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Don’t be fooled by the new “Ultra” name: The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the next generation of Samsung’s book-style foldable, following on from last year’s Z Fold 7. We loved that phone, giving it a healthy score in our review and a coveted CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The new “Ultra” model is very much an evolution. While it looks similar, a few key upgrades address some of our main concerns about the 7 (notably its battery and charging), along with its slightly higher price.
Starting at $2,100, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is $100 more than last year’s model, and that’s for the same 256GB of storage. Sure, any price rise is going to sting, but given the ongoing RAM shortage and the price hikes it’s causing on all kinds of tech, I honestly expected this year’s starting price to be even higher. But let me be clear: There’s no question that it’s still a huge amount to pay for a phone.
Samsung launched the phone Wednesday at its Unpacked event in London, alongside the $1,200 Galaxy Z Flip 8 and the new $1,900 Galaxy Z Fold 8. That latter phone was expected to get a “Wide” name due to its unique proportions, but instead, Samsung opted to call it the Z Fold 8 and give “Ultra” to last year’s design.
While the Z Fold 8 gets a new, wider format designed for better viewing of videos and games, the Z Fold 8 Ultra stays true to the book-style foldable format Samsung has persevered with since 2019.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Size and displays
The Z Fold 8 Ultra maintains roughly the same proportions as the Z Fold 7, with a 6.5-inch outer display that unfolds to reveal an 8-inch internal screen. Samsung says it’s the thinnest foldable it’s ever made, measuring a mere 4.1mm at its thinnest point; shaving an entire 0.1mm off the Z Fold 7, which I don’t really think you’d notice. Those of you upgrading from an older model, such as the 6.4mm Z Fold 3, will benefit more from its svelte dimensions.
Samsung says it’s continued to refine the hinge mechanism, utilizing various forms of titanium alloy in the mechanics and the underlying folding structure beneath the display to make the crease less visible. I definitely didn’t find the crease to be a problem during my hands-on time with the phone, with videos and apps displaying very clearly without any odd ripples due to the flexible screen. I’ll leave the final judgment on that for when I’ve been able to test it under different lighting conditions — especially bright outdoor sunshine.
The phone runs on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, which is the same custom-made processor Samsung used in its Galaxy S26 Ultra. That phone is a powerhouse, achieving excellent scores on our benchmark tests and more than capable of handling anything from basic web browsing to video and photo editing and, of course, the various AI applications on board.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: AI additions
The phone has Google’s suite of AI tools, including Gemini Live and Circle to Search, but there are some Samsung extras on board, too. One of my favorites is My FanCam, which automatically re-crops your video to highlight a particular subject. Say you’ve filmed some footage of your kid at an egg-and-spoon race, but you don’t want all the other kids in the clip when you share it. My FanCam can automatically center your kid in the shot and track them, resulting in a reframed video that only focuses on them.
It worked well in the demo I saw and I like that you can re-crop in different aspect ratios, including 9:16 for vertical platforms such as Instagram Reels. The downside is that it looks like it relies on cropping significantly into your footage, so I expect the resulting video might not always look great, especially if you’ve filmed in a lower resolution. I’m looking forward to seeing how this really functions when I can put it to the test.
Other fresh AI additions include Now Nudge, which aims to automatically engage multitasking tools based on what’s on screen — bringing up the calendar when messaging your friend about an event you’re planning, for example. You’ll find task automation tools, too, using agentic AI to perform duties such as booking concert tickets or local tours for you. Samsung says there are over 40 supported apps that the agentic AI can use and you can take over control at any point in the process.
I remain pretty ambivalent about these kinds of AI tools on my phones. It’s not that I don’t like them — although I am skeptical about giving control of my money to an AI system — it’s just that I haven’t found an application that’s had a meaningful impact on my life. These tools seemed interesting in my demos, but nothing really stood out to me as life-changing. They’re also available on the Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8, and will likely roll out to Samsung’s Galaxy S26 as well.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Cameras and battery
The rear cameras include a 200-megapixel main camera (the same as last year’s model), along with a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, which is a significant bump over the 12 megapixels of the Z Fold 7. I expect camera performance to be at least on par with last year’s foldable and should be more than capable of taking vibrant snaps in a variety of conditions.
The phone packs a 5,000-mAh battery, which is the biggest battery Samsung has put inside one of its foldables. It claims up to 27 hours of video playback on a single charge, which is certainly an impressive figure — if true. Battery life varies hugely depending on what you do with your phone, how bright your screen is and, with foldables, whether you rely on the smaller outer screen or spend all day using that massive inner display.
I’ll be happy if I can get through a demanding day of work on a full charge, as I’m already used to charging my device every night; I just don’t want it to run out of juice halfway through the afternoon. If it does start to run low, it now supports 45-watt wired fast charging, which should put up to 67% back in the tank in around 30 minutes.
The relatively small battery and only 25-watt fast charging on last year’s model were one of our bigger criticisms, especially as rivals from Oppo and Huawei boasted better numbers. So it’s pleasing to see Samsung is working harder this time to remain competitive.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Should you buy it?
The new 8 Ultra isn’t a significant overhaul from last year’s Z Fold 7. But it doesn’t really need to be, as the last model was already a superb all-round foldable phone. The 8 Ultra remains sleek and powerful and now includes improved charging and a higher resolution ultrawide camera. And with the $100 price increase over last year, seeing these improvements is especially important for a device that costs well over $2,000.
Sure, those aren’t reasons to upgrade if you’ve already got a Galaxy Z Fold 7, but for those of you on much older models, the Z Fold 8 Ultra seems to have a lot to offer. I’ll be spending much more time with the phone over the coming days and weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for our full verdict.
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