The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is now available, and it’s even thinner, stronger, and better equipped than last year’s Fold 7. In 2026, Samsung’s flagship foldable also has Ultra added to its title due to the addition of a passport-sized variant that carries the label – Fold 8.
There’s been a lot of noise about the Fold 8 due to its shape. It’s something different, and it’s no doubt driving a lot of the strong pre-sales Samsung is receiving. But the Fold 8 Ultra is still the best of the bunch, which also includes the Flip 8.
Last year, I called the Fold 7 an ‘engineering marvel’, and that’s no different this year with the new model. Actually, it’s even more of a marvel. It’s now easier to unfold after Samsung listened to its customers when they said the hinge was too stiff. This is something I also noticed, so it’s nice to see a big tech company actually listen to its users.
This is important because the opening and closing of the phone is at the very core of a foldable. Any friction here detracts from the experience. It still blows me away how thin the Fold 8 Ultra is for a phone. It’s insane to think it’s about the same thickness as the USB-C port at the bottom.
Even with its thin build, the Fold 8 Ultra is packed with processing power and camera specs that rival the mighty Samsung S26 Ultra. Starting from A$2,999, the Fold 8 Ultra is a serious investment, so let’s make sure you’re prepared when you walk into the shop today.
Let’s review the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
Design
The Fold 8 Ultra makes a design statement thanks to its 4.1mm thickness when unfolded and its weight of just 215g. Its weight is unchanged, but somehow Samsung engineers have made it thinner by one millimetre. Even when folded, the Ultra is no bigger than a flagship candy bar phone that doesn’t fold. It’s truly impressive engineering.
Being so thin means the camera array really sticks out. So when using it on a flat surface, unfolded, it will wobble all over the place. This is an ongoing issue that can’t be avoided or at least minimised unless Samsung changes to the back cameras to recessed selfie cameras or a horizontal camera bar like on the Pixel Fold.
The other dimensions remain the same, and that means it feels nice and light in the hand and balanced too. This is an important point. The Fold 8 Ultra is easier to hold in one hand than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The iPhone is very top-heavy, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve let it slip on my face when snoozing on the couch. I’ve never had that happen with a Samsung foldable, especially the Fold 8 Ultra.
Colours this year are Cream, Graphite, Violet Shadow and Green Shadow. Green is only available via samsung.com. I’ve been using the Violet Shadow, which is nice, but I think the Blue Shadow from last year is hard to beat.
The phone feels sturdy whether opened or closed. Its Armor Aluminium Frame is supported by Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3. The Ultra retains IP48 water resistance, but I’d be wary of exposing it to a lot of dust. I don’t use a case on any phone, and unfortunately for those of you that do, there aren’t great options out there.
So I would be extra careful as this is a significant investment.
Displays
The Samsung Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is spectacular, even in bright sun. The 6.5-inch cover display is even brighter this year, which is good because I use it a lot. When closed, the Fold 8 Ultra operates just like any premium candy bar phone. It can reach a peak brightness of 3000 nits, up from 2600.
The inner 8-inch display is also capable of 3000 nits peak brightness. Have a look at the side-by-side image above, which shows the Fold 8 Ultra on the left and the Fold 7 on the right. They are both set for maximum brightness with ‘extra brightness’ selected.
This is important when it comes to overwhelming the crease, which is still visible when the screen is showing darker content. Although the OPPO Find N6 has done the best job minimising the crease in the foldable market, Samsung isn’t far off, and it’s something I don’t even pay attention to anymore. You can still feel it, but after a couple of weeks, you just don’t worry about it.
The inner display has more pixels this year, 2504 x 2256QXGA+, and an anti-reflective coating.
The display improvements come down to the brand-new support structure that makes up the screen. Samsung Flex Titanium Technology integrates two titanium-based components — a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate — working together to balance slimness, flexibility, and strength within the foldable display structure.
This not only makes the screen pop, it makes it far stronger than previous models.
Cameras
The Fold 8 Ultra is edging closer to flagship camera capabilities with Samsung improving the rear array again this year. A 50 MP ultra-wide camera replaces the old 12 MP version. This means the Fold 8 Ultra only trails the S26 Ultra in the telephoto category. That remains at 10 MP.
I have a lot of fun using the Fold 8 Ultra for photography now that the camera specs are improving. When you think about it, that huge 8-inch inner display is an idea for media creation. The selfie cameras remain 10 MP on the cover and inside. I’m actually pleasantly surprised they are usable in good light, considering their lower spec.
I’d like to see more work done on improving these other cameras as they are used a lot, especially for video calls. It’s difficult given how tiny the housing is on this phone, but they are average. Just look at the differences below. I know it’s not always possible, but using the rear cameras for selfies is the best way to go. The great thing about the Samsung interface is the ability to use the cover display as a monitor to check your shot. As you can see below, there’s a massive difference in the quality of the image.
Now that we have a 50 MP ultra-wide angle camera, we can enjoy higher resolution for those landscapes and wide group shots. The aperture is wider too on the ultra-wide, f/1.9 compared with f/2.2. As you can see below (after swiping left) the 50 MP on the left is the better image.
You’ll get better overall tonal image from the 12 MP option due to pixel-binning. That’s where pixels are grouped together to enhance light capture. Of course, this also applies to the 200 MP main camera. I would not usually select 200 MP when taking stills of people in dynamic lighting; I much prefer the results from 50 MP and 12 MP captures.
One of the great advantages of the Fold 8 Ultra is that it stands up on its own. Just like an easel that’s built into the phone. As long as you can find a flat surface, you’ll be able to sit the phone down and take selfies or long exposure shots. This also doubles for video.
Your low-light video performance will be better thanks to that improved ultra-wide angle. You can shoot all the way up to 8K/30p or, for best results, 4K/60. The menu is pretty straightforward, but I think it still needs work. I love the options though. The dual camera capture is excellent for storytelling, and the framing options on a foldable display are just made for each other.
You’ve got a lot of screen real estate, so use it!
Performance and User Experience
The Fold 8 Ultra is powered by an Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, and it absolutely flies. It runs on One U9 based on Android 17. The more storage or RAM you opt for, the better your phone will perform, but even at the base 256 GB/12 GB RAM I’ve been testing, I’ve had no issues.
The transition from an app on the cover screen to the inner display is pretty seamless. Click on a message or email on the cover display, then pop the phone open, and it dynamically expands to the 8-inch display. I especially like this for videos on YouTube.
The side-mounted fingerprint reader/power is easy to find, for my anyway, and it works quickly to ID you and open the phone.
The Fold 8 Ultra is really a power user’s phone. This is most evident when the inner display is open and you have multiple apps running on screen at the same time. Now, depending on the group of apps you have running, this experience can be brilliant. That 8-inch display can hold a lot of usable content.
I find the real estate especially handy when photo or video editing. My Fan Cam is a great addition this year, which automatically puts you, or the person of your choosing, in the centre of the video. Now, this means if you are posting to social media, you can choose the aspect ratio for best impact. So my advice is to shoot wide, in 8K or 4K, then use My Fan Cam to crop out the unwanted content in frame.
The speakers on the Fold 8 Ultra get very loud, especially for a super-thin foldable. I tested it side-by-side with the previous model, and to my ears, the Fold 8 Ultra sounded slightly better. I thought it was louder and clearer. That could be the result of wear and tear over the last 12 months on the Fold 7. In any case, the engineers have done a brilliant job getting big sound out of a paper-thin device. The only real thing lacking is bass. I can imagine that would be incredibly difficult to pull off on a frame just 4.1 mm thick.
The look and feel of the Fold 8 Ultra is high quality. It gives the impression of good design and excellent manufacturing. The open and closing is far better this year. As I wrote at the top, Samsung listened to its users, and they made changes. And now we have a better foldable experience as a result.
Battery Life
Samsung somehow found a way to put a bigger battery in the Fold 8 Ultra. They did that by introducing a Silicon-Carbon battery technology for the first time.
It went from 4,400 mAh in the Fold 7 to 5,000 mAh in this year’s model. Samsung was already doing OK when it came to battery efficiency, so with the new battery, they claim up to 27 hours of video playback, up from 24 hours. While I haven’t been able to hang around wasting time watching videos, the performance improvement is substantial. A heavy user will get through the day depending on inner display use and wireless demands.
The other important improvement when it comes to the battery is recharging specs. The Fold 8 Ultra can now take 45 watts (wired), up from 25 watts, 20 watts wireless, up from 15 watts. There’s no change to the 4.5 watts reverse wireless capability.
Pricing and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is now available in Australia.
- Fold 8 Ultra 256 GB / 12 GB A$2,999
- Fold 8 Ultra 512 GB / 12 GB A$3,299
- Fold 8 Ultra 1 TB / 16 GB A$3,899
Conclusion
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a premium foldable phone at a premium price. If you are a power user that loves that 8-inch fold-out screen, then the Fold 8 Ultra is worth the upgrade.
Better battery, faster charging speeds, brighter displays, better rear cameras, better processor, just better all around. So if you can afford it, don’t hold back. The Fold 8 Ultra is one helluva phone.
If you need more convincing, keep an eye out for my review video.
