Samsung has largely defined the foldable phone category, but it’s no longer alone in releasing flexible devices. Google, Motorola and a raft of Chinese OEMs have their own take on this form factor. Is the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra really “ultra” enough to remain on top?

This phone doesn’t have the wide frame of the new Z Fold 8, instead matching the approximate size and shape of the company’s last few tablet-style foldables. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is not a big leap, but it continues Samsung's pattern of iterative foldable improvements. At this point, there's very little left to improve.

The compromises of going with a foldable over a regular flat phone have largely been erased with the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Well, except for the price. Flatter and a little better; Foldables used to be real pocket-busters, almost like carrying two phones glued together. Samsung has successively shaved a few millimeters off every year, taking a leap last year with the Z Fold 7. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is even a bit slimmer than that phone, but the difference is basically imperceptible.

The 2026 Samsung flagship foldable is barely thicker than the average flat phone when folded, which is impressive considering the powerful hardware inside. The two halves come together with no gap, and the hinge feels smooth and springy. The phone almost seems to 'leap' into the unfolded configuration when you pry it open, and it ends up flatter than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which didn't quite reach 180 degrees. It's structurally solid in this state, even though it's barely 4 mm thick. It feels like a small tablet, not a phone that folds in half, but somehow, it is.