The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is smaller, cheaper, and has fewer cameras than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but it may end up being the most popular Galaxy foldable to date.
Why? Because its 7.6-inch inner screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is supposedly “the new standard for viewing content,” as Samsung told us in an interview — and if there’s one thing most of us can’t get enough of in 2026, it’s content.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, meanwhile, has an 8-inch inner screen with a 10:9 aspect ratio, which is great for spreadsheets and multitasking, but less brilliant for movies and YouTube videos.
Don’t believe me (or Samsung)? I compared the experience of streaming Netflix, watching YouTube, and scrolling through Instagram Reels on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra — in both portrait and landscape orientations, where possible — to help you visualize the aspect ratio differences between these two devices.
Check out the side-by-side comparisons for each platform below, and let me know in the comments section which phone you’d prefer to use for watching videos. I've also included a roundup of each model's respective size specs for added context.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 |
|---|---|---|
Dimensions (unfolded): |
158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1mm |
161.4 x 123.9 x 4.5mm |
Dimensions (folded): |
158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm |
81.9 x 123.9 x 9.7mm |
Display (unfolded): |
8 inches, 10:9 |
7.6 inches, 4:3 |
Display (folded): |
6.5 inches, 21:9 |
5.5 inches. 16:10 |
Netflix
Z Fold 8 (10:16) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:21)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) vs Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)
Z Fold 8 (3:4) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
YouTube
Z Fold 8 (16:10) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (21:9)
Z Fold 8 (10:16) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:21)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) vs Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)
Z Fold 8 (3:4) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
Instagram Reels
Z Fold 8 (16:10) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (21:9)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) vs Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
Z Fold 8 (4:3) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (10:9)
Z Fold 8 (3:4) / Z Fold 8 Ultra (9:10)
Verdict
For Netflix and YouTube, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 provides a cleaner viewing experience than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in every orientation except 3:4.
The actual size of the video in every comparison is the same across both phones — unless you're watching native 4:3 content, which fills up the entire inner screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — but the black bars (or negative space) above and below are noticeably narrower than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and there's no awkward pillarboxing (i.e., bars on either side of the video) when using the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in 10:16.
Of course, if you use the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in 3:4, the black bars are much bigger than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but I don't expect anybody to choose this orientation for watching video content (I've only included it for additional context). Samsung itself admits that 3:4 is “more natural for reading e-books or browsing the web,” which gives the smaller device another nice win over the pricier model.
For now, the Instagram Reels-watching experience is still better on the taller, narrower cover display of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, but both phones offer a similar experience when opened up. The Z Fold 8 in 3:4 actually offers the smallest amount of letterboxing, and it's also a lighter phone (201g vs 215g), so there's no clear winner on the social media-scrolling front.
So there you have it: if watching videos and reading articles is your priority, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a better buy than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
Of course, there is much more to both phones than their respective displays — the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has better cameras, for instance — so I wouldn't jump headfirst into buying one over the other until you've read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 8 comparison.
Side note: You're not able to watch videos in 16:10 (Z Fold 8) or 21:9 (Z Fold 8 Ultra) on Netflix, nor videos in 10:16 (Z Fold 8) or 9:21 (Z Fold 8 Ultra) on Instagram, hence why these options don't appear in the above comparison.
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