Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra Review: The Telephoto the Standard Fold8 Gave Up
Samsung's first Ultra-branded foldable brings a 200MP main camera, a genuine 3x telephoto, and the largest battery in Z Fold history — at the most expensive price Samsung has ever charged for a Galaxy phone. Read our full verdict.
Samsung's first Ultra-branded foldable answers the exact question our Galaxy Z Fold8 review left hanging: what if you don't want to give up the telephoto lens for the new, wider "passport" body shape? The Z Fold8 Ultra keeps the redesigned shape and adds back everything the standard model dropped — plus a genuine flagship camera system on top. It comes at a real cost: $2,099 makes this the most expensive Galaxy phone Samsung has ever sold.
Design and Build
At 215g, the Ultra is a touch heavier than the standard Z Fold8's 201g, but it's actually thinner when folded — 8.9mm against the standard model's 9.7mm — thanks to an Advanced Armor aluminium frame doing more structural work per millimetre. It's available in Graphite, Cream, Violet Shadow, and Green Shadow, a distinct palette from the standard Fold8's softer colourway, aimed squarely at buyers who want the Ultra tier to look the part. Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 3 protects the inner folded display while Gorilla Glass Victus 2 covers the back — a meaningfully tougher spec than most foldables manage on either surface, let alone both.
Like the standard Z Fold8, dust resistance is capped at IP48 — full protection against water jets and submersion, but only partial protection against dust particles under 1mm. Even at this price, that remains an unresolved constraint of current folding-hinge engineering rather than something Samsung chose to skip on the cheaper model alone.
Displays
The inner display grows to 8.0 inches — genuinely large for a foldable, built on the same LTPO AMOLED and Flex Titanium substrate technology as the standard Fold8 but with more usable canvas for split-screen multitasking. The cover display steps up to 6.5 inches at a 21:9 aspect ratio, FHD+ resolution, wider and more phone-like to use one-handed than any previous Z Fold cover screen. Both panels share the 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 3,000-nit peak brightness of the standard model — Samsung hasn't held back display quality to differentiate the tiers, only size and glass durability.
Camera
This is the Ultra's entire reason to exist over the standard Fold8. A 200MP f/1.7 main sensor with quad-pixel autofocus leads a genuine three-camera system, joined by a 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide and — critically — a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto with real 3x optical zoom and OIS, the exact capability Samsung removed from the standard Z Fold8's dual-camera setup. Video maxes out at 8K using Samsung's APV codec with real-time Cine LUT colour grading, a genuinely professional-leaning feature set that puts clear distance between this and the standard model's camera story. If you found our Z Fold8 review's biggest criticism — no telephoto — to be a dealbreaker, this is Samsung's direct answer.
Performance
The same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip powers both Fold8 models, with identical RAM scaling — 12GB on 256GB and 512GB tiers, 16GB on the 1TB tier — and the same Android 17, One UI 9 software with Samsung's 7-year update commitment. Performance parity with the standard model means the Ultra's premium is entirely about camera, display size, and build, not raw horsepower — worth knowing if benchmark numbers are what you're comparing.
Battery and Charging
A 5,000mAh battery is the largest Samsung has ever fitted into a Z Fold, a real capacity increase over the standard Fold8's 4,800mAh despite the Ultra's slimmer folded profile. 45W wired charging reaches 67% in 30 minutes — slightly faster than the standard model's 63% — while 20W Qi2 wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless charging carry over unchanged.
Verdict
GSMTechTok Verdict
The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is the foldable Samsung should arguably have shipped as its only Z Fold this generation — it keeps everything that makes the redesigned passport shape genuinely better while restoring the telephoto lens and camera capability that made the standard Z Fold8 review's biggest caveat necessary in the first place. The value sub-score of 74 reflects real cost: at $2,099, this is Samsung's most expensive Galaxy phone ever, and that premium is a genuine consideration, not a rounding error. But on pure capability, this is the most complete foldable Samsung has ever built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Z Fold8 Ultra worth £200 more than the standard Z Fold8?
If camera capability matters to you, yes — this is genuinely the bigger jump. The standard Z Fold8 dropped its telephoto lens entirely, while the Ultra retains a proper 3x optical telephoto alongside a 200MP main sensor, both real upgrades over the base model's dual-camera-only system. You're also getting a larger 8.0-inch inner display, a bigger 5,000mAh battery, and a titanium-reinforced frame — this isn't a badge-only upgrade.
Why does the Z Fold8 Ultra still have an IP48 rating instead of IP68?
It's a structural limitation of current folding-hinge engineering, not a corner Samsung chose to cut for this specific model. IP48 means full protection against water jets and submersion (matching non-folding flagships) but only partial protection against dust particles under 1mm. Even at $2,099, Samsung hasn't solved full dust-sealing on a folding hinge — that remains an unresolved industry-wide challenge.
What's the real weight and thickness difference against the standard Fold8?
The Ultra is slightly heavier at 215g against the standard Fold8's 201g, and marginally thicker folded at 8.9mm versus 9.7mm for the standard model — actually thinner folded despite the added camera hardware, largely down to the Advanced Armor aluminium frame and Flex Titanium hinge doing more structural work with less bulk.
Price history · 90 days · GBP
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
Current
£1,899
90d Low
£1,786
18 Aug
90d High
£1,937
7 Jun
Launch price
£1,899
All-time low ↓
Price tracking from major UK retailers. Updated daily. Prices may vary.
How it compares: Z Fold8 Ultra vs standard Z Fold8
Samsung
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
From £1,899
Samsung
Galaxy Z Fold8
From £1,699
8.0", Flex Titanium
Inner display
7.6", 4:3
200MP + 50MP + 10MP tele (3×)
Main cam
50MP + 50MP, no telephoto
5,000mAh · 45W
Battery
4,800mAh · 45W
215g
Weight
201g
From £1,899
Price
From £1,699
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