The Ultra specs missing on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

Samsung launched its latest flagship smartphone with a book-style foldable display, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, on July 22. It is the first Ultra model in the Galaxy Z Fold lineup, bringing the series in line with the Galaxy S lineup, which has featured Ultra variants since 2020.

Samsung’s Ultra phones typically offer the brand’s most advanced mobile technologies. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra misses out on several of the company’s newest and most advanced features that are already available on its latest Galaxy S Ultra model.

The first is Privacy Display. Introduced with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it is an industry-first feature that narrows the display’s viewing angle, making it difficult for people nearby to see what’s on the screen.

When news broke out that Samsung would launch an Ultra model in its foldable lineup, many expected that it would equip it with Privacy Display. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened.

Every book-style foldable Samsung has launched—from the first device in the lineup, the Galaxy Fold, to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra—has featured a triple rear camera setup. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S Ultra lineup has offered four rear cameras for years. 

When reports about Samsung planning to introduce an Ultra variant in the Galaxy Z Fold series surfaced online, many people expected it to match the Galaxy S Ultra with a quad-camera system. That expectation, however, has not been met.

While the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra uses the same 200MP primary, 50MP ultra-wide, and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras as the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it lacks the 50MP camera with 5x optical zoom found on Samsung’s flagship non-foldable phone, limiting its zoom capabilities.

The selfie camera is another area where the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra falls behind the Galaxy S Ultra lineup. Samsung upgraded the front-facing camera on the Galaxy S Ultra series multiple times, with the latest model featuring a 12MP unit, offering brighter and more detailed selfies than previous models.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, however, continues to use an inferior 10MP selfie camera on both outer and inner displays, making the omission particularly surprising for Samsung’s most premium foldable.

Charging is another feature where the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra trails behind the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung’s flagship slab phone supports 60W wired and 25W wireless charging, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is limited to 45W wired and 20W wireless charging.

For a device carrying the Ultra branding, many users would have expected Samsung’s fastest charging technology to make the jump to its foldable lineup as well. However, that’s not the case.

Samsung first removed S Pen support from the Galaxy Z Fold lineup with the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition and made the removal mainstream with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra lacks support for the S Pen as well. One could argue that the stylus was never an integral part of the Fold lineup anyway as it was a separate purchase and couldn’t be stored inside the device.

But it’s still one of the features that defines Samsung’s Galaxy S Ultra smartphones, and owners of a Galaxy Z Fold 6 or older model who use the stylus will have to give it up if they decide to upgrade to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

All that said, and despite the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra lacking many features from the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it is arguably the best book-style foldable smartphone overall on the market. It offers an excellent balance between design, features, user experience, durability, and price, with a surprising number of upgrades over its predecessors.