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Which New Samsung Foldable Phone Should You Buy? Fold8 Ultra, Fold8, or Flip8?
Samsung has steadily improved its foldables, but the eighth annual update includes a fresh face, the Z Fold8, which features the long-rumored wide form factor. It slots in between the flagship Z Fold8 Ultra, which is the successor to last year’s Fold7, and the smaller Flip8, which succeeds the Flip7. Is the newcomer an awkward middle child or the glue that holds Samsung's folding family together? Samsung also has a couple of new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9.
The new phones are available now, but before you get yours, let’s dig into the details to help you decide which of Samsung’s folding phones to buy. I’ll break down the key differences and similarities, so you can make an informed choice. And remember, Samsung sells many other smartphones, and we highlight the ones worth looking at in our Best Samsung Phones guide.
Let’s take a quick peek at what the eighth-generation Samsung Galaxy Z foldables have in common this year.
Although Samsung’s foldables all feature exterior and foldout screens in completely different sizes, they all boast Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, so you get a 120-Hz refresh rate, support for HDR, and higher peak brightness than ever before (up to 3,000 nits), making it easy to read your screen, even in direct sunlight. They also have features designed to filter blue light and reduce eye strain.
The Fold8 Ultra and Fold8 have a special Flex Titanium layer that reduces the visible crease and provides extra strength, flexibility, and resilience. The titanium-alloy film should help the displays last longer, but also means they are flatter and smoother than before, with an anti-reflective finish that reduces glare.
All three phones have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor inside, with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB of storage. You can also get the Fold8 Ultra and Fold8 with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. They are all IP48 water- and dust-resistant and feature Samsung’s Advanced Armor Aluminum frame, which is scratch-resistant and durable enough to survive minor drops. The Fold8 Ultra and Fold8 support fast charging at up to 45 watts and fast wireless charging at 20 watts; the Flip8 is slightly slower for both. All three support Wireless PowerShare to top up wireless earbuds and other devices. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7 and Ultra Wideband (UWB).
Aside from the sizes, the camera systems are very different, but here are all the specs, so you can see exactly where they diverge.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is the biggest and best foldable that Samsung offers. If you crave the largest screen available but want to fold it away and have something that feels close to a regular smartphone when closed, this is it. The 6.5-inch cover display and slimmed-down design are slick but won’t turn heads. Open it up and you get an expansive 8-inch screen that feels like two 6.5-inch displays side by side.
Everything is smoother and stronger, with Samsung's usual raft of annual refinements. Both displays boast Samsung’s latest tech and a silky smooth adaptive refresh rate that also saves power. Speaking of which, the battery is significantly bigger than the Fold7 at 5,000 mAh, and it supports faster wired and wireless charging than its predecessor. The only slight disappointment is the lack of magnetic Qi2, which is such a handy feature for easy docking and perfect wireless charging alignment.
What truly makes the Fold8 Ultra “ultra” is the camera system. It’s a top-tier combo of a 200-megapixel main shooter, 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens that supports 3X optical zoom. Both the main and ultrawide can shoot 8K video, and you’ll find plenty of AI assistance in your photo and video editing options.