The new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs Apple's iPhone Ultra: it's going down!

Okay, now that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is official, it's time to put it against the iPhone Ultra, the first-ever foldable iPhone by Apple.

Or, to be precise, against the pile of rumors that the iPhone Ultra consists of right now. Apple's debut foldable won't be official for two extra months and it's expected to be unveiled come September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone 18 Pro.

But we have a fairly good idea of what the unreleased iPhone Ultra could be like.

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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is Samsung's first foldable phone with a passport design. Right now, you can pre-order it with a $1,200 maximum trade-in discount. Alternatively, you get $200 Samsung credit without a trade-in.

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Apples and oranges?

First things first, albeit that both the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the alleged iPhone Ultra adopt the "Ultra" for their monikers, they are drastically different on the outside.

The new Z Fold 8 Ultra is, in fact, the true successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Which means it's got a square-ish inner display when unfolded. When it's in its folded state, the phone resembles a candy bar phone (tall and narrow).

The iPhone Ultra, on the other hand, is expected to be wider than taller when unfolded. When folded, it's expected to resemble the aspect ratio of a passport. Samsung also has a wider-than-taller foldable this time around, but it's calling it the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (nothing "Ultra" about it).

So, it comes down to your own preference – if you want the biggest inner screen and you're used to the tall and narrow top display, you should go with the Z Fold 8 Ultra. If, however, you watch lots of videos, the wider screen of the iPhone Ultra might be the one for you.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra is a bit lighter at 215 grams, while the iPhone Ultra could weigh around 255 grams. Apple's creation reportedly uses a premium titanium frame and aims for an almost invisible crease, but that remains to be seen. The Z Fold 8 Ultra has almost eliminated the crease, too, so it's up to Apple.

In reality, creases are not that big of a deal nowadays. They're so shallow, you stop noticing them after the initial hours of use.

Camera goodies – one could miss out on a dedicated telephoto

Samsung appears to have the stronger camera hardware.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra offers a 200 MP main camera, a new 50 MP ultra-wide camera and a dedicated telephoto lens. It also includes features like improved Nightography, 8K video recording and Cine LUT for easier color grading.

Apple's foldable is rumored to use a simpler dual-camera setup with 48MP main and ultra-wide cameras, but without a dedicated telephoto lens. I hope that changes at the last minute, but that's a pipe dream. Apple will likely rely more on its computational photography.

Performance should be stellar on both devices

Performance should be excellent on both phones, with Samsung using the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and Apple expected to debut its new 2nm A20 chip.

It's interesting to see if Apple could claim the edge in raw efficiency thanks to the newer manufacturing process, while Samsung pairs its flagship chip with an expanded cooling system to help maintain performance during demanding tasks.

Both phones are expected to offer up to 1 TB of storage, although Samsung also has a 16 GB RAM option, compared to the rumored 12 GB maximum on Apple's foldable. Battery capacity should be very similar at around 5,000mAh, but Samsung already offers 45W wired charging, while Apple's charging speeds remain unknown.

All in all, you won't make a "wrong" choice whatever phone you go with in terms of performance.

Software tricks are crucial

Both phones are expected to make full use of their large foldable displays, but they take different approaches. Samsung combines One UI 9 with Galaxy AI features such as Now Brief, Now Nudge and deep Gemini integration, while also adding split-screen tools and better interaction with Galaxy watches and other devices.

Apple's foldable is expected to run iOS 27 with a redesigned interface for the larger screen, iPad-style multitasking and Apple Intelligence powered by a new version of Siri. On the security side, Samsung offers a broader set of protection features through Knox, Knox Vault and several privacy tools, while Apple is expected to rely on its Secure Enclave, Touch ID and the company's famous security ecosystem.

But which one to choose?

I don't think this battle is about camera megapixels or benchmark scores. It'll be about software and durability. Foldables are all about what they let you do with that larger screen.

Samsung has had years to figure this out and it's been refining multitasking, split-screen apps and productivity features since the first Galaxy Fold, and that experience shows. It understands that people buying a foldable probably want to do more than just scroll social media.

Apple, on the other hand, has something Samsung doesn't: an ecosystem that millions of people are already deeply invested in. If the company can make the foldable iPhone feel like a natural extension of the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch, that alone could convince plenty of buyers.

Also, AI features alone won't sell a phone anymore. Every flagship is becoming an AI phone anyway.

Picking the perfect foldable Ultra won't be easy, so I suggest waiting for those in-depth PhoneArena reviews before pulling the trigger and spending a ton of cash on either phone.

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