GoKawiilRichard Priday / Android Authority
Late last month, Samsung launched its new book-like foldable duo, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Given the latter’s superlative tacked onto its title, you’d expect it to be the device making the most noise post-launch. Interestingly, it’s the lesser new kid in the block causing a scene.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 now adopts Samsung’s new wider foldable design, giving users a broader, squatter slab of a screen that’s great for consuming media. It’s also crammed into a thinner frame, making it more pocketable than its sibling. It trades these benefits for a few downgrades, including only two rear cameras, a smaller battery, and a softer screen.
So, it would make more financial sense to get the Ultra, then? It costs just $200 more, and if you’re already planning to spend thousands on a foldable, why not go all out, right? Well, that doesn’t seem to be what many of our readers believe.
We recently ran a survey to gauge readers’ stance on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra debate, and it’s clear — Samsung’s newer model has already won many fans.
Andy Walker / Android Authority
Our poll, specifically titled, “Do you think the Fold 8 Ultra makes the Fold 8 pointless for just $200 more?” garnered just over 2,200 votes. Nearly three in every five respondents (58.4%) believe that the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s thinner, wider design makes sense. Not only that, but the design is the main reason to purchase the phone over the Ultra.
Many readers in the comments double down on this view. Reader vaporbaked94 writes: I absolutely HATE the aspect ratio of the Fold 8 Ultra. I’m leaving iOS after 15 years because I fell in love with the wider and shorter Fold 8. Not everyone feels this way, and that’s reflected by the 25.8% of respondents who would rather opt for the Ultra and its richer feature set.
However, reader toddarino explains that it’s not just the Ultra’s longer specs sheet that entices — it really does come down to form factor at the end of the day: I was totally in the same boat and went with the Ultra, and really glad I did. I upgraded from a fold 6 and the Ultra seems like leaps and bounds ahead of the 6. So thin and better battery, and with the bigger internal screen then the 8, was a no brainer for me. I just prefer and am used to this form factor. 13% of voters believe there’s no real contest between the two phones — they both share names and are far too similar in their core concepts to warrant siding with either, while a 3% voting share is “skipping both” phones, perhaps in favor of Apple’s upcoming foldable.
It’s been several weeks since the Fold 8 series launched. Have you picked up one of the foldables? If you have, which did you ultimately go for? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
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