GoKawiilThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra biggest selling point compared to the S26 Ultra is probably that foldable display. While the Fold 8 Ultra looks more or less like a normal smartphone while closed, with a 6.5-inch, 1080p display, it blossoms open to reveal an 8-inch, nearly square, 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution Samsung calls QXGA+ — just about 2K along both axes. The displays also feature anti-reflective coatings to reduce glare from light sources. The anti-reflective coating has been a welcome feature on many Samsung phones by now, but it's notably absent from the S26 Ultra in order to accommodate the Privacy Display on that device. If you use your phone outdoors very often, you'll likely find the Fold 8 Ultra to have a better viewing experience than the S26 Ultra.
This year, Samsung is also using what it calls a Flex Titanium display for the inner screen, which uses a titanium alloy film and a metal backplate to bolster durability and reduce the crease along the fold axis while open. Durability has always been a concern on foldable phones. Their ultra-thin and bendy displays are necessarily flimsier than the Gorilla Glass coated displays on slab-style phones like the S26 Ultra, and the moving hinge can more easily allow ingress from dust and water. Even so, you'll still want to avoid pressing anything too pointy into the screen, which may explain why Samsung dropped S Pen support on last year's Folds and hasn't brought it back this time around.
That display enables extra multitasking functionality, like the ability to place three apps in split-screen mode. While the S26 Ultra has most of those features, it doesn't have the screen space to take advantage of them. The Fold 8 Ultra's flexibility enables other perks. Some apps let you partially fold the device to put extra controls on one side of the screen, kind of like a tiny laptop. The form factor also makes some camera tricks possible, like taking selfies with the main, 200MP lens, or propping the camera up at an angle to take stable shots without a tripod. If you take a lot of selfie videos for social media, that could be an advantage over the S26 Ultra.
Speaking of the cameras, the 200MP main, wide shooter is joined by a 50MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lens. Both the main and telephoto lenses have optical image stabilization. But for anyone who has previously enjoyed the so-called Space Zoom features on Galaxy Ultra devices, be warned, you'll only get a 3X optical zoom on the Fold 8 Ultra compared to 5X on the S26's dedicated zoom lens. Without the S26 Ultra's 50MP periscope telephoto, it's a diminished camera package, which is a shame, since you'll have to deal with a bulky camera platter all the same.
One minor benefit the Fold 8 Ultra brings is the latest One UI 9.0 software based on Android 17. It's the first of Samsung's phones to feature the update. However, the same update will arrive on the S26 lineup, and even to devices several generations old in the coming months. Samsung's update schedule has been unpredictable over the past several years, with even the most-recent flagships waiting months to receive major updates. There's a decent chance that the S26 Ultra won't get Android 17 until pumpkin picking season.
The elephant in the room is pricing. Whereas the S26 Ultra starts at an already considerable $1,299 for its base storage configuration, the Fold 8 Ultra will shake you down for a minimum of $2,099, which is enough money to buy a decent laptop alongside the S26 Ultra. The soaring price of the Fold is likely to be a dealbreaker for many consumers.