Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra - New Name the Biggest Change

How would you feel if you were the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra?

Your original model brought the whole concept of bendy screens to the global market. You've slowly but steadily been improved, streamlined and updated every year since. And now some Flash Harry new phone comes along and everybody's suddenly wanting a shorter, fatter phone than you.

Not very fair, is it?

So, just to recap if you're still confused (I know I am); the original name in folding phones has changed. The 2026 version of last year's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is the Z Fold8 Ultra, not to be confused with the Z Fold8, the more traditional name which has been seconded by the new form-factor phone I reviewed last week.

Being significantly taller when closed, the Ultra has more screen real estate when opened - a full 8-inches compared to the 7.6-inch inner display of the Z Fold8. This might be reason enough for many users to stick with the more tried and true design.

If you think the all the talk of multi-tasking on a foldable screen is just that; talk - I can testify to using a fold this way on many occasions. In fact, I've even typed entire reviews just like this one on Galaxy Z Fold devices, having different windows open simultaneously so I can refer to specs and features on other web pages while I write on my own.

In the past, I've even paired a small mouse and a foldable keyboard to use this kind of phone as a sort of micro-mini-PC when travelling. You think I'm kidding? Although the "base" Z Fold8 Ultra starts with 256GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM, you can opt for a 1TB device with 16GB of RAM - that's more than most people's desktops offer.

Which might be why that top-end device carries one of the most exorbitant price tags I've ever seen on a phone; NZ$4,699.00. So if you're the kind of person who likes to own the most expensive phone in the room, that's another reason to choose the Ultra.

As with its more squat young sibling, Samsung has given this year's foldables a sweet durability upgrade by applying a dual layer of titanium below the inner (or main) display, enhancing its shock-absorbing abilities and strengthening the screen at the same time. And while I can't honestly claim the crease is now completely invisible, it's a lot harder to spot than on any other Fold before this one and more importantly, it's even more difficult to feel - if you can at all.

The Ultra is unbelievably thin when opened; just 4.1mm. To be fair, that's only 0.1mm thinner than last year's but it's still amazing to hold a device engineered to that level of precision. It's also surprisingly light, given the size of what it folds out to - a mere 215grams - although not actually any lighter than the 2025 model, it's almost as light as the single-screened Galaxy S26 Ultra.

It might be the latter handset we should really be comparing the Z Fold8 Ultra to, rather than other foldables, because these two Ultras have an interesting amount of features in common. Starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor; a chipset specifically tuned and overclocked for Samsung flagships.

I thought my phone was fast and smooth, then I picked up the Z Fold8 Ultra and realised I'd been missing out on a whole other level of breakneck, rocket-ship performance. The Ultra puts this power to fantastic use - keeping apps open when you swap between outer and inner displays, when you split screen to multi-task and when you use any of the AI tools available to you; Galaxy AI, Copilot, Gemini... whatever.

But perhaps the thing that really sets the Z Fold8 Ultra apart from other folding phones, and even the all-new Z Fold8, is the camera. It's a triple-sensor array with a 50MP Ultra Wide lens, a 10MP dedicated telephoto camera and a whopping 200MP wide main shooter. 

This means you can shoot 8K video, very high-res photos for more post-production power and most significantly, genuinely good zoom shots; 3x optical and up to 30x digital. Finally, these super expensive folding devices are getting the high-end cameras they deserved all along.

The 10MP selfie-cams on the cover and inner screens aren't quite so market-leading - but then, you shouldn't need to use those all that often when you can shoot selfies using the main camera with the press of an icon in the camera app.

I do have to pull up Samsung on its positioning of the forward-facing punch-hole camera on the internal display. It's still in the oddest place; about 3/4 of the way along the top edge, towards the right corner, or down from the left if you're holding the phone in landscape. It's a mystifying decision because it gets in the way of what you're doing all the time - especially watching sport for example. Seriously, guys - figure out which way around most users hold this phone and put the selfie cam in the middle of the top edge, or failing that, stash it right into a corner like some of the other guys do.

Samsung has also fallen behind the competition in terms of battery life too. Yes, this year's 5,000mAh cell is a significant bump compared to any previous model but they could still do better. At least the new cooling system in combination with the latest chip efficiencies mean this is a very high-spec phone that barely raises a sweat - even when generating AI video edits or playing the latest AAA games.

Make no mistake; the Ultra is more than deserving of its new name. This isn't just a high-end foldable; with the upgrades to cameras, chips and battery, it's a genuine flagship, full-stop.

What a pity it still doesn't really fit in my pocket and as a result, people will probably be more interested in its brand new baby brother.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.