{"id":724870,"date":"2026-08-02T19:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T19:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/724870\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T19:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T19:54:18","slug":"samsung-claims-the-galaxy-z-fold-8s-wider-shape-is-the-new-standard-for-viewing-content-but-is-it-really-better-than-the-z-fold-8-ultra-i-tested-netflix-youtube-and-ins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/724870\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung claims the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s wider shape is \u2018the new standard for viewing content\u2019 \u2014 but is it really better than the Z Fold 8 Ultra? I tested Netflix, YouTube, and Instagram on both phones to find out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Samsung<\/a> Galaxy Z Fold 8 is smaller, cheaper, and has fewer cameras than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but it may end up being the most popular Galaxy foldable to date.<\/p>\n

Why? Because its 7.6-inch inner screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is supposedly \u201cthe new standard for viewing content,\u201d as Samsung told us in an interview<\/a> \u2014 and if there\u2019s one thing most of us can\u2019t get enough of in 2026, it\u2019s content.<\/p>\n

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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, meanwhile, has an eight-inch inner screen with a 10:9 aspect ratio, which is great for spreadsheets and multitasking, but less brilliant for movies and YouTube<\/a> videos.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromTechRadar<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe me (or Samsung)? I compared the experience of streaming Netflix, watching YouTube, and scrolling through Instagram Reels on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra \u2014 in both portrait and landscape orientations, where possible \u2014 to help you visualize the aspect ratio differences between these two devices.<\/p>\n

Check out the side-by-side comparisons for each platform below, and let me know in the comments section which phone you\u2019d prefer to use for watching videos. I’ve also included a roundup of each model’s respective size specs for added context.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Swipe to scroll horizontally<\/p>\n

Header Cell – Column 0 <\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8<\/p>\n

Dimensions (unfolded):<\/p>\n

158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1mm<\/p>\n

161.4 x 123.9 x 4.5mm<\/p>\n

Dimensions (folded):<\/p>\n

158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm<\/p>\n

81.9 x 123.9 x 9.7mm<\/p>\n

Display (unfolded):<\/p>\n

8 inches, 10:9<\/p>\n

7.6 inches, 4:3<\/p>\n

Display (folded):<\/p>\n

6.5 inches, 21:9<\/p>\n

5.5 inches. 16:10<\/p>\n

NetflixZ Fold 8 (10:16) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:21)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (4:3) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (3:4) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)YouTubeZ Fold 8 (16:10) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (21:9)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

With either phone in this orientation, expanding the YouTube video automatically switches the orientation to landscape (see the next photo) (Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (10:16) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:21)<\/p>\n

\n

\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (4:3) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)<\/p>\n

\n

\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (3:4) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Instagram ReelsZ Fold 8 (16:10) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (21:9)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (4:3) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Z Fold 8 (3:4) \/ Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)<\/p>\n

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\"Galaxy\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Verdict<\/p>\n

For Netflix and YouTube, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 provides a cleaner viewing experience than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in every orientation except 3:4. The black bars above and below the video are noticeably narrower than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and there’s no awkward pillarboxing (i.e., bars on either side of the video) when using the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in 10:16 (you’ll notice that content wraps around the phone’s punch-hole camera, which doesn’t happen on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra).<\/p>\n

Of course, if you use the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in 3:4, the black bars are much bigger than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but Samsung itself admits that this orientation is \u201cmore natural for reading e-books or browsing the web,\u201d which gives the smaller device another nice win over the pricier model.<\/p>\n

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n

The Instagram Reels-watching experience is pretty similar across both phones, but given the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s lighter weight (201g vs 215g), I’d give it the edge here, too.<\/p>\n

So there you have it: if watching videos and scrolling through social media is your priority, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a better buy than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.<\/p>\n

Of course, there is much more to both phones than their respective displays \u2014 the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has better cameras, for instance \u2014 so I wouldn’t jump headfirst into buying one over the other until you’ve read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 8<\/a> comparison.<\/p>\n

Side note: You’re not able to watch videos in 16:10 (Z Fold 8) or 21:9 (Z Fold 8 Ultra) on Netflix, nor videos in 10:16 (Z Fold 8) or 9:21 (Z Fold 8 Ultra) on Instagram, hence why these options don’t appear in the above comparison.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today’s best Samsung Galaxy foldable deals<\/p>\n

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\"Google\n<\/p>\n

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Follow TechRadar on Google News<\/a> and add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is smaller, cheaper, and has fewer cameras than the Galaxy Z Fold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-724870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-mobile","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}