Caviar is selling a ridiculous Lionel Messi-themed Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra a week before its official unveiling
And if you want one, you better save up, because it costs a cool $13,130.
Samsung's next big Galaxy Unpacked event is still a few days away. However, it seems that hasn't stopped luxury device customizer Caviar from selling a special Lionel Messi-themed edition of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra nearly a week before its official announcement.
Described as a tribute to the legendary footballer, the phone features handcrafted cloisonné enamel artwork depicting Messi's likeness done up in the traditional colors of the Argentinian national team and 24-karat gold plating. Caviar even includes a FIFA badge highlighting the country's World Cup-winning run in 2022 along with its official crest and the Adidas logo, because apparently you can't leave anyone out. Other details include a rather fetching custom box clad in royal blue along with even more 24-karat gold plating and a custom Caviar Key.
Caviar
However, the most eye-popping figure is the phone's price, as it's listed for a whopping $13,130. Granted, because the phone has yet to be officially announced, we're still waiting on official pricing from Samsung regarding the cost of a regular Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. But if pricing for the new model is anything like its predecessor (which launched at $2,000), that means Caviar's custom version potentially costs upwards of five times more than a standard retail version. But I guess that's the price you play for fancy materials and exclusivity, as the Lionel Messi version of the Z Fold 8 Ultra will be limited to just 19 units.
Meanwhile, for gadgets fans, assuming Caviar's product listing is accurate, there are a couple small details we can glean about Samsung's next flagship foldable. The first is that the phone will offer 256GB of base storage, with the option to upgrade to 512GB or 1TB. However, more importantly, the mention of the Ultra designation on Caviar's website seems to confirm the rumors that Samsung will announce two versions of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The Ultra model seen here appears to feature a very similar design to last year's Z Fold 7 — minus all the gold and enameling — while Samsung adds a new base model of the Z Fold 8 that many expect to feature a wider chassis with a better aspect ratio for watching TV and movies on its flexible main display.
Caviar
Unfortunately, Caviar's listing doesn't provide much in the way of other tech specs about the upcoming Z Fold 8 Ultra, so we're still going to have to wait until Samsung Unpacked to get a proper overview. That said, if you are planning to shell out big money in hopes of getting Samsung's next flagship phone early, you may want to think again. That's because Caviar says "production of your custom phone begins only after full payment" and based on the company's description, it's probably going to take quite a while to do all that enameling and custom gold plating.