The Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max are tempting me more and more each day as I’m in the market for an upgrade. Both Samsung and Apple have released brilliant flagship phones this year and I’m left juggling the pros and cons of each.
However, there has also never been a time in my life where I have been this tempted to jump ship to the Apple ecosystem. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Galaxy S26 Ultra infuriate me because both phones have one problem each that I just can’t bring myself to accept, but I’m going to have to sooner or later.
Why does the Galaxy Z Fold 8 not have a telephoto camera?
Phone manufacturers often prioritize an ultrawide lens over a telephoto lens. | Image by PhoneArena
Many of my colleagues here at PhoneArena have been praising the Fold 8 ever since it came out in July. I can understand why, it’s a super light and fantastically designed foldable flagship.
It also helps that, after seeing it in action a bit more, I’ve completely come around to the new form factor. Now it’s the traditional foldables, like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, that seem awkward and unwieldy to me.
But I’m having a very hard time looking past the absence of a telephoto lens on the Fold 8. I love playing around with zoom to make distant objects, like the skyline of a city or a mountain range, appear massive. Doing so with just digital zoom means you’re sacrificing a lot of image quality.
Recommended For You
Why wouldn’t you just add a telephoto, Samsung? Is this simply to differentiate the Fold 8 Ultra from the Fold 8? We’ve already seen how successful the Fold 8 has been, so I really hope that the Fold 9 picks up a telephoto camera.
This way, if I do give in and get a Fold 8, I can trade it in pretty soon for the Fold 9.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a problem with its display
Display purists like myself demand perfection, especially at this price point. | Image by PhoneArena
Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a very interesting new feature that, I admit, has been calling to me. However, the inclusion of Privacy Display has meant sacrificing the overall display quality.
The display of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, even with Privacy Display off, has worse viewing angles and tones than rival phones. It’s still a great display, but it’s not the best. And for this amount of cash, I expect the best.
This is a mistake that the new Xiaomi 18 Pro has made as well. Xiaomi rushed to include a Privacy Display of its own but, in doing so, made a phone that has a noticeably inferior display compared to its predecessor.
It also doesn’t help that I just don’t like the design of the S26 Ultra as much as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The rounder edges and the archaic-looking camera island just don’t do it for me.
Why is the Burgundy iPhone 18 Pro Max so tempting?
It's a darker color option that's just as elegant as black while still being different. | Image by PhoneArena
Never before have I wanted to get a phone just for a color option. In fact, before the iPhone 18 Pro, I’ve never even considered buying a phone that isn’t black. But, for some reason, Burgundy is so tempting to me and I want to get it before it gets replaced by something else next year.
However, I also don’t feel like switching ecosystems. I don’t want to get used to new quirks and I don’t want to deal with some of the silliest problems that still make the iOS experience a mixed bag.
At present, I am most strongly leaning towards just pulling the trigger on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It is such a beautiful phone that I want to ignore the lack of a telephoto camera and just make do.
Which of these three phones would you have gone for?
10 Votes
The Galaxy S26 Ultra, while I’m not a fan, might be the most sensible option for what I want. Meanwhile, the devil on my shoulder keeps whispering into my ear about how pretty the Burgundy looks on the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Samsung, why have you done this to me? I don’t want to fall into the trap of waiting for the Galaxy S27 Ultra to come out to compare that and then deciding I might as well wait for the Fold 9 to come out, and so on and so forth.
One thing’s for certain, though, I’m not giving Xiaomi another chance. If they can’t keep simple software features working smoothly despite repeated complaints, then what’s the point?
Also, it just really rubs me the wrong way how Xiaomi has started to so blatantly copy everything that Samsung and Apple do. Come on, you can do better than that.
All three phones scored quite high in our reviews:
Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: