 7 to fund a Fold 8 — does not.
- The environmental angle is real. Every refurbished phone sold is one fewer device going into the waste stream. If that matters to you, buying refurbished is one of the most direct decisions you can make.
Got a Galaxy to Sell? Right Now Is a Good Time
If you are sitting on a Galaxy S23, S24 or older Z Fold that you have been meaning to shift, move quickly. Post-launch, used values for older generations compress further as the market fills with people upgrading from Fold 7s and S25s to the new devices. The pattern is well established: new Samsung prices drop rapidly after a few months, and secondhand prices tend to follow. Selling before that compression fully sets in means you get a better return.
Tech4Cash collects from your doorstep across the North East and Manchester, verifies with PhoneCheck, and pays instantly. No waiting, no haggling, no posting it yourself. Get a quote to sell your Samsung and find out what it is worth today.
Bottom Line
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 are impressive launches, and Samsung's first Unpacked on UK soil deserves the attention it is getting. But for the majority of Android buyers, the smarter move is to let the early adopters absorb the new-device premium and pick up a professionally refurbished Galaxy S25 Ultra or Z Fold 7 at the price point that today's launch has created. The hardware is virtually identical to what launched twelve months ago. The price is not.
Take a look at our refurbished Samsung range — or if you want to see everything in one place, browse all available stock and filter from there.
