The Ultra moniker represents Samsung‘s highest standard in performance and innovation. Now, that designation comes to the family of foldable devices with the new Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.
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The model, presented this week at the mid-year Galaxy Unpacked event in London, seeks to establish a definitive benchmark in the mobile productivity and content creation market.
The Korean firm launches the slimmest design in its catalog presented to date, with a thickness of just 4.1 millimeters when unfolded and a weight of 215 grams.
The device’s central proposition is its large 8-inch main screen, a panel that offers a workspace specifically designed for intensive multitasking.
As in this category, the true challenge for foldable devices is to offer a desktop experience in your pocket, Samsung aims precisely at that goal by integrating hardware and software that allow users to work seamlessly.
The photographic section is one of the highlights of this launch. The camera system was designed to provide freedom at every stage of the creative process, from capture to final editing.
The main camera features a 200 MP sensor that captures richly detailed images, now optimized with High Dynamic Range (HDR) to deliver true-to-life results.
Added to this is a new 50 MP ultra-wide-angle lens that provides flexibility by improving clarity in both wide scenes and macro close-ups.
In low-light conditions, Nightography technology promises sharp photos and videos in challenging environments.
Video recording also receives a professional-grade update. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra allows recording material in 8K resolution using the new APV codec, delivering cinematic quality and greater maneuverability in post-production.
To power this entire ecosystem, performance is handled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor. This latest-generation chip delivers the necessary power to maintain heavy workflows, including AI-driven tasks.
Sustaining this level of demand in such a thin device requires constant power. For this reason, Samsung integrated a 5,000 mAh battery that guarantees autonomy for a full day. This is complemented by a novel dual-path charging architecture with support for 45 W fast charging.
Finally, to prevent overheating during the most demanding tasks, the device uses a cooling structure based on expanded graphite that effectively dissipates heat and maintains peak performance at all times.
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With the new model presented, these are the tech world’s first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, still without confirmed prices or official launch in Chile.
Mexican communicator and technology analyst, Isa Marcial, who was present at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, explains to La Tercera that “the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra improves in very important aspects such as battery, charging, hinge, resistance, and the crease mark, although important aspects are still pending if it truly wants to be called Ultra, such as the privacy screen, Gorilla Armor, better zoom, and S Pen support.”
“We will have to keep waiting for those improvements,” he notes from London.
“I believe this launch reflects a different stage for foldable phones. In the early years, the focus was on demonstrating that the technology was possible and could offer a different experience. Today, the conversation seems to be going in another direction: how to make that format more comfortable to carry, to use, and to incorporate into the routine,” says Fernanda Guajardo, a technology journalist at Innovación EM.
“In that sense, I find it interesting that Samsung has placed so much emphasis on reducing the device’s weight and thickness, because these are changes that can influence the daily experience more than many new features. Ultimately, the true evolution of a foldable probably doesn’t depend on how surprising it is on the first day, but on how natural it feels to use it every day,” she adds.
“I think it’s good to have a foldable with superior features, because that already gives substance to the flexible phone category and pushes manufacturers to release increasingly better models, which directly benefits the user. Furthermore, this also allows the market to regulate itself and offer more price options, thanks to new categories,” says César Silva, a technology journalist and editor at Supergeek.
He then continues: “I think Samsung had no other option but to release something more powerful, as Chinese manufacturers have been surpassing it in certain features like battery, for a couple of models now. However, it’s difficult for HONOR, for example, to compete for market share mainly due to its name, so with this Ultra, Samsung has what it takes to remain at the top of foldables.”
“The new Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, successor to the Galaxy Z Fold7, presents notable changes despite its similar design and aesthetics. The big leap is the inclusion of a larger 5,000 mAh battery, made possible by silicon and carbon technology, compared to the limited 4,400 mAh battery of the previous generation,” says Valentina Espejo, a technology journalist at LUN.
“In my opinion, there are no magnificent changes to the cameras. Although the ultra-wide-angle camera improved from 12 MP to 50 MP, I believe the telephoto camera, which remains at 10 MP, was the one most in urgent need of an upgrade,” she asserts.
Espejo says: “I found the new My FanCam feature innovative. In simple terms, with Galaxy AI, you can edit a horizontal video by cropping a person from a group shot and creating a vertical clip focused only on them.”
For Wilhem Krause, a technology journalist, “the crease, ever since the first foldable device was launched, was the most obvious proof that one was using such a phone, and it’s something that always draws criticism. Samsung wants to disguise it with Flex Titanium, a new structure that incorporates a titanium alloy sheet under the OLED panel and a second plate that supports the display module. The two pieces distribute pressure better, help absorb impacts, and prevent the central crease from becoming more noticeable over time.”
“Titanium also allowed for a reduction in thickness without weakening the device. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra measures 4.1 millimeters open and weighs 215 grams: it is the thinnest Fold manufactured by Samsung, although it maintains the same weight as the previous model. The technology was developed by Samsung Display, the group company that manufactures its foldable panels. The crease still exists, but it looks and feels less prominent. And the less noticeable it is, the fewer reasons there are to continue considering these phones as an experiment. I believe that this generation demonstrates that foldables have moved past the experimental stage and are entering a more mature phase. Each generation corrects specific problems from the previous one and brings these devices closer to a normal phone, but with a much larger screen,” explains the editor of ClicClick.cl.
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