Now that Samsung Unpacked has come and gone, you might be frantically trying to preorder the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It's the first Samsung foldable to earn the "Ultra" badge, which presumably means it's extra. But before you throw your credit card at the screen, consider the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8. Yes, the Ultra has a lot going for it, but the Fold 8 makes a strong argument for itself, too. Part of that is because Samsung knows what's coming: a foldable iPhone - a product that could disrupt the market it's historically dominated. So Samsung gave the Z Fold 8 some particularly compelling design features.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 starts at $1,899, which is a full $200 less than its ultra sibling. For that discount, you lose a 10MP telephoto camera, a smaller 50MP main camera, 200 mAh of battery capacity, and smaller inner and cover screens. Of those compromises, the reduced screen size seemed like a deal breaker - until I actually held the thing. We're living in a time when smartphone prices are either going up, staying the same with fewer meaningful upgrades, or both. Saving a couple of Benjamins these days can go a long way.

One of my criticisms of book-style foldables is that the square form factor isn't great for content consumption, and they can be unwieldy to hold. The Fold 8 virtually eliminates that argument by turning itself into a 4:3 tablet when opened. It's a smaller tablet, sure, but it's an actual tablet form factor - not a rectangular peg shoved into a square hole. On paper, this doesn't sound like a big deal. But once I got the phone in my hand, it clicked. The cover screen is nice because you can access much of it with one hand - no more finger gymnastics. While the phone is shorter, it's also wider, which can be better for reading. It remains to be seen which apps respond to that 10:16 aspect ratio, but the apps at the hands-on session all looked fine.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 does not have a telephoto camera, which is a shame. As a parent, I like taking photos of my kids doing kid things - sometimes on a sports field or stage - so I'd like to zoom in more. Some quick testing of the 50-megapixel main camera suggests that even up to 10x, zoom is fine. I wasn't able to vet those results on a larger computer screen, but the photos are what I like to call "social media good" - which is probably where they'll end up anyway. The missing telephoto lens isn't really that much of an issue. I've tested the 10MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it definitely falls into the "okay, but not great" category. While it's usually better to have it and not need it, the evidence suggests that not having it will be okay.

It would have been nice if Samsung packed in the 200-megapixel shooter from the Ultra into this phone, but then again, this phone is not an Ultra. Perhaps Samsung sees the 200-megapixel sensor as an ultra feature. But when all is said and done, I suspect it'll be okay to live without it entirely.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 sparks genuine curiosity in me - which, honestly, a lot of phones do not. The form factor feels retro in a way that's hard to put my finger on. What I can say is that if this phone did not unfold, it would be a completely different story; the cover screen is too squat for me to use full time. It's not lost on me that one of the criteria I use to judge a foldable is how much I can or want to use it when closed. That's a little concerning, and only a proper review will demonstrate whether that opinion holds up. For now, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a lovely phone, and it's the one I'm most eager to test. It's the sleeper hit Samsung produced, and I really hope it succeeds - despite not being "Ultra."