Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was the best foldable I'd ever tested, thanks to an extremely sleek form factor that made it by far the most comfortable phone in the category to actually hold in your hands. This year's follow-up has a new name, but it's broadly the same phone, for better and worse.Meet the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a re-branded follow-up to the Z Fold 7. Confusingly, there is also a phone called the Z Fold 8, but it's a totally different device. Regardless of that, Samsung's newest and most premium flagship foldable checks most of the boxes you would want it to check: It's still very comfortable in the hands, the displays are bright and vivid, and the battery has gotten a sizable boost over last year.But, sadly, that's about it. Aside from all of that and a modest camera upgrade, you're paying $2,099 (a $100 price increase year-over-year) for a phone that's very similar to its predecessor. The Z Fold 8 Ultra might be a great get for anyone who doesn't already have a foldable, but Z Fold 7 owners can likely wait until the next big revision to upgrade.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Design and specs
It's a tiny bit thinner.
Starting with the phone's physical design, Samsung has not reinvented the wheel in 2026.That might read as disappointing, but last year was such a big sea change for the Fold series that it's fine for this year's phone to carry that torch forward. There really wasn't much that needed changing. Samsung did shave one tenth of a millimeter off the total thickness, bringing it down to 4.1mm instead of 4.2mm on the Z Fold 7, but the two devices otherwise look, feel, and weigh the same. As for colors, your options this year are fairly boring: Cream, Graphite, Violet Shadow, and Green Shadow. The last one is an online exclusive on Samsung's store.Here are the rest of the relevant specs for the Z Fold 8 Ultra:Inner display: 8-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rateOuter display: 6.5-inches AMOLED display 120Hz refresh rateProcessor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipsetUnfolded dimensions: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1 mmFolded dimensions: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9 mmRAM: 12GB to 16GB RAMStorage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storageBattery: 5,000mAh batteryCompared to the Z Fold 7, most of those specs are roughly the same. The displays haven't changed much, but that's fine because they were already great. One important change Samsung did make was to up the max brightness from 2,600 nits to 3,000 nits, making the Z Fold 8 Ultra a little bit more accommodating in bright outdoor conditions. I wouldn't say that was a problem on the Z Fold 7, but it is a little bit improved here.Samsung also packed a newer Snapdragon chip in the Z Fold 8 Ultra, which has become customary for annual phone releases on this end of the price spectrum. Perhaps the biggest upgrade is the new 5,000mAh battery, up from 4,400mAh on the Z Fold 7. We'll get into specific later, but rest assured, the new battery is much better.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Performance
