Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at $2,100: Premium Name, Problematic Value

Ultra price, familiar device: the core problem

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is Samsung’s premium book-style foldable phone, positioned above the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a higher starting price, similar core hardware, and an "Ultra" label that promises top-tier features but leaves long-standing foldable phone flaws and user complaints largely unresolved.

Samsung has split its latest foldable lineup into two devices: the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the taller Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, the direct successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. On paper, the Ultra sounds like the obvious choice for power users. In practice, it is a price hike first and an upgrade second. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra price now starts at USD 2,100 (approx. RM9,680), which is USD 100 (approx. RM460) more than the previous Fold 7 and USD 200 (approx. RM920) more than the new standard Fold 8. For that money, buyers deserve a device that feels dramatically improved; instead, hands-on testing suggests they are paying more for something that “barely feels new” and keeps many of the same issues.

Six missteps that undermine the Ultra label

If Samsung wants the Ultra name to mean anything, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has to avoid obvious foldable phone flaws. Instead, multiple reviewers point to six major Z Fold 8 Ultra problems: an aging 10MP 3x telephoto camera, no magnetic charging support, missing S Pen compatibility, a higher price, familiar design language, and a heavier body compared to the regular Fold 8. These are not nitpicks; they are core experience issues for a device meant to be the pinnacle of Samsung’s foldable technology.

Samsung has introduced welcome upgrades, including a larger 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery and an improved 50MP ultrawide camera, which go some way toward justifying the Ultra branding. But “many of the long-standing complaints that have followed the Galaxy Z Fold series for years are still here” on the Ultra. The telephoto sensor is unchanged and “long overdue for an upgrade,” wireless magnetic charging (Qi2) is absent, and S Pen support remains missing despite users who want to use the big inner display for note-taking or annotation. For a device marketed as the ultimate Fold, leaving these gaps feels less like a compromise and more like a strategic decision to push buyers toward the cheaper model.

Why the regular Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels better to use

The surprise in this generation is that the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 8 often delivers a better everyday experience than the Ultra for less money. Reviewers who used both phones say they would buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 instead of the Fold 8 Ultra, citing five practical reasons and noting there "aren’t enough meaningful upgrades on the Ultra" to recommend it over the standard model.

Both devices share the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, storage and RAM options, and 45W wired charging speeds, so performance is effectively identical. The Fold 8’s 4,800mAh battery trails the Ultra’s 5,000mAh pack, but the lighter 201g weight makes it more comfortable to hold, especially when unfolded for longer periods, compared with the Ultra’s 215g. For media consumption, the wider inner screen on the Z Fold 8 is a big advantage: it opens into a more traditional tablet shape, which means videos use more of the display with only thin black bars at the top and bottom. In other words, you “get a better foldable screen for less money” and a lighter device that feels better day to day.

Design, durability, and the long day problem

Samsung has made meaningful progress on thinness and design, but the experience of living with its book-style foldables still exposes weaknesses that the Ultra does not fix. The Galaxy Z Fold 7’s slimmer frame and wider cover screen were praised, yet its rectangular shape and thin side rails made it awkward to open, highlighting how small design missteps can undermine usability. At 8.9mm thick and 215g, current Fold devices no longer have an outright size problem, but design language has not evolved enough to match these new dimensions, and subtle tweaks could make day-to-day use much easier.

Battery behaviour remains a practical concern. One reviewer described how using the Fold 7’s inner display throughout the day “quickly drains my battery,” forcing them to carry a power bank on travel days. That context makes the Ultra’s 5,000mAh battery and silicon-carbon upgrade welcome, yet not game-changing when the software and display usage still push endurance limits. Meanwhile, some of the most requested improvements—like longer battery life, faster charging, Qi2 magnets, scratch-resistant cover glass, and better cameras—reflect a user base that wants durability and convenience as much as raw specs. The Ultra addresses a few of these, but the gaps show that Samsung’s priorities are not fully aligned with how people use foldables from morning to night.

Is the $2,100 Ultra price justified?

The short answer is no: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra price is not convincingly justified by what the phone delivers. Premium positioning demands a clear value story, and this Ultra relies on a larger battery, a better ultrawide camera, and an unchanged tall form factor while leaving several widely discussed flaws in place. When the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 8 offers “almost everything the Ultra does for $200 less” and, in some scenarios, a better inner display experience, the logic of paying more becomes hard to defend.

Context matters: memory prices are high, and component costs have risen, which explains some pressure on pricing. But buyers do not pay for the supply chain; they pay for how the device feels in hand and how well it solves the known pain points of foldable phones. On that front, the Ultra falls short. It “comes with an Ultra moniker, sure, but is it really deserving of one?” remains the right question to ask. Until Samsung ties the Ultra badge to clear, user-facing benefits—better cameras across the board, S Pen support, modern charging, and refined ergonomics—the regular Z Fold 8 will be the more rational choice. The Ultra, at least in this generation, is an expensive reminder that a name without substance is just branding.