Not content to launch one new model into its folding range, Samsung in fact announced three different models in its July 2026 keynote. This review takes a look at the flagship device, the Z Fold 8 Ultra, which was revealed alongside the Z Fold 8, and the Z Flip 8. The former we have already reviewed, while the latter is aimed primarily at a younger and less photographically orientated audience.

　　Samsung’s two Z Fold devices are designed to offer high-quality specs for photographers, while also giving you the bonus of an interior folding screen which you can use to view your pictures and videos.

　　The Z Fold 8 Ultra uses the same shape as last year’s Z Fold 7, being long and thin, compared to the short, squat shape of the Z Fold, and has three cameras.

　　It won’t be long before we find out if the Z Fold 8 Ultra can earn a place on our list of the best smartphones for photographers. It’s definitely not a cheap device, with prices starting at a cool $2099/£1899 – this is one of the most expensive smartphones you can currently buy, but is it worth the cash?

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at a glance From $2099/£1899 1x lens, 200MP, f/1.7, 24mm equivalent 3x lens, 10MP, f/2.4, 67mm equivalent Ultrawide lens, 50MP, f/1.9, 13mm equivalent Video: 8k/30fps, 4k/120fps 8.0-inch foldable inner Dynamic LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, 3000 nits peak brightness 6.5-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED cover display, 120Hz Android 17 5000mAh battery Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor IP48 dust and water resistance 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm (folded) 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1mm (unfolded) 215g How I test phones I review smartphones from the perspective of choosing one for its photography and camera performance. For the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, I look closely at what it offers in terms of picture and video capability. I will take into consideration other features, such as battery life or the processor. The screen, particularly for a folding phone is also scrutinised closely. What I won’t make a comment on is unrelated – albeit important – specifications and performance around things like gaming or call quality.

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Features This model introduces the “Ultra” moniker to the Galaxy folding range, something which has previously been reserved for the “S” series, such as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

　　A little bit confusingly, it follows on from 2025’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 in terms of size, shape and camera setup – this year’s Z Fold 8 has dropped one of the cameras and gone for a short and squat design instead.

　　The Z Fold 8 Ultra now represents the “best of the best”, a flagship level model, but with added folding functionality. As such, you get a triple camera setup with a 1x, a telephoto and an ultrawide.

　　Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just a Z Fold 8 with an extra camera – the main camera is also higher specced too. On the Z Fold 8 Ultra the 1x unit is a 200MP f/1.7 lens, compared to the 50MP f/1.8 main lens found on the Z Fold 8.

　　Joining the 1x is an ultrawide (50MP, f/2.2 – seems to be the same found on the Z Fold 8) and the third lens, which is a telephoto is something you don’t get on the Z Fold 8 at all. That said, the telephoto lens is only a 10MP, 3x lens, so we’ll see if it’s worth spending the extra cash to get later in the review.

　　You also get two selfie cameras, one on the cover screen and another on the interior screen. Both are 10MP f/2.2, but one is 18mm and the other is 24mm. However, these cameras are designed to be used for things like video calling, rather than taking selfies – that’s one of the big advantages of a folding phone, you can use the main camera for taking selfies by folding the screen in a certain configuration.

　　The inner display gives you an 8.0-inch folding screen, which is a bit of a beast when opened. The outer display is more similar to a normal “bar” phone, at 6.5-inches, and using the thin, narrow setup we’re pretty used to by now.

　　Other features to take note of include the latest generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a 5000 mAh battery and up to 8K video recording.

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Handling and design I took delivery of both the Z Fold 8 Ultra and its lower-in-the-range sister, the Z Fold 8 at the same time. My initial reaction upon opening the boxes was that, obviously, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the superior phone. However, the more time I spent with both of them, the more I came to realise that with its long, thin shape, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is just a little bit “much” for me.

　　When folded, it’s not a million miles away from using a regular bar phone, but it’s length makes it stick quite significantly out of my jeans pocket. Now, I’m a woman so if you’re wearing men’s clothes you might not have this problem, but it’s still worth thinking about. I also have trouble reaching the top of the screen when trying to use the phone for tasks like texting and emailing.

　　When folded, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is 8.9mm thin, making it still pretty slim and only marginally wider than something like the Galaxy S26 Ultra – it’s almost possible to forget that you’re using a folding phone at all. The Ultra is slightly heavier than the Z Fold 8, at 215g, but I’d wager that’s a difference you’re not really going to notice all that much.

　　Open up the phone, and the 8-inch screen is quite a lot to take in – it’s great for looking at and editing your shots on the go, but I actually found the Z Fold 8 to be the more natural shape for looking at images, as the aspect ratio. More closely matched that of the pictures taken.

　　As for the fold, you can see it – but only really fully from certain angles, it’s certainly not obtrusive. Underneath the display, Samsung has included a layer of “Flex Titanium” which is designed to absorb shocks and provide strength to the screen. This is something which you’ll only really be able to verify it’s doing its job after many months or years, but it seems pretty decently built anyway.

　　Just like the Z Fold 8, the Ultra is only IP48 rated. That seems a disappointment for such a highly priced phone, especially one which is the flagship. Most modern smartphones have an IP68 or IP69 rating. The first number – i.e. the 4, relates to dust resistance, while the second number, the 8 represents the waterproofing. So, just like most modern phones, you can run the Z Fold 8 Ultra under a tap without any problem, but, you might find that dust enters the unit more readily, likely thanks to the folding design. You might argue that was just par for the course with foldables, but, there’s others out there, like Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold and the Honor Magic V6 which have the full IP68/69 ratings, so it’s not like it’s impossible to do.

　　I’ve been using the black – sorry “Graphite” version of the Z Fold 8 Ultra. It’s fairly sleek and stylish, albeit a little bit muted. There’s also “Violet Shadow” (dark purple) and Cream to choose from – it would have been nice to have something a bit more exciting, but hey, such is life.

　　The physical buttons on the side of the phone can be used to launch the native camera, as well as take a picture, if you don’t want to use the on-screen controls.

　　Speaking of which…

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Native camera app With the Z Fold 8 Ultra, you can take pictures with the device folded or unfolded, depending on which best suits the situation – most of the time that will be with it folded, but there are some times when the folding element makes for a useful setup.

　　“Photo” is the default shooting mode. It’s here you can access the 0.6x (ultrawide), standard (1x) and telephoto (3x) lens, as well as digital crop options – including 2x, as well as 10x, 20x and 30x. Unlike with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, 30x is where this model tops out – you don’t get the silly 100x shooting option, but you’re not missing anything there.

　　When you shoot in lower light, you should find that Night mode switches on automatically, while the close-up/macro mode should activate if you bring the camera close to a subject. There’s a range of other shooting modes available, including Panorama and Portrait.

　　For advanced shooters, there’s two modes which give you access to change settings. These are “Pro” and “Expert Raw”. With these, you can do things like change white balance and shutter speed, as well as shooting in raw format if you feel it’s appropriate.

　　When you want to take a selfie, you’re able to use the selfie cameras with either interior or exterior screen if you wish to. However, you’ll get higher quality images with the 1x lens. To do this and be able to compose properly, there’s a dedicated icon you press. Once you’ve tapped t, open the phone and point the rear cameras at yourself and the front screen will display what the camera is seeing.

　　The folding functionality also means you can use the Z Fold 8 Ultra as a “stand”. Fold the phone to half way, rather than fully open/closed, and one side becomes the stand, and the other side where the camera is. Now you can use the interior screen to compose your image. This could be useful for group shots or if you want to do something creative, perhaps from ground level.

　　On top of that, you can also set up the screen so that one half of it shows the camera display, and the other half shows you the photos that you’ve just taken, too.

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Image quality and performance Overall, the three cameras do a very good job, producing bright, vibrant images with great colours and plenty of detail.

　　It certainly used to be the case that folding phones were equipped with noticeably inferior cameras than their bar equivalents, but the field seems to be levelling out quite significantly these days.

　　That said, I wouldn’t put the Z Fold 8 Ultra in the same tier as the S26 Ultra – the latter is certainly a better performer if photography is your primary concern. However, if you’re really keen on a folding phone and still want something very capable of taking great pictures, then this could be the one for you.

　　It’s the 1x lens which puts in the best performance – as you’d expect. Here, that 200MP does an excellent job, though I wouldn’t say it’s a huge departure from the 50MP device found on the Z Fold 8 – both output to 12MP as standard.

　　The ultrawide, seemingly the same as found on the Z Fold 8 also puts in a very decent performance.

　　It’s the zoom lens that gives the least good results. They’re not bad, but if you scrutinise them closely, you will see they’re a little bit smudgy and lacking in detail – exactly what I’d expect from a 10MP, small sensor device. Now, the real question here is whether you want to pay extra to have this included, or whether you can make do without – as someone who barely touches the telephoto lens on my phone, I’d be very happy to lose it personally, but that’s a matter of personal taste.

　　As for digital zoom, the 10x option is pretty usable, but beyond that you’ll find that details are very easily lost.

　　Portraits are nicely rendered, with natural skin tones and a pretty good shallow depth of field. As usual with these things, you can see some fussiness if the outline isn’t perfect, but only really if you zoom in.

　　Macro or close-up images are taken using the ultrawide lens and yield some nicely detailed results. I’ve seen better performance from the telephoto lenses on other Android models, but it’s certainly not bad results.

　　Low light shooting gives some decent results, and it appears to be slightly better than the performance of the Z Fold 8. The best shots come from the 1x lens, but the ultrawide isn’t too bad. If you attempt to use the telephoto lens in very low light, you’ll find that it crops into the 1x sensor, yielding some pretty smudgy results – I wouldn’t bother unless you’re absolutely desperate.

　　If you’re a big fan of selfies, then a folding phone is a smart choice. Here, you’ll find that the 1x lens produces much better results than the standard camera – you’re basically taking portraits of yourself, rather than selfies – a subtle yet important difference.

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Value for money There’s not really much getting around the fact that folding phones are still extraordinarily expensive. If you want one, that’s just something you’re going to have to deal with.

　　But there’s expensive, and then there’s expensive. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is one of the priciest on the market, with a starting price of $2099/£1899 (256GB), rising to $2299/£2069 (512GB) and $2699/£2409 (1TB).

　　That put its roughly in line with the Honor Magic V6 (which is only available in 512GB variant), and more expensive than the Google Pixel Fold 11 Pro.

　　However, I feel reasonably confident that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will hold its value better than those two other phones, so in terms of a long-term investment, when prices are reasonably similar, I’d go for the Samsung if you can’t make a decision between them.

　　I would also very strongly consider going for the Z Fold 8 instead. You’re still getting a Samsung, but it’s considerably cheaper, has (I think) a better shape, and although you’re losing a camera, it’s the weakest one and therefore not much of a loss.

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Verdict Of the two newest Z Fold phones, I expected to like the Z Fold 8 Ultra much more than the Z Fold 8. After all, it offers a triple lens setup, and a better 1x camera.

　　But, there’s more to think about than the quality of the onboard camera when you’re reviewing a phone like this. Here, the phone size and shape is just a little bit awkward, and I found that I much preferred the cheaper Z Fold 8, which was a bit of a surprise.

　　It’s also worth considering that although on paper the Z Fold 8 Ultra has the better specification, in practice, the difference isn’t all that great. The 200MP sensor doesn’t produce images which are worlds apart from the 50MP sensor in the Z Fold 8, while the telephoto lens is merely adequate.

　　Overall, this is a nicely performing folding phone and if you want one which is in the traditional size and shape then it’s a good choice.

　　Related reading:

　　Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review With a bold new shape and two good cameras, I think this is my favourite ever folding phone Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review A folding phone that’s finally good enough for photographers Honor Magic V6 review – slim, light and with three great cameras, is this the folding phone to beat for photography? Do you want to win some great prizes for your photography? Enter your photos in our International Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Free entry for photographers aged 13-21.

　　Follow AP onFacebook,Instagram,YouTube,TikTokandIrys.