The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the wrong Samsung foldable to buy this year

Samsung gave us two very different foldables this year: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Both these foldables are aimed at completely different people. The Fold 8 introduces a new direction for Samsung with a wider display, a thinner chassis, and a much more compact feel in the hand. Meanwhile, the Fold 8 Ultra carries forward what the Galaxy Z Fold 7 started, refining that familiar formula.

Here’s the thing, though: you’d expect two completely different form factors to come with equally different feature sets. Instead, they’re remarkably similar, and the Fold 8 Ultra is priced just $200 more than the Fold 8. That’s exactly what got me thinking. For such a relatively small price increase, the Ultra offers enough extra value that it almost feels like Samsung is nudging buyers in that direction.

Now, I’m not saying Samsung literally doesn’t want you to buy the Fold 8 — that’s obviously an exaggeration. But based on how these two phones are positioned, it certainly feels that way. So, hear me out.

Playing a very expensive game of spot the difference

Before I explain why I think Samsung is steering buyers toward the Fold 8 Ultra, it’s worth looking at just how much these two phones have in common. On paper, they’re almost twins. Both are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, support 45W wired charging, carry the same IP48 dust and water resistance rating, feature identical selfie cameras, and ship with One UI 9 based on Android 17.

As for the differences, the Fold 8 Ultra has a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery — just 200mAh more than the Fold 8 — along with a more capable camera system, including a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. It also has a sharper display.

Beyond that, the biggest distinction is the hardware itself. The Fold 8 introduces Samsung’s new, wider, and more compact design, while the Fold 8 Ultra sticks closely to the Fold 7’s look, only shaving off another 0.1mm in thickness. Strip away the design changes, and these two phones are remarkably similar.

That similarity becomes even more obvious once you actually start using them. In day-to-day use, the biggest difference I noticed was the way the phones felt in my hand. The Fold 8 slips into my jeans pocket much more comfortably, and I genuinely like how compact and, dare I say, cute it feels when folded.

Ironically, that same redesign was the hardest to get used to. Because the unfolded display is noticeably wider than I’m used to, everything felt a little unusual at first. Whether I was scrolling through social media apps, watching YouTube, or even holding the phone during a call, it took a while for my hands to adjust. That’s not really a criticism of the Fold 8 — it’s simply what happens when you’ve spent years using Samsung’s taller, narrower foldables. Give it a few days, and I’m sure that feeling disappears.

Beyond that adjustment period, though, the experience is strikingly familiar. Both phones feel equally fast, deliver the same software experience, and handle everyday tasks exactly as you’d expect from Samsung’s flagship foldables. Yes, the Fold 8 Ultra has obvious advantages, but in regular day-to-day use, the gap isn’t nearly as dramatic as their names suggest. And that’s exactly why the $200 price difference becomes so interesting.

The Fold 8 Ultra just makes more sense

So, where am I going with all of this? After spending time with both phones side by side, I’d tell most people to skip the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra instead. I know that’s a bold statement, especially when the Fold 8 is a genuinely good foldable. But when you compare the two, it’s hard to ignore how Samsung has positioned them.

The Fold 8 is already an expensive phone. Spend another $200, and you’re getting an experience that feels noticeably more complete, almost across the board. That’s what makes the Fold 8 such a difficult recommendation. The closer I looked at the lineup, the more it felt like Samsung wanted the Ultra to be the obvious choice. Whether that was intentional or not, I can’t say for sure. But after using both devices, that’s exactly how it came across to me.

A big part of that comes down to familiarity. The Fold 8 Ultra builds on what Samsung got right with the Fold 7. It still has that comfortably wide cover display that feels much closer to using a regular slab phone when folded. Older Galaxy Folds always felt a little too narrow and awkward, forcing me to adjust how I typed or even how I scrolled through apps. The Ultra doesn’t have that problem. It feels natural the moment you pick it up, while still being impressively thin and comfortable to hold.

Then there’s the battery, and this is where Samsung genuinely surprised me. Both foldables are the company’s first to adopt silicon-carbon battery technology, but the Fold 8 Ultra benefits the most with its 5,000mAh battery. That might not sound revolutionary on paper, but for Samsung, it absolutely is. For years, the company has taken tiny, cautious steps with battery capacity and charging speeds. Seeing it finally take a meaningful jump feels like a welcome change, especially for a foldable that has to power two displays throughout the day.

That extra confidence carries over into everyday use. Whether I was binge-watching Netflix, researching in the Gemini Notebook app, taking dozens of photos while I was out, or juggling multiple apps, the Fold 8 Ultra never gave me a reason to think about the battery or the hardware. It simply got out of my way and let me use it.

And that’s really what sold me. The Fold 8 feels like Samsung experimenting with a fresh idea, while the Fold 8 Ultra feels like the company perfecting one it already knew worked. There’s nothing wrong with trying something new, but when I’m spending close to $2,000 on a phone, I want something that feels dependable from day one. The Fold 8 Ultra gave me exactly that feeling. It felt familiar, comfortable, and refined — and for just $200 more, that’s the foldable I’d happily spend my own money on.

A game of folds, strategy, and timing

Now, that also got me thinking about something else. If Samsung really wants most people to end up buying the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, then why go through the effort of creating an entirely new Fold 8 in the first place? I have a theory — let me explain.

Love it or hate it, Apple has a habit of influencing the rest of the smartphone industry. Whether it’s a hardware trend, a design language, or even a software feature, Android brands eventually respond in one way or another. That’s just how this industry has worked for years. So when rumors started pointing to Apple working on a more compact, differently shaped foldable iPhone, it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung was paying very close attention.

I’m not saying the Fold 8 exists because of Apple. In fact, it could easily be the other way around. But Samsung has one undeniable advantage: it has been building foldables for years. If anyone could bring a new form factor to market first, it would always be Samsung. Launching the Fold 8 now, before Apple has a chance to unveil its own foldable, feels like a smart strategic move. It lets Samsung define the conversation rather than react to it.

The funny part is that, by the time Apple eventually enters the foldable market, nobody will really care who inspired whom. That’s always been the nature of this industry. Companies borrow ideas, refine them, and race to be the first to put them in consumers’ hands.

There’s another reason the Fold 8 makes sense, too. Samsung isn’t experimenting with a design that nobody asked for. If anything, the Fold 8 feels closer to what many people have wanted from a book-style foldable all along. Folded shut, it feels compact and pocket-friendly. Open it up, and you have a wide, tablet-like display that’s genuinely enjoyable to use. It’s a different take on the foldable formula, and I can absolutely see why Samsung wanted it in its lineup — even if I personally think the Ultra is the better buy.

There’s also one final possibility. Rumors have suggested that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be Samsung’s last clamshell foldable for a while. If that turns out to be true, introducing a second book-style Fold with a completely different personality would make a lot of sense. Instead of offering one Fold and one Flip, Samsung would have two distinct foldables that appeal to different kinds of buyers while still keeping its foldable portfolio broad.

The math isn’t mathing

All things considered, I still believe the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the toughest foldable to recommend this year. By now, you already know why. Let’s be honest: if you’re already considering spending almost $2,000 on a foldable, stretching your budget by another $200 is probably easier than living with the thought of missing out on the better device. That’s exactly why the Fold 8 feels like such a difficult sell to me.

That said, I wouldn’t tell everyone to ignore it. If the new, wider form factor is what has caught your attention, don’t take my word for it — walk into a Samsung store and spend some time with it. Hold it, unfold it, and see how it feels in your own hands. You might end up loving that fresh approach, and if you do, the Fold 8 won’t disappoint you.

Just make sure you’re choosing it because you genuinely prefer the experience, not because you didn’t know what an extra $200 gets you. Once you’ve tried both phones side by side, I think the decision becomes much easier. For me, it certainly did.