Is Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra price $2999? Our verdict

A greater battery, a greater digital camera, a extra sturdy folding mechanism, and a kind issue that’s laborious to beat make it the very best Android folding cellphone thus far this yr.

But it faces robust competitors from the Oppo Find N6, which arguably has a greater digital camera providing, whereas Motorola’s new folding cellphone is price consideration.

 While the brand new passport form Galaxy Z Fold 8 has obtained a lot of the limelight this yr, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra presents extra, albeit it at a costlier value.

There are Chinese options with a number of extra spectacular specs, however Samsung has been doing folding telephones for nearly a decade now, so it’s the way more trusted model and one that provides the very best general package deal.

And with regards to AI integration in each day duties in addition to apps, it’s a clear chief.

Coupled with the premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, the Fold 8 Ultra makes for an excellent package deal, significantly for these wanting the perfect in cell phone and watch choices.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra shouldn’t be an enormous improve on final yr’s Z Fold 7 however there are some noticeable enhancements.

The 8 inch inner display is brighter, sharper and higher outdoor as a result of its non-reflective coating.

The pill display is nice for multi-tasking, studying web sites, books, gaming and watching movies.

The tremendous skinny and light-weight format means it’s a gadget you may simply maintain for an prolonged interval whereas watching your favorite exhibits or a film, or gaming.

Increasingly, extra video games and apps are being designed for the folding cellphone format which makes the expertise even higher.

 While the Samsung S26 Ultra has a greater digital camera array, the Z Fold 8 Ultra captures nice photographs and movies.

The entrance cowl display is tremendous vivid and vivid as a viewfinder, whereas the within display is even higher for trying on the photographs and movies you might have captured.

During our assessment, we used the cellphone with no cowl which, given its lack of mud resistance and wish for further care in dealing with, definitely added to the nervousness when utilizing it on the seashore for instance.

Water resistance is simply IP48 (1.5 metres for half-hour). It’s positively not made for a plunge within the ocean saltwater.

If you get sand contained in the fold, it might simply trigger harm, so getting cowl would definitely be a precedence.

That stated, I did have it go flying over the automotive seat and was shocked to see it with no scratch after retrieving it.

While the extra compact Fold 8 has the higher setup for video, the shortage of digital camera firepower in comparison with the Fold 8 Ultra is unquestionably a giant consideration in case you love creating content material.

The Fold 8 Ultra battery is excellent and can give most customers two days of battery life.

If you’re travelling and utilizing it for instructions, enjoying music, gaming and movies in addition to capturing plenty of video, it may be recharged in a short time.

The Fold 8 Ultra slips into your pocket tremendous effectively, although could also be a bit of tall for shorter pockets, and being solely 8.9mm when closed looks like a traditional cellphone.

The entrance display presents loads of house for checking messages, whereas Samsung’s Now briefings are getting extra helpful as a fast look on climate, your calendar, photograph moments from yesterday or the week, in addition to issues like your vitality and sleep rating. You may simply maintain tabs in your favorite YouTube clips and high picks on your streaming companies.

With giant palms, I nonetheless discover myself making extra typing errors on the narrower display, in order that’s price contemplating.

The inside 8 inch OLED pill display lets you multitask – for instance, checking emails whereas catching up on a video or doing a break up display to check totally different work objects.

When you’re watching content material, the stereo audio system are nice for films and music movies.

Reading books or huge textual content paperwork is unquestionably loads simpler on the eyes utilizing the larger display.

The crease is even much less noticeable this yr, although the inside display is unquestionably a magnet for fingerprint smudges, that are very seen when there’s nothing on the display.

Both the 8 inch inside display and 6.5 inch entrance display provide 422ppi decision and 120Hz refresh charges.

The Fold 8 Ultra incorporates a tremendous quick Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy whereas RAM is 12 or 16GB and storage choices vary from 256GB to 1TB.

The digital camera line-up features a higher-resolution 200-megapixel fundamental sensor, an upgraded 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a devoted telephoto zoom lens.

The Ultra telephoto lens comes with a 3x optical zoom and a 10MP sensor.

One of the nice options for selfies is you need to use the entrance show to border larger decision photographs and video utilizing the rear digital camera.

You can shoot 8K video at 30 frames per second and there’s additionally choices for color grading movies for professional customers.

My Fan Cam is an AI characteristic that mechanically tracks and reframes a specific topic throughout the video.

Strong demand for Galaxy Fold 8 line-up

Samsung says the Galaxy Z collection has already had an overwhelmingly optimistic response, largely pushed by nice opinions of the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 8.

According to Samsung analysis, 84 per cent of Australians say dimension, portability and the flexibility to suit inside a pocket, purse or pockets are among the many most necessary elements when selecting a smartphone.

“We know smartphone users aren’t one-size-fits-all, which is why we’ve built our best and most complete foldable line-up to date,’’ Nathan Rigger, head of product, Mobile eXperience at Samsung Electronics Australia

“The Galaxy Z Fold 8 represents a new chapter for foldables, and it is the first of its kind in Australia.”

New Watch Ultra 2 takes train efficiency to subsequent degree

Samsung says the take-up of wearables amongst Australians can also be growing, with consumers eager to trace every little thing from their train efficiency to their sleep patterns.

Having examined numerous totally different watches over time, the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 is unquestionably considered one of our favourites.

It incorporates a premium design, is simple to make use of, effectively built-in with apps, whereas easy accessibility to AI options like Google Gemini makes it extra helpful than most.

My spouse and I whereas watching sport typically have questions that floor about gamers or groups.

Being in a position to merely ask your watch, slightly than diving for the cellphone, makes for a extra fluid and fewer disruptive expertise.

I additionally like the truth that it seems to note you exercising extra rapidly than the Apple Watch whereas the insights reviews are actually good.

“As Australians become more focused on proactive health management, demand is growing for smartwatches that deliver meaningful health insights, not just data,’’ Kylie Mason, Samsung’s head of Wearables for Australia, says.

“Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2 combine AI-powered health tracking, fitness monitoring and personalised wellness guidance to help Australians better understand their body and make more informed decisions about their wellbeing.

“From everyday wellness to extreme adventures, we’ve designed our latest Galaxy Watches to meet Australians wherever they are on their health journey, while delivering the comfort, performance and reliability they expect from a premium smartwatch.”

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has been constructed for adventurers and performance-focused customers, providing specialised sports activities monitoring, Samsung’s brightest show and largest battery.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 8 retails from $1949, the compact Fold 8 begins at $2699 whereas the Fold 8 Ultra sells from $2999.

Galaxy Watch 9 begins at $649 whereas Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 retails from $1299.

Mobile suppliers are providing loads of offers, together with some providing as much as $600 off the Fold 8 Ultra if you purchase on a plan.