Samsung sells two book-style foldables this year, and according to SamMobile editor-in-chief Abhijeet, the pricier one is the better buy despite getting less attention since launch.
In an opinion piece published Thursday, Abhijeet writes that sales of both the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra rose after Apple's iPhone Duo launched, but the standard Fold 8 still draws most of the spotlight. He argues that's backwards, laying out three reasons he'd pick the Ultra.
The first is Flex Mode, the feature that lets a foldable stay propped open at an angle for hands-free video or photos. Abhijeet says the regular Fold 8's hinge doesn't hold reliably past 90 degrees, and Samsung left out the software side entirely, so apps like YouTube don't automatically split into a video pane and playback controls the way they do on phones with proper Flex Mode support. The Fold 8 can still prop up in tent mode on its cover screen, he notes, but calls that no substitute.
The second reason is the camera. The Fold 8 ships with just two rear cameras and no dedicated zoom lens, a first for the Z Fold line, following the Galaxy S25 Edge as only the second recent Samsung flagship to drop to two rear sensors. The Fold 8 Ultra includes a 3x zoom camera. Abhijeet says he'd still prefer the 5x zoom lens on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but calls 3x a clear improvement over none, and says the missing zoom camera was a main reason he went back to the S26 Ultra after using the standard Fold 8.
The third point is screen shape. The Fold 8 unfolds directly into a wide landscape display, good for video and games without rotating the phone first. But Abhijeet says he spends more time in apps like Instagram and X, where that wide aspect ratio leaves the inner screen too short vertically, forcing him to rotate into portrait almost every time he opens it. Portrait photos suffer the same way, filling the whole screen only after a rotation. Samsung added a screen zoom setting to show more content on the wider display, he says, but calls it a workaround rather than a fix. The Fold 8 Ultra's taller, squarer display avoids the problem for browsing and photos, and he says video playback looks much the same in either orientation on that panel anyway.
He's quick to add that the standard Fold 8's lighter weight is a real advantage, and he still prefers carrying it day to day. But given a straight choice between the two 2026 Fold models, he says Flex Mode, the zoom camera, and the taller screen tip it toward the Ultra.
Samsung hasn't said why Flex Mode's software side was left off the regular Fold 8, and neither device's pricing is addressed in the piece. The comparison lands as both foldables keep competing for attention against Apple's newly launched iPhone Duo, the first foldable iPhone, which Abhijeet says now offers similar flexible-display functionality in hardware and software.
MDFiled by The Mobile Desk
Phones from leak to launch to price cut: what was announced, what it costs where, and when it goes on sale. Indian launches and prices included, not appended.
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