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<\/a><\/p>\nSo, 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n