Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 And Fold8 Ultra Review: A Wide Winning Formula

Name: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 And Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
Brand: Samsung

by Myriam Joire — Friday, August 14, 2026, 10:06 AM EDT

Not much has changed with Samsung’s latest software. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Fold8 run One UI 9.0 on top of Android 17, which looks and feels similar to One UI 8.5 and Android 16 on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. One UI includes numerous features meant to enhance the Android experience, making it quite popular. While it’s fast and responsive, it’s somewhat heavy handed, and I prefer Google, Moto, and Nothing’s simpler, lighter skins.

Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra Software, User Experience, And AI

As you’d expect, these handsets come with a healthy dose of AI. It’s worth noting, however, that many of Samsung’s AI features replicate functionality that first appeared on Google’s Pixel phones. Photo Assist (prompt-based photo editing) is similar to Help me edit; Creative Studio (centralized generative AI creation tool) is similar to Pixel Studio; Now Nudge (timely and relevant suggestions) is similar to Google’s Magic Cue. You get the point.

z fold8 ultra screenshot 01 — Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra app tray on 21:9 outer display (L) and home screen with notifications and settings on inner display (R)

Two years in, Now Brief (and the related Now Bar) still doesn’t surface much beyond the current weather, upcoming calendar events, news articles, and YouTube videos. On the plus side, My FanCam is a cool new video editing feature in Samsung’s Gallery app that uses AI to track a specific person of your choice inside a horizontal video, then automatically crop and reframe the clip into a square or vertical video to focus tightly on that person.

Flex Mode carries over from the Z Fold7 to the Z Fold8 Ultra, but is missing on the Z Fold8. This feature splits the interface of supported apps (Calendar, Gallery, YouTube, etc.) into top and bottom halves optimized for a split screen view when the handset is partially open. For example, in Flex Mode, the camera app puts the viewfinder on the top half and the shutter, shooting modes, and other controls on the bottom half.

z fold8 screenshot 01 — Galaxy Z Fold8 app tray on 16:10 outer display (L) and home screen with on 4:3 inner display (R)

I’m happy to report that my unlocked Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Fold8 review units came with very little pre-installed bloatware. These phones shipped with the usual suite of Google and Samsung apps, plus a few third-party apps (Netflix, Perplexity, and Spotify). Best of all, these apps were easy to disable or uninstall. In addition, Samsung continues to offer seven years of OS upgrades and regular security updates, which is fantastic.

Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra Review Summary

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Fold8 are both excellent folding phones. If you’re looking for an attractive, ultra-thin, book-style folding handset in a standard form factor that’s optimized for productivity and multitasking, and checks almost every box, I recommend the Z Fold8 Ultra. Of course, that's assuming you can afford its hefty $2,099 price tag and can live without active pen support.

Otherwise, consider Moto’s Razr Fold ($1,799). It’s only slightly thicker and comes with a less powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, but features better cameras, a bigger battery, and active pen support. My biggest gripe with the Z Fold8 Ultra is that – like the Galaxy S26 Ultra – it’s only “Ultra” by name. Without a 50MP+ 3x periscope telephoto or large capacity battery it doesn’t stand out quite enough.

Find Samsung's Latest Galaxy Z Fold8 Devices @ Amazon

The all new Galaxy Z Fold8, on the other hand, is a game changer. Samsung is really on to something with this wide and squat passport-style form factor. Between its 16x10 outer and 4:3 inner aspect ratios, plus its thin and ultra-light design, the Z Fold8 simply delivers a better, more streamlined and intuitive foldable experience than standard book-style folding phones. When closed, it’s even better than a regular bar-style handset.

That said, $1,899 is still a lot of money for a flagship smartphone without a telephoto camera or large capacity battery, and Samsung's decision to omit Flex Mode from the Z Fold8 is puzzling. Regardless, the Z Fold8 is one of my favorite phones of 2026 so far, and it absolutely deserves our coveted Editor’s choice award. Wide is the way, and Samsung did it right. Now let’s see what Apple brings to the table with its rumored iPhone Ultra. Regardless, a new bar has been set by Samsung.