Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra First Impressions: Slimmer, Smarter, But Is It Truly Ultra?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra price in India starts at Rs. 1,99,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The 12GB RAM + 512GB storage model costs Rs. 2,19,999, while the top-end 16GB RAM + 1TB storage variant is priced at Rs. 2,59,999.

The smartphone is available in Graphite, Cream, and Violet Shadow colour options, along with an exclusive Green Shadow finish on Samsung’s online store. You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra through Samsung’s official online store, Amazon, Flipkart, and authorised retail stores across India.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 First Impressions: Samsung’s Boldest Foldable Yet

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• Type C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Documentation

Before we talk in detail about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 8 inches, 6.5 inches Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-1-AD Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm)
• RAM & ROM: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM
• Software: Android 17 One UI 9
• Rear camera: 200MP, 10MP, 50MP
• Selfie camera: 10MP
• Battery: 5000mAh
• Weight: 215 grams
• Dimensions:Unfolded: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1 mm, Folded: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9 mm

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra has a design similar to last year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. I have been using it for the last two days, and its single-hand grip is amazing, thanks to the 9.99:9 aspect ratio, compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, which had a more notebook-style design.

Its slim body is another reason for the premium experience. The phone measures just 4.1mm when unfolded and 8.9mm when folded. So, after folding it, you won’t feel anything unusual or bulky in your hand.

Moreover, Samsung has used Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 3 on the front when folded, while the inner foldable display has a plastic front. The back is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the Advanced Armour Aluminium frame surrounds the device. This combination makes the phone feel premium in hand while also giving it a more solid and refined overall build.

Samsung has also added an upgraded Armour FlexHinge built with a Flex Titanium layer. This new hinge reduces friction, lessens crease visibility, and uses magnet optimisation with a sloped inner bezel to make opening and closing smoother than previous generations.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra comes with an IP48 rating for dust and water resistance. So it can protect against dust particles larger than 1mm and can be immersed in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.

Overall, my design experience with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra has been amazing so far. However, these are only my first impressions after using the phone for two days. I haven’t included my daily experience or observations from long-term use yet.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra comes with outstanding camera capabilities, featuring a 200MP wide, 10MP telephoto, and 50MP ultrawide sensor. Overall, the cameras deliver rich colours, better dynamic range, good clarity, and vibrant images.

I mostly used this phone indoors at the office, where the results were not always very sharp. However, whenever I stepped outside in better lighting conditions, the results looked almost DSLR-like.

I’m not exaggerating here; I mean an entry-level DSLR, so don’t expect results comparable to a mirrorless camera or a high-end setup.

I clicked multiple portrait images, and the edge detection was highly accurate and impressive. I tried portrait shots from 1x to 3x, where the images looked nearly perfect, but at 5x, I noticed some pixelation.

In normal photo mode, I didn’t notice any major issues, and the results looked natural. You can see this in my flower images, where the colours look quite close to real life.

These are just my initial impressions, though. I still need to use the camera extensively in different conditions before giving a conclusive opinion.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra comes with 10MP cameras on both the cover and inner displays, and the results from both are quite similar. So, it depends on which camera you prefer.

During my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra first impressions, I couldn’t record any videos, so I can’t comment on the video quality yet. According to Samsung, you can record 8K videos at 30fps with the rear camera and 4K videos at 30fps with the front camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra has the same dual Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X displays, including an 8-inch foldable main display and a 6.5-inch cover display. Apart from everything else, the aspect ratio matters a lot when it comes to the video-watching experience.

I would say that due to the different aspect ratios, with 21:9 on the cover display and 3:2 on the main screen, the viewing experience can vary depending on the video format. Most standard videos use a 16:9 aspect ratio, while cinematic content is often wider. If you watch such videos in the normal ratio on the main display, you will notice blank spaces at the top and bottom.

If you switch to full-screen mode, parts of the video on the sides get cropped, which can ruin the overall watching experience. That’s why, in my experience, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 offers a better video-watching experience compared to the Ultra model, especially for standard widescreen content.

The rest of the display features, such as a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+, are also included on this phone. I also used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra in bright conditions, and the display remained clearly visible, thanks to its 3,000 nits of peak brightness.

However, I have used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra for a very limited time for these first impressions. I will discuss the display experience in more detail after using the phone for a longer period.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra comes with the Qualcomm SM8850-1-AD Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm) chipset for smooth performance. It is also available in several variants with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.x storage.

I opened multiple apps at the same time and did not notice any lag or performance issues. However, I can’t comment conclusively on performance based on my first impressions without spending more time with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.

Talking about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra software, it comes with Android 17 based on One UI 9 and offers up to seven major OS updates. The UI experience is amazing and offers plenty of customisation options. However, I need to spend more time with the phone to explore and explain its latest software features in detail.

Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra comes with a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. The phone also supports 20W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. According to DKHD YouTuber, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra features a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery that delivers up to 27 hours of video playback.

It offers reliable all-day battery life, lasting over 21 hours in benchmark tests and outperforming previous foldable generations. Again, I haven’t tested the exact battery life and charging time yet, so I will discuss these in detail in my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra review.