Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Flip8 hands-on review
Software improvements
It is hardly a secret that One UI 9 is right around the corner, so it was only logical and perfectly expected that the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Fold8 and Z Flip8 would launch with One UI 9 and Android 17 underneath.
Samsung didn't particularly highlight anything revolutionary we haven't heard of coming with One UI 9, instead focusing on iterative improvements on things like Now Brief and Now Nudge, promising ongoing privacy and security in an increasingly more agentic AI smartphone environment and also streamlined integration with its new wearables - the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9 series as well as the upcoming Intelligent Eyewear.
And speaking of agentic AI, as promised, Gemini Intelligence is apparently right around the corner. For anyone not familiar, it promises an almost frightening amount of AI automation and autonomy through the ability to do things like launch and control apps in the background by itself and execute actions on the user's behalf. Through Google and Samsung's ongoing partnership, we fully expect to experience it on Samsung hardware first.
Apparently Samsung SmartSwitch, which has always been one of the better industry solutions for migrating to a new phone, especially from an older Samsung to a newer one, is getting increasingly better with improved support for iOS to Android migration, which sounds intriguing.
In lieu of any meaningful hardware improvements, Samsung did particularly point out a few software ones to look forward to on the Flip8. Apparently there is a new FlexWindow system, which we didn't get to properly test for ourselves yet. As per Samsung's press release, the new FlexWindow "brings apps, insights and actions directly to the cover screen" and also "makes automation through Gemini Intelligence easier to access from the FlexWindow". There is apparently a new Now Brief implementation for FlexWindow as well.
Final thoughts
Overall, Samsung's new crop of Galaxy Z devices turned out to be an intriguing mix of exciting and underwhelming. We definitely found the new Galaxy Z Fold8 form factor very intriguing. There is still a lot of testing to be done and various particulars to be looked into, but on the surface, as far as first impressions go, we kind of like where things are going.
While decidedly less-exciting, the Z Fold8 Ultra does manage to offer some, even if few, upgrades over its predecessor. The battery capacity increase and faster charging are particularly intriguing, but it remains to be seen just how much of a difference they make. The rest is mostly iterative, but it is iterating on an already solid foundation, so we can't complain.
What we can complain about is the new Galaxy Z Flip8. Honestly, it seems that Samsung straight out gave up on this particular model. Whatever the reason behind that decision might be, frankly, the only reason to get excited about the Z Flip8 is that it has the potential to make the Z Flip7 more affordable.
| 256GB 12GB RAM | $ 1,899.99 |
£ 1,699.00 |
| 512GB 12GB RAM | $ 2,099.99 |
£ 1,869.00 |
| 1TB 12GB RAM | £ 2,209.00 |
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