Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra reviewed: big name, small leaps
11/8/2026
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Michelle Brändle
Samsung is giving its premium foldable the "Ultra" suffix. But what does that mean beyond the larger battery and better camera?
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the direct successor to the Z Fold 7. My favorite feature, the stylus functionality, was unfortunately removed by Samsung last year. The practical form factor remains, and the cameras are actually getting better.
Design and form factor: folding more robustly thanks to titanium
In terms of design, Samsung sticks closely to its predecessor: the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the same size and weight. More precisely, the display measures 6.5 inches when closed and 8 inches when open. It weighs 215 grams. When closed, the smartphone is 8.9 millimeters thin. When unfolded, it is 4.1 millimeters, compared to 4.2 millimeters on the Z Fold 7. That still feels impressive.
The camera lenses protrude significantly from the thin housing. Because Samsung arranges them vertically and places them on the edge, the foldable wobbles on the table without a case. Regardless of whether it is closed or unfolded. This annoys me a little more with every generation.
The displays are of the usual high quality: inside and out, Samsung uses high-resolution OLED screens with 422 ppi. They have a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz and, at up to 3000 nits, are bright enough even in sunshine.
There is an innovation in the foldable display thanks to the new Flex Titanium technology: Samsung has added an extremely thin titanium plate and a titanium alloy foil to the screen, which is intended to distribute the tension evenly when bending. This is said to make the foldable more robust than its predecessor – although only long-term tests will show how well this works.
It is a pity that Samsung has not yet caught up with Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold with its IP-48 certification. The rating means that while Samsung's foldable is waterproof for 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water, you have to protect the device from solid objects smaller than one millimeter, unlike Google's foldable phone.
Hardware: remarkable battery life
Samsung has packed one of the most powerful chips on the market into the foldable: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. This has a slightly increased clock rate compared to the regular version. This is also evident in the Geekbench 6 benchmark. Compared to the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the foldable is far ahead. However, compared to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Ultra does not offer any major improvements.
For gaming on the large screen, the performance is optimal; even graphics-heavy games like «Wuthering Waves» can be played in good quality on the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
With the 12 GB of RAM in my test device (there is also a version with 16 GB of RAM), gaming runs smoothly and I can quickly switch between open apps. This is particularly practical for multitasking on the unfolded screen. More on that in the software section.
The 5000 mAh carbon-silicon battery supports 45-watt wired charging and 20-watt wireless charging thanks to Qi2 technology – though without MagSafe magnets. You have to add those via a suitable protective case.
The battery delivers a strong result in the PCMark test: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra lasts for almost 15 hours – in the unfolded state. That is a confident increase compared to the 10 hours of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with its 4400 mAh battery.
Cameras: new ultra-wide angle
The rear camera module contains the same 200-megapixel main camera as in Samsung's flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The manufacturer has updated the ultra-wide-angle camera to 50 megapixels (MP). Previously, it had 12 MP. The 10 MP telephoto lens remains the same as in the predecessor. Here is an overview of all lenses:
- Main camera: 200 MP, f/1.7
- Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 2x optical zoom
- Ultra-wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2
- Front camera (outer): 10 MP, f/2.2
- Front camera (inner): 10 MP, f/2.2
The main camera takes nice photos. As always with Samsung, however, they are a bit too warm for me. The comparison of the main camera with the full 200 megapixels and the downscaled 50 and 12 megapixels is interesting. The difference is small even in the 100 percent view. At full resolution, I don't see much more detail.
The quality of the ultra-wide-angle camera comes very close to the main camera; I see no compromises in good light.
I really like the doubled focal length of the telephoto camera, and the fourfold digital zoom is also acceptable in terms of quality. After that, the quality decreases continuously. A maximum of 30x magnification is possible.
When I unfold the foldable, I can take selfies with the main camera using the outer screen. Compared to the selfie camera, their photos have the aforementioned yellow tint. In this case, it makes the image look a bit warmer and me a bit browner. So it fits quite well.
In low light, such as in a dark room, a subject quickly loses detail. Nevertheless, the photo as a whole appears very naturally brightened and not too warm.
Software optimized for foldables
Samsung ships the foldable with the current Android 17 and its own user interface, One UI 9, for foldables. This means there are a few software adjustments specifically for the folding factor. For example, the practical two-window view for multitasking. Theoretically, I can take notes while watching a YouTube video. In practice, it is not very intuitive, and I often open an app within an app instead of displaying them side by side. At least: that is also practical!
The manufacturer has adapted numerous apps from Samsung and some third-party providers to the folding factor. This gives me a good overview of the calendar, in the email inbox, and when taking photos. This is not new compared to the predecessor, but it is still extremely valuable for a foldable.
Samsung does not skimp on AI functions. Most of them are gimmicks, especially those for image generation or the automatic creation of stickers. The only function I actually like to use is transcribing voice memos. That works moderately well. The language is not automatically recognized, and some errors still creep in even with clear recordings. In the following example, I am transcribing the song «In einem anderen Leben» by Wincent Weiss.
At least that is still good enough that I have far less work to do after a long interview – and according to Samsung, the text is processed exclusively on the smartphone and not sent to a cloud.
In a nutshell
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is not an ultra upgrade
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a top foldable: powerful hardware, great cameras, and finally long battery life. Otherwise, the differences to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 remain minimal: Both foldables are impressively thin and are in no way inferior to a regular smartphone.
Since Samsung's update periods are very generous at seven years, you could also opt for the predecessor. Because the foldable is a rather expensive purchase, this is particularly worthwhile due to the current price difference of at least 400 Swiss francs.
If, like me, you would like a foldable with pen functionality, you would have to go back even further and use the Galaxy Z Fold 6 or switch to a competitor model. Then the Honor Magic V6 would be the most likely option. It is currently the thinnest foldable on the market. My colleague Jan was very impressed by it – except for bloatware and the ultrawide-angle camera.
Pro
- strong battery life
- Top performance
- impressively thin design
- impressive camera equipment
Contra
- Camera bump makes the smartphone wobble
- no pen function
- limited dust protection
Header image: Michelle Brändle
Ever since I learned how to hold a pen, I've been doodling away in bright colours. Thanks to my iPad, digital art has also become part of my life. That's why I love testing tablets – from the graphic design range to the regular kind. When I feel the urge to express my creativity without lugging lots of equipment, I go for the latest smartphones and start snapping away.
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