Here’s the article, despite the fact that, on paper, the Ultra is the simpler telephone. It prices extra, certain, however you get a telephoto digicam on the again, a larger battery, a sharper display screen, and the similar chip you’ll to find in Samsung’s among the best telephone, S26 Ultra. Samsung additionally needs you to consider this after all earns the “Ultra” badge that is been lacking from its foldable lineup all this time. Having used the brand new foldable for a couple of weeks, I will verify the upgrades are genuine. Some of them are in fact very good. But “Ultra” is a large phrase, and let’s have a look at how the Z Fold 8 Ultra fares on this evaluate.
Prices this 12 months get started at Rs. 199,999 for the bottom 12GB+256GB fashion and move as much as Rs. 259,999 for the 16GB+1TB fashion.
It surely feels much less like a brand new telephone and extra like Samsung took ultimate 12 months’s Fold 7, which we known as the North Star of foldables in our evaluate, and spent three hundred and sixty five days quietly solving the entirety we complained about. That’s completely now not not anything, as it could also be sufficient. But it is value being fair about what sort of improve this in fact is sooner than you drop round Rs. 2 lakh to get one. Let’s to find out in my evaluate.
The crease that outlined each Fold sooner than this one, and is now slightly there
Contents
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Design: Same Silhouette, Sharper Details and A Hinge That Opens Up Easily
- Dimensions: 158.4×143.2×4.1mm and 215 grams weight
- Side-mounted Fingerprint reader and stereo audio system
- Other options: Aluminium body and IP48 mud and water resistance score
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra looks as if a cousin of ultimate 12 months’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. Fold this factor close and hand it to any person who owned the Z Fold 7, and there is a first rate likelihood they may not realize the variation immediately. So much hasn’t modified, and that is the reason a excellent factor, as we are saying, “if it ain’t broke, do not repair it.”
No extra nail-scraping because the seam after all allows you to in and not using a battle
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra provides the similar aesthetics, button structure, and basic heft within the hand. Samsung did not chase a redesign right here. It chased refinement as a substitute, and also you best truly really feel the variation whilst you attempt to pry the telephone open, since that phase’s noticeably more uncomplicated now.
Familiar tall, slim duvet display screen that we noticed at the Fold 7: nice for scrolling, nonetheless cosy for typing
The edges alongside the seam were softened simply sufficient that obtaining a fingernail in there does not really feel like a small negotiation anymore. But the actual paintings took place within the hinge. Samsung swapped in a brand new Flex Titanium tech that introduces a titanium-based show construction, combining a titanium-alloy movie with an enhanced titanium plate, to make it thinner whilst keeping up sturdiness. The Armour FlexHinge now wishes much less drive to open. The new aggregate shall we the telephone lie nearly totally flat when open, as a substitute of settling into the faint dome-shaped foldables have at all times had.
Refined and now not reinvented. The query right here is whether or not that is sufficient to earn the ‘Ultra’ badge
It seems like a minor mechanical element, however it is not. The crease has long past from “very a lot noticeable” to “you will have to to find it.” The perfect information this is none of this made the telephone thicker; if anything else, it is a hair slimmer than ultimate 12 months, in spite of the beefier internals doing extra paintings below the hood.
Build high quality has ticked up a notch too, as Samsung has added harder glass up entrance, a sturdier body, and the similar IP48 score protective towards mud and lightweight splashes; alternatively, do not take it swimming or to the seaside close to sand.
Kudos to Samsung, because the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, in spite of packing a 5000mAh battery, weighs 215 grams, the similar because the Fold 7 from ultimate 12 months and may be slimmer at 4.1mm (spread out) when in comparison to the Fold 7, which used to be 4.2mm. The Z Fold 8 Ultra has introduced in 3 sun shades – Graphite, Cream, and Violet Shadow. We were given the ultimate one for this evaluate, and it’s the flagship color used throughout all advertising and marketing fabrics Samsung pushes on-line and offline.
Single SIM enhance, and it additionally will get eSIM enhance, and this is a very best case for why microSD must make a comeback
Again, there are two misses, as ultimate 12 months. No S Pen enhance, as Samsung ditched the digitiser layer a few generations again to stay the telephone narrow, and it hasn’t discovered its long ago. And in spite of the telephone supporting the more moderen wi-fi charging same old, there are nonetheless no integrated magnets. This implies that if you need the snap-on accent enjoy, you can desire a case for that. Neither appears like an oversight at this level and surely appears like planned trade-offs Samsung’s made up our minds it is relaxed making.
No S Pen and no integrated magnets are planned cuts, now not oversights
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Display: Look Ma, No Crease!
- Display Protection: Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 3 at the duvet display screen, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 at the rear design, Plastic entrance (spread out)
- Screen measurement: 6.5-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X duvet display screen with 120Hz refresh fee, 422PPI pixel density and 8-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X primary display screen with 120Hz refresh fee, 3000nits top brightness, 422PPI pixel density
One of the largest headline options of the principle show at the Z Fold 8 Ultra is a much-improved crease, which is an incremental development over the Z Fold 7. We all know that foldable units at all times include an asterisk the place there is a visual crease and a few anxious glare; additionally anxious is brightness that by no means relatively fits a normal telephone. This is the primary Samsung foldable the place I finished noticing the asterisk.
Anti-reflective coating method this display screen after all survives direct daylight
The 8-inch interior show now has an anti-reflective coating that in fact adjustments how you utilize the telephone outdoor. Previous Fold displays became mirrors the second one the solar got here out. This one does not, and it is helped through a top brightness score of 3000nits, which places it close to the highest of the pile for the brightest telephone displays you’ll be able to these days purchase.
Resolution’s bumped up somewhat too, so textual content and icons glance a marginally crisper, although the show’s total form hasn’t modified.
But, as discussed up to now, the crease is truly the headline right here. Run your finger around the heart of the display screen, and you’ll be able to nonetheless really feel it, technically. Catch it on the proper attitude below harsh lighting fixtures, and chances are you’ll spot a faint shadow. But when you are in fact the usage of the telephone for scrolling, staring at your favorite display, leaping between apps, it simply is not there anymore. That’s a primary for this design, and it is the type of factor that sounds small on paper however in fact adjustments how the telephone feels to are living with. Samsung has a winner in its fingers.
Fold it close, and you would be forgiven for mistaking it for ultimate 12 months’s Fold 7
The duvet display screen is the place issues keep acquainted, for higher or worse. It’s the similar tall design with a slim strip as sooner than, which goes nice for one-handed scrolling, nonetheless somewhat cramped if you are typing with each thumbs. It’s sharp, and the colors pop, with top brightness at 3000nits right here as effectively. Samsung nonetheless allows you to set it up totally independently from the interior show, with a distinct wallpaper and the entirety. Nice when you just like the customisation. A bit of of a chore when you’d reasonably now not configure your telephone two times. If you had been hoping the Ultra would possibly borrow the broader duvet display screen from the usual Z Fold 8, it does not; that form change merely is not a part of this fashion.
Flex Titanium hinge, mendacity nearly completely flat; that is the place the actual paintings took place
Of path, the refresh fee sits at 120Hz on each displays, and color copy continues to be considered one of Samsung’s sturdy fits, punchy as at all times with out tipping into having a look faux, which is a tightrope Samsung’s in fact gotten excellent at strolling. Overall, each presentations paintings like a allure, whether or not you need to make use of it folded or get extra display screen genuine property spread out.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Performance: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Makes This the Fastest Fold You Can Buy
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
- 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, and 16GB + 1TB RAM garage fashions
- One UI 9 in accordance with Android 17
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is powered through the similar chipset that powers the corporate’s flagship bar telephone, the Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, and provides as much as 16GB of RAM and 1TB of garage. In real-world use, the telephone breezes thru multitasking, gaming, photograph enhancing, and several other Galaxy AI options. The perfect enjoy at the Fold 8 Ultra is whilst you spread it and use two apps concurrently. In a fast-moving global, the 8 Ultra is designed for individuals who worth time and wish multitasking at the move. Whether it is for place of business duties or informal binge-watching, the 8 Ultra will have to fulfill all kinds of customers.
It will get Samsung’s AI buffet proper, from voice-edited footage to Bixby powered through Perplexity
The efficiency division is one who professional tries to earn that extremely badge. How? Well, I threw difficult video games at it on excessive settings for prolonged stretches and not bumped into stutter or felt it decelerate. It additionally does not get uncomfortably heat doing it, which is spectacular given how little room there may be inside of a telephone this skinny for right kind cooling. However, the telephone did get heat throughout working benchmark apps.
The telephone runs One UI 9.0 in accordance with Android 17 out of the field
I even attempted working 3 or 4 apps directly throughout that massive interior show, dragging home windows into split-screen or popping them out into floating mode, and none of it lagged or felt like I used to be pushing the telephone previous what it is relaxed doing. Full marks to Samsung for pushing a succesful foldable that fits any high-end flagship bar telephone. Of path, I ran a host of benchmark suites at the Fold 8 Ultra, and as you’ll be able to see, it fares effectively.
| Benchmark | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (Cover/ Main) | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Cover/ Main) | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Cover/ Main) |
| AnTuTu v10 | 2,864,477 / 1,842,665 | 1,820,509 / 1,845,876 | 1,642,118 / 1,695,896 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 20,079 / 20,701 | 15,854 / 16,187 | 18,688 / 18,460 |
| Geekbench 6 Single | 3,534/ 3,122 | 2,216/ 2,197 | 2,216/ 2,197 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | 9,973/ 9,155 | 8,239/ 8,798 | 6,725/ 6,689 |
| GFXB T-rex (fps) | 120 / 120 | 120 / 120 | 120 / 120 |
| GFXB Manhattan 3.1 (fps) | 120 / 120 | 120 / 120 | 120 / 120 |
| GFXB Car Chase (fps) | 120/ 120 | 119 / 119 | 119 / 119 |
| 3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL ES 3.1 | Maxed Out / Maxed Out | Maxed Out / Maxed Out | Maxed Out / Maxed Out |
| 3DM Slingshot | Maxed Out / Maxed Out | Maxed Out / Maxed Out | Maxed Out / Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life | Maxed Out / Maxed Out | 16,474 / 16,742 | 15,678 / 15,210 |
| 3DM Wild Life Stress Test | 24,408 / 19,868 | 18,871 / 18,336 | 18,786 / 17,898 |
The audio system be offering sufficient readability however lack loudness to fill a room. Of path, with restricted interior area, the corporate needed to prioritise battery over different components. Interestingly, the Fold 8 provides a somewhat higher speaker setup. The Fold 8 Ultra provides a unmarried SIM slot and in addition helps eSIM. Call readability is first rate on Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea networks, as examined throughout the evaluate. The telephone helps 5G obtain speeds on Airtel and Jio networks, however we could not take a look at 5G obtain speeds on Vodafone Idea as a result of 5G speeds were not to be had.
Given how reminiscence and garage costs are bouncing in recent years, I do not believe we’re a ways sufficient from a time when microSD card slots will make their option to top rate units. Fingers crossed that point comes quickly, as a result of 256 gigs of garage on a virtually 2 lakh telephone does not really feel like a lot.
It is available in 3 garage choices: 256GB, 512GB, and 1 TB
Software-wise, the Galaxy Fold 8 Ultra runs on One UI 9.0 in accordance with Android 17 out of the field. As with all Samsung high-end telephones, the Ultra additionally will get 7 years of device updates and safety patches. What does One UI 9.0 carry to the desk? In quick, it is all about refinements.
Some marquee options depart sturdy impressions, like Now Nudge at the Fold 8 Ultra, which adapts to on-screen content material and suggests issues in accordance with what you are in search of. For instance, I used to be having a look on the Spider-Man: Brand New Day list on Google Search and looking for display timings when Now Nudge steered the GuideMyDisplay app and opened it in the second one part of the display screen, appearing the film’s reserving main points around the town. Clean and really delicate. The Galaxy AI suite has some acquainted names like Call Assist, which provides Call screening, Live Translate, and now provides Call temporary.
Now Nudge works flawlessly. Spot a film, get the reserving app with out asking two times
The standout characteristic for me, despite the fact that, is voice-driven photograph enhancing. I requested it to take away any person from a picture, and in about 30 seconds it did not simply erase them; it convincingly rebuilt what used to be at the back of them. That’s the type of AI trick that feels helpful, now not like a tech demo.
The Now Brief characteristic may be extremely customisable, with quite a few AI-powered personalisation choices, and it learns out of your day by day routines. Samsung’s Bixby now has Perplexity get entry to, because of this extra get entry to and issues to play with, together with new widgets. Other AI options come with Writing Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Creative Studio, Audio Eraser, Weather wallpaper, and Health Assist. The Fold 8 Ultra additionally will get My FanCam, which I mentioned in my Galaxy Fold 8 evaluate. Overall, Samsung appears to be the one logo providing a complete buffet of AI-baked options throughout its units.
Tested a couple of apps in split-screen, and the Fold 8 Ultra does not damage a sweat
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Camera: Primary, Ultrawide Sensors Shine While Telephoto Leaves Much to Be Desired
- 200-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, multi-directional PDAF
- 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, OIS, and 3x optical zoom
- 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor with f/1.9 aperture, 120-degree box of view, multi-directional PDAF
- 10-megapixel selfie sensor at the duvet display screen and 10-megapixel sensor at the primary display screen
One of the largest strengths of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is that it nonetheless will get the triple-camera array of the Fold 7, with a couple of upgrades just like the up to date ultrawide sensor. Compared to the Fold 8, the Ultra surely edges it out in digicam prowess.
Triple-camera setup carried over from the Fold 7, with one key improve hiding inside of
The megastar of the digicam setup at the Ultra is the 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 sensor, which nonetheless manages to click on wonderful and forged footage, which I can dive into someday. Samsung has up to date the ultrawide sensor to a 50-megapixel IMX858 sensor and carried ahead the 10-megapixel Samsung 3K1 telephoto sensor from the Fold 7—each the inner and canopy displays game 10-megapixel sensors.
The digicam UI is equal to different high-end Galaxy telephones
As for the principle sensor, the Fold 8 Ultra can seize implausible sunlight footage with quite a few element. The pictures default to a pixel-binned solution that assists in keeping record sizes sane with out sacrificing a lot element, and the colors keep just about what you in fact noticed reasonably than getting Instagram-filtered into oblivion. The Dynamic vary holds up effectively in difficult lighting fixtures, and portrait mode has quietly transform in fact excellent, with the brink detection round hair and fantastic element was once a susceptible spot for Samsung foldables, and it is not anymore.
Daylight pictures keep true to color. Camera samples the usage of the principle sensor at the Fold 8 Ultra (faucet pictures to enlarge)
From pores and skin textures to animal footage, the Fold 8 Ultra does all of it with nice capacity. It even delivers in low-light eventualities—all because of processing borrowed from the S-series flagship telephones. The night time pictures pull in additional genuine element and more true color than sooner than, with out swinging into that overly vivid, artificially sharpened glance that used to outline Samsung’s night time mode.
Night mode pulls in genuine element now, with out the bogus brightness spike (faucet pictures to enlarge)
The sensor that truly impresses is the ultrawide, which now will get a 50-megapixel sensor as a substitute of the a lot lower-res sensor from the former technology. You do not wish to squint to peer the variation; put an ultrawide shot subsequent to ultimate 12 months’s telephone, and the sides hang their sharpness higher, the distortion that used to warp the corners of each ultrawide shot is most commonly long past, and there may be extra usable element all over. Out of the entirety Samsung upgraded in this telephone, that is the only possibly to modify which digicam you in fact achieve for.
Ultrawide digicam at the Fold 8 Ultra delivers sharper edges, much less distortion, and extra usable main points (faucet pictures to enlarge)
And then there may be the telephoto lens, which helps you to down somewhat. It nonetheless sports activities 10 megapixels, nonetheless capped at 3x optical zoom, and it is the one a part of the digicam gadget that did not get the memo that this telephone is meant to be Ultra. Try pushing previous that 3x vary and issues fall aside rapid as element disappears, pictures get started having a look comfortable and over-processed effectively sooner than you hit the telephone’s max zoom. Compared to competition now packing longer, higher-res periscope zooms, this stays the telephone’s clearest susceptible level, and it is a little irritating that Samsung upgraded nearly the entirety else and left this precisely the place it used to be. In a 12 months the place we noticed such a lot of Ultra units from the contest – Vivo X300 Ultra (Review), Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Review) and Xiaomi 17 Ultra (Review), the Fold 8 Ultra surely does not belong on this extended family.
Manages to click on first rate portrait pictures (faucet symbol to enlarge)
The zoom pictures don’t seem to be usable in any respect. This is clicked the usage of 20x zoom mode (faucet symbol to enlarge)
Another zoom pattern the place we used 10x to click on the picture, however as you’ll be able to see, it misses an important main points and has light colors of the brand (faucet symbol to enlarge)
The selfies are fantastic, not anything extra to jot down house about. Both the duvet and interior cameras persist with 10 megapixels, and the rear array simply outclasses them, so when you care about selfie high quality, you are the usage of the principle cameras with the duvet display screen as your viewfinder.
The movies max out at 8K solution, and it is in fact usable pictures, with forged stabilisation even if taking pictures hand held, in comparison to the Fold 7. The dual-recording mode, which splits the display screen between entrance and rear cameras directly, continues to be a amusing celebration trick if you are documenting one thing reasonably than simply filming it.
200-megapixel number one sensor: sunlight pictures have main points with out the over-processed sheen
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Battery: Decent But Could Have Been Better
- 5000mAh battery
- 45W stressed rapid charging enhance
- 4.5W opposite wi-fi charging enhance
One of the largest bumps on paper has been the battery at the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It is going from 4400mAh at the Z Fold 7 to 5000mAh at the 8 Ultra. Of path, that determine places it within the league of flagship bar telephones, particularly whilst you evaluate it to the S26 Ultra, which packs the similar battery capability. In real-world use, the Z Fold 8 Ultra packs sufficient punch to ultimate nearly a complete day. During the evaluate, we were given just about 8.5 hours of screen-on time (duvet display screen) throughout a couple of runs, and just about 7 hours of display screen time at the primary show.
With 5000mAh and 45W charging, the improve this Fold wanted maximum
If you’ve gotten been eager for a foldable that delivers at the battery entrance, then the Z Fold 8 Ultra is not going to will let you down. Beyond battery capability, the Z Fold Ultra additionally brings 45W fast-charging enhance, which is a large bump from 25W at the Z Fold 7. In our a couple of checks, the Z Fold 8 Ultra took nearly an hour to price totally, whilst a brief 25-minute price bumped it as much as nearly 60% juice, which is once more excellent sufficient to ultimate a couple of hours when you are now not at house or now not sporting an influence financial institution. Another great contact is the battery coverage characteristic, which you’ll be able to allow in settings and restrict charging to 90% or under, relying in your utilization.
With 25 mins at the charger, the Fold 8 Ultra will get as much as 60% price
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Verdict
It’s onerous to seek out a lot to bitch concerning the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, as Samsung took a telephone that used to be already one of the vital perfect foldables round and subtle just about each tough edge. Some of the largest hits are the crease, which is just about long past; the display screen is vivid sufficient and handles sunlight the best way telephone displays will have to have for years; and function in fact competes with Android slab flagships. Lastly, the battery at the Fold 8 Ultra fits the prowess of the Galaxy S26 Ultra (Review). None of this is small stuff, and it is the type of improve that adjustments whether or not you’ll be able to in fact accept as true with this telephone to get you thru your day.
Where it stumbles and leaves a large query mark for me is whether or not it earns the Ultra branding. Calling this telephone Ultra when it appears nearly similar to ultimate 12 months’s fashion is a daring transfer. This is a cautious, well-executed refinement and now not a reinvention. Of path, the associated fee leaves a lot to be desired: it is not across the 1.5 lakh mark and begins at 2 lakhs flat. A territory that is just for the ones with deep wallet and the funds to head for the most recent and biggest from Samsung. It may be a tricky pitch for individuals who already personal a Z Fold 7, because it already has a identical design, many of the digicam {hardware}, and a identical display screen measurement. Of path, under-the-hood features within the chip, battery, and charging are the most powerful causes to imagine switching, however for my part, the most powerful and maximum pressing causes don’t seem to be relatively the similar factor.
Who is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra constructed for? Well, the solution is unassuming: when you like to multitask and like to paintings in split-screen home windows, need one thing that behaves like a telephone for your pocket and a small pill the second one you spread it, and are keen to pay what that comfort prices, then that is essentially the most entire foldable you’ll be able to purchase available on the market at the moment.
Source: www.shamnadt.com.com
