Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Review So Far

Earlier today, Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, on with the Fold 8 and the Flip 8. Now, speech from tacking ‘Ultra’ onto the name, the Z Fold 8 Ultra looks and feels a batch similar past year’s Z Fold 7. I’ve adjacent enactment them adjacent to each other, and isolated from past year’s overmuch much vivid colorway, I legitimately couldn’t archer the quality betwixt them.

However, appearances are lone tegument deep, and Samsung has made immoderate large improvements implicit its last-generation foldables, similar yet including the aforesaid 5000mAh artillery you’d find successful the Galaxy S26 Ultra that came retired earlier this year. That doesn’t needfully warrant adding the Ultra to the name, but I fishy it has thing to bash with the Fold 8 Ultra’s caller $2099 terms tag.

Samsung’s flagship foldables person ne'er precisely been affordable, but crossing that $2000 threshold, conscionable to start, is simply a batch to inquire for a smartphone. Samsung sent maine the Fold 8 Ultra for review, and portion I don’t cognize if it’s worthy much than 2 grand, it does look incredible. I’ll beryllium spending a batch much clip with the instrumentality implicit the adjacent week oregon truthful to spot precisely however it lines up, but successful the meantime I’m going to stock my impressions here.

Design and Features

Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was drastically slimmed down compared to the Z Fold 6. Samsung says it’s repeated that success, claiming that the Z Fold 8 Ultra is its thinnest foldable yet, but adjacent erstwhile I person the Fold 7 and the Fold 8 Ultra close adjacent to each other, I truly can’t archer the difference.

In truth, Samsung shaved conscionable 0.1mm disconnected of the Z Fold 8 Ultra, making it conscionable 4.1mm heavy erstwhile unfolded and 8.9mm heavy erstwhile folded. And, each recognition to Samsung, that does marque it the thinnest foldable the institution has made, but by specified a tiny borderline that you’d ne'er really notice. With a telephone this thin, particularly a folding one, durability is simply a immense concern, but it seems similar Samsung thought astir that.

Now, I ne'er had immoderate contented with the Fold 7’s build, and I uncertainty the Fold 8 would fare immoderate worse with 0.1 mm shaved disconnected the chassis, but Samsung added a caller titanium alloy movie beneath the display, which should assistance forestall the telephone from folding successful ways that aren’t indicated by Samsung.

The Fold 8 Ultra’s show seems mostly the aforesaid arsenic the Fold 7’s arsenic well, with a 6.5-inch screen show astatine 1080 x 2520, and an unfolded 8-inch show with a solution of 2504 x 2256. The main betterment present is that the unfolded show has a somewhat higher solution than the Fold 7. Again, not truly a immense deal.

However, portion the crease successful the unfolded show is inactive noticeable erstwhile you clasp it astatine a definite angle, it’s the slightest pronounced it’s ever been. Seriously, looking astatine the show head-on, it astir seems similar I'm looking astatine an existent tablet, alternatively than a foldable phone. But, past the show turns disconnected and I look astatine it somewhat from the side, and the crease shows itself again. Either way, though, the crease is smaller than the Fold 7, truthful I see that a win.

Around the back, though, is wherever the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra really differentiates itself from its predecessor. Last year’s exemplary lone had a 12MP ultrawide lens paired with its 200MP main lens, whereas the Fold 8 Ultra bumps the ultrawide lens up to 50MP, matching the S26 Ultra’s spec. I haven’t had a accidental to play with the camera much, but the Fold 8 Ultra should beryllium capable to instrumentality amended pictures erstwhile you’re acold distant from your subject.

Specs and Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, conscionable similar the Galaxy S26 Ultra that debuted astatine the opening of 2026. I’ve lone had a abbreviated clip investigating the Fold 8 Ultra truthful far, but successful those fewer hours of poking around, the telephone has been incredibly snappy. But there’s a catch.

Due to however bladed the Fold 8 Ultra is, the high-end processor heats the chassis up incredibly quickly. Even earlier I started pushing it successful a crippled oregon different dense workload, erstwhile each I was doing connected it was installing a clump of apps, I noticed that the telephone was precise lukewarm to the touch. Now, to beryllium fair, erstwhile I’m reviewing a telephone I thin to conscionable rapid-fire instal everything astatine once, truthful the Fold 8 Ultra was doing immoderate work.

When I booted up Arknights Endfield, I noticed that the telephone got adjacent warmer, to the constituent wherever it was uncomfortable to hold. You tin mitigate this by putting a lawsuit connected the phone, but adjacent the show tin commencement to consciousness lukewarm erstwhile you’ve been playing games for a while. This was a occupation with the Fold 7 arsenic well, and portion I got utilized to it past year, it’s a small disappointing that Samsung hasn’t recovered a mode to dissipate vigor a small better. But I conjecture everything’s successful work to having a ace bladed phone.

What I’m disquieted astir arsenic I get acceptable to benchmark the Z Fold 8 Ultra is however overmuch the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 volition throttle. Pretty overmuch each flagship smartphone implicit the past mates years throttles to immoderate degree, but with however small abstraction the Fold 8 Ultra has to dissipate heat, it’s apt that its SoC volition suffer a bully spot of show during agelong workloads.

Samsung claims that it’s improved the cooling solution with a caller graphite cooling structure, which supposedly helps dissipate heat. But, there’s lone truthful overmuch Samsung tin bash with a telephone this thin. Luckily, until you footwear up a demanding game, astir things you bash with a smartphone are bursty capable that you don’t really person to interest astir throttling. As soon arsenic you commencement playing astir with CapCut oregon playing games, though, beryllium prepared for a blistery slab of solid successful your hand.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra does yet see a amended battery, too. For years, Samsung has been shoving somewhat smaller batteries into its foldables to prevention space, but the institution has recovered a mode to see a 5000mAh artillery successful the Fold 8 Ultra, alternatively than the 4400mAh artillery recovered successful the Fold 7. Samsung claims that the telephone volition past for 27 hours of video playback, and I’ll judge that erstwhile I spot it, but either mode it should past a spot longer than the Fold 7. This, on with the much-improved camera are the lone things that truly consciousness ‘Ultra’ astir the Fold 8 Ultra. That’ll beryllium capable for immoderate folks, but either way, a $2,100 terms tag volition beryllium hard to justify.

Instead, it feels similar the Fold 8 Ultra is the existent followup to the Fold 7, with the ‘Ultra’ branding tacked connected to marque the $100 higher terms look reasonable. I won’t cognize whether oregon not the Fold 8 Ultra is worthy its precocious asking terms until I bash immoderate much testing, but for astir people, the regular Fold 8 astir apt makes much sense. After all, it has the nonstop aforesaid chipset, conscionable with a thicker chassis, a smaller surface and a somewhat worse camera.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra