Verdict: A Great Foldable Undermined by Diminishing Returns
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a premium book-style foldable phone that refines last year’s design with a faster processor, bigger battery, brighter screens and a new ultrawide camera, but offers only incremental improvements that question its higher price and new Ultra branding. From the first hands-on reviews, one theme keeps surfacing: this is a polished successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, not a leap forward. You still get one of the world’s top foldables in terms of power, display quality and overall experience, yet the £100 price increase for the base 256GB model to £1,899 and similar jumps elsewhere make its foldable phone value feel less convincing. For enthusiasts upgrading from much older folds, it’s excellent; for Z Fold 7 owners or shoppers comparing against rival foldables, the premium phone pricing is harder to swallow.
Pros
- Outstanding performance from Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and up to 16GB RAM.
- Larger 5,000mAh silicon‑carbon battery with faster wired and wireless charging.
- Thinner, lighter-feeling design with smoother edges and refined hinge.
Cons
- Price increase over Z Fold 7 with limited generational changes.
- Telephoto camera unchanged and behind key competitors.
- IP48 protection lags behind IP68 rivals at similar prices.
Design, Build and the Thinnest Fold Yet
The Z Fold 8 Ultra keeps the familiar book-style format but pushes thinness and comfort a step further. Folded, it measures 73 x 8.9 x 158mm and weighs 215g; unfolded, it spreads to 143 x 4.1 x 158mm, yet still feels smaller and more comfortable than its predecessor. Samsung uses an Advanced Armor Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 on the front and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the rear, aiming for a premium, durable feel. All edges have been softened by changing the curve radius along the frame, reducing the pointy, knife-like sensation of the Z Fold 7 and making day-to-day handling more pleasant. The new Flex Titanium internal display structure disperses stress more evenly and allows a slimmer hinge crease, while the ArmorFlex hinge promises smoother opening and closing. Still, it only achieves an IP48 rating, which leaves it behind IP68 foldable competitors that now set the bar for ruggedness.
Display, Performance and Battery: Ultra Where It Counts
On paper, the Z Fold 8 Ultra’s core hardware absolutely deserves an Ultra badge. Both the 6.5in outer and 8.0in inner Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays offer FHD+ and 2,184 x 1,968 resolutions respectively, each with a 120Hz LTPO refresh rate for smooth scrolling and gaming. The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, clocked at up to 4.74GHz, is paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB storage options, so power and capacity are unlikely bottlenecks. One quotable takeaway from early hands-on impressions is that "power is likely to be unmatched, battery life should be better thanks to the power-efficient processor and higher battery capacity." A 5,000mAh silicon‑carbon battery replaces the older 4,400mAh unit, with wired charging up to 60W and wireless up to 25W Qi2.2, meaning less time tethered to a cable. Connectivity is equally high-end, with 5G, Wi‑Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, Ultra‑Wideband and support for both eSIM and physical SIM cards.
| Spec | Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (4.74GHz) | Top-tier performance for demanding users. |
| RAM / Storage | 12GB or 16GB; 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | Plenty of memory and space options. |
| Displays | 6.5in outer, 8in inner, 120Hz LTPO AMOLED 2X | Smooth, bright foldable phone viewing. |
| Battery / Charging | 5,000mAh; 60W wired, 25W wireless | Larger, faster and silicon‑carbon based. |
| Protection | IP48, Advanced Armor Aluminum, Gorilla Glass front/rear | Sturdy but behind IP68 rivals. |
Cameras, Colours and the Question of Ultra Value
The camera system is where the Ultra story becomes mixed. The Z Fold 8 Ultra carries over the 200MP main camera and 10MP 3x telephoto from the Z Fold 7, adding a more pixel‑dense 50MP ultrawide sensor with a wider aperture. Two 10MP selfie cameras round out the setup, and Samsung’s ProVisual Engine and HDR support aim to deliver truer skin tones, better Nightography and more lifelike images. While this is a capable package, reviewers point out that it is a shame to see no improvements to the telephoto camera when Honor and Motorola offer higher pixel counts and Google delivers a 5x optical zoom in its foldable. The subtle colour palette — Graphite, Violet Shadow, Cream and an online-only Green Shadow — looks refined, but these finishes are cosmetic rather than functional upgrades. In a mature foldable market where buyers expect substantial leaps each generation, such limited changes make the higher price feel more like branding than value.
Buy if / Skip if
- Buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra if you want one of the most powerful Samsung foldable phone options with top-tier displays and performance for work, gaming and media.
- Skip the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra if you already own a Galaxy Z Fold 7, because the iterative upgrades and unchanged telephoto camera bring limited real-world improvement.
- Buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra if you value a thinner, more comfortable design and smoother hinge more than radical new features, and are willing to pay the higher premium phone pricing.
- Skip the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra if you prioritise foldable phone value and would rather spend less on the regular Z Fold 8 or a rival foldable that offers IP68 protection and stronger zoom.
- Skip the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra if you mainly care about camera innovation, since the unchanged 10MP 3x zoom and incremental changes may not justify the Ultra name.
