Tom's Guide57%
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: How Samsung's next foldable could square up with the iPhone Fold 66%
By Alan Martin0%
7/6/2026, 7:09:18 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 31 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Optimism Bias, and Availability Heuristic, with Unattributed Quote as the most egregious example at 29.6% saturation with 332 hits. Analysis detected 2,797 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,121 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 59.9% and a BS Rank of 66% (7,533 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 65.60% of the article peer group.
It’s hard to believe that 2026 will see the eighth generation of Samsung’s foldable phones.
Somehow, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra still feel a little bit magical compared to regular flat handsets.
But with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Samsung may need more "wow" factor than ever.
That’s because reports claim that Apple will finally release its own iPhone Fold later this year to rival what Samsung and other device makers already offer on the foldable front.
That puts the pressure on Samsung not just to come up with a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra that improves upon its predecessors but also one that's prepared to face off against an unreleased Apple device some believe will be the next big thing in foldables.
So how does Samsung meet that challenge?
Here’s everything we know so far about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra based on early rumors.
Unless Samsung decides to mix things up, we can likely narrow the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra’s release window to just two months: July or August, 2026.
As for price, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 debuted with a $1,999 price tag that was $100 more than what Samsung charged for the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
And that 2024 release also saw a $100 increase from its predecessor.
Clearly, the pricing trend for the Fold is heading in the wrong direction.
Whether the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra reverses that trend is unclear, but the signs aren't promising.
The AI boom is driving up RAM costs, which could translate to more expensive phones, foldables or otherwise.
The upcoming Galaxy S26 release, which will take place months before the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra sees the light of day, could tell us a lot about Samsung's pricing strategy for 2026.
Samsung is developing a 'Wide Fold' model to deal directly with Apple's iPhone Fold.
The rumored Apple device is said to have a different aspect ratio than the standard Galaxy Z Fold (as we'll discuss in the section below), and this rumored Samsung Wide Fold would offer this more square layout as an alternative.
The Wide Fold rumor points to a possible fall release.
For now, we'll concentrate on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's prospects, though we'll post any updates about another Fold model as we hear them.
The basic design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is unlikely to deviate from its predecessors.
When closed, the Fold will still look like a regular handset with an exterior cover screen, only to open up to reveal a larger internal display.
We don’t have figures on how large these screens would be yet yet, but it would be surprising if it were too far removed from the 6.5-inch and 8-inch screen sizes we saw on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
That could prove to be a contrast to the iPhone Fold, which is said to be featuring a 4:3 aspect ratio for its main display; as a result, the panel itself could be smaller.
Samsung has had some success in reducing the sizable footprint of its flagship foldable in recent years, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 was just 8.9mm when folded or 4.2mm unfolded.
It seems like Samsung may have something even more svelte up its sleeve, as a report from South Korea says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will be 200 grams — 15 grams lighter than its predecessor.
That might spell worries for S Pen fans, however.
Support for Samsung’s clever stylus was dropped for last year’s model in a bid to make the device smaller, and if the new version is somehow lighter still, this doesn’t bode well for its return, despite earlier rumors to the contrary.
Still, there are two encouraging rumors about the internal panel on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
The first comes from the leaker @kro_roe, who claims that the tablet screen will be “larger” and “with [an] adjusted aspect ratio”.
And it looks like Samsung may have made further progress on removing the visible crease where the internal screen folds in half, too.
Laser drilling technology will reportedly greatly decrease the visible crease, though given Apple is said to have eliminated it completely, this may not be enough for perfectionists.
As an annual update, we’d expect the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra to get the latest and greatest Qualcomm chipset.
That’s the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which impressed in benchmarks before it started appearing in phones like the OnePlus 15 (and potentially, some of Samsung's Galaxy S26 models.)
In short, this is expected to be a very fast phone indeed, but so was the Galaxy Z Fold 7 thanks to its earlier Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon.
While the upgraded Qualcomm chipset has proven to be speedier, there's a question of whether users will notice the improvement in everyday tasks.
There's also a question of whether Samsung will turn to its own Exynos chips for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
After all, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 flip phone uses an Exynos 2500 rather than one of Qualcomm's chipsets.
And there's talk that the Exynos 2600 could power some Galaxy S26 models, depending on where the phones are release.
It's worth watching to see if the Fold follows that same pattern.
Whatever chipset Samsung does use could offer a boost to battery life.
According to @kro_roe, Samsung will be increasing the capacity of the battery from 4,400 mAh on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to 5,000 mAh on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
That’s not only very welcome in its own right, but hugely impressive, if the purported 15 gram drop in weight is also confirmed.
In a later post on X, @kro_roe added that Samsung will also be increasing the charging speed from 25W to 45W.
That’s a big boost to power users who rely on keeping their phone topped up, too.
It figures to be a big year for foldables, and the iPhone Fold's September launch would be a big reason why.
Samsung knows just how hard it is to make a reliable first foldable, and will hope that years of experience will make the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra the superior product when both foldables are available to buy.
From what we’ve heard so far, it sounds like Samsung will continue to advance the Fold, with a lighter design, a larger internal screen and a 14% larger battery.
There are still plenty of blanks to fill in, but if what we’ve heard so far is correct, Samsung could be well positioned to stave off any challenge from Apple.
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