If you’ve already read my first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, you’ll think I’m a huge Sammy fanboy – and if you haven’t, you probably should (go read it, I’ll wait). And while Samsung has been impressing me over the past year with the thinness of the Z Fold 7, the capabilities of Galaxy XR, the innovation of the Galaxy TriFold, and now the cute, deceivingly compact Z Fold 8, I’m a little less impressed by Samsung’s new Z Fold 8 Ultra.
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is the new successor to the Z Fold 7, and while the Fold 8 Ultra is more refined than its predecessor, it doesn’t seem like enough to warrant that new ‘Ultra’ branding or the associated $200 price jump.
The biggest improvements in the Z Fold 8 Ultra include its 50MP ultrawide camera (up from 12MP), larger battery, faster charging speeds, and slightly thinner design. These are widely important updates, don’t get me wrong, but I’m unsure if they justify the added cost. Although it’s worth mentioning that the prices on tech have been steadily increasing due to RAM shortages, so while it’s possible the prices might have increased even without the name change, it seems like people are now paying for the new ‘Ultra’ branding.
Oddly, if Samsung had called the Z Fold 7 ‘the Z Fold 7 Ultra,’ I think my tune would be significantly different, as I don’t think the Z Fold 8 Ultra is much more ‘Ultra’ than the Z Fold 7, but the Z Fold 7 is pretty ‘Ultra’ compared to the Z Fold 6.
However, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is still impressive; alongside the above upgrades, it also has a 200MP primary camera, 10MP telephoto and two selfie cameras (and the above-mentioned 50MP ultrawide). The 200MP main camera now has HDR to offer true-to-life images, and the ProVisual Engine should improve processing for Nightography and true skin tone when taking videos. Further, it has the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.
The Ultra now also includes Flex Titanium Technology that should offer better strength, reliability, and flexibility. Below the display, there’s a titanium plate to help minimize the crease visibility, which is definitely something I’ve noticed as the handset’s crease is barely visible this year. Samsung says to think about the unfolded display as two 6.5-inch displays side by side.
Samsung is taking advantage of the two displays with its software, with features like Now Nudge. Samsung first added Now Nudge earlier this year, but has since improved it on the foldable layout. Now Nudge suggests your next action to perform and will even open up a split-screen option. For instance, if your phone display is open and you receive a text about an event coming up with your friends. Now Nudge will suggest opening the calendar. When you tap that, it’ll give you a pop-up to open the split screen so you can stay in the conversation while updating your calendar. Now Nudge also has an ambient feature suggesting actions you might have forgotten, or essentially quiet Nudges for actions you can be performing. For instance, there might be an ambient nudge suggesting an Uber if you have an event in your calendar. It’s worth mentioning that these features are also available on the Z Fold 8.
Gemini Notebook is another interesting feature coming to the Ultra that uses AI to help with note-taking, essentially. For instance, when you create an entry, you can add different sources like an audio source and a PDF, and Gemini can create detailed overviews of both and create an audio overview. This could be pretty useful for note-taking when you’re working or at school.
The Ultra is most definitely an Ultra device, and Samsung has worked on providing a more reliable camera, design and experience when it comes to the Z Fold 8 Ultra, but with the Z Fold 8’s lower barrier to entry, that will likely be the option most people use. However, even when talking to people during the hands-on session, some of the power users still think that they can’t leave the Ultra 8 behind.
And honestly, as someone who loved the Z Fold 7, I can understand. Firstly, everything you can do on the Z Fold 8, you can do on your Z Fold8 Ultra. Plus, you get the larger 8-inch display, which ultimately creates a better multitasking experience while you’re working. People who are really into working on their phones will definitely miss that larger display if they buy the Z Fold 8.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra costs $2,699 in Canada and is available in Violet Shadow, Graphite, Cream and the Samsung exclusive Green Shadow.
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