What Hi-Fi? tested Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at £1899 ($2099 / AU$2999) and called it a solid all-rounder for film and music that still falls short of the top spot for entertainment on the go. The reason is simple and ironic: its cheaper sibling, the standard Z Fold 8, handles movies better thanks to a more video-friendly shape.
The Ultra launched on August 7, 2026, alongside the redesigned base model after the July 22 Unpacked event. It refines last year’s Fold 7 with brighter screens, a sturdier hinge and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 power. For AV fans who want a phone that doubles as a pocket tablet, the premium price and square inner display create a mismatch the lower-cost Fold 8 avoids.
Premium Price Meets Family-of-Three Math
The 256GB Ultra starts at £1899 / $2099. The 512GB version runs £2069, and the 1TB model with extra RAM hits £2049 in the UK pricing What Hi-Fi saw (US 1TB climbs higher toward $2699 in some listings). That is over $100 more than the Fold 7 at launch, £200 / $200 above the base Z Fold 8, and £620 more than the five-star Galaxy S26 Ultra slab phone.
You could buy enough entry-level Androids and tablets for a family of three, or roughly 2.4 award-winning iPhone 17s, for the same money. The Ultra feels the part: 4.1 mm thin unfolded, 215 g, Armor Aluminum frame and Flex Titanium under the displays. The hinge opens smoothly without the force or fear of early Folds. The crease is nearly invisible. IP45 keeps it out of pools and beaches.
- £1899 / $2099 starting price for 256GB
- 4.1 mm unfolded thickness
- 215 g weight
- 5000 mAh battery rated for up to 27 hours video
Finishes include Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jetblack and Mint. Android 17 with One UI 9 sits on top. Storage options run 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, with 12GB RAM on the lower two tiers and 16GB on the top model.
Screens Built for Spreadsheets More Than Cinema
Outer cover is a 6.5-inch 21:9 Dynamic AMOLED at 2520 x 1080, 120Hz. Inner main screen is an 8.0-inch panel at 2184 x 1968 that lands close to square. Both hit variable 120Hz and HDR10+. The inner peaks at a claimed 3000 nits peak brightness and 5000mAh battery, 400 nits above the Fold 7, with Vision Booster for outdoor readability.
Samsung’s mDNIe processing aims for more accurate, lifelike colour rather than the ProScaler upscaling found on the S26 Ultra. The company says it is four times more accurate than the Fold 7. Multi-window support is excellent: two or three apps side by side for Slack plus spreadsheets or Maps plus WhatsApp.
The catch for film fans is geometry. Unfold it for a movie and you get large black bars top and bottom on 21:9 content. The hole-punch selfie camera sits in the way even then. Side-facing speakers are easy to block when you rotate the device. The outer 21:9 screen often ends up the better movie surface on a commute. The base Z Fold 8 flips the script with a passport-style 10:16 outer and a 7.6-inch 4:3 landscape inner that fills more of the frame for typical video.
Picture Quality Holds Up in the Dark
Side-by-side tests with Crime 101 in HDR10+ on Prime Video showed both 2026 Folds cut from the same cloth: rich colours, solid dark detail in cityscapes. The base model edged brighter in places and offered a tad more contrast in the night sky. Ready or Not 2 on Disney+ let the Ultra keep colour volume in mixed light and dark scenes without oversaturation. Skin tones stayed warm and realistic in shadows.
Masters of the Universe on Prime pushed bright cartoony colours that popped without going artificial. Explosions could have gone harder, and here the base Fold 8 pushed peaks a little more. Upscaling on Batman Begins sharpened Batman with three-dimensional weight; only Batmobile races showed slight oversmoothing. One Tree Hill episodes looked sharper and more immersive than on most phones, though grain and some black crush remained.
Out of the box the Ultra sits in natural colour mode, a welcome default. Reviewers made almost no adjustments beyond killing ambient and temperature auto features. It can feel like a shrunk Samsung OLED, until the aspect ratio reminds you otherwise. On a commute the cover screen often wins for pure viewing.
Sound Plays It Safe Again
Samsung phones have earned four-star or lower sound scores from What Hi-Fi since the S23. The Ultra continues the pattern. Wired headphone tests (USB-C to 3.5 mm) on Philip Glass’s Floe showed pleasing instrument separation and control even when bass synthesisers threatened to swamp strings. 16 Horse Power’s Sinnerman kept its swampy, mid-heavy Gothic tone intact.
Funkadelic’s Good to Your Earhole lacked the scooped attack and rhythmic drive that should make feet tap. Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love underplayed John Bonham’s drum crash; dynamics stayed middling and the fun factor stayed low. Nothing is broken. The phone simply refuses to get brave or exciting.
Built-in speakers cast a wide stage. Cars in F1: The Movie zig-zag cleanly left to right. Low-end heft for engines is missing, and music can sound thin. Nine Inch Nails’ The Day the World Went Away loses its lumbering menace. Dolby Atmos is available for speakers and headphones once switched on in settings. Reliable, unremarkable audio is the verdict. For pure portable music an iPhone still leads.
Cameras and AI Stay Competent
Rear cameras: 200 MP main, 50 MP ultra-wide (up from 12 MP on the Fold 7) and 10 MP telephoto, plus ProVisual Engine for Nightography. Selfies are 10 MP hole-punch on both screens. The base Fold 8 drops to dual 50 MP rear lenses. Results are good for social Reels, solid stabilisation and mostly noise-free low light. Processing can oversharpen and overbake colours unless you go manual; iPhones and Pixels stay more natural.
One UI 9 adds Now Brief for contextual info and Now Nudge, which pulls data across apps and cloud for suggested replies. Multi-window remains the star for power users. No S Pen support, which some spreadsheet fans miss compared with the S26 Ultra. Battery life proved solid in real use: 4-7 percent drain for an hour of Netflix on the commute despite the big bright panel.
The Cheaper Fold 8 Wins the Media Matchup
| Spec | Z Fold 8 Ultra | Z Fold 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2099 / £1899 | $1899 / roughly £200 less |
| Inner screen | 8.0-inch near-square | 7.6-inch 4:3 landscape |
| Outer screen | 6.5-inch 21:9 | ~5.4-5.5-inch 10:16 |
| Weight | 215 g | 201 g |
| Battery | 5000 mAh / up to 27 hrs video | 4800 mAh / up to 26 hrs |
| Main camera | 200 MP | 50 MP |
| Best for | Multitasking, creation | Movies, lighter daily carry |
The base model’s 4:3 main screen built for movies and e-books fills more of the frame for typical 16:9 and even some 21:9 content with less letterboxing. It is lighter and $200 cheaper. Crowds on X and hands-on reports already split the pair the same way: keep the Ultra for cameras, flex mode and productivity; grab the regular Fold 8 for content consumption and pocket comfort. Speaker placement on the Fold 8 series can still feel left-heavy in landscape video, a flaw noted in earlier coverage of speaker placement that can feel left-heavy.
What Hi-Fi scored the Ultra Picture 4, Sound 4, Features 5. The verdict matches: competent for power users and ’80s-style business multitaskers who edit spreadsheets on the go, and a workable mobile cinema, yet the productivity form factor blunts the second-screen advantage for pure AV fans. The base model is the one they recommend for film and TV enthusiasts.
Who Should Buy the Ultra
Buy the Ultra if you live in multi-window, want the better camera system and night video tools, and value the taller cover screen that behaves like a normal phone. The durability jump, near-invisible crease and outdoor brightness are real. Deals can soften the hit; some retailers already pair the base Fold 8 with an Amazon $350 gift card deal on the Fold 8 that beats certain Samsung credits for many buyers.
Skip it for pure entertainment if the square inner screen and black bars will annoy you daily. The base Fold 8 delivers more usable video area in practice for most streaming apps and costs less. Slab phones like the S26 Ultra remain cheaper and still excellent for media. Apple’s own foldable plans still taking shape mean the category keeps evolving, but right now Samsung’s own cheaper model undercuts its flagship for the AV use case the company has long pitched.
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is a refined, rugged, bright foldable that does almost everything well. For film and music fans the irony is that “almost” includes the shape that matters most when the credits roll.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the screen sizes and aspect ratios on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?
The cover screen measures 6.5 inches in a 21:9 ratio at 2520 x 1080. The inner main display is 8.0 inches at roughly 2184 x 1968, closer to square than widescreen, which produces larger letterbox bars on most movies compared with the base Fold 8’s 7.6-inch 4:3 panel.
How much does the Samsung Z Fold 8 Ultra cost compared with the regular Fold 8?
The Ultra starts at $2099 / £1899 for 256GB. The regular Z Fold 8 starts about $200 / £200 lower at $1899. Higher storage tiers on the Ultra climb further, with the 1TB model carrying extra RAM and a bigger jump in some markets.
What battery life does Samsung claim for the Z Fold 8 Ultra?
The 5000 mAh cell is rated for up to 27 hours of video playback. Real-world commuting tests showed only 4-7 percent drain during an hour of Netflix, which is solid for a bright large foldable.
How did What Hi-Fi? score the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?
Picture earned 4 stars, Sound 4 stars and Features 5 stars. The overall verdict called it a good but not perfect option for AV fans, with the cheaper Fold 8 preferred for media consumption.
Does the Z Fold 8 Ultra have better cameras than the base Fold 8?
Yes. The Ultra uses a 200 MP main, 50 MP ultra-wide and 10 MP telephoto. The base model sticks to dual 50 MP rear cameras. Both share 10 MP hole-punch selfies. The Ultra’s system is stronger for detail and night video, though processing can still look aggressive.
