One of these phones is receiving a lot of hype right now while the other one probably you should buy.

One of these phones is receiving a lot of hype right now while the other one probably you should buy. So let's talk about a few things and see if the extra money for the Z Fold 8 is worth it over the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. I picked the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 this year because I was pretty excited to experience a new form factor. It does take a little bit of getting used to and it does have its own little quirks and shortcomings, but it's been a pretty nice experience and it's definitely growing on me. Now with this smaller form factor when it's closed, it's definitely more pocketable compared to the big brick of a phone that's the S26 Ultra. And I'm just super impressed with how thin and light this thing is. But here are a few things you should note. When the keyboard is active on the Fold 8 depending on how you've sized it, it does eat up more space and leaves less information on top, which some might find annoying if you need to reference a message or information in the thread. But one thing I love on the Fold 8 is the typing experience on the outer screen because the phone is a little wider than the S26 Ultra, so typing just feels nicer in my opinion. Some people might even compare it to how it felt on the old BlackBerrys. Now, all the usual media consumption and gaming looks great on the S26 Ultra. I mean, it's a big phone with a massive screen, but if you're really serious about your movie multitasking, reading, gaming, then the Z Fold 8 really takes it to the next level. Open this thing up and you're greeted by a beautiful 7.6 inch display with a very handy 4 by 3 aspect ratio. Watching YouTube videos fills up more of the screen with smaller bars on the top and bottom. Multitasking is also fantastic for running two apps side by side without feeling squeezed. I mean, you can even run three apps or more at the same time and adjust the sizing for easy switching, which is super handy. And if you're a reader, then flip it to portrait, so it feels like a tablet and enjoy that experience. All your games will also play really well on the big screen with more. And it's just a really nice experience. By the way, Samsung did a good job with the crease. I mean, it's still there, but it's less noticeable this time. Honestly, it's not even something I'm thinking about anymore when I'm using this thing open. So if you genuinely need the biggest screen for your multitasking or media then go for the Z Fold 8, but for most people, the S26 Ultra will be perfectly fine for you. The cameras are in areas that could be make or break for a lot of people and personally, I've been really torn over here. The thing is when choosing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the cameras are extremely important to me, but I absolutely love using the Z Fold 8 because of its form factor. The 50 megapixel main and 50 megapixel ultrawide cameras on the Fold 8 are very capable in good lighting and the pictures look great, but the thing is there is no telephoto lens unless you get the Fold 8 Ultra. And even that one isn't fantastic. The S26 Ultra just gives you so much more camera versatility with its better 200 megapixel main camera and 3x and 5x telephoto lenses. You even get that cool Horizon Lock feature on the S26 Ultra for that super steady, then gun video. Although I must say the Z Fold 8 gets a point for being able to take selfies with the rear cameras when opened up. So if you just need a basic camera setup for your daily photos and videos and you're not too fussed about zooming in or anything, then the Z Fold 8 will be perfectly fine for you. But if you need one of the most complete camera systems on a phone, then the S26 Ultra will be the one for you. Something else to consider when picking between the two is durability. So if you're the type that spends a lot of time at the beach or the great outdoors, then you might want to consider the S26 Ultra with its IP68 rating over the Fold 8's IPX4 rating. The S26 Ultra's rating will better protect you against finer dust particles and trust me, you don't want to get sand into the hinge of the Fold 8 because that crunching and grinding sound will probably drive you crazy and be very painful. Both phones will survive a drop in the pool though, so that's nice to know. Another thing to note is that the speaker quality on the S26 Ultra sounded a bit better and should I say fuller than that on the Z Fold 8. I mean, just look at where they had to fit the speakers in this insanely slim body of the Fold 8. That said, the speakers on the Fold 8 aren't bad by any means, but one more thing to note is the placement of the speakers. When you use the phone open in landscape, depending on how you're holding it, the sound can feel a little bit imbalanced. Battery wise, I've actually been really impressed with the Fold 8. Samsung is finally using silicone carbon in the fold batteries this time around and has managed to fit a larger 4,800 milliamp battery in it. In my usage, I was getting a screen on time of about 4 and a half to 5 hours, which was pretty similar to that of my S26 Ultra. I would consider myself a pretty heavy user, so I was pretty happy with that. The S26 Ultra will also charge up faster with its 65 watt charging versus the 45 watt charging on the Z Fold 7. But it's still better than the 25 watt charging we were getting on the old Z Fold 7. Performance wise, they're both using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, so they'll breeze through anything you throw at them. But if you run seriously intensive tasks on your phone or you're a super heavy gamer, then something to consider is that the S26 Ultra will give you better sustained performance over a longer period of time because of its bigger vapor chamber and better cooling. But for most cases, there shouldn't be any issues. I mean, I've been pretty happy with that so far. So after hearing all that, you need to consider a few things like is that biggest screen and the price hike of the Z Fold 8 justified or would you just rather get the S26 Ultra, which is arguably a better phone. You also get the extra features on the S26 Ultra like the S Pen, which is very handy and the cool new privacy display feature too. The Z Fold 8 is a brilliant media consumption and multitasking phone with a lot of good stuff going for it, but for most people, the S26 Ultra is the better pick. It excels almost everywhere, especially in the camera department and it does so for hundreds and hundreds of dollars less. So which one would you consider getting and how important are the cameras for you when choosing a smartphone at that price point? Let me know in the comments below and stay tuned for my full review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 coming soon. Thank you so much for watching and if you do find this content useful, then please consider subscribing to my channel. I'll see you in the next one.