It’s easy for me to get carried away when I’m in the midst of all the action at Galaxy Unpacked – checking out Samsung’s new foldable smartphones up close and before most others have laid their eyes on them. When the spotlight switches off, and the noise dies down though, what remains is the real deal – the devices that promise to get users through the daily grind. Sometimes, the gap between the promise and real-life usage can be a significant one, but Samsung has delivered on its promises in the past, multiple times… and from what I can see now, I think it’s going to deliver this time too. As I lay my hands on the new Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip8, there’s a sense of familiarity, and more importantly, confidence that both these devices have what it takes to bridge that gap between promise and reality. Samsung’s new Flex Titanium tech that uses a titanium-alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate in the display structure is said to be one of the main reasons why the new Fold8 lineup is quite slim and more durable than before. The creases in the middle are also barely noticeable.
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Up close with the Galaxy Z Flip8
First up, the Galaxy Z Flip8. Weighing 180g and 6.1mm thick, it’s the lightest and thinnest Flip ever, and that bodes well for a device which boasts sleekness as one of its USPs. But there’s more to it, of course. Apart from its compactness, the beauty of this form factor lies in the unique use cases it offers – FlexCam is a good example. Using the flip design and the cover screen, it provides flexible shooting angles and real-time previews, aiding photography and letting you get creative in ways you couldn’t imagine before.
The Camcorder Grip is another feature that only the flip form factor can offer, and it allows for an intuitive way to shoot videos on the go. And now with Horizontal Lock added to the Super Steady mode, you can really go all out. A new Mirror View lets you check your appearance before you head out. Shooting is handled by a 50MP primary and a 12MP ultrawide, while a 10MP sensor handles selfies.
Next, the 4.1-inch cover screen displays more apps and useful info so a fair bit can be accomplished without even unfolding the device. The Now Brief AI feature that keeps surfacing useful info through the day also finds a spot on the cover display. Open it up, and the 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with 120Hz refresh rate and Vision Booster tech is revealed in all its glory.
As far as the innards are concerned, the device is powered by the Exynos 2600 SoC, with 12 gigs of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. A 4,300mAh battery that can charge at 25W with a cable and 15W sans wires keeps the lights on. Other key specs include an IP48 rating and Android 17 with One UI 9.
Next up, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
Moving to the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, this device is the successor to the Z Fold7 from last year. Samsung seems to have slapped on the Ultra suffix this time to indicate that this is the top model in its flagship lineup. And since the Fold8 Ultra is the torchbearer, it’s the most loaded among the new trio. And as the line goes, “with great power comes… “. Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold8 gets the responsibility of focusing on productivity as one of its key USPs.
At 4.2mm when unfolded, the Z Fold7 was already quite slim. With its successor, Samsung has shaved off another 0.1mm, making the Z Fold8 Ultra the thinnest Fold yet. Tipping the scales at 215g, it’s not too unwieldy to carry around and use. Overall, the design language sticks to the tried and tested, and frankly, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra seems happy to let the new Z Fold8 with its snazzy new form factor get all the limelight as it stands by its side to do the heavy lifting.
With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy providing the grunt, along with 12 or 16GB RAM and up to a terabyte of storage, the Z Fold8 Ultra takes the ‘Ultra’ bit quite seriously. The cover display measures 6.5 inches across and boasts flagship specs including Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech and 120Hz refresh rate. The main screen measures 8 inches, making the device pretty much akin to a small tablet when unfolded.
The Fold8 Ultra also promises pro-grade creativity with its 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide sensor and 10MP telephoto. The Nightography mode has been improved, so low-light photos should get brighter and clearer, while 8K video recording using the new APV codec and Cine LUT support ups the ante for serious videographers. All of this needs juice, so the battery has been bumped up to 5,000mAh, with Samsung going for silicon carbide tech for the very first time. The Fold8 Ultra also uses a new dual-path charging architecture to support up to 45W fast charging. Wireless charging is also supported at 20W speeds.
Needless to say, Samsung has added tons of AI features as part of the Galaxy AI bouquet and both the Z Flip8 and the Z Fold8 Ultra offer the full gamut. Features like Now Brief and Now Nudge have been there and new ones have been added too. One of the most interesting ones is app automation that can work across different apps to carry out the user’s command – looking up tickets, getting a table reservation and the like. We’ve been told that this would only be available in the US and Korea to begin with, though. Still, the healthy mix of useful AI features, the intuitive and customisable One UI platform and the ecosystem goodies that only Samsung can offer, make the software side of things quite robust.
To sum it all up
It’s an AI world out there, and with each successive generation, the story is becoming more about what you can do with these devices than just specs. And this is where Samsung’s new foldables aim to deliver. Users looking to buy a device in the super-premium league have sky-high expectations, and from what I can make out, the Galaxy Z Flip8 and the Z Fold8 Ultra should be able to meet them.
Disclosure: This writer attended Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on Samsung India’s invitation
