{"id":556602,"date":"2026-07-24T01:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/556602\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T01:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:04:12","slug":"samsung-galaxy-z-fold-8-ultra-vs-z-fold-7-improved-battery-screen-and-a-higher-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/556602\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs. Z Fold 7: Improved Battery, Screen and a Higher Price"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Unpacked event<\/a>, the phone-maker announced three new folding phones, including its first-ever Ultra foldable phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra<\/a> is the true successor of last year\u2019s Fold 7<\/a>, while the Fold 8 enters with an all-new wide-fold design<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These devices are still priced high enough to put them out of reach for many, but they pack subtle design improvements that might make a big impact in daily life. I love the new anti-reflective coating, easier-to-unfold design and battery upgrades, but the Galaxy Z Fold 7 remains a powerful and capable device \u2013 especially if you can get it at a rare discount<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The two book-style foldables differ mainly in experiential upgrades rather than spec bumps. It might be hard to get an idea of what\u2019s exactly new. That\u2019s why I put them side by side during my hands-on to find out.<\/p>\n

\"HoldingThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra succeeds the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with a thinner design when folded.Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

Design and display<\/p>\n

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is roughly the same size as the already thin-and-light Fold 7. It weighs the same but is a millimeter slimmer when unfolded. Both phones are comfortable to hold, but the new model is easier to open.<\/p>\n

Samsung has made the Ultra\u2019s sides slightly slimmer so its bezels don\u2019t run all the way to the corners. This gives you a slight gap between the sides to make it easier to unfold. In comparison, the Fold 7 has flat sides with zero gap when the phone is folded shut, making it more difficult to unfold.<\/p>\n

Both phones have a 6.5-inch AMOLED cover screen and an 8-inch AMOLED folding display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra\u2019s inner screen is brighter at 3,000 nits (versus 2,600 nits on the Fold 7). It also has a matte finish, along with my long-requested feature<\/a>: an anti-reflective coating for better legibility in harsh lighting conditions and outdoors.<\/p>\n

\"GalaxySide by side of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (left) and the Z Fold 7.Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

I held both phones indoors in direct light, and the difference was noticeable. My Fold 7 was more susceptible to glare and harder to see under direct light when compared to the new model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samsung has also improved the crease situation. It is minimal and can\u2019t be seen unless you\u2019re specifically looking for it. The phone-maker has added a new display structure that combines titanium-alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate<\/a> to strengthen the display and balance the \u201chinge mechanics, display tension and magnetic force to make unfolding feel smoother, lighter and more natural,\u201d says Samsung.<\/p>\n

\"TheWhile closed, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 use their 6.5-inch displays. Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

Both foldables are IP48 rated for dust and water resistance. So, they aren\u2019t truly dust-tight like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold<\/a> and Honor Magic V6<\/a>, but they can survive being dunked in water for at least 30 minutes (the \u201c8\u201d in IP48<\/a>). But they won\u2019t protect against dust particles smaller than 1mm (the \u201c4\u201d in that rating).<\/p>\n

\"GalaxyThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra uses an 8-inch screen when unfolded.Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

Performance and battery<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/a> for Galaxy chip, as compared with the Fold 7\u2019s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. Both phones come in three storage variants: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, with the top-end model getting 16GB of RAM (the 256GB and 512GB models are again paired with 12GB of RAM).<\/p>\n

Samsung says it has created more space in the internals for better heat dissipation, so you can theoretically expect better thermal management.<\/p>\n

As for the battery, this is the first time Samsung is using the silicon-carbon anode technology<\/a>. It has allowed the phone-maker to upgrade the cell capacity from 4,400 mAh to 5,000 mAh on the new model. The Ultra also supports faster wired charging at 45 watts (the Fold 7 offered 25 watts).<\/p>\n

On paper, it is still behind Chinese rivals like Oppo<\/a> and Honor<\/a>, which include over 6,000-mAh batteries in their respective folding phones, but I\u2019m hoping this spec bump will help me get through a day with ease.<\/p>\n

Both phones have Qi wireless charging, but no inbuilt magnets. You\u2019ll have to buy a separate magnetic case to add compatibility with Qi2 wireless chargers<\/a> and other magnetic accessories.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Fold 7 both include a 200-megapixel wide camera.Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

Camera, software and AI<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra\u2019s camera array is mostly unchanged from last year\u2019s model, with one exception: the ultrawide sensor. You get a 200-megapixel main camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom on both phones. However, the 12-megapixel ultrawide camera has been upgraded to a 50-megapixel sensor. You can expect higher-quality images, but I\u2019ll wait for CNET\u2019s tests to identify the real differences.<\/p>\n

Both foldables shoot video in 8K at 30 frames per second, but the Fold might appeal to more creatives. The new model adds support for the APV codec and adds a Cine LUT to give cinematic color and tone control directly from your phone. This adds greater flexibility for editing and production workflows for professional creators.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched with Android 16 onboard last year, and the Fold 8 Ultra is coming with Android 17<\/a> (with One UI 9 on top). You get a similar software experience on both phones, and the Z Fold 7 will get the update to Android 17 with One UI 9.<\/p>\n

\"TheNow Nudge opens the Calendar in split screen after you tap on its pop-up button.Prakhar Khanna\/CNET<\/p>\n

The two devices support the full suite of Samsung\u2019s Galaxy AI features alongside Gemini access. There\u2019s AI Select for on-screen search support, an object eraser tool in the Gallery app and contextual AI features like Now Nudge for first-party apps. The latter displays contextual actions based on on-screen information. Like, if you\u2019re having a chat in the Messages app, and they send you an invite with the date, time and address, Samsung\u2019s Now Nudge feature will show a pop-up to add it to Calendar.<\/p>\n

The phone-maker also demoed a new agentic AI feature at my demo, which wasn\u2019t very impressive. Ideally, the new Gemini feature would help book a hotel just by looking at an on-screen photo of the Eiffel Tower, but in its current state, it was unreliable. But since the Z Fold 8 Ultra gets seven years of software updates and the Z Fold 7 has six more years to go, there\u2019s plenty of time for both phones to continue to improve on these features.<\/p>\n

To see more differences between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Z Fold 7, check out the specs chart below.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Hands-On<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs. Z Fold 7: Specs and prices<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 UltraSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 7Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate6.5-inch AMOLED; 2,520\u00d71,080 pixels; up to 120Hz variable refresh rate4.1-inch AMOLED; 1,048\u00d7948 pixels; 120Hz refresh rateInternal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate8.0-inch AMOLED; 2,256\u00d72,504 pixels; up to 120Hz variable refresh rate6.9-inch AMOLED; 2,520\u00d71,080 pixels; 1 to 120Hz refresh ratePixel densityCover: 422 ppi; Internal: 422 ppiCover: 342ppi; Internal: 397ppiDimensions (inches)Open: 6.23 x 5.6 x 0.16 in; Closed: 6.23 x 2.87 x 0.35 inOpen: 2.96 x 6.56 x 0.26 in; Closed: 2.96 x 3.37 x 0.52 inDimensions (millimeters)Open: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1mm; Closed: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mmOpen: 75.2 x 166.7 x 6.5mm; Closed: 75.2 x 85.5 x 13.7mmWeight (grams, ounces)215g (7.58 oz)188g (6.63 oz.)Mobile softwareAndroid 17 with One UI 9Android 16Cameras200-megapixel (wide), 50-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto), 10-megapixel (cover screen selfie)50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)Internal screen camera10-megapixel10-megapixelVideo capture8K at 30 fps4KProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for GalaxySamsung Exynos 2500RAM\/storage12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 16GB + 1TB12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GBExpandable storageNoneNoneBattery5,000 mAh4,300 mAhFingerprint sensorSideYesConnectorUSB-CUSB-CHeadphone jackNoneNoneSpecial featuresIP48 rating, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 (cover screen), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (Rear), Advanced Armor Aluminum, 5G (sub6, mmW), Wi-Fi 7, 3,000-nit peak brightness, anti-reflective display, 45-watt wired charging, 20-watt wireless chargingOne UI 8, IP48 water resistance, 25W wired charging, Qi wireless charging, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, Galaxy AIUS price starts at$2,100 (256GB); $2,300 (512GB); $2,700 (1TB)$1,100 (256GB)UK price starts at\u00a31,899 (256GB); \u00a32,069 (512GB); \u00a3 2,409 (1TB)\u00a31,049Australia price starts atAU$2,999 (256GB); AU$3,299 (512GB); AU$3,899 (1TB)AU$1,799<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Prakhar\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrakhar Khanna is a Writer at CNET with bylines in ZDNET, Forbes, and other major outlets. A digital nomad at heart, he thrives in chaos–mixing deadlines with travel, often writing stories on planes, trains, and cafe tables while hunting down the best pizza spots wherever he lands. His backpack usually carries one phone too many, and his playlists are stacked with 2000s Bollywood. Find him across social media @ParkyPrakhar.
\nContact: parkydoesstuff(at)gmail(dot)com
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSee full bio\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Unpacked event, the phone-maker announced three new folding phones, including its first-ever Ultra foldable phone.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[85,46,125],"class_list":["post-556602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}