• Samsung's flagship now comes with Canvas's audiophile soundbars
• 1,000 to 1,500W of Class D amplification
• From $7,999 (about £5,905 / AU$11,165)

Samsung's flagship S99H OLED TV (S95H in the US) is a phenomenal TV with a divisive design: as we said in our Samsung S99H review, "A new silver frame around the TV, called the FloatLayer Design, has been added and [we] found the frame to be distracting. While meant for wall-mounting, the extra width may cause space issues for some people, and the handsome central pedestal stand of its predecessor has been replaced by two plastic feet."

The good news: Samsung has made its flagship OLED beautiful by teaming up with Danish audiophile firm Canvas to create the Samsung HiFi S99H, which looks great and gives you a hugely powerful sound system too.

The bad news: prices start at $7,999.

Boom, shake the room: the HiFi S99H has a seriously powerful sound system

The Samsung HiFi S99H will debut at IFA 2026 in Berlin this week, and it'll be available in 55", 65", 77", and 83" sizes. It includes a fixed floor stand or wall mount as standard, and there's an optional rotating floor stand in aluminum or black.

As you can see, it's a good-looking thing — but there's sonic substance as well as Scandi style. You can choose between two versions of the Canvas soundbar: the standard Canvas or the larger, even louder Canvas L. With 1,000W or 1,500W of Class D amplification, both versions will make you very popular with your neighbors.

Canvas describes its soundbar as the world's first audiophile soundbar, and while other manufacturers might dispute that claim, there's no doubt that both Canvas models are serious sound systems: we were very impressed when we heard the Canvas in action. However, it's worth noting that while Canvas has just announced a full Dolby Atmos soundbar system, the two models in the HiFi S99H are stereo rather than surround systems — although they do include Baach's 3D sound processing to create a more immersive experience than standard stereo.

According to Samsung, the goal is "more than simply the combination of a TV and a sound system. The ambition is to create a new category in which true HiFi, picture quality and furniture design are developed as one integrated solution — developed for consumers who do not want to choose between performance and interior design."

The HiFi S99H will launch on September 4, 2026, at IFA Berlin and will be available in selected Canvas showrooms from October 2026. The Canvas L version will be available later this year.

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At Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, fresh off Samsung's reveal of its 2027 Odyssey OLED lineup, I sat down with two of the people shaping the company's monitor and TV strategy: Jeremy Demont, Product Management Director for TV, Sound and Monitor at Samsung UK & Ireland, and Pepe Dijkstra, Head of Monitor for Samsung's European visual display organisation.

We chatted about everything from the prevalence of 1000Hz and higher refresh rate screens to 6K gaming, the brand's ongoing commitment to glasses-free 3D and how important strong partnerships with eSports professionals and studios are to getting the best out of screens.

A triple mode screen is more useful than you might think

Triple mode gets its debut on the new Odyssey OLED G8, a 32-inch 4K tandem QD-OLED panel that runs at 360Hz natively, drops to 1440p resolution for 520Hz, or goes all the way down to Full HD for 680Hz.

It's a first for Samsung: dual-mode switching already exists on its 6K panels, the ultrawide G9, and other, more conventional choices, but triple mode isn't something that can be patched in later via firmware. Dijkstra confirmed it's baked in on the panel side.

I pushed on whether this is solving a real problem or just adding a marketing bullet point. Halving your resolution to double your refresh rate is a genuinely large image quality penalty, so a middle ground – dropping from 4K to 1440p rather than all the way to HD – makes sense on paper.

However, Dijkstra was refreshingly candid about the uncertainty here: "If it's high-end gamers, they'll definitely benefit. But if the average Joe Bloke buys the gaming monitor, are they actually going to use it practically?" He described it as something Samsung still needs to watch play out once the hardware reaches the market, and said community feedback will directly shape what comes next.

1100Hz might not be the limit, after all

The number causing all the excitement is 1100Hz, supported by the new Odyssey G6 G60H – a 1440p Fast IPS panel that runs at 600Hz natively, but which can drop to HD resolution to unlock that 1100Hz ceiling, the fastest refresh rate I've seen on a gaming monitor to date. It wasn't long ago 500Hz felt like an extreme number, so I put it to Dijkstra directly: is there a point where refresh rate just stops mattering?

He didn't dodge the eSports-only framing. "If you deliver only 1100Hz and focus purely on eSports, that's a small market," he told me.

The reasoning behind Samsung's dual- and triple-mode panels, he explained, is about giving that headroom without forcing everyone to live with it – you can drop back down to a lower resolution for everyday use rather than running flat-out all the time. Whether the industry pushes past 1100Hz next, he wouldn't commit to. "If we go faster in the future, we'll have to see."

6K gaming screens have a genuine purpose outside of vanity

I've used 6K panels in a professional context on a few screens in the past, but never on a gaming screen, and 4K is already a heavy ask for most GPUs. So who is Samsung's 6K gaming monitor for?

Dijkstra's answer leaned on future-proofing rather than the present day: those with high-end PCs can already drive that resolution, and the dual-mode option covers anyone who can't.

It's worth noting the new G9 ultrawide also carries a dual-mode option of its own – 5120 x 1440 at up to 360Hz, or 'dual HD' at 2560 x 720 for 720Hz – so the same philosophy runs across Samsung's 2027 range rather than sitting in one flagship alone.

Likewise, he noted that the option for a 6K gaming screen offers a higher refresh rate than the professional screens on offer with the same resolution, which are stuck at 60Hz. Offering a higher refresh rate at that detail level aids both responsiveness for productivity tasks and helps where it counts for games, too.

After all, as both he and Demont noted, people are buying monitors for more than one purpose, so a 6K gaming screen covers off the pros who need the detail for high-res creative work and the gamers who have a beefy enough system to play games at 5K or 6K, assuming the game supports the resolution of course.

Glasses-free 3D is back – but content, not hardware, is the bottleneck

Samsung has kept glasses-free 3D alive longer than most of the industry, and at CES it showed a 6K, 32-inch glasses-free 3D panel. At Gamescom, it reaffirmed its commitment to glasses-free 3D and the importance of working with developers to keep the dream alive.

Dijkstra's framing was that the previous failure wasn't really a hardware problem – it was a content problem. "People were mind-blown by the product capability, but it's the content" that lagged, he said.

Rather than pour more resources into pushing the panel technology further, Samsung's product teams have shifted focus toward securing AAA game support, headlined by the newly announced Cyberpunk 2077 3D compatibility. It's a bet that immersion sells itself to gamers specifically – people who already spend hours in front of a screen – in a way it never quite did for passive TV viewing.

Demont drew the TV parallel further, comparing it to Samsung's early, unpopular push into 4K resolution at a time when broadcasters barely had any programming in such high-resolution or the likes of the BBC had caught up: "We can't just do it by ourselves, we need the whole industry behind it."

He sees HDR10+ gaming following a similar adoption curve to HDR10+ on TV, where streaming giants like Prime Video and Netflix moved quickly once the ecosystem made it easy to support. Samsung's own numbers back that up: the new Call of Duty is among the titles confirmed to support HDR10+ gaming, with more than 20 games expected to carry the standard by the first half of 2027.

OLED burn-in isn't as big of an issue as it used to be

Samsung has introduced a new fifth-gen QD-OLED panel for a lot of the new monitors it announced at Gamescom, which features the brand's Penta Tandem tech and an RGB stripe sub-pixel layout for greater power efficiency, longevity, and sharper text.

Compared to the quality of OLED panels for gaming monitors when they were first introduced, this tech has been through several generations of optimization and improvement.

At the time OLED gaming monitors were first introduced, it seemed you couldn't go five minutes without someone talking about burn-in (an issue with early OLED panels where static images that were displayed for too long could damage the screen). Now, both Demont and Dijkstra tell me it's virtually a non-issue. It's barely raised internally anymore, sitting towards the bottom of presentations as an improvement point.

Demont also noted that the improvements made to the OLED panels is a particularly good thing, especially because "if we can increase the product lifecycle or the durability of the product, that's all in the benefit of that end customer". After all, a high-end monitor or TV is a big purchase, and it's important that it lasts.

For what it's worth, my own two-and-a-half-year-old 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED monitor has never shown a hint of burn-in – though the new Odyssey OLED G8 is, I'll admit, tempting me to upgrade anyway.

Pro feedback filters down for monitors, too

On the subject of product development, Dijkstra confirmed Samsung takes direct input from eSports professionals – citing an ongoing relationship with a multiple-time League of Legends world champion in Korea, where the eSports scene is especially demanding. "Their team plus others are just continuously pushing back that feedback," he said.

The trickle-down effect is vital to this, according to Demont – Samsung's stated strategy is to introduce new technology at the top of the range first and cascade it downward over time, never the reverse – something he framed as core to protecting the end customer's investment in what remains a significant purchase.

Monitors and TVs are converging – deliberately

Perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation was Demont noting that Samsung is folding its monitor team into the same visual display division as TV in the UK, given the convergence between them. We're at a point where some desktop monitors are the same size as TVs; this also works the other way, as people can use TVs as monitors, either on a desk or with a living room PC.

He was upfront that this decision is about capturing overlap: customers can opt for an equally rich spec TV or monitor depending on their situation, and there is an overlap in certain features for a consistent experience whichever product you go for.

For instance, some of the brand's smaller-sized OLED TVs boast a 165Hz refresh rate, while there are specific variants of some of its gaming monitors that come with its Tizen OS smart TV operating system built-in.

I maintain Tizen's presence on monitors is one of the more underrated moves Samsung's made recently: a screen that's a smart TV in one moment and a 240Hz gaming monitor in the next, with Samsung's Gaming Hub meaning you don't need a console or PC to access cloud gaming services like Xbox and GeForce Now.

We all agreed that this remains a surprising niche, and Demont stated Samsung is trying to change this with its TVs through retail bundling with the likes of Argos and Currys in the UK by offering incentives such as free controllers or game vouchers tied to TV purchases, specifically to get people asking what "Gaming Hub" actually means.

The bigger picture

Both executives repeatedly came back to the idea that Samsung's scale is its advantage: a portfolio broad enough to cover a 49-inch ultrawide monitor, a portable outdoor TV, and a glasses-free 3D gaming panel simultaneously, developed with a genuinely global customer base in mind rather than any single region's habits.

Demont pointed to the brand's clever Movingstyle TV, originally designed with Southeast Asian markets in mind, that ended up selling worldwide once its appeal proved broader than expected.

Whether triple-mode refresh rates or glasses-free 3D end up following that same trajectory – from a niche flex to a more mainstream feature – is, by Samsung's own admission, still an open question the company is waiting for customers to answer for them.

• Sony unveils cheaper Bravia 6 OLED TV, available in sizes from 48 inches to 83 inches
• It has four HDMI 2.1 ports, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
• Prices start from $1,300 / AU$2,599 (about £957), putting it against Samsung and LG's mid-range model, but its unclear if performance will match

Sony has launched a new mid-range OLED TV, the Bravia 6. As the numbering suggests, it sits below the Bravia 8 and Bravia 8 II OLED TVs and the Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II RGB LED TVs in Sony's 2026 TV range.

The Bravia 6 comes in five sizes, ranging from 48 to 83 inches, and includes the MediaTek Pentonic 800 chip, which means it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz and variable refresh rate — unlike Sony's higher-end TVs, which only have two HDMI 2.1 ports each due to a quirk of chip choices. The Bravia 6 also supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, auto low latency mode and HDMI eARC.

The strapline for Sony's marketing is "OLED essentials, now within reach", and with prices ranging from $1,300 to $4,000 in the US / AU$2,599 to AU$6,999 in Australia (UK pricing is coming soon) the Bravia 6 is priced to fight it out with the LG C6 and the Samsung S90H. So how do they compare?

Sony Bravia 6 vs LG C6 vs Samsung S90H: key features

As you'd expect from a new Sony, the Bravia 6 runs Google TV. LG has its webOS system, and the Samsung runs Tizen. There's essentially universal disagreement in the TV community over which of these is better, but they all support every major streaming service.

The Bravia 6 will come in five sizes: 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches. The LG C6 and Samsung S90H are both available in six: 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches.

Samsung's model has HDR 10+ while the Sony and LG have HDR 10 and Dolby Vision; all three have Dolby Atmos audio but the Sony also has DTS:X.

For gamers, the Sony has variable refresh rate based on the standard HDMI 2.1 spec; the LG has HDMI-spec VRR, plus, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium; and the Samsung has HDMI-spec VRR, G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro.

All three TVs support at least 120Hz 4K, but this is where it gets interesting. The Sony only supports 120Hz at 4K, while the LG and Samsung both support 4K 165Hz maximum.

This suggests that the Sony is using a different panel to the other models, despite being the same kind of price. We don't have official confirmation yet, but multiple outlets are have reported that the Bravia 6 uses the new, more affordable OLED SE panel, which is also used in the LG B6.

But what's odd is that the OLED SE panel is capable of hitting 144Hz, so the Sony being limited to 120Hz doesn't actually confirm anything about its panel either way.

If it is using the OLED SE panel, the LG C6 and Samsung S90H have a clear advantage in terms of the brightness and color reproduction of the panel itself. We loved the performance of the LG C6, and our first impressions of the Samsung S90H were that its display came very close to the C6, though our full review is coming soon.

TV enthusiasts will be very interested in Sony's processing, however, rather than just the panel. Sony's built a reputation for offering extremely good motion handling and upscaling, and producing fantastic levels of accuracy in its pictures. However, this often comes with a dimmer-looking picture than the competition even when using the same panel, and Sony might be using a dimmer panel to start with here…

At $1,300 / AU$2,599, the 48-inch Sony Bravia 6 is priced to compete with the LG C6, which has fallen to a regular price of $1,299 / AU$2,399, while the Samsung S90H is available for $1,199 / AU$1,799 at the time of writing.

The 48-inch version of the LG B6 is available for just $799 / AU$1,999 at the time of writing, and if the Sony TV does use the same panel, that's quite a start difference.

The mid-range OLED market is going to be a tough one for Sony to crack — the company is pretty cautious about discounting, but LG and Samsung are very aggressive with it. If the Bravia 6 has the performance to match the price, then it could be the cinephile's choice — but it could all depend on that panel.

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Samsung took to its own stage at Gamescom today to announce a slew of new Odyssey OLED gaming screens for 2027, including some very tasty world firsts.

Top of the new range is the Odyssey OLED G6 G60H, which boasts a 1440p Fast IPS panel, complete with a 600Hz refresh rate.

If that ridiculous refresh speed isn't enough, you can dial down the resolution to HD and benefit from 1100Hz, making this Samsung screen the fastest we've ever seen in that respect.

It also features AMD FreeSync Premium Pro VRR and is Nvidia G-Sync compatible.

If you want something bigger, the Odyssey OLED G7 marks the world's first 42-inch curved gaming screen in a classic 16:9 aspect ratio. It's a 4K OLED panel with up to a 165Hz refresh rate and an aggressive 1000R curve for an immersive finish.

For reference, Samsung says the G7 is some 72% larger than a typical 32-inch curved panel in its range for greater immersion, so it can fill even more of your field of vision.

Bigger and better?

The new Odyssey OLED G8 is stacked with cool-sounding features – a 32-inch 4K tandem OLED with a 360Hz refresh rate that features Samsung's latest fifth-gen QD-OLED panel with its Penta Tandem tech and an RGB stripe sub-pixel layout for greater power efficiency, longevity, and sharper text.

The G8 also supports 'triple mode', so 4K/360hz isn't your only option. Drop down to 1440p, and the screen yields a 520Hz refresh rate. Or, if that's not enough, then Full HD output at 680Hz is possible.

Port-wise, Samsung has kitted it out with DP 2.1 UHBR20, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a USB-C with up to 98W of power delivery, plus a USB hub with two downstream ports and KVM support.

For ultrawide fans, the new Odyssey OLED G9 offers a 49-inch panel with a 5120 x 1440 resolution and up to 360Hz. It also has dual-mode power with 720Hz at 'dual HD' (2560 x 720) and a fifth-gen QD-OLED panel with Penta Tandem tech.

Samsung says the Odyssey OLED G9 offers up to 1300 nits of peak brightness at a 4K resolution in a 3% window for some punchy output.

Alongside the slew of new screens, it also reaffirmed its commitment to glasses-free 3D tech, with wider support mentioned for some of the biggest titles and the presence of HDR10+ gaming in some big releases, including the new Call of Duty, and upwards of 20 games supporting the standard by the first half of 2027.

• A new leak sheds fresh light on the Samsung Galaxy Aero smartwatch
• The device might ditch Wear OS and use the RTOS operating system instead
• It could fix some of the mistakes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE

It’s safe to say that we weren’t huge fans of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, with our reviewer scoring it a measly two stars and branding it “one of the most confusing smartwatches I’ve ever tested.” Yet despite the disappointment, a new leak suggests that Samsung is going to take another stab at the entry-level smartwatch market — but the result might look very different.

The latest hints come from Gadgets & Wearables, which investigated the Samsung Health and Galaxy Wearable apps to uncover hints of what might be to come. And according to the news outlet, the forthcoming device could take the form of a new Samsung watch dubbed the Galaxy Aero.

What’s interesting about this product is that, unlike many of the best Samsung watches, it might not run on Google’s Wear OS. Previous reporting from SamMobile found hints pointing towards the use of RTOS, or ‘real-time operating system,’ as Samsung software contained references to ‘Galaxy Aero’ and ‘galaxy_rtos_watch.’ The implication here is that these devices were the same product.

RTOS is the platform that Samsung’s Galaxy Fit devices run on and is a far more lightweight system than Wear OS. If RTOS ends up powering the Galaxy Aero, it would suggest that the product will be at the lower end of Samsung’s wearable spectrum.

Further investigation from Gadgets & Wearables suggests that several Samsung apps and services have the capability of handling RTOS and devices that use it. And it’s that capability that supposedly opening the door for the Galaxy Aero.

Righting the wrongs of the past

One of our main criticisms of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE was that it was strangely positioned — at the time, it offered worse performance than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, despite being available to buy for the same price or more. With the Galaxy Aero, that uncomfortable quirk might be remedied.

That’s because SamMobile suggests it could be priced below the Watch FE, making it a more sensible proposition for a low-cost smartwatch. If true, that could make it much less of a tough sell.

And there’s another consideration. By using RTOS instead of Wear OS, Samsung could conceivably cut down on battery usage, solving another major problem with the Watch FE. It would mean making some compromises, with limited support for the Google Play Store and third-party apps both possible. But if Samsung can keep the cost down, it’s likely that many users won’t mind.

If Samsung makes that move, it would join rivals like Amazfit and Huawei in launching an affordable fitness tracker that doesn’t rely on Wear OS. Whether it can right the wrongs of the Galaxy Watch FE, however, remains to be seen.

I've now spent a month with Samsung's two recent folding phones. I've used them as my daily phones, worked and played with them, and even taken hundreds of pictures between them to test the cameras (650 when I wrote that article; nearly 1,000 now).

Through that time, I've used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 most, and that's for purely practical purposes. It's a brand-new form factor, so as a tech journalist, my time is better spent testing it out.

Despite enjoying my time with the Z Fold 8, I've been wavering back and forth on whether I prefer it to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The two handsets have a lot in common, but that includes a really high price. And so the smaller display, reduced camera count, and lack of features in the Fold 8 mean I've been struggling to claim it as the overall winner.

That was until I took the Galaxy Z Fold 8 on vacation to France; it got a nice dose of real-world testing, and the trip helped me appreciate elements of the phone that I hadn't noticed, or had taken for granted, before. I took the Z Fold 8 Ultra with me, too, which helped underline how much better the new-form phone is.

And with another vacation coming up, I'm glad I've discovered just how useful the Fold 8 is when on the go.

This is the perfect shape for a phone

When I wrote about my Galaxy Z Fold camera test, I mentioned that the smaller-body Fold 8 felt like the instinctive camera device to use, as it was easy to remove from my pocket without endless maneuvering. The long, thin Fold 8 Ultra doesn't fully fit in my pocket, and digs into my hip when I walk.

The more I used both phones, the more I realized that's not only true for picture-taking, but basically everything else too. When I needed to navigate around an unfamiliar city, use Translate to understand a menu, or get contactless ready for public transport, the readily removable Fold 8 was a much more convenient choice.

It's not just trouser pockets that show the benefit. The Fold 8 is the perfect shape to fit in the side pockets of my backpack, or the small inner pockets for valuables. That's all unlike the Ultra, which sticks out awkwardly.

And that awkward design isn't just bad for looks or utility. It's pretty normal to be worried about losing your possessions while travelling, either from nifty pickpockets who identify you as a tourist, or from them falling out when you leave your bag somewhere. When I was walking around with the Ultra sticking its camera bump out of my jeans, those fears were multiplied — not so with the standard model, which could disappear from view.

Many people have referred to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as the 'passport'-style foldable. In the above image, you can see the phone alongside my battered-looking passport: they're very similar sizes (the document is thinner but taller). Given that this document was designed to be easily portable for travellers, it makes sense that Samsung has taken inspiration from the shape of the booklet.

All my holiday experiences aren't just true abroad, though. A svelte form factor that keeps the phone secure but ready to remove is just as useful at home as away.

The wide screen keeps getting better and better

I forgot something, didn't I? This is a folding phone, and I've yet to metaphorically unpack it to discuss the inner display. And yet, the Z Fold 8's 7.6-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio main display is one of its main differences from the Z Fold 8 Ultra's 8-inch 1:0.9 aspect ratio primary panel.

I'm an iPad user, and so I was already primed for the Z Fold 8's main screen, since Apple's tablets also use that aspect ratio. But with how popular the previous Z Fold phones are (which share dimensions with the new Ultra), I was expecting the new screen shape to really need to prove itself.

And there are certainly some tasks for which the Z Fold 8 Ultra is better. I prefer it for grid-based tasks like seeing my calendar, checking out pictures I've taken, and calculator use. The user interface feels more spacious, with extra space at the bottom for a web browser search bar, and I appreciate that my apps and widgets are in the same place if I rotate the phone.

When I was on my holiday, the Ultra was relegated to my gaming and camera phone — that result is what convinced me of this article's thesis statement in the first place — but I can see its more square-shaped main display being the right shape for certain users, who have specific use cases.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8's display proves itself as especially useful for many, many other tasks. And I'm not just talking about entertainment; video-watching is one of the main tasks Samsung used to justify the wider 4:3 aspect ratio, but there's a lot more to the phone than that.

The pictures above show two types of phone use that are common on holidays (and that I used the phone for on my trip): reading using the Kindle app, and navigating with Google Maps. As regards the former, you can see that the wide aspect ratio does a better job of resembling a book than a Kindle would, and as for the latter, you can see that the UI overlay and maps sit together just as well as on a squarish display (as on the Ultra). In fact, when I used Google Maps on the Ultra, the search bar and options being higher made it a little more annoying to use.

Speaking more generally, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels great for multi-tasking, as the two apps feel like they're sized in a more natural way than on a squarish Z Fold 8 Ultra or long, thin Android tablet. It took me going on holiday, when I'd split-view tourist information websites and maps, or my gallery app and Instagram, to really appreciate this kind of use.

It's hard to explain to someone who isn't using the Z Fold 8, but apps just feel right on this wider phone (well, when they're actually optimized for the shape; some, like Strava, just give you their usual vertical scroll). Every day, I find another function which feels great on the wider screen.

There's one glaring omission. Samsung opted not to give the Z Fold 8 Flex Mode, while it's present in the Ultra. This is a tool that identifies when your foldable is part-open and splits the main display in natural ways; it'll give you a camera viewfinder in one half, and controls on the other, for example. It's a useful, though admittedly sparsely implemented, feature. The Z Fold 8 is worse off for its omission, and I'm hoping it gains it in an update.

It's not just a pretty screen

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is smaller and cheaper than its Ultra sibling. Most of the time, when we see phones like that, the smaller one is a Lite handset and is weaker or worse in some ways. And so I had a bias towards the Fold 8, expecting it to be far more inferior than it actually was.

It's great for gaming, especially on the large screen, even if it does get a little hot quicker than I'd like (that's the Snapdragon chipset doing what, in my opinion, Snapdragon chips do best: overheat).

Even down to the specs minutiae, the Z Fold 8 matches the Ultra. Its storage sizes are the same (well, with a few slight region-based variations, but generally, the storage and RAM options are the same). It uses UFS 4.0 flash storage, and it has a mostly quick side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which I love way more than under-display ones.

As I mentioned before, the Z Fold 8 Ultra was my go-to gaming phone. This isn't because it was more powerful, but because I assumed it would be and so downloaded all my games onto it first (and got stuck into various runs, with progress I didn't want to lose). But some time away on my holiday gave me time to play the same titles on the Z Fold 8, and there's no noticeable difference in how games run on either phone (other than the form factor difference).

My trip helped me appreciate the software a lot more too. Both phones have Samsung's One UI, and its implementation is largely the same between the two, other than the aforementioned Flex Mode fiasco. Which means the cheaper phone doesn't give you a worse experience.

The camera quality and suite of photo editing features were all, obviously, tools which I used constantly on my holiday. And I quickly realized that, despite this not being the 'Ultra' phone, its results largely match what you'll get on the pricier phone (mostly, but we'll get more into that later). Despite what you see in the picture above, I mostly used the inner display for editing snaps, as its large size and aspect ratio let me see details in my photos that a smaller screen might have me missing.

Software remains a strong point of Samsung's camera phones, even if I've come to expect the strong stuff to be kept in reserve for the Galaxy S mobiles. I noticed that, after taking photos and checking them out in the Gallery app, the phone would take a few seconds to apply its own filters, optimizations, and fixes. So I could clearly see the 'before and after' of the phone's magic, and it made it apparent that the handset does a great job at fixing my mistakes.

But there's one design consideration I want to flag, which I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't spent a week shoving both phones in pockets and bags while abroad. Both devices collect dust and fluff, but the Z Fold 8 seemed to collect way more inside its body than the Ultra. Maybe it's a side effect of the shape or aspect ratio, or the Ultra's larger display making an equal amount of fluff appear like more, but I always had to give the Z Fold 8 a wipe when using its main display.

Fluff is normal and unavoidable... but it can mess up foldable phones if it gets in the joints or hinges. So I'm curious to discover the longevity of these phones, especially with iFixit revealing just how disastrous dust can be to the devices.

Have Fold, will travel

Despite the myriad reasons to like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are several problems with it.

The biggest issue is the battery life: it's not good. I can't pretend to be surprised, given how little space there is in the Fold to fit a power cell, but the reason doesn't detract from the challenge.

I struggle to get the Z Fold 8 to last a day, and find myself having to use it sparingly or engage power-saving mode if I'm going to be away from a charger. While I was on my holiday, I charged it multiple times per day, and afterwards I've found myself ensuring it's fully charged every time I leave the house.

Another weak point of the phone is its camera setup, or more specifically its camera omissions. Generally, pictures taken on the Z Fold 8 are good, but the absence of the Ultra's zoom lens means the premium phone is my go-to photography handset when I have time to stop and choose between the two.

The Ultra is better for holiday shots, product pictures (including the ones accompanying this article), and portrait pictures. As mentioned, I probably take more pictures with the Z Fold 8 given it's the more easily accessible phone, but there's no denying which of the two is the superior shooter.

For the Galaxy Z Fold 9, then, improvements to the camera array and battery life are at the top of my wish list.

• Samsung System LSI division uses Anthropic's Claude Code to reportedly slice working processes
• However the tool also apparently downgraded an error message instead of fixing it, rolling back unrelated finished work, and tried to edit code it was not authorized to touch
• Samsung's engineers currently review everything the tool produces before it is published elsewhere or affects existing chip designs

Samsung's System LSI division has reportedly used Anthropic's Claude Code to cut a month-long system-on-chip verification job to about two days.

While Samsung's division has about 6,000 employees, its main rival in mobile application processors, Qualcomm, has roughly 52,000 employees, and the former is apparently not above using AI to bridge the gap as a force multiplier.

A report from South Korean business outlet Chosun Biz (KR) claims System LSI leveraged Anthropic's Claude Code by offering it to its software developers in May 2026, then extended it to semiconductor design and verification work, a move which led to much faster progress on certain projects, while also producing interesting failures on other fronts.

A mix of triumphs and gaffes

Samsung's approach, for the most part, makes an excellent case for future AI use, as one verification project expected to take more than a month was finished in about two days, something the company internally tracked as a 15x gain in efficiency.

More interestingly, a second-year engineer with no prior exposure to either the tool or USB communication standards built USB device models for an emulator and adapted an Android driver in a single day, work whichwas normally estimated to take about a month.

Samsung has also had an interesting interaction using Claude Code to verify the internal data connections of a custom system-on-chip. The job was complex in more ways than one: the customer wanted a new architecture, third-party design IP was involved, the documentation was nonstandard, and the RTL for the DRAM controller had not arrived on schedule, making for a perfect storm for Claude.

Claude built a virtual verification environment using placeholder blocks in place of the missing RTL, along with test scenarios, so that engineers could start catching errors before the real design existed.

On the other side of the equation, Claude Code did, in certain cases, try to operate outside the boundaries of its assignments, often resulting in incorrect output or an error, or, in one case, an attempt to modify RTL circuit code it had no authorization to touch. It also rolled back unrelated finished work and downgraded an error message instead of fixing it.

The former is particularly egregious because, unlike software updates, once silicon ships, it can rarely be repurposed or 'updated' to bypass design flaws. Samsung has responded by ensuring engineers manually inspect and verify the output of Anthropic's models before using it elsewhere.

More interestingly, Claude Code isn't the only tool in the building, even if it seems to get the most attention here; Samsung also uses Google Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT across research, manufacturing, marketing, and support.

Despite this, Samsung does not use either of the other models to check input from the former; trusted engineers on-site do that instead in an industry where errors that are not picked up during reviews could be costly for a company that is currently attempting to maximize efficiency, even as its System LSI has posted losses in its SoC business and its flagship Galaxy Z Fold 8 runs Qualcomm's silicon under the hood.

Samsung's summer clearance sale is slashing prices on its best-selling TVs, so you can score a brand-new display at a record-low price. You can save over $1,000 on Samsung 4K, QLED, and OLED TVs, with prices starting at just $129.99.

• Shop Samsung's full summer clearance sale

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A few standout deals that offer incredible value include Samsung's popular 50-inch 4K Crystal TV on sale for $249.99, the stunning 55-inch The Frame QLED TV on sale for $799.99, and Samsung's new 75-inch Micro RGB R85H 4K TV at its lowest price ever of $1,899.99.

Shop more of today's best TV deals below, and keep in mind these are limited-time offers, and Samsung offers free, fast shipping.

Samsung Summer Clearance Sale

Just when it looked like foldable phones might fade into irrelevance (they represented just 1.5% of global smartphone sales in 2025), Samsung has come along with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — a passport-shaped foldable that could, with Apple’s help, catapult dual-screen devices into the mainstream.

We’ve actually seen this form factor before — the Huawei Pura X Max, for instance, debuted in China earlier this year — but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 marks the first time a passport-style foldable has been made available in Western markets.

So, is it as revolutionary as Samsung wants us to believe? I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for exactly a month now, and I can safely say that, yes, it’s a supremely versatile content-watching machine — though there are some quirks to be aware of if you’re thinking of spending $1,899 /£1,699 / AU$2,699 on one.

In this article, I’ll run through what I love, don’t love, and just generally think about Samsung’s new kid on the block. You can also check out our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review for an in-depth look at specific features, or watch the video below for an on-camera rundown of everything I’m about to say.

Calling all video lovers

Let’s kick off with my thoughts on the Z Fold 8’s design, which ditches the productivity-focused dimensions of previous book-style foldables for a squatter, passport shape when closed and a more practical rectangular shape when opened.

Samsung says these dimension tweaks are a response to changing consumer habits (read: we’re all addicted to scrolling in 2026), and it’s easy to see why the Z Fold 8 is a better phone for browsing social media, watching videos, and reading articles than the larger Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

For starters, the 5.5-inch, 10:16 cover display is perfect for one-handed use of full-sized apps. You don’t have to stretch your thumb to reach the top of the screen, and it’s also much easier to type on this wider display than on taller, narrower book-style foldables.

The phone’s width might make one-handed typing a bit of a challenge for those with smaller hands, but it’s honestly super nostalgic to type with two hands (which is how we all type for the most part anyway), as it feels a bit like using an old BlackBerry phone without the physical keyboard. Remember those?

Turn the Z Fold 8 on its side, and this cover screen becomes a 16:10 canvas that’s perfectly sized for YouTube videos, Netflix movies, and other video content. The content's aspect ratio stays the same as on any other phone, but in this orientation, the Z Fold 8 removes awkward pillarboxing for a more immersive viewing experience.

I did find that my hand would sometimes cover the bottom-firing speaker when I held the phone like this, but half-unfolding the Z Fold 8 and letting it stand independently has honestly become one of my favorite ways to watch video on any phone.

All this being said, you’re not buying a foldable to use one screen only, and opening up the Z Fold 8 gives you a glorious 7.6-inch, 4:3 display that’s — you guessed it! — also great for video.

On the front display, most video content is cropped by default to 16:9, but you still get smaller black bars here and less negative space than you would on something like the Z Fold 8 Ultra. But the Z Fold 8 really shines when displaying native 4:3 content like older anime shows.

I mean, just *look* at this Neon Genesis Evangelion episode on Netflix and tell me there’s a better way to watch TV on a phone:

And you can say the same for reading. Using the unfolded Z Fold 8 in portrait is great for scrolling through websites, ebooks, and comics because 3:4 isn’t too far off the dimensions of traditional physical books.

This also makes the Z Fold 8 a great size for work-focused apps like Google Docs. While the Z Fold 8 Ultra is definitely more geared towards productivity, I found that the content-focused size of this smaller model isn’t totally unsuitable for professional tasks.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that social media apps aren’t well-optimized for this unfolded screen. 3:4 isn’t too bad for Instagram, but as soon as you switch to landscape, the app just isn’t formatted nicely, so for the most part I’ve been scrolling through socials on the cover display, which feels much more normal by comparison.

And a final word on the phone’s design: the crease here is definitely less visible than it is on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Samsung added a Flex Titanium layer to both Z Fold 8 models this year, which also makes the hinge feel sturdier, and the phone unfold completely flat. And while phones like the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Honor Magic V6 offer better dust resistance, I’ve never worried about the durability of my Z Fold 8.

Pocketable power

In terms of performance, the Z Fold 8 is just as fun to use as it is to look at. It’s got a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and 12GB of RAM, so games like Asphalt Legends run smoothly at their highest graphical settings.

Samsung has also updated its Multi-Window feature so you can use up to three apps side-by-side vertically or horizontally, as well as via the older splitting method. I can’t say I’ve ever needed to use three apps simultaneously, but having two apps open side-by-side is definitely useful for cross-referencing info while working, and if you’re really unhinged, you can scroll through Reels AND TikTok at the same time.

Now Nudge has been updated too, and will open suggested apps in split-screen, which is a nice way to encourage you to use the full potential of the foldable phone you've just spent so much money on.

Camera compromises

Right, enough of the good stuff — let’s talk about what you lose by choosing this type of foldable over another.

The biggest compromise comes in the camera department, as while the Z Fold 8’s main and ultra-wide snappers are decent enough, there’s no form of telephoto camera to speak of here, which is… pretty wild considering how much this phone costs.

The 50MP main camera does offer 2x in-sensor zoom for a little extra reach when you need it, but you’ll start to lose image quality when zooming digitally up to 10x. Thankfully, the main and ultra-wide cameras you do get are pretty solid, offering vibrant colors and plenty of detail, but you will get sharper images on the more camera-focused Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Here's a picture-by-picture comparison of the two phones' photography capabilities, as captured by TechRadar contributor Tom Bedford:

That said, selfies are great, and portrait mode is still a Samsung strength, while Smart video features like Super Steady video with Horizontal Lock and My FanCam keep the Z Fold 8 feeling fun and fresh. The former levels out shaky footage at the expense of some resolution, while the latter lets you create a motion-tracked video of a particular subject from any video.

My FanCam is pretty effective, though, as we explained in our review of the phone; the subject needs to be well lit and large enough in the frame for Samsung’s algorithm to identify. There’s no manual tracking option, so you’re at the mercy of the feature as to whether your footage is compatible.

Battery life is another good-but-not-great aspect of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Yes, it’s the first Samsung phone to feature a silicon-carbon battery, and yes, it has better battery life than the Z Fold 7 — but you won’t get Honor- or Oppo-level endurance here.

Samsung says you’ll get 26 hours of video playback from a single charge of the Z Fold 8, and that’s true, but only if you stick to the cover screen. In reality, a day with the phone means switching between screens, watching YouTube videos in unfolded mode, maybe gaming a bit — and as such, the real battery life figure lands closer to somewhere between a day and a day-and-a-half.

Mind you, that’s still… pretty good! I charge my phone every night anyway, so I haven’t been left in the lurch with a dead Z Fold 8, but I don’t think the inclusion of silicon-carbon technology here is the revolution that some people (including me) maybe hoped it would be.

The Honor Magic V6, for context, uses a larger 6,600mAh battery that lasts for well over two days, and that’s a figure that not even the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra can touch.

For charging, you’re getting 45W wired speeds, which will get you to 50% in around 25 minutes and a full charge in about an hour, and again, those are perfectly good if not exceptional numbers.

You also get 20W wireless charging, but as with every other Samsung phone, you’ll need to buy a magnetic case to make use of it, as the Z Fold 8 doesn’t have any built-in magnets.

One month verdict

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 so far, and have been pleasantly surprised by just how well this new form factor works for most things I do on my phone every day.

Videos look great on both displays; I love typing on the cover screen and reading on the inner screen, and the Z Fold 8 is also powerful enough to be a nice little gaming machine.

You’ll get better cameras and battery life by choosing a regular flagship phone or the more expensive Z Fold 8 Ultra, but none of those devices will feel as fun or special as the Z Fold 8.

To be honest, I feel similarly about this phone as I do the iPhone Air. It seems weird and silly at first — and you’re paying a lot of money for fewer flagship features — but the Z Fold 8 is just very fun to use day-to-day, and it brings back some of the excitement that foldable phones have been missing.

If the rumors are true and Apple is indeed releasing a similarly sized iPhone Ultra later this year, this new form factor has a real chance of taking off — but as things stand right now, the Z Fold 8 is the foldable to buy if, like me, consuming content is what you do best.

RGB TVs are the latest talk of the TV world, with multiple brands embracing the new technology. Known by different names depending on the brand, such as Micro RGB (Samsung and LG), True RGB (Sony), and RGB mini-LED (Hisense and TCL), RGB TVs use a layer of red, green and blue mini-LEDs in their backlight, where standard mini-LED just uses white LEDs. The aim is to produce bolder, richer colors and better backlight control compared to traditional mini-LED.

I’ve tested a few RGB TVs now, and the tech shows promising signs. One of those TVs, currently sitting in our testing lab, is the Samsung R95H, the brand’s flagship Micro RGB TV. I’ve compared the R95H to a rival True RGB TV from Sony, the Bravia 7 II, and both showed what RGB is capable of.

But, given that RGB is aiming to take OLED’s spot at the top of the best TVs pile, I thought I’d compare the R95H to a rival OLED, using reference scenes from 4K Blu-rays I use in my AV testing. The OLED I’ve chosen is the LG G6, one of the best OLED TVs I’ve tested so far in 2026.

So, let’s find out how a flagship OLED compares to a flagship RGB TV.

A quick note on the photos below: the R95H has a red tint due to the camera interacting with the glare-free matte screen. This red tint is not visible when viewing with the naked eye.

Brightness

Traditionally, mini-LED would take the brightness crown easily, as mini-LED in recent years has easily exceeded 3,000 nits, even in budget models, while OLED has struggled to break the 2,000-nit mark. However, that’s changed in the last couple of years, with OLED now delivering real brightness improvements.

Measuring both TV’s brightness, the LG G6 initially hit 2,471 nits peak HDR brightness in my first tests in March 2026. Since then, the G6 has received a few firmware updates, and in my most recent measurements, taken in July 2026, it hit 3,004 nits (both measurements were taken in Filmmaker Mode). These are huge results for OLED. As for the Samsung R95H, it measured 1,977 nits peak HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode, while in its ‘brighter’ movie mode it hit 1,960 nits. So, the G6 easily takes the peak HDR win.

As for fullscreen brightness, where mini-LED often succeeds, the G6 hit 451 nits fullscreen HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode, while the R95H hit 612 nits. So here, the RGB TV takes the win, but the gap isn’t as big as it used to be. Flagship OLEDs would often struggle to break 300 nits two years ago, but that’s changed now.

What does this mean for real-world scenes though? For the most part, I've found that these measurements have translated to in-person viewing. Watching Speed Racer, the G6 shows much punchier HDR highlights, such as the headlamps of the Mach 5 or the bright, blue sky above the city as the Racer family fly to Royalton Industries. Watching footage of snow from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray, the whites of the snow have more impact on the G6, though there’s still some nice brightness in the R95H.

Bright-room viewing and mirror-like reflections have often been OLED’s kryptonite, due to the very glossy screens of these TVs. However, when I tested the G6 next to the Samsung S95H/S99H, the latter of which has a glare-free matte screen, I found that the G6’s anti-reflective screen was very effective at reducing reflections while maintaining strong black tones. The same is true here with the G6 and the R95H, though in terms of eliminating mirror-like reflections, the R95H, which is also equipped with the glare-free matte screen, does a better job. The G6 still impresses for an OLED, though.

Colors

Color reproduction is one area where RGB TVs are being touted for their capabilities, and based on the ones I’ve tested so far, they certainly can deliver impressive results. OLED is known for the strength of its colors too, however.

In Speed Racer, both TVs deliver vibrant, punchy colors that really pop on screen. Both manage to reproduce the saturated, bright colors of the Racer household, with its orange walls, pink details and sometimes lime-green paintwork. The characters' clothing, such as Trixie’s bright pink shirt and Spritle’s yellow shirt, are also expertly handled by both TVs. The real difference is each TV’s color profile. While the G6 delivers these colors with real depth and richness, the R95H’s colors are more subtle, and arguably more accurate and natural looking.

Switching to animation, in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, both TVs again demonstrated excellent color reproduction, with a similar profile to what I’d seen in Speed Racer. As the Lumas gathered for story time, the various colors of their bodies popped on both TVs, and again the G6 had that beautiful depth and boldness, while the R95H had a more neutral but realistic look.

I did find at times that the G6 leaned a little too heavily towards red, which made some reds, such as Mario’s hat and overalls or the red of a toadstool, look a little oversaturated compared to the rest of the picture. The R95H had a much more uniform color profile, with no one color standing out. Still, the G6’s more vivid colors were hard to look over, and did really suit the crisp, colorful animation of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Contrast and dark room viewing

Switching both TVs to Filmmaker Mode for darker content, I started my comparisons with my go-to contrast-y movie: The Batman. While OLEDs tend to be the best option for high-contrast scenes, thanks to their self-dimming pixels for deeper dark tones, I was surprised by how close this particular contest was.

In high-contrast scenes, such as the exploration of the crime scene at Mayor Mitchell's house, or as Bruce talks with Alfred in the Batcave, both TVs demonstrated an excellent balance between the dark tones of the environment and the lamps/overhead lights. While the G6 did show richer dark tones overall, the R95H’s highlights, such as light hitting the side of Commissioner Savage’s face at the aforementioned crime scene, actually had more impact, despite its lower peak HDR brightness.

Both TVs also showed superb shadow detail. When Batman stands on a darkened subway platform, his armor is completely legible, despite the dark surroundings and dimly lit nature of the scene; this is a scene that some TVs I’ve tested have struggled with. Both TVs also did a very good job preserving the dark tones while accurately displaying these details too.

Another thing I noticed while watching The Batman was that I actually preferred the R95H’s skin tones. On the G6, people’s skin tones in darker scenes looked a little washed out, while on the R95H they appeared to have more color, looking more true-to-life.

Sitting between the two TVs, I did notice that off-center, the R95H is prone to some backlight blooming (where bright objects against a dark background have a halo of light around them), whereas the G6 wasn’t, thanks to its self-dimming pixels and lack of backlight.

For one final test, I used a scene from Alien: Romulus, in which the team approaches the Romulus station for the first time. Both TVs did a fantastic job rendering the deep, black tones of space, and while I expected this from the G6 OLED, I was pleasantly surprised by how rich the R95H’s blacks were, especially for backlit TV.

OLED vs RGB: who comes out on top?

In terms of pricing, these two TVs are on a level pegging. A 65-inch G6 costs $2,999 / £2,999 / AU$4,999, while a 65-inch R95H costs $2,999 / £3,099 / AU$4,999. So, while they may both be at the very premium end of the market, if you have that kind of money, price isn’t really a factor here, as there’s nothing much between them.

So it really comes down to performance. I’ve said before that RGB TVs, at least the ones I’ve tested, haven’t achieved ‘OLED-killer’ status just yet, and the same is true here — but it’s getting close. For me, I preferred the G6’s overall contrast, textures and color performance, but that doesn’t mean the R95H didn’t impress, especially for darker-room viewing, and when prices start to drop for these two TVs, my decision could swing the other way. OLED may be the current king, but RGB is hot on its heels. Over the next couple of years, this is going to be a thoroughly intriguing contest.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• RCS in Google Messages has stopped working for some users
• The issue mostly seems to be affecting newly set up Samsung phones
• Various fixes have been proposed, but the simplest and weirdest seems the most reliable

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a worthwhile upgrade to SMS — it brings encryption, read receipts, and more, and it’s accessible via Google Messages on Android. Except right now, it seems not to be working for a number of people.

It's not clear how widespread the issue is, but various posts on Reddit suggest there are issues with RCS on recent Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The issue most commonly seems to occur when swapping over to a new device, so people who’ve had a Samsung Galaxy S26 for a while with no issue, for instance, are seemingly less likely to run into problems than someone who just bought the phone and set it up.

But in any case, a number of Reddit users report RCS failing to connect, in some cases followed by a 3100 error code. The good news is that there are several potential fixes floating around, and one of them is quite straightforward.

That fix, as highlighted in one Reddit thread, is to turn off RCS, connect to a VPN, then turn RCS back on, and hopefully it will reactivate as normal. You can safely turn the VPN off at this point. This Reddit post says that you should connect to a VPN in Paris, France, specifically, but elsewhere, users have claimed success by using other VPN regions, so it’s unlikely you need to choose Paris — we certainly can’t see why that would make all the difference.

Anecdotally, this method seems to have the highest success rate going by the replies on Reddit, with most users exclaiming variations of “I can't believe this actually worked,” and that’s good, because not all the suggested solutions are as simple as this.

The official suggestion

So we’d suggest trying this method first, but if it doesn’t work, then Google’s own support team posted a suggestion too. They say you should update to the latest version of Google Messages, then turn RCS off, clear data for Carrier Services, restart your phone, and finally turn RCS back on.

If that doesn’t work either, another user has posted a six-step process that involves stopping the Google Messages app, then removing your phone number from Google, followed by turning off two-step verification, turning off recovery phone, and removing Google Play Services updates, then turning Google Messages back on — after which, if RCS is now connecting, you should re-enable/update all of the above.

This feels like a bit of a nuclear option though, and not all users found this method worked for them. So hopefully the weird VPN trick will solve the issue for you. Interestingly, this trick first emerged two years ago when some users were having similar issues. So, while we’re not sure why it works, it has a long history of solving the problem.

• Google is building on its new Insulin Resistance Trends health feature with PhotoScan
• PhotoScan is 'an investigational deep learning framework' that can estimate body fat using a phone's camera with 'near DXA accuracy'
• It's not yet available to the public, but the research 'demonstrate[s] the feasibility' of such features

As the Google Pixel Watch 5 launched last week alongside a slew of new Pixel phones, one of the most interesting new developments was the introduction of the Pixel Watch's new Health Guardian suite of tools, including Insulin Resistance Trends.

Insulin Resistance Trends showcases a month-by-month breakdown containing estimations of how your body responded to blood sugar spikes — a crucial component in weight management and the development of Type-2 diabetes.

Body composition — your ratio of different kinds of fat, skeletal muscle, and bone — is also an excellent marker of insulin resistance and metabolic health, so body scans are often used to help determine insulin resistance. Body comp is often measured with medical-grade 'DXA' scans, which use X-Rays, or commercially available devices at home.

These home devices can be the best smart scales or even some smartwatches, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Without medical DXA scanners, they usually use a process called 'bioelectrical impedence analysis', or BIA. A low-level electric current is sent through the user's body, moving through fat, muscle, and bone at different speeds. The speed of the electrical current helps the device estimate the percentages of each material in the body: a useful thing to have on a health-monitoring device like a smartwatch.

However, Google is busy researching an even more accurate version of a body scan without using any specialist equipment or BIA kit — in fact, it's just a smartphone camera and an onboard AI model. This in-development feature is called PhotoScan, appropriately.

According to its research blog, Google has been developing PhotoScan by matching smartphone photographs of subjects with medical-grade DXA scans, along with other subject information, then running it all through an AI model. The AI model eventually achieved 'strong DXA agreement' when estimating body fat percentage and other metrics, leading to 'near-DXA accuracy for predicting insulin resistance'.

The researchers conclude that 'clinical DXA imaging delivers the most accurate body composition but lacks scalability, whereas wearable BIA sensors offer convenience but are limited to basic body fat percentage.

'Our PhotoScan approach offers a promising middle ground, estimating granular body composition from standard smartphone imagery with near-DXA accuracy.' Sorry, Samsung — it looks like we'll be pivoting away from BIA sensors and towards smartphone cameras for body fat percentage calculation in future.

While the technology doesn't seem to be commercially available yet, it does 'demonstrate the feasibility of smartphone-based body composition estimation,' and I'd be surprised not to see it make its way to the best Pixel phones eventually.

We ran the Samsung T9 through our full storage benchmark suite, including AJA System Test and CrystalDiskMark, and it came close to the theoretical limits of the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface. And right now, the Samsung T9 1TB is down to $240 (was $288) at Amazon.

It's rated for up to 2,000MB/s read and write speeds over Gen 2x2, backed by XTS-AES 256-bit hardware encryption and drop resistance up to 3 meters onto steel plates, and includes both USB-C and USB-A cables. If you need a higher capacity, the 2TB Samsung T9 is down to $405 (was $575) at Amazon.

Why we recommend it

For most people, the Samsung T9 is our top-rated portable SSD, and has been for a long time now. If you need a speedy drive you can sling in your backpack for work or study, saving game files, or a lot of media, this is our top recommendation.

In our benchmarks and 4-star review, the T9 posted read and write speeds close to 2,000MB/s across AJA System Test, CrystalDiskMark, ATTO, and AS SSD, putting it on par with the other Gen 2x2 drives we've tested from Crucial and Kingston.

The caching system also held up well on sustained writes, which matters if you're pulling footage straight off a camera or moving large project files.

Build quality is a genuine strength: the rubberized exterior survived drop testing from up to 3 meters onto steel plates, a tougher test than most drives in this category go through, and Samsung backs it with a five-year warranty.

For more picks, see our guide to the best portable SSDs we've tested (spoiler: the T9 is ranked best overall).

Also consider

Price Context & Historical Value

A $48 discount off $287.99 works out to about 17 percent. It's worth noting we found the T9 overpriced at its original MSRP relative to competitors like the Kingston XS2000, so this discount goes a meaningful way toward closing that gap rather than being pure gravy on top of a fair price.

We imagine the price hike is largely down to the component cost increases we've seen throughout this year. For comparison, the T9 1TB model is selling for $240 at Best Buy, which is on par with Amazon. However, the 2TB model running at $440, which is more expensive.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung T9 if...

Your computer or camera has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, and you want to actually use that bandwidth; you move large video or photo files regularly; or you want a drive built to survive drops on set or on the road.

❌ Skip the Samsung T9 if...

Your devices only support USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Gen 1 (you won't see the speed benefit), you want IP-rated water and dust resistance, or you're on a tight budget and don't need Gen 2x2 speeds.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The T9 only pays off if your computer, camera, or console actually has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port; plug it into an older Gen 2 or Gen 1 port and you'll get the same performance as the cheaper T7. It also lacks any IP water or dust rating, unlike some rivals, and at launch we found it priced higher than comparable drives from Crucial and Kingston, so it's worth shopping around if raw price is your main concern.

Samsung has had a busy few weeks with the launch of its 2026 foldable and wearable ranges, with pre-orders just wrapping up last week. If you missed out on the pre-order deals or you have your eyes set on something else from the brand, then fret not — Samsung has just unveiled a slew of deals across its product portfolio.

The latest Samsung Secret Sale event features lots of top-rated tech that we’ve reviewed here at TechRadar, with savings of up AU$1,200 or 50% with the code SECRETAUG — but it’s only running for 48 hours, with deals ending at 10am AEST on Wednesday, August 19.

One standout deal is the excellent Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 with a 50% discount, bringing it down to just AU$374.50 for the 40mm LTE model. Given that the new Watch 9 has relatively modest upgrades for AU$699 (with a current deal), this offer is hard to pass up.

• Check out our range of dedicated Samsung Australia promo codes for more savings on phones, TVs, wearables and audio

RGB TVs have become the talk of the TV world this year, with just about every brand releasing their own RGB model. While the tech is still in its infancy, having been introduced by Hisense in 2025, the tech is being touted as an OLED-killer, delivering much higher brightness and bolder colors akin to a mini-LED, while also delivering the contrast and black tones of an OLED.

So far, I’ve tested the Hisense UR8 RGB mini-LED side-by-side with the Samsung QN80H (a traditional mini-LED), where the UR8’s color didn’t wow me, but its contrast and backlight control did. I’ve also tested the Sony Bravia 7 II RGB mini-LED side-by-side with one of 2026’s best TVs, the LG C6 OLED, and while the C6 came out on top, the Bravia 7 II showed real potential for RGB tech.

But, how do two RGB TVs compare? I’ve swapped out the 55-inch Bravia 7 II for a 65-inch Bravia 7 II and, thanks to some fortunate timing, the flagship Samsung R95H Micro RGB TV has landed in our testing lab at the same time. For context, a 65-inch Bravia 7 II costs roughly $2,599 / £1,999 / AU$3,995, while a 65-inch R95H costs $2,999 / £3,099 / AU$5,295. So, while prices are relatively close in the US (when you’re spending this much money), they are in different price brackets in the UK and Australia.

One note here: as the Samsung R95H has a matte screen, this can cause a red tint in photos that's not visible in-person.

Colors

Watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, with both TVs in their Movie modes (Movie for the R95H, Cinema for the Bravia 7 II), I noticed that in their default settings, the R95H appeared to be overblowing its brightness, resulting in some clipping of bright objects. I found that dropping the R95H’s brightness from its default 50 (max) down to 45 or 40 was better for the picture. The color luminance was certainly impressive on the R95H though, with the Lumas’ colors looking extremely bright and vibrant on screen. The Bravia 7 II’s colors had more depth and richness to them, having a lot more boldness that reminded me of an OLED.

Both TVs' color accuracy for the red and green of Mario and Luigi’s overalls respectively, and the vivid pink of Peach’s dress, were very good, but there’s no denying the R95H has much more pop on screen. The R95H’s colors can look a little washed out next to the Bravia 7 II at times, as the latter has such richness in its color profile. While the R95H delivered the brightness of the animation, it was hard to ignore how rich and deep the Bravia 7 II’s colors were.

Moving to Speed Racer, a real-world movie with equally cartoon-ish vibrant colors, the Bravia 7 II once again showcased richer, deeper colors, giving more detail to the gaudy outfits and decor of the 1960s-inspired aesthetic. The R95H once again delivered on the brightness, which really did make colors explode on screen.

On the surface, the R95H seemed to sacrifice some color accuracy in favor of the pop on screen and in some cases this worked. The orange walls and floors of the Racer home and Pops Racer’s shirt were much more vivid on the R95H, but had that nice clarity on the Bravia 7 II. Yellow however, such as Mom Racer’s apron, was much bolder on the Bravia 7 II.

Switching between picture modes, the Bravia 7 II’s Cinema and Professional (its equivalent Filmmaker Mode) were consistent in their color depth and volume, but Cinema mode suited the more colorful movies. On the R95H, while Filmmaker Mode had a nice accuracy to it, the colors were a bit lifeless in comparison to Movie mode. While the R95H’s Movie mode did sometimes sacrifice accuracy, its sheer brightness was better for Speed Racer.

Contrast and backlight

Firing up the opening scenes of The Batman, an often challenging disc for backlit TVs, with both models set to their more accurate Filmmaker modes (Professional for the Bravia 7 II), they do an excellent job. Contrast was strong on both TVs, with a great balance between light and dark tones, such as wall lamps and dark wood walls in Mayor Mitchell’s house, or the overhead lights with the black walls of the Batcave. In the default settings, the R95H again demonstrates its higher brightness, which results in stronger perceived contrast compared to the Bravia 7 II.

Dark tones were pleasingly rich on both TVs as well, and there was very little sign of blooming when viewed head-on. From an angle however, both TVs did show some signs of blooming during dark scenes, with the R95H’s more obvious than the Bravia 7 II’s. The Bravia 7 II did sometimes show some black crush, resulting in detail loss in objects, while the R95H did a better job maintaining these details, such as the texture in Batman’s armor and the lapel of Gordon’s coat.

Both TVs did a great job with shadows, but during The Batman, the Bravia 7 II cast deeper, inkier shadows across people’s faces. Switching to Dark City, which features plenty of these high contrast shadow shots, this was actually reversed. The R95H cast darker shadows that delivered a higher perceived contrast compared to the Bravia 7 II.

Black levels looked great in Dark City on both sets, although interestingly, in a shot where Murdoch talks to the hotel clerk, I noticed the R95H was subject to black crush this time and the Bravia 7 II actually had better shadow detail. Some dark scenes in the movie did reveal some more blooming, moreso on the R95H when viewed from an angle.

Trying out some black and white content, the R95H’s higher brightness creates a greater dynamic range and higher contrast in black and white movies. Watching Dead Man, any scene during the day has much more punch on the R95H, thanks to the aforementioned brighter whites. Both TVs do demonstrate deep dark tones though, with a good range of grays in between. The 4K disc is in SDR and when switching from Filmmaker to Movie, the Bravia 7 II has a significant brightness upgrade over the R95H, though the R95H’s brightness is much lower by default in this mode.

Brightness

Starting off with measurements, the R95H is significantly brighter with both TVs set to HDR Movie mode. The R95H clocked in at 1,960 nits HDR peak brightness, while the Bravia 7 II hit 1,163 nits. It’s a similar story in Filmmaker/Professional mode, as the R95H hits 1,977 peak HDR brightness and the Bravia 7 II hits 1,114 nits.

Fullscreen HDR brightness, however, is where things get interesting. In Movie/Cinema mode, the R95H clocks in at 607 nits, while the Bravia 7 II measures 830 nits. This means the Sony should display larger bright areas on screen with more punch and vibrancy.

Watching real-world content, the R95H demonstrates much higher brightness than the Bravia 7 II, especially in Movie mode and with HDR content on screen. Watching Lawrence of Arabia, specifically the desert scene where Lawrence and his guide fetch water from a well, the R95H demonstrates significantly higher perceived brightness, with the white sands and blue sky looking much more vibrant on the R95H. While the Bravia 7 II shows more detail in brighter areas, such as the patterns in the ground, the R95H clearly wins in the brightness battle here. This is interesting given that the Bravia 7 II had the higher HDR fullscreen brightness.

The same is true with more colorful movies. Going back to Speed Racer, the R95H shows much punchier highlights, such as the lights of the Mach 5, as well as glossier whites of the Mach 5 and Speed’s helmet. I did find that switching to each TV’s respective Filmmaker Mode resulted in much closer brightness, though the R95H’s peak areas were still a little brighter.

As for bright room viewing, the R95H shows how effective its anti-glare, matte screen is. Even with darker movies such as The Batman, there’s no sign of mirror-like reflections at any point. For the Bravia 7 II, bright room viewing is more of a challenge. With a brighter scene, such as the desert one from Lawrence of Arabia, the Bravia 7 II does a good job in a bright room. Any darker or high-contrast scenes, and mirror-like reflections are clearer.

The best buy

Which TV you should buy from these two really comes down to what region you’re in and your budget. In the US, it’s a close contest, whereas in the UK and Australia, the Bravia 7 II is much cheaper. In terms of actual performance, both TVs did well. Both TVs rendered challenging dark scenes accurately, with hints of blooming on both (though they were sometimes more obvious on the R95H). Both TVs showed excellent color reproduction, with the R95H showing higher color luminance, where the Bravia 7 II showed more color volume.

It’s difficult to choose between these two TVs, and while I preferred the Bravia 7 II in some reference scenes, especially with color, the R95H performed better in darker, more contrast-y scenes. While this is a battle of a mid-range RGB (Bravia 7 II) vs a flagship RGB (R95H), the Bravia 7 II puts up a heck of a fight and is the better value option for the budget conscious. If however money isn’t an issue, the R95H is the TV to pick.

Do either of these TVs topple OLED? For my money, not quite yet, but the Bravia 7 II delivers some seriously impressive colors and the R95H shows again what RGB tech can do for backlight control. OLED, it's definitely time for it to start taking note.

There's no denying that the Samsung 990 Pro SSD is an incredible SSD - we called it "stellar" in our review when we took it out for a spin. But while the 990 Pro 2TB is still down to $390 (was $640) at Amazon, I recommend professionals running heavy workloads check out the 9100 Pro instead.

Right now, you can get the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB, running at $400 from Amazon. This next-gen PCIe 5.0 internal SSD delivers twice the speeds of the 990 Pro, up to 14,700 MB/s for just $10 extra.

If you're upgrading the rest of your gear for performance, I've also found a Corsair Vengeance RGB CL30 Cherry Blossom DDR5 RAM kit deal right now, too.

Why we recommend it

When we reviewed the 9100 Pro, we called it "the best there is," delivering professional-specific performance in a way that other Pro drives from Samsung can't match. It earned 4.5 stars after testing, and a TechRadar Recommends badge.

While not everyone will get use from a PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD like this, ultimately we found that "for pros, there's none better than the 9100 Pro."

Capable of hitting read speeds of up to 14,700MB/s, the 9100 Pro is designed for use in workstations, or AI workloads where speed and performance matter more than, say, gaming or general computing.

The SSD uses a 5nm controller for improved power efficiency compared to older generations.

And, in keeping with the professional focus, it also includes hardware encryption for security-minded business users.

Price context & historical value

At $400, this seems to be the going rate for the Samsung 9100 Pro right now. With rising component costs, I can't see it dropping to its all-time low of $170 any time soon. That came in October 2025. For most of 2026, it's been priced anywhere between $300 and $500, but since at least July, $400 has been the going rate, down from a high of $680.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung 9100 Pro if...

You're a professional business user or creator who demands fast PCIe 5.0 speeds and seamless multi-tasking during demanding and complex workloads.

❌ Skip the Samsung 9100 Pro if...

You just need a simple, speedy but brilliant SSD for general day-to-day tasks, which is where the Samsung 990 Pro shines, or your system lacks support for PCIe 5.0.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Since it's designed for professional use, most general users will never take full advantage of the speeds delivered by the Samsung 9100 Pro. And to actually hit those ultra-fast 14,700 MB/s speeds, you'll need to make sure your motherboard supports PCIe 5.0. However, if your rig allows for a Gen 5 SSD, then it's still worth the extra $10 over the 990 Pro for future-proofing your set-up.

• See all internal SSDs at Amazon

• iFixit opened up Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 8 foldable phone
• It found the device’s hinge was vulnerable to dust and sand particles
• Apple’s upcoming iPhone Ultra might be similarly susceptible

If you’re considering getting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 — or any of the best foldable phones, for that matter — you might want to check out iFixit’s teardown of Samsung’s flashy new device. Because it looks like the foldable has a fatal weakness that could swiftly ruin your expensive investment, if you're not careful.

The handy folks at iFixit noticed that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has an ingress rating of IP48, meaning it can resist water but not smaller dust particles. With that in mind, iFixit decided to give the foldable a light sprinkling of sand, complemented by UV-reactive dust that showed where the particles ended up — and how they affected Samsung’s phone.

The results were not pretty. With the dust in place, iFixit said that the phone’s hinge “started making truly awful crunching and grinding noises, and the phone stopped opening normally.” That’s a pretty disastrous result — after all, most phones will encounter dust particles on a very regular basis.

Although Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has an IP48 rating, this only protects against particles 1mm in size or larger. Yet that might not be enough for ordinary usage, as the everyday sand iFixit used in its testing featured particles measuring 0.16mm. As we saw from the results, it doesn’t offer much in the way of defense.

The problem is that the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s hinge contains a lot of moving mechanical parts, all of which provide an opportunity for small particles to “cause trouble,” in iFixit’s words. While Samsung’s internal seals did a good job of keeping dust out of the batteries and main electronic components, they couldn’t ensure the safety of the hinge. And without this component, a foldable phone loses its entire raison d’être.

A warning for the iPhone Ultra

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown isn’t just interesting for Samsung fans — because Apple’s long-awaited iPhone Ultra is expected to take on a similar form factor, it could provide a few hints (and warnings) about what might arrive at the Cupertino firm’s upcoming September launch event.

And it’s not like dust ingress is something Apple will automatically be immune to. As iFixit put it, Samsung’s device “still has one enormous liability: it folds.” It’s near-impossible to keep dust away from a phone in everyday use, and since folding is the entire point of the iPhone Ultra, it could well be beset by similar problems, unless Apple has an ingenious solution.

A clue to the iPhone Ultra's ruggedness will be in its specs, or more specifically its IP (Ingress Protection) rating. This tells you how well it repels dust and dirt — on the scale from zero to six, iFixit says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 only scores four.

Ultimately, we won’t find out if Apple has found a way to beat this score until the company launches its iPhone Ultra, which is expected to land this September. But considering it’s Apple’s first foray into the foldables market, the stakes are already high.

This article was originally published in April 2024, following the total solar eclipse in the US. The experience in advice is relevant for those thinking about attempting to photograph the 2026 eclipse — which will be total in parts of Iceland, Spain and Portugal, and there will be major partial eclipse in the UK and other European countries — so we're sharing it again.

If you’ve never seen a total eclipse in person, whatever you’ve seen and what you imagine don’t come close. The best photos, the most stunning video, they won’t match the silent, dazzling fury of the real thing. Your phone or monitor won’t capture the infinite diamond brilliance of the Sun’s corona twinkling around the black Moon.

I set out to shoot the total eclipse with my three best camera phones and my Nikon DSLR, but I am thankful that I decided to enjoy the eclipse in the scant three minutes I was under its totality.

Before I talk tech, I’ll do my best to describe the total solar eclipse if you’ve never seen one in person. April 8, 2024 was my first total eclipse, and before that day I thought it would be my last.

After seeing the total solar eclipse live, I felt like I can’t live the rest of my life without seeing one again. I’ve never seen a photo that was equally compelling. Seeing the real eclipse in person, it was so gloriously beautiful that I was immediately sad that it was so fleeting.

Here's what a total solar eclipse really looks like

There is a bright flash in the instant before the Sun goes dark. The world gets colder suddenly, but the landscape is not pitch dark. Watching the eclipse from the shore of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, the view of Mount Marcy and the Adirondacks presented a panoramic sunset, with waning light surrounding me at the horizon on all sides, and the black eclipse at the center.

The Sun’s corona dazzles and flares with wisps of magic. You’ve never seen any light move in such a way. The contrast between the shockingly dark moon and the incredibly bright corona makes the halo seem brilliant and crisply present, as though the Sun is just beyond your grasp, and not seven light-minutes away.

The corona is bright, but not as bright as the face of the Sun. It reaches the limit of what my eyes could tolerate without causing pain. To see something so shockingly intense, after avoiding the painfully bright Sun for the previous hour, is a revelation. It feels like a gift being unwrapped in the sky above. It is a surprise and a joy, and I was not shocked to hear the crowd around me erupt into spontaneous applause.

I was awestruck. I forgot everything I was supposed to do at that moment. I’m now grateful that I decided at the last minute to drive all the way up to Burlington, where the clouds were wispy and few and the totality lasted more than three whole minutes. A good friend traveled farther to experience just over thirty seconds of totality in the Ozarks. Neither of us regrets taking our trip.

Ruining a solar eclipse with too much tech

Back to the tech. My plan was … too much. I brought a telescope, and a DSLR, and three phones, and even smart glasses on my face. I don’t know what I was thinking. The eclipse lasted three minutes. I barely had time to focus one camera, let alone try to shoot with five. My plans fell to pieces, and I gave up quickly. I got a few good shots, then I turned my attention to the sky and just allowed myself to soak it in.

Seeing the eclipse was more rewarding than the best photo I’ve seen of the eclipse.

Here’s the gear I brought to shoot the solar eclipse. I borrowed a Vaonis Hestia telescope, which uses your phone as the viewfinder. I used an iPhone 15 Pro Max to take photos and view the eclipse through that telescope, with a solar filter provided by Vaonis. Those photos turned out pretty good, but it isn’t the most powerful telescope. Plus, an eclipse is a very complicated scene for lighting, especially for a phone camera.

I also had a Google Pixel 8 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. I already decided I was not going to try to take telephoto zoom shots of the eclipse with these phones. The 5X range is simply not enough to capture any detail, and the sensor for the longest lens is also the smallest, lowest-quality sensor on the phone. Better to take wide-angle photos.

I set up the Galaxy S24 Ultra to shoot a time-lapse (Samsung calls it Hyperlapse) video of the entire event. I was pretty disappointed with the results. The sun was too high in the sky for even the widest lens to capture the scene around me as well as the eclipse in progress. The camera had trouble balancing the incredibly bright partial eclipse with the surroundings, so it just looks like a sunny day until totality occurs. When the eclipse happens, the camera balances the light in a way that doesn’t present the sunset colors and the changing light in the way I remember it.

I attached a solar filter to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, hoping I would be able to see more of the partial eclipse as it happened. Nope, the filter cut out too much light for the phone to handle. I was barely able to see the Sun through the filter, let alone capture great shots.

At the last minute, I decided to also bring my Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon 80-400mm lens. I don’t have a solar filter for that huge lens, so I planned on shooting only the totality of the eclipse, when it is safe to look at the sun without glasses. I got some pretty good shots, but I was rushing around too much, juggling too many chores. I should have reduced the exposure levels, or used a manual mode to dial back the shutter speed. The photos were blurry and blown out, not very good.

In the end, I got a couple of good shots from the iPhone on the telescope. They were better than the shots my friends took with their phones, and they impressed the people I shared them with. From my own perfectionist standards, I was disappointed with my pics, but I wasn’t disappointed at all with the experience.

In fact, I’m happy that I didn’t try much harder to take great photos, because at the last minute I chose to sacrifice the pics and enjoy the eclipse. It was amazing. It was the greatest natural phenomena I’ve ever seen. For the next eclipse, I’ll bring only one camera, and only one easy plan, and if I screw it up then I won’t even care. The best photo I could get would pale in comparison to the totality of the real thing.

You might also like...

• I shot the eclipse with an iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – here's which one did best
• You took amazing smartphone eclipse photos, but reminded me why I didn't use Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 100x Space Zoom
• How to photograph the total solar eclipse with your camera or smartphone

The iPhone Ultra probably won’t launch for around another month, but we already have a fair idea of what to expect — and that’s not just thanks to leaks and rumors, but also because Samsung has launched what we think is a very similar phone.

That phone, of course, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, a foldable device with a passport-like form factor, which is very much in line with what we’re hearing Apple is planning for its first foldable, reportedly called the iPhone Ultra.

That form factor, and particularly the screen sizes and shapes it results in, are arguably the most interesting things about these phones, since they’re different to the book-style and clamshell-style foldables we’re used to seeing.

But just how similar will the screens on these two phones be? Well, while we won’t be certain of anything until Apple unveils the iPhone Ultra, we’ve taken some educated guesses below, based on leaks and rumors about that phone, coupled with the confirmed specs of the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

How will their foldable screens compare?

Much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 folds open like a book, but unlike the tall and narrow Z Fold 8 Ultra, it has a slightly smaller and more passport-like display, and we’re expecting something similar from the iPhone Ultra.

To be more specific, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 7.6-inch 1828 x 2448 AMOLED screen with around 403 pixels per inch, a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, and an aspect ratio of 4:3.

That aspect ratio makes it more suited to watching widescreen video than typical book-style foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, as our content viewing comparison shows, and speaking of books, it’s arguably also a better shape for reading, too.

So, what of the iPhone Ultra? Well, going by leaks, this device will probably have a foldable display of between 7.7 and 7.8 inches. Different sources point to slightly different numbers, but all the recent leaks put it in roughly that range.

So that would make it ever so slightly bigger than the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s screen — though still smaller than the 8-inch Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

We’re less sure of what the resolution will be, but leaker Digital Chat Station (via MacRumors) claimed last year that it would be 1920 x 2713 and that it would have a 4:3 aspect ratio. Though it’s worth noting that this resolution wouldn’t actually yield a 4:3 aspect ratio, so at least one of these numbers must be at least slightly wrong.

In any case, 4:3 would make for the same aspect ratio as the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and while this rumored resolution would be slightly higher, the marginally bigger display size should mean it still offers a similar number of pixels per inch.

We’re inclined to believe the aspect ratio here more than the resolution, as leaked renders of the iPhone Ultra show a very similar screen shape to that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

We also fully expect the iPhone Ultra to have an AMOLED screen, just like Samsung’s phone, since other iPhones use that too.

We haven’t heard much about the iPhone Ultra’s screen brightness, but the iPhone 17 Pro, for example, has a 3,000-nit peak brightness, so the iPhone Ultra might well match that — and match the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s brightness in the process.

In which case, there may be no significant difference between their foldable screens, with the iPhone’s probably just being slightly larger — though it may also have a less visible crease, if rumors are to be believed. The iPhone Ultra’s corners are also likely to be curvier than the Z Fold 8’s, based both on leaks — such as the dummy unit above shared by Sonny Dickson — and Apple’s typical design practices.

How will their cover displays compare?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 5.5-inch 1248 x 1972 AMOLED cover screen with around 428 pixels per inch, and with an aspect ratio of 16:10. This leaves it a bit more of a square shape than the screens on most phones.

As for the iPhone Ultra, that could either have a 5.49-inch cover display with a 1422 x 2088 resolution (according to the source detailed in the section above), or a 5.3-inch cover screen (according to a paywalled report on The Information). So, in other words, it might either be slightly smaller than the Z Fold 8’s cover display or roughly the same size. It will also most likely use AMOLED tech, since other iPhones do.

Not much has been said about the iPhone Ultra's outer aspect ratio, but this again is likely to be similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s 16:10 one — both because it looks similar in leaked renders and dummy units, and because that would make sense if its internal aspect ratio is the same, as has been rumored.

So, as with their foldable screens, the main difference between the cover screen on the iPhone Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 might just be their size, with Apple’s possibly being slightly smaller in this case — though some leaks suggest there will be no real difference there either. In which case, it could just be the iPhone’s potentially curvier corners that set it apart.

How will their dimensions compare?

Screen sizes have a major impact on dimensions, but they’re not the only factor, with bezels and internal components also playing a role, so how will the iPhone Ultra compare to Samsung’s passport-style foldable there?

Well, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is 123.9 x 161.4 x 4.5mm when unfolded and 123.9 x 81.9 x 9.7mm when folded shut.

Sources aren’t in total agreement about the iPhone Ultra’s dimensions, but going by various leaks, it seems likely to come in at 120.6 x 167.6 x 4.5-4.8mm when unfolded and 120.6 x 83.8 x 9.0-9.6mm when folded, so it’s mostly just the thickness that there’s disagreement on.

That, in any case, would make the iPhone slightly shorter than Samsung’s phone but also marginally wider. When unfolded, it could be either the same thickness or slightly thicker, and when folded shut, it would seemingly be marginally slimmer.

Based on these rumored screen sizes and dimensions, which foldable phone would you rather buy? Let us know in the poll or comments section below.

• Oversecured found 176 vulnerabilities across Samsung’s preinstalled mobile apps
• Flaws enabled account takeover, code execution, and traffic hijacking via bloatware
• Samsung patched all reported issues, affecting hundreds of millions of devices

Security researchers from Oversecured have given “bloatware” an entirely new meaning, revealing that they uncovered 176 vulnerabilities - including some rather worrying ones - in Samsung’s mobile apps.

For the last three years, the team analyzed Samsung’s preinstalled system applications and found vulnerabilities that could cause some serious harm. Some of the bugs granted camera and microphone access, while others allowed for remote Samsung Account takeover with nothing more than a single click.

Some flaws allowed for network traffic hijacking via DNS manipulation, and others granted arbitrary code execution via an image. In theory, a malicious actor could craft and send a JPEG image which, when the victim opens, copies and loads attacker-controlled native libraries from the SD card. Finally, Oversecured found path traversal vulnerabilities allowing writing arbitrary files to the file system without proper path validation.

Arbitrary code execution

The researchers disclosed their findings to Samsung which, according to their report, fixed all of the reported issues - the full list can be found on GitHub.

Most Android smartphone manufacturers preload their devices with proprietary apps - think Bixby, Samsung Free, or AR Zone. These apps - which cannot be uninstalled or removed from the devices - aren’t necessary to their operations and are often not wanted by the users in the first place.

This 'bloatware' is also one of the key selling propositions of Google Pixel devices, since these are considered “stock Android”, or bloatware-free.

Out of context, these bugs are nothing extraordinary. Single-click account takeover flaws and traffic hijacking bugs pop up every now and then and get fixed rather quickly. The context here is that these are Samsung’s proprietary apps that don’t fall under the protection of Google’s Play Protect. Users might think they’re safe because they’ve not downloaded apps from risky places, or enabled dangerous permissions, when in reality, they’re not safe at all:

“Preinstalled system applications run with extra privileges than normal apps, cannot be removed by users, and operate outside Google Play Protect,” the researchers warned. “A single vulnerability affects hundreds of millions of devices globally through one vendor's distribution channel.”

• Don't like the camera bump on your foldable? Take it off
• That's what one Redditor has done with their Galaxy Z Fold 8
• It now lies flat — but the selfie camera is the only camera left

How far would you go to get one of the best foldable phones looking and working exactly the way you want it? One Samsung user has taken the drastic step of cutting off the rear camera module on their new Galaxy Z Fold 8, just so it'll lie perfectly flat when placed on a surface.

The unusual DIY hack is documented on Reddit, and has been met with one or two raised eyebrows. Apparently, the owner of the phone used a razor blade to perform the operation, and says the end result is "not bad".

"The wobble is so annoying and I never use [the cameras] anyways" was the reason given by the user, when asked what prompted the customization — and they don't appear to have any regrets about what they've done.

Our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review doesn't mention the camera bump as being a particularly egregious problem, but we do have some praise for the performance of the dual-lens camera on the back — so it seems a shame, and a little drastic, to remove them.

A job well done

The reactions in the original Reddit thread are mostly of disbelief that someone would go to these lengths just to get a phone to lie flat, while taking away their ability to capture photos and videos at the same time.

Amidst a lot of well-chosen GIFs, there are comments like "no amount of explanation justifies it" and "what a mad man", as well as some appreciation for a tech-hack that seems to have been well done, based on the photo evidence.

There's also one request for more information from another Redditor who wants to do the same to their own Galaxy Z Fold 8 — perhaps an indication that the wobble you get when the handset lies flat is annoying quite a few users.

Samsung launched the phone on July 22, and the starting price is $1,899 / £1,699 / AU$2,699. It launched alongside the slightly more expensive Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 8.

Since they were announced last month, I've been dual-wielding the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, the two new premium folding phones from the world's foremost foldable maker.

In the two weeks since the phones showed up at my door, I've taken hundreds of pictures on them (349 on the Fold 8 and 307 on the Ultra, to be precise). They've come with me on multiple holidays, been used for product photography for reviews I've published, and even accompanied me on a film location scout day, which saw them get a lot of use.

You'd expect that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra would be my default photography foldable. As I'll explain a little later, it's simply a better camera phone, offering better-looking photos thanks to having more cameras.

However, that's not been the case. When I need to grab a shot, I've found myself reaching for whichever pocket the 'standard' Galaxy Z Fold 8 is in. And the reason has little to do with its photography chops.

Size matters more than sensors

The benefit of the best camera phone over a DSLR or mirrorless camera is convenience. You don't have to sling them over your neck or tote them around in a carry case; they fit in your pocket and, more importantly, come out of your pocket in a pinch.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a long, thin phone; we're talking 158.4mm tall and just 72.8mm wide when it's folded (8.9mm thick and 215g heavy, if we're trying to get all the dimensions). When I put it in my trouser pocket, it digs its way right into the bottom, yet still sticks out the top a fair way.

Yet removing it can be quite a faff due to its frame. I have to angle and adjust it, feeling like Ross, Rachel and Chandler trying to pivot it to remove it.

By contrast, removing the Galaxy Z Fold 8 from my pocket is a breeze because of how small and stumpy it is when folded (123.9 x 81.9 x 9.7mm, 201g, just so we've got everything). It comes out easier than an average, non-folding smartphone.

Quite a vapid reason to prefer one phone over the other, right? But try to imagine this removing process 50, 60, 70 times in one day, when I'm on holiday or a recce; the Z Fold 8 Ultra becomes more effort than it's worth.

In fact, most of the Z Fold 8 Ultra's shots are from specific shoots or sessions, when I knew I'd be using the phone lots, and so didn't put it in my pocket at all.

One is clearly a better camera phone

Despite the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 being my preferred photography phone, I'm under no illusions about which takes better pictures.

Both phones have a 50MP f/1.9 ultra-wide camera, and two 10MP f/2.2 selfie cameras. But from here, the Ultra is, as you'd imagine, better.

For starters, its main sensor is more powerful, packing in 200 megapixels and an f/1.7 focal length, compared to the Z Fold 8's 50MP f/1.8. As photographers know, though, it's not all about megapixels, and I found it's the zoom lens that made the Ultra better.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has a 10MP telephoto camera which supports a 3x zoom. On paper, it's the same unit the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra packs.

A zoom lens gives the Z Fold 8 Ultra much, much more versatility for photography; in fact, I'd wager at least half of my pictures on the phone use this snapper. Its 67mm lens gives much nicer, softer depth of field than the main camera, even if the app keeps jumping between optical and digital zoom when you're using it.

When you zoom in on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, you're just getting digital zoom. The flower pictures above will show you how this looks in comparison to optical; it's fine, but to camera phone photographers, it won't compete.

As you'll notice when you look at the above pictures too, the Z Fold 8 Ultra offers some extra bokeh on the 1x zoom picture, likely thanks to the extra information presented from all those excess pixels it's capturing. However, for the most part, I've found them pretty matched when it comes to these 'standard' pictures taken on the wide camera.

Want some more Z Fold 8 Ultra camera samples? Every shot of the Z Fold 8 in this article was taken on the Ultra phone, using the 3x camera (hence why you're not seeing the Ultra in the shots).

Photography is only part of the process

Despite its lesser camera performance, I'm still using the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as my go-to photography phone. And the convenience of pulling it out of my pocket is only one reason. Another is what happens once I've captured the picture.

The inner, or main, screen of the Z Fold 8 has a 4:3 aspect ratio. For some comparison, the Z Fold 8 Ultra is 0.9:1, which is close enough to square that I feel comfortable referring to it as such for the rest of this article.

I don't know about you, but I don't capture or use square photos. I imagine you're in the same boat, given that Instagram basically single-handedly killed them off several years ago. No: for me, it's 16:9. Not only is this the required aspect ratio for every single website I write for, but it's a wide-screen aspect ratio which is appropriate for film reference shots, all-encompassing panoramas, or dramatic action shots. But the point I'm about to make would stand even more if you shoot in the camera app's default 4:3.

A wider display is much better for editing pictures. If you look at a wide snap on the Z Fold 8 Ultra's square display, you're given loads of black bars (or dead space) at the top and bottom. These are still present on the Z Fold 8, but much smaller, offering just enough space to house the edit controls.

When I'm holding an open Z Fold 8, I also find that my hands are in the perfect spot to easily manipulate the picture. Thanks to its display edges being taller, I have to move them around much more on the Ultra phone.

Based on coverage of the phones, both by critics and online users who've grabbed an early purchase of the phones, the aspect ratio is proving pretty divisive for the new phones. Some prefer the older shape of the Z Fold 8 Ultra; others like the 'passport'-style Z Fold 8. And for tasks like photo editing, I much, much prefer the latter.

Good, better, best

People who've read this article after glimpsing through the specs list of these new folding phones might find my preference for the worse one a little baffling. But those who've had hands-on time with the Z Fold 8 might understand my stance.

But if you're looking for a great camera phone, I'd be remiss not to mention something. Neither of these phones, not even the triple-camera Z Fold 8 Ultra, is actually a dedicated camera phone. They're fine for photography, but they won't hold a candle to the best mobiles on the market.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra would be a much better pick for people who want a camera phone, and don't need something that folds.

Don't just stick to Samsung, either. I've found most Galaxy phones have below-average battery lives — it's actually pretty poor on the Z Fold 8, at least compared to a non-folding phone, which cut some of my photo shoots short.

But if your main priority is a bending mobile, and the camera chops are a secondary consideration, don't rely on the specs list: the form factor is just as important.

This week, we reviewed Samsung’s latest foldables (including the best-in-class Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra), and we found out when Google Assistant will shut down for good.

To catch up on all this and more, scroll down for our roundup of the week’s seven biggest tech news stories.

And when you’re all caught up, be sure to test your knowledge in our weekly quiz.

7. Kojima Productions collabed on a CD player

As Sony plans to wind down the production of PlayStation game discs, auteur game developer Hideo Kojima is celebrating physical media with a new collaboration. His studio, Kojima Productions, has teamed up with the boutique Japanese audio brand km5 to produce a limited edition version of the Cp1 CD player inspired by the world of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

This special model comes in a luminous translucent orange inspired by the BB Pod from the game — that's the glowing jar that contains the adorable baby used to detect invisible enemies in its post-apocalyptic world.

It has all the same features that make the regular Cp1 a capable pocket-size CD player. This includes Bluetooth 5.3 support and a 3.5mm headphone jack for all your connectivity needs, a rechargeable battery with roughly eight hours of juice to take it on the go, and even a little LED display to display the track number.

• Read the full story: Hideo Kojima is celebrating his love of physical discs with a new limited edition version of my favorite mini CD player

6. The Google Assistant got an official shutdown date

It’s now over a decade old, which makes it a veteran by Google standards — but this week we finally learned when the Google Assistant will be retired on Android and Wear OS.

According to emails sent out to many Assistant users, the shutdown will begin on September 4. This means you won’t be able to use Google’s original Assistant on Android phones, tablets, paired wearables, and Android Auto after that date.

Instead, Google Gemini will inevitably take its place. You can download Gemini now from the Play Store, and if you want to see your old Assistant interactions, they��ll be available on the Web & App Activity page in your Google account. Goodbye, Assistant — it was nice knowing you.

• Read the full story: Google Assistant will shut down for good on Android and Wear OS in September — here’s what you need to do next

5. We experienced a two-screen e-reader

Samsung’s new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, are the talk of the town right now, but this week also saw the announcement of a unique foldable ereader for avid notetakers.

The InkLeaf is a notebook-like, dual-screen ereader that’s “built for the way you actually work,” according to its manufacturer — and the USP here actually makes sense. Kindles are great for reading, but not note-taking. iPads are great for note-taking, but not reading. And while a reMarkable tablet lets you do both, you can’t read and write simultaneously. By opening up to reveal two distinct 10.3-inch E Ink Carta displays, the Inkleaf aims to let you do just that.

These screens are separated by an aluminum frame — so this isn’t a foldable device in the modern sense — but they can also display the same type of content, so you can annotate documents or even treat the Inkleaf like a hardback novel. Who says reading is dead?!

• Read the full story: The InkLeaf is a dual-screen e-paper tablet that lets you read on one display and take notes on the other

4. We learned ogres are like Bose headphones

Initially, we were perhaps a bit harsh on that limited edition ‘Eucalyptus’ finish at TechRadar HQ. The DreamWorks Animation hero they put us in mind of is a household name, but ogres aren’t known for their winsome looks.

The thing is, team members are now saying words such as ‘wasabi’ and ‘matcha’ to describe them, and you know what? The more we look at those Shrek-green cans, the more we kinda like ’em.

What you’re looking at is the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (Gen 2). It's been three long years since the Bose QuietComfort Headphones landed (which weren’t an inaugural set exactly; they simply updated the iconic Bose QuietComfort 35 II from way back in 2017, without all the odd letters and numbers).

What you need to know is that the brand has finally updated this model, which now slots into Bose’s headphone lineup as a more affordable option to the flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).

The Bose QC Headphones (gen 2) also bring a range of upgrades over the original pair alongside a price that’s the same as, or even a little lower than, the 2017 set, depending on where you live.

• Read the full story: Bose's mid-range headphones just got their first upgrade in years

3. Grand Theft Auto’s next teaser will debut on Netflix

Grand Theft Auto 6 marketing is finally getting into gear. With the game set to arrive on November 19, excitement is high, and Rockstar Games is kicking things off with a… Netflix documentary?

This week the developer announced that Netflix subscribers will be able to watch a special ‘Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look’ video at 3PM ET / 12PM PT / 8PM BST on August 27. It’s not exactly clear what this means, but it sounds like it could be some kind of behind-the-scenes video talking about the highly anticipated game’s development.

It’s expected to contain at least some new gameplay footage, though, making it a must-watch for eager fans. If you’re not a Netflix subscriber, then you don’t have to worry about missing out. The developer said that the video will come to YouTube a few hours after it premieres.

• Read the full story: We could finally be getting the next GTA 6 trailer as Rockstar announces a special 'extended look'

2. Our Garmin Cirqa review dropped, and it's a Whoop-beater

We've been wearing the Garmin Cirqa for 10 days now, and it's finally time to give it a score. It beats Whoop in terms of value, and Fitbit Air in terms of features, to land the coveted title of 'best screenless fitness tracker to buy in 2026'. It's generally very accurate when measured against an electrical heart rate monitor, and provides a certainty in tracking that other screenless wearables don't have thanks to the addition of a tactile start-stop button to sit alongside its automatic activity detection. It's also comfy enough for constant wear. We've got a video review embedded in the article too, so you can see it in action for yourselves.

• Read our full Garmin Cirqa review

1. We reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

At a glance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is unchanged since its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but far more than just the name changed. In my review, I found the flagship foldable has a more powerful CPU, lots of AI, better cameras, and overall improved photography.

And this only scratches the surface. Perhaps the most surprising and delightful bit about the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is that it unfolds flat and the crease is almost gone (mostly thanks to a pair of titanium panels). Overall, it's a great folding phone and is — despite the existence of the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 (it’s wide!) — my current favorite folding phone.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review

Now that you’re all caught up on the news, are you ready to take on our news quiz?

• A Samsung exec has just done a Reddit AMA
• They answered all sorts of questions, including those criticising a perceived lack of innovation, and an undesirable focus on AI
• Among the answers, health was pointed to as an area of future innovation, along with technology that understands what you need

Following the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, Annika Bizon, VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience at Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland, has taken to Reddit for an AMA about these devices and other topics.

Many of the answers are some combination of marketing jargon and tech support, but there are some genuinely interesting nuggets too, including a response to claims that Samsung has stopped innovating.

Reddit user densusenapi commented: "I've been a long-time Samsung customer since the original Note. I replace my phone every 3 years since the hardware innovation just isn't there anymore? I used to change my phone every 2 generations but the leaps are so small now. Start experimenting and innovating again, please."

To which Bizon replied: "If I may, I'd like to politely challenge the idea that the hardware innovation isn't there. The more people use AI every day, the more personal it becomes and that's pushing us to rethink how phones and wearables work for people alongside how they look. That kind of shift only happens if the engineering and craftsmanship behind it can keep up, and that's still where we put a lot of our energy as a company.

"The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a good example. This year we're expanding our foldable range to meet a real need we kept hearing from customers who want a bigger, wider screen to go deeper into content. The new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has had a phenomenal upgrade this year too to make sure it can help you achieve your fitness goals in the most extreme environments. So, I promise you we're not slowing down; we’re experimenting based on what people are telling us they would like.

"Hopefully that's changed your mind!"

It’s a fair answer, but arguably this has been a far more innovative year for Samsung than most recent years have been — we don’t often get whole new phone form factors after all.

But between what Bizon detailed above and the Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the brand has genuinely done some very interesting things this year, so hopefully we’ll see more of that going forward too.

A focus on health

As for what form that future innovation might take, in a separate response, Bizon pointed to health as a real focus at least for her personally, saying:

"I think we're at a super exciting time for mobile innovation. As I'm sure you're aware, we've just launched our biggest ever foldables line-up, inspired by how people are using their devices. AI is really helping us think more about new form factors, because we're all using our phones in much more personalized ways.

"But if you want to know what excites me personally right now, it's health, because that's where I think our devices and the features on them are helping people in ways they would never have imagined. Suddenly we're shifting as a society to being more preventative in the way we approach health challenges.

"So let's start with some of our features, powered by the new sensors on the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Vitals is a good example, because it tracks things like skin temperature and heart rate overnight, and flags meaningful changes so you can determine if you might be about to fall ill, and act by resting more.

"It's also become more personal. We've all been told about 'get eight hours sleep,' but our new sleep latency feature, which calculates how long it takes you to fall asleep from when your head hits the pillow, can help you work out what your optimum conditions are for falling asleep.

"I've seen this play out in my own training too. I did an ultramarathon a while back and pushed on for far too long despite how I was feeling and that's a really common mistake. Fitness Index now helps flag your strengths and weaknesses earlier, and Nutrition Alert will nudge me if my hydration levels are too low.

"That's the shift I'm most excited about — how technology understands what you need, and gives your personal experiences."

A nod towards AI

That — unsurprisingly — doesn’t really give us any concrete ideas of what to expect next from Samsung, but technology that “understands what you need” will almost inevitably involve AI, and this, of course, also came up in the AMA — though largely through people being negative about it.

Multiple Redditors essentially said that they don’t want AI on their phones, to which Bizon noted that “if AI isn't for you, every AI feature on Galaxy devices is opt-in. You can switch off anything you don't find useful.”

That said, Bizon also suggested people should give AI a chance, arguing:

“If you're open to dipping a toe into using AI, my advice is always the same — try one small thing and see if it saves you time. Say you're out and about and spot a concert poster, show it to your phone with the camera and ask it to find tickets for you to buy. If it's useful once, great. If it's not for you, that's fine too.”

That advice might work for some people, but many others are opposed to AI as much for ethical reasons as functionality ones — so they’re unlikely to give it a chance, and may object to it being on their phones even if it can be disabled.

Still, AI aside, it will be interesting to see whether Samsung continues its current innovative streak. We'll probably have an indication of whether it has done so or not early next year, when the Samsung Galaxy S27 series launches.

After a fairly competitive preorder phase, the brand-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8 are all officially available. And while many of those pre-release offers are no longer available, several launch deals are live now at various retailers and mobile networks. I've picked out the best value options right here.

The official Samsung store remains one of the best places to go in the US, offering a hefty trade-in rebate of up to $1,000 or a flat $200 in Samsung credit without a trade. As for the networks, T-Mobile remains my number one pick, as it still offers a massive discount of up to $1,900 on the Z Fold 8 when you trade in and add an eligible line — that's the biggest rebate out there and one of the largest ever seen for a new phone launch.

The UK deals aren't quite as attention-grabbing as many of the trade-in rebates have been reduced, but there are some good savings out there on all of the new devices.

Again, the official Samsung store is a smart place to start, with trade-in discounts of up to £752, extra savings on larger storage models, and freebies when you bundle in some network plans. Meanwhile, networks such as Vodafone and O2 offer the largest trade-in savings, or you can get a free Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 at Sky Mobile.

I'll keep an eye out for all the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra launch deals over the next few days in case any better offers go live. Hopefully there will be a combination of phone and plan that suits you.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 deals in the US

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 deals in the UK

Amazon has discounted the 256GB Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra to AU$1,597, dropping it by AU$502 from its AU$2,099 RRP.

That's the same price Amazon is charging for the smaller 256GB Galaxy Tab S11, and AU$2 less than the AU$1,599 it costs direct from Samsung.

This isn’t quite the lowest price we’ve seen for the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra on Amazon, with the 256GB model briefly dropping to AU$1,547 in June.

Still, today’s AU$1,597 price is only AU$50 more, plus the 512GB model is down to AU$1,799 from the AU$2,449 RRP and the 1TB version has dropped from AU$2,949 to AU$2,299.

Amazon is the simpler option if you just want an easy purchase and fast delivery, but other retailers such as JB Hi-Fi also have the S11 Ultra for just a few dollars more.

Another option worth checking out is Samsung’s current trade-in offer, which could work out cheaper if you have an eligible tablet. Samsung is selling the 256GB Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for AU$1,599 and, until 26 August, is adding a guaranteed AU$500 bonus credit on top of your device’s assessed trade-in value.

One catch – your old tablet must be eligible for Samsung’s trade-in program and retain an assessed value above AU$0.

But, I hear you ask, what makes the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra truly worth the rather large price tag?

In our Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review, we said we’d be “hard-pressed to find a bigger and better display on an Android tablet”. The 14.6-inch AMOLED screen earned a full 5/5 in our testing, with enough brightness for outdoor use, while the included S Pen and expansive display make it particularly well suited to watching movies, gaming and drawing.

Our reviewer also found Samsung’s One UI software made excellent use of the big screen for multitasking, with the tablet handling a video call, game and floating YouTube window at the same time without slowing down.

Battery life impressed too, lasting 11 hours while streaming 1080p video at full brightness, helping explain why the S11 Ultra remains our best premium Android tablet pick in our buying guide.

No tablet is perfect, and the main caveat for the S11 Ultra from our testing is the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset, which we found disappointing considering the RRP is over AU$2,000.

Yes, it's a clear improvement over the Tab S10 Ultra and handles games well, but it falls well short of competitors like the M5 iPad Pro for outright processing power.

That said, while the current AU$502 discount does not fix the performance shortfall, at AU$1,597 rather than AU$2,099, it makes our review criticisms considerably easier to swallow. Especially when the closest equivalent iPad Pro is AU$2,599.

So overall, I think that at the current discount, the S11 Ultra is an easy recommendation for those who want the biggest possible screen for movies, games, drawing and multitasking.

• HP, Asus, and Acer have qualified and begun shipping CXMT DRAM in small volumes, in a handful of notebook models sold outside the United States
• The restraint is potentially driven less by US policy than by fear of the incumbents: with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron holding over 90% of the market, buyers say they dare not source too much from CXMT
• CXMT is not a cheaper option either currently, as sources say its DRAM costs no less than Samsung's currently and cannot be booked beyond the current quarter

HP, Asus, and Acer have begun putting DRAM from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) into notebook computers, a report from Nikkei Asia has claimed, reporting several major PC makers completed qualification of CXMT's chips around the middle of this year.

The volumes are small, and the number of affected models is small, but perhaps more importantly, none of those models is sold in the United States.

The reason the volumes are small may have less to do with assemblers not wanting to irk a White House that has taken an increasingly tariff-heavy, America-first approach to manufacturing, but rather with market incumbents that currently account for as much as 90% of the total market's supply.

A tricky situation in a market dictated entirely by supply

PC makers are not being cautious primarily because of Washington, but rather because they do not want to upset agreements with market giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.

An executive at one PC company told Nikkei that with the top three holding more than 90% of the global market, buyers have to stay low-key about using CXMT, adding: "We dare not source too much from CXMT at this moment."

That does make for an interesting conundrum: in the middle of the worst memory shortage in the industry's history, the binding constraint on diversification is fear of annoying the people you are already struggling to buy from.

Nikkei's report on the matter only reinforces what many market participants have already hinted at: CXMT is hardly the "cheaper" option.

Its DRAM quotes do not undercut Samsung's, and it reportedly cannot even be booked beyond the current quarter, as competition over who can buy it has continued to ramp up even as it reportedly chooses to prioritize local conglomerate Huawei's AI ambitions.

What PC makers are actually buying, then, is optionality. A supply chain manager who works with HP and Asus put it to Nikkei, saying they don't want to neglect a potentially important source while the market is this tight.

For context, validating a new DRAM supplier takes months of engineering, signal-integrity testing, thermal work, and platform validation, and it does not happen on a whim. HP, Asus, and Acer have now built a switch. Whether they throw it depends on conditions none of them control, but the switch exists, and eighteen months ago it did not.

With Samsung stating that the RAM crisis is here to stay, the underlying conditions have merely exacerbated an AI-driven memory crisis that has directly affected consumer electronics across the board as supply continues to get repurposed.

Spot RAM pricing has risen by 400% or more over the past twelve months. PC makers have responded by prioritizing memory allocation for premium models and lifting prices across their ranges by several hundred dollars. IDC expects the global PC market to contract by more than 11 percent this year, with supply conditions deteriorating further toward the end of it.

Smartphones are equally affected, with some makers scaling back certain models to memory configurations their predecessors already offered, while others increase pricing to offset higher component costs. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have each cut 2026 shipment targets more than once.

The pressure has already reached the components below the memory itself: motherboard makers have absorbed roughly 50 percent increases in PCB costs and trimmed their own shipment targets accordingly.

None of this originates in the PC market. It originates in AI infrastructure, where demand for high-bandwidth memory has pulled wafer capacity away from conventional DRAM at every major supplier.

That is precisely the gap CXMT has been expanding into, which is why a company most Western buyers ignored two years ago is suddenly qualified at three of the largest PC brands in the world.

A short term irritant for Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix?

So what will Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix think? In the short term, very little, and they have every reason to say so. They are the primary beneficiaries of this shortage, with pricing power they have not enjoyed in a decade and no commercial incentive whatsoever to loosen supply. A few thousand budget laptops in Europe and Asia that carry Chinese DRAM do not register against that.

The longer view might be less comfortable. Oligopolies are usually broken not by a competitor arriving with a better product but by customers becoming willing to qualify an alternative, and customers become willing when the incumbents make life sufficiently unpleasant. That threshold has now seemingly been crossed at three of the five largest PC vendors, during a period when the incumbents were charging whatever they liked.

The alternative parts are more expensive than expected and hard to get, so nobody has switched in any meaningful volume. But the certification work is done and dusted, CXMT is building capacity at multiples of its current base, and the moment supply loosens or Washington's posture shifts, the cost of moving volume across is dramatically lower than it was.

For now, the best example of how the industry is treating this news is visible in Acer's response to Nikkei: It declined to identify suppliers, said it maintains close contact with multiple global manufacturers, and described the goal as supply chain resilience. HP also declined to comment, and Asus did not respond at all to inquiries at the time of writing. That is not the language of companies making a bet but rather those that would like to keep as many options open as possible.

• The Samsung Galaxy Fit 4 just leaked in FCC regulatory filings
• The documents suggest it will have a screen, unlike the Fitbit Air
• But the leak reveals previous few other details

The Fitbit Air has proved that you don’t need to pay a high price tag to get a great wearable, and now it looks like Samsung is getting in on the act with an alternative of its own. And with more details leaking out, we’re getting a clearer picture of the upcoming device than ever — but plenty of unanswered questions remain.

New FCC regulatory documents (spotted by Gadgets & Wearables) have spilled the beans on the much-rumored Samsung Galaxy Fit 4. There, you’ll find various nuggets of info on what we can expect from the product, as well as a few things that it likely won’t do.

For one thing, it looks as if the Fit 4 will not be a screenless device, as the FCC documents include diagrams showing a product with a very similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 — which did include a display. That could be a key difference with the Fitbit Air, which notably forgoes the display entirely.

The regulatory filings also confirmed that the Fit 4 will come with Bluetooth 5.4, which is a slight upgrade over the Fit 3’s support for Bluetooth 5.3. And there’s a button on the side and optical sensors on the back, much like the Fit 3.

Shrouded in mystery

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 is one of the best cheap fitness trackers money can buy, making it ideal for budget-conscious users. But if Samsung apparently isn’t planning to reduce costs by going down the screenless route, how else will it keep the price down?

That’s one of the big unanswered questions from the FCC report. Given the Fit 4 diagrams’ similarity to what we know about the Fit 3, there’s a decent chance we’ll see things like GPS omitted, meaning it might not end up being one of the best wearables for runners. But we don’t know for sure right now.

Plenty of other areas remain an enigma. The documents mention battery testing but do not specify the battery’s capacity, for instance. The Fit 3 packed in a 208mAh battery that lasted around 10 days on a single charge in our testing, but it’s unclear whether that will change with the Fit 4.

If anything, these FCC files raise more questions than they answer. They note that documents like product photos and a quick-start guide will remain confidential until January 31, 2027, but that doesn’t necessarily point to a release date. We’d expect Samsung to launch the Fit 4 sooner, but until that happens, much of this secret device will continue to be shrouded in mystery.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Two-minute review

Spare a thought for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which isn't having the easiest time of it right now. Yes, it's a fantastic foldable phone, but it was launched in the shadow of its upstart sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, with Samsung taking the OG folding phones' name and applying it to a fresh, dare I say cute, design.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, by contrast, is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 7. That's hardly a criticism — I loved that Android device — but it's hard to stand out when you've launched alongside to the phone world's shiny new object.

If we can put the 4:3 aspect-ratio Galaxy Z Fold 8 aside for a moment — you can read our Z Fold 8 review if you're so inclined — I'll focus here on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a fantastic folding device in its own right.

If you're unfamiliar with the Galaxy Z Fold line, here are the highlights for the Z Fold 8 Ultra. 'Ultra', but the way, does not mean it somehow more closely resembles the Galaxy S26 Ultra, though the camera and CPU enhancements do bring it more in line with the performance of its flagship cousin.

Folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra looks like a standard, if slightly narrower than normal smartphone (the S26 Ultra is a few millimeters wider). Unfolded, it's an 8.0-inch flexible display — and the chief upgrade on the display side is a mechanical and material engineering marvel.

Under the protective plastic cover, ultra-thin glass and a flexible AMOLED screen are a pair of new titanium panels. One is pure titanium, with an all-new perforation design for better bending performance, and the other is an alloy that, while thinner than the previous polymer sheet, is stronger and more reliable.

The quite noticeable result is an essentially flat main screen with a far less visible crease, with the promise that over the years the bendy display won't suffer noticeable deformations (i.e., a more noticeable crease).

There are still five (yes, five) cameras, and while the 200MP main camera is essentially unchanged, the ultra-wide is now a more powerful 50MP camera (up from 10MP). The 3x optical zoom is still 10MP, and I do wish it were a 5x optical zoom (or at least 4x like the iPhone 17 Pro Max's). You can go far further with digital zoom, but then you have to wonder how much of an assist your photos are getting from the on-board AI (assume a decent amount). All of the photography is further improved by the upgraded image processing.

Under the hood is the latest Qualcomm silicon, which supports an impressive array of AI features. As with other Galaxy devices, there's almost too much AI here, but features like Photo Assist and Now Brief are standouts.

All in all, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is an excellent follow-up to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and is set to easily take over from its predecessor at the top of our rankings of the best foldable phones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Price and availability

• Even more expensive than the Z Fold 7
• Still a good value for a two-in-one device

I guess it was inevitable that with the price of RAM and components rising, the latest Galaxy Z Fold would be more expensive than its predecessor.

The new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at $2,099.99 / £1,899.00 / AU$2,999. If anything, the $100 bump in the US is less than I thought it might be; double that would not have been surprising.

Released alongside the smaller Galaxy Z Fold 8 ($1,899.99 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 ), the Z Fold 8 Ultra has an inarguably premium price, though it seems more reasonable when you consider that this is a two-in-one device.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra is available in Graphite, Cream, Green Shadow, and my test unit's Violet Shadow.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Specs

Here's a breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's key specs:

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Design

• Folded, it looks virtually identical to the last model
• Easier to unfold
• Unfolds flat... finally
• The crease is almost gone

There's little argument that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is, despite the new superlative, a visually iterative update. Folded, it's hard to distinguish it from the Z Fold 7.; it's virtually the same size and weight, meaning it's still lighter than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It's still an Armor Aluminum Frame, though the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 from the last Fold 6.5-inch cover display is now Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3. On the back is Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

It's not until you unfold the handset, or rather attempt to unfold it, that the design changes, er... unfold.

First, there's a new chamfered edge along the fold inseam, which makes it far easier to insert the tips of your fingers and unfold the phone. Samsung told us it made this change because some users complained that the 4.2mm thick Z Fold 7 was difficult to open. The even thinner 4.1mm Z Fold 8 Ultra is, in fact, easier to open. I might even call it a pleasure.

Speaking of pleasure, there's another tiny little change that I really love. The power/sleep/fingerprint/Gemini button is no longer recessed, and is now so much easier to find by touch.

The biggest design upgrade is almost purely mechanical, and Samsung pulled it off by swapping out various materials and hinge designs to finally achieve a virtually flat and almost creaseless unfolded body and display. That is to say, the screen and chassis are flat, although if you lay it on a table, that ample camera bump will keep the whole thing rocking.

Inside the 4.1mm body — it's so thin it only just accomodates the USB-C port — Samsung has re-engineered the rigid titanium panel along the hinge strip, transforming the perforations into an almost 'A' shape, which allows for easier and more reliable bending. That panel is paired with a new titanium alloy sheet (it's thinner and stronger than the old polymer one). Together, they make the folding and unfolding processes better, and, when the phone is fully unfolded, allow for a virtually flat frame and the least noticeable crease yet. I'll have more to say about this design in the Display section below.

As I've been carrying around the Z Fold 8 Ultra and opening and closing it, people have consistently asked how long the phone might last, and whether it fatigues at the bend. I reply that, in the course of using and testing Samsung's folding phones over the last seven years, I've found them surprisingly resilient.

This model is actually water-resistant (IP48; yes, I ran it under water, yes, it survived, and perhaps enjoyed it), though I would not take it to the beach if it's not in a sealed case. When I traveled to South Korea last month. Samsung showed me how it torture-tests these devices, including folding and unfolding them thousands of times. I'm quite confident that with normal use the Z Fold 8 Ultra will last for years — at least through all seven years of Samsung's promised OS and security updates.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Displays

• Main screen is almost perfectly flat
• Responsive, colorful, main screen has sunlight-beating brightness
• Cover screen is wide enough to be useful as a regular phone
• I wish the cover screen was a little brighter

Samsung now has enough experience making folding phones to be well into the refinement phase. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is already thin and light enough, and the last model, the Z Fold 7, folded the screen so tightly that there was barely any gap between the two halves of the display. Now, though, the new display technology allows the screen to unfold virtually flat and, thanks to both the hinge engineering and new anti-reflective coating, make the crease very close to invisible.

The crease is not entirely gone. When I run my finger over the center of the 8-inch display I can feel it, and if I view the screen at the right angle, I can just make out the slight half-inch-wide indent.

Still, everything looks fantastic on the tablet-size display, which now sports a 2504 x 2256 resolution, a slight upgrade from the Z Fold 7's 2184 x 1968 resolution. I played games, watched video, viewed countless photos, used it for full-screen turn-by-turn navigation in maps (it's easy to get lost in London, which I was visiting for the Galaxy Unpacked event at which this phone was launched), and played more games.

If I had one real criticism of the main screen, it's that it no longer has a digitizing display — but this is not an issue new to the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Samsung dropped this feature on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and there were rumors that the S Pen-supporting digitizing layer would return with the 8, but that didn't happen. Without it, and a special S Pen, to protect the phone’s flexible display, I really don't feel comfortable drawing on it with a universal rubber stylus (which you can buy from third-party providers, but which lack the S Pen’s unique features.

The cover screen reads as a 6.5-inch display, but that's measured diagonally, and the reality is that it's not as wide as the display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Z Fold 8 Ultra cover display is about 2.5 inches wide, and the S26 Ultra is about 2.75 inches.

I still find the Z Fold 8 Ultra's cover display more than usable. The virtual keyboard is large enough for me to comfortably type on it. Websites, texts, and social media look good on it. The only issue I found is that its max brightness is not as strong as the inner display (3,000 nits, max), and it was occasionally overwhelmed by direct sunlight.

It's also a good-looking screen across multiple content types and activities thanks to the variable refresh rate that can sit anywhere from a power-sipping 1Hz up to a silky smooth 120Hz.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Cameras

• Excellent collection of cameras
• Best image processing I've seen from Samsung to date
• Finally, a 50MP ultra-wide camera
• Wish the telephoto was 5x optical

As with most of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Samsung didn't completely reinvent the photography suite. Instead, we have a strong collection of cameras with some key improvements, chief among them a much more powerful 50MP ultrawide and the overall updates to the ProVisual engine for some of the best photography I've ever achieved with a Samsung smartphone.

I've spent more than a week photographing everything from the iconic landmarks of London to a soccer match between Wrexham and Liverpool at New York's Yankee Stadium. In virtually every scenario, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's cameras did not disappoint. Samsung's ProVisual engine is finally focused on color fidelity, and while I can use Galaxy AI Photo Assist to alter mu images to my heart's content, I applaud Samsung's focus on photographic reality.

To recap, here are all the cameras (five of them!) you get:

• 200MP wide
• 50MP ultra-wide
• 10MP telephoto (3x optical)
• 10MP selfie (main screen)
• 10MP selfie (cover screen)

Like most high-megapixel main cameras on phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's 200MP and 50MP cameras default to a binned mode, squeezing multiple pixels into one (the main 48MP camera on iPhone 17 Pro, for instance, similarly defaults to 24MP). The result with the Z Fold 8 Ultra is 12MP photos, unless you choose 50MP or 200MP. The majority of my photos were shot with the 12MP default.

Even though Apple defaults to a higher resolution, Samsung's overall higher megapixel count means it's theoretically squeezing even more information into each photo. In anecdotal side-by-side shots, Samsung's photography is now as good as, and sometimes better than, what I can get with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Portrait-mode photos have become a real highlight in Samsung's photographic arsenal. From the very first photo I took of my colleague Axel Metz (above) to a shot of my son and his girlfriend, I've been impressed with the phone's uncanny ability to capture every detail and strand of hair while warmly blurring the background. My favorite shot is this one, of one of the Beefeaters who guard the Tower of London guards. This gentleman was kind enough to pose for me, and I think even he was surprised at the result.

While I was generally pleased with the telephoto performance, I'm not thrilled with the underpowered, 10MP 3x optical zoom lens. It obviously pales in comparison to the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 48MP 4x optical zoom. Those extra megapixels also help the iPhone produce unprocessed 8x zoom sensor crops. After 3x on the Z Fold 8 Ultra, everything else gets some digital enhancement. Most of the images I've shared are optical-strength only.

One lens that's gotten a big upgrade with the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the ultra-wide, which is now a 50MP lens. This helps improve the quality of those wide-angle shots, and macro images, as well. There's some real drama in these ultra-wide images, and I'm impressed with how even the edges remain sharp.

Night photography is also strong, and I was often pleased with how much light, color, and detail the Z Fold 8 Ultra could find in even the darkest environments.

On the video side, the Z Fold 8 Ultra lives up to its name, letting you shoot and edit 8K video. I waded into my pair of hydrangea bushes and dozens of buzzing bees to capture some cool, up-close 8K footage that I was then able to fully edit inside the phone's camera app, including adjusting brightness, and even using the AI-powered audio scrubber to bring down the wind and sound of leaves brushing against the microphones.

One of the other highlights is the Dual Camera shooting mode, which, while using a front and back camera, produces a rather distinct result. Instead of the 10MP selfie-camera image appearing as a picture-in-picture window on the front-facing camera video — as it does when using the similar Dual Capture mode on Apple’s latest iPhones — the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra creates a split-screen view.

I used this mode a few times in London, most memorably at the Royal Palace and at Borough Market, where I shot the famous strawberry stand. It's a great effect, and creates some really engaging videos.

The other most notable video feature is a Galaxy AI enhancement called My FanCam. As the name implies, it lets you focus on your favorite video subject. The example we saw involved video of a soccer game. On playback in the camera app, you select the Galaxy AI icon and then the My FanCam option. The system identifies all the moving people (it doesn't work with animals or anything other than humans). You select the one you want, and the video tracks that subject. But the best part is that it can auto-crop around the subject in the aspect ratio of your choice — perfect for sharing on social media.

I ran a couple of tests with My FanCam, and it worked perfectly every time.

• Camera score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Software

• One UI 9 is clean, elegant, and intuitive
• Lots of AI, but none of it gets in the way

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra arrives with Android 17 and OneUI 9. It's a great combination. Overall, OneUI is a great Android overlay, because it's useful without getting in the way of Android. There are still some odd choices, like the existence of a Galaxy web browser that I never use (does anyone?), but some of the native Galaxy features are actually quite useful.

It's also a system with multiple AI platforms: Bixby, Galaxy AI, and Gemini. Of the three, Bixby, which can answer general questions and step into controlling key phone features, got the least amount of use. I do like though for it for how it lets you dig down to settings like brightness control without ever digging into settings. I could simply talk to Bixby and tell it what I wanted, like when I asked, "Can you make sure the brightness is set to 100%?" Bixby opened settings, brightness control, and pushed it to 100%.

Galaxy AI is a far richer collection of native AI tools, ranging from on-screen awareness to voice-driven photo editing.

I had some fun editing photos with my voice — and I was shocked by how good the results were. With the above photo pair, I simply asked Galaxy AI to "Remove the old man". There was no hesitation, and in about 20 seconds I had the second image. I was gone, and Galaxy AI filled in the rest of my friend's arm, turned a small satchel he was carrying into a shoulder bag, and fleshed out the guy behind me. It looked like reality.

There's also a whole collection of Now features, including the "your world on a single screen" Now Brief, which now adds custom cards, and Now Nudge, which pops up contextual guidance for things like multitasking and automatically noticing that you might want to add an appointment to your calendar. I couldn't get Now Nudge working for me in messages in RCS — I suspect it may take some time for the system to learn about me and start making these suggestions.

On the quality-of-life front, the QuickShare updates that make sharing between this Android Phone and iPhones (and Macs) possible have been a revelation. I feel as if the world's been thrown open, and I can only say it's about time. Okay, I know that's a bit much, but this feature update is bigger than you might think.

Gemini is especially powerful if you give it access to personal details and data inside apps like calendar and mail. When I asked Gemini, without preamble, "Where am I going today?" it looked in my emails and gave me my schedule and location for my next meeting. Impressive.

Features like Circle to Search can be summoned by holding down the virtual home button and then circling on-screen objects. The results are quick and accurate

I can also hold down the power/sleep button to summon Gemini. Six months of access to the more powerful Pro version comes with the phone; after that, you have the most basic Google AI, which is still pretty good.

• Software score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Performance

• Powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
• Performance is peerless
• Back can get a little hot

This is a powerful and smoothly performing smartphone. Qualcomm's latest silicon virtually matches the iPhone 17 Pro Max's A19 Pro Geekbench 7 single- and multi-core scores. The numbers, by the way, appear lower than phones tested last year with Geekbench 6 because, in the upgrade to 7, Geekbench completely recalibrated how it measures performance.

In the real world, I have yet to run into a task or situation the phone couldn't handle. Games like Asphalt Legends looked and ran perfectly. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra can handle multitasking with ease — you can have up to four apps open simultaneously on the main screen — and editing 8K video is seamless.

There were times when I could feel the back of the phone getting warm, but not so much that it became uncomfortable to hold.

In other performance areas, like audio, the speakers can get loud but with virtually no bass; they can also sound a bit tinny. Call quality is excellent, though my first few call tests were with phone scammers who somehow instantly found the new number.

5G speeds and WiFi 7 connectivity were strong and, with enough signal, fast. I've also enjoyed a solid Bluetooth 6.0 connection to my Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 and Galaxy Watch Ultra.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Battery

• 5,000mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• All-day battery life

Even though this is a thinner Z Fold than last year, the battery is now a larger 5,000mAh, a feat made possible by the thinner titanium alloy, which replaced the thicker polymer layer and the new silicon-carbon battery technology (more power in less space).

That battery gave me, with constant, all-day, mixed use in bright sunlight, 12.5 hours of battery life. In our lab tests, we got a solid 14 hours. It's an all-day champ, to be sure.

The phone can also charge quickly with a 45W fast charger — I almost 50% in 15 minutes and 76% in half an hour — while wireless charging supports 20W charging. You can also put another Galaxy phone on the back and share a little power via Wireless PowerShare.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Also consider

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

I've been working, playing, and traveling with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for almost two weeks. I've tried to use it as I would any smartphone, but with the added benefit of the large screen.

This is my seventh year testing foldable phones, and I am constantly astonished by the progress that's being made with the form factor, especially by Samsung. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is the full expression of its smartphone ideas and, as I carried it with me and pulled it out to take photos in London, Manhattan, and at home, I was constantly surprised and pleased with its performance.

More broadly, I've been testing phones for over 22 years and technology for 40. I use my wealth of experience to put products like the Z Fold 8 Ultra in context and perspective. As I see it, this is the best folding phone on the market right now.
Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2026

Samsung Galaxy S26: Two-minute review

Every year, Samsung's S-series lineup consists of three models. There's the entry-level option — in this case, the Galaxy S26 — followed by mid- and high-end offerings, which in 2026 are the Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra. While the Ultra steals most of the headlines, the Galaxy S26 is no slouch. It's a great, well-rounded option for those who want a compact phone or don't want to shell out silly money on buying one of the very best Android phones.

The S26 features a slightly tweaked design versus the Galaxy S25, with a new pill-shaped camera array on the back, a 6.3-inch display, and several color options. Tucked underneath its exterior is a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and storage options that now start at 256GB (RIP 128GB). All these specs, along with Android 16 and Samsung's feature-packed One UI 8.5 software, combine for a smooth mobile experience.

In terms of endurance, the Galaxy S26's 4,300mAh battery routinely delivered more than a full day of use in my testing, often leaving me with enough juice to go into the next day. And its trio of rear-facing cameras does the job, as does the selfie cam.

One downside is the $100 / £80 price increase over last year's model (though Australian buyers actually get a AU$50 saving). Yes, this is an industry-wide trend right now — but that doesn't make the numbers feel any better. Thankfully, while the S26 starts at $899 / £879 / AU$1,349, it can often be found on sale.

Another blemish is the limited 25W charging speed and lack of internal magnets to fully support Qi2 chargers and accessories without a case.

Overall, then, if you can find the Galaxy S26 on sale and want to stay within the Samsung ecosystem, it's a great pick-up. However, there's stiff competition at this price point — and below it, too.

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Price and availability

• Starts at $899 / £879 / AU$1,349 for 256GB + 12GB RAM

Samsung announced the Galaxy S26 line, including the base S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra, on February 25, 2026. Preorders opened the same day, and deliveries started March 11.

You can buy the S26 directly from Samsung with a starting price of $899 / £879 / AU$1,349 (which represents a $100 / £80 increase and AU$50 decrease versus the S25). However, Samsung frequently offers discounts, and at the time of writing, the S26 is going for $799 in the US.

Regardless of where you're buying the phone, you'll get double the starting storage versus previous entry-level S-series models (256GB vs 128GB).

Buying directly from Samsung means you'll have two additional color options in Silver Shadow and Pink Gold. Picking it up from third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, or a wireless carrier such as Google Fi or Verizon, limits you to Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, or Black.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Specs

Here's a breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy S26's key specs:

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Design

• Same core design as the S25
• New camera array on the back

At first glance, it'd be easy to mistake the S26 for last year's S25. The design differences are small. The biggest visual change is the triple camera array on the back of the phone. Instead of each lens protruding out of the phone's housing, there's a single pill-shaped camera bump. Otherwise, the display is only slightly bigger at 6.3 inches compared to the S25's 6.2 inches. That increase also means the overall size of the phone grew a bit, too. The S26 measures 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm and weighs 167g.

As previously mentioned, there are a total of six color options available: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, Black, Silver Shadow, and Pink Gold — the latter two of which are exclusive to Samsung.

My daily drivers are an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a Pixel 10 Pro XL, both of which are much larger devices than the S26. Yet, I rather enjoyed the smaller form factor of the S26, and I didn't feel like the smaller display was too small at any time during my testing.

I've often debated whether I should stop using the biggest phone every phone maker offers, and after using the S26 for a couple of weeks, that internal debate is stronger than ever.

The only area I struggled with regarding the design of the Galaxy S26 was the orientation of the sleep/wake button and the volume up/down buttons on the right edge. I found myself instinctively reaching for the volume down button while scrolling through Reels on Instagram, only to press the sleep/wake button and lock the phone. My muscle memory just couldn't adjust to the S26's arrangement, which is the exact opposite of the Pixel 10 Pro XL's, which has volume buttons below the sleep/wake on the same side of its housing.

On the bottom, you'll find a nano-SIM card slot (I thought we were done with physical SIMs?!) and a USB-C port. The left side and top edge of the phone are completely clean.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Display

• Easy to use in direct sunlight
• Smooth refresh rate

The Galaxy S26 features a 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 2340 x 1080 resolution and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. All these technical specs mean one simple thing: it looks fantastic.

Everything from standard text messages to high-res YouTube clips appears incredibly sharp. Gaming is equally impressive; the display delivers fluid, stutter-free graphics in fast-paced titles like Asphalt Legends, which can take full advantage of the S26's 120Hz refresh rate.

The AMOLED panel truly shines — literally — when you take it outdoors, thanks to a rated peak brightness of 2,600 nits. Even under direct midday sun, I had absolutely no trouble reading the screen or navigating through apps.

There's really not much more to say about the Galaxy S26's screen other than it looks great. No issues. 10/10, would recommend.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Software

• 7 years of software updates
• Multitasking features are nice-to-haves

The Galaxy S26 runs Android 16 with Samsung's One UI 8.5 adding customizations and features to the overall experience. If you've ever used a Samsung phone or tablet, you'll feel right at home with the S26's interface.

One UI used to feel duplicative of the base Android experience, particularly when it came to the apps preinstalled on a phone. For instance, Samsung Messages and Google Messages were both available. However, Samsung recently retired Messages in favor of Google's offering.

Samsung hasn't fully given up on its own apps. The Samsung Browser and Gallery are still available, for example. It's still confusing and a cluttered user experience, but it is getting better.

Default apps aside, One UI is mostly interface tweaks and customizations you don't see on, say, a Pixel phone. For instance, the new gestures to view your notifications or the quick settings panel in One UI 8.5 have taken me some getting used to.

Swiping down from the left three-quarters of the screen opens your notification panel, while swiping down from the top-right quarter reveals your quick settings.

I've been using a Galaxy Z Fold 7 running One UI 8.5 for a few months and adjusted to the new interaction with little effort, but for some reason, the smaller screen of the Galaxy S26 keeps tripping me up.

But I digress.

Galaxy AI is a big part of Samsung's AI initiative. You can use Galaxy AI to do things like let AI screen an incoming call, use writing and editing tools, photo editing, summarize and prioritize notifications, and even get personalized health insights using your Samsung Health data.

The feature list reads like a standard AI suite on any 2026 phone. That's not a bad thing, by any means.

I used the editing tool (Object Eraser) in the Gallery app to remove objects from photos a few times, and each time it nailed it. I'm not a huge fan of converting photos into pop art or retro anime, but in my brief experimentation with that feature, it mostly worked.

Having said all this, the redundancy of every phone maker and major tech company offering its own version of the same AI features can get overwhelming and confusing for users. Hopefully, after the AI boom goes bust, the mass spamming of AI features for the sake of AI features will stop.

Beyond Galaxy AI, one of my favorite features of the S26's software experience is the ability to touch and drag down on a notification to instantly create a small window for that app. It's super helpful when you want to reply to a message or continue a conversation without switching apps. The first time I triggered it was by accident, but once I figured out how it works, I'd routinely swipe down on the pop-up for an alert, do what I needed to do, and then close out the app — all without leaving whatever app I was in at the time. All phones should offer similar multitasking features.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Cameras

• 50MP main camera
• 12MP ultra-wide
• 10MP telephoto

The camera housing on the S26 might be new, but the actual hardware is unchanged from the S25. You still get a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

I had fun taking photos with the S26. Samsung phones have historically taken photos that are slightly over-saturated, and sometimes overexposed, but that look pretty darn good at the end of the day, and the S26 is no different.

The phone performed beautifully in brightly lit environments, like when I snapped pics of the new Rivian R2 after a test drive. It also did a solid job of preserving detail and color late in the afternoon as the sun went down during my evening walks.

The telephoto lens works well up to its 3x optical limit, but its digital zoom past that point is hit or miss, especially once you get near the 30x limit. I had hoped I'd be able to read a 'no trespassing' sign posted down the street from me at 30x zoom, and while some of the text is legible, it's difficult to read.

The phone's 12MP front-facing hole-punch camera is centered along the top of its display. It takes good selfies, although it makes me look old. Or maybe I'm getting old. It's probably the latter. Sigh.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Camera samples

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
• 12GB memory
• 256GB starting storage

The Galaxy S26 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, with 12GB of memory and 256GB or 512GB of storage.

All of that combines to provide a smooth overall experience, with no obvious slowdowns in daily use. I spent my time testing the S26 using it as I would my daily phone.

I made random calls, talked in group chats and with my wife and kids, took pics of random stuff, played a game once in a while, streamed music, and watched some videos. The phone handled everything I put it through without any hiccups. Apps launched fast, and multitasking didn't trigger any lag or unresponsiveness.

One thing I noticed while gaming and running benchmarks is that the S26 gets hot. While it never becomes too hot to hold, it can become uncomfortable during extended gaming sessions. After noticing the temperature rise during a benchmark test, I grabbed my infrared thermometer and measured it at 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

Although I didn't have a case to test with, I imagine a case will likely cause the phone to heat up faster and potentially throttle its performance. This isn't a dealbreaker, but it's something to keep in mind.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Battery

• 4,300mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• 15W wireless charging

Inside the Galaxy S26 is a 4,300mAh battery that's big enough to power through 30 hours of continuous video playback, according to Samsung's claims. In practice, that claim held up. I was easily able to get through a full day of heavy use — starting at 6am and ending around 10pm — and still have enough juice left to make it into the lunch hour the following day.

I felt spoiled while testing the S26, especially since my aging iPhone 15 Pro Max now needs to be recharged multiple times a day.

I normally don't leave my phone overnight without plugging it in, letting it drain precious battery in the process. But I wanted to see just how far I could push the S26's battery, and it delivered. I routinely saw a drop in charge of 4-5% overnight.

When it came time to charge the S26, using a 25W power adapter nets you an 18% charge from empty in 15 minutes. A full charge with the same adapter took 1 hour and 35 minutes. That's slightly slower than the Motorola Razr Plus 2026 I recently tested, but to be expected considering the Razr charges at up to 45W.

Wireless charging is an option at 15W with support for the Qi2 standard. However, there are no magnets in the phone to hold any compatible wireless charger or accessory in place. Instead, you'll need to buy a Qi2-compatible case that includes a ring of magnets to take full advantage of the feature.

I'm sure this is a design and cost-saving decision, but it's an odd one. As someone who uses a MagSafe wallet and has MagSafe chargers all over my home, office, and even in my truck, I've noticed the lack of magnets in the Galaxy S26 daily. At least fixing the problem is just a simple case purchase away.

The S26 also supports reverse wireless charging at up to 4.5W, which isn't a whole lot of power, but it's perfect for those situations when you need to recharge your smartwatch or wireless earbuds while on the go.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S26?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Also consider

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S26

I spent two weeks testing the Galaxy S26, using it as I would my everyday smartphone. I sent countless BlueBubble messages, played games, streamed music, and watched far more TheBurntPeanut streams and clips than I care to admit. I took pics of my food, my pets, and other daily randomness, as one does.

Read more about how we test

First tested July 2026

• Samsung tells analysts global memory supply shortage will persist through 2028 and grow more severe in 2027 than in 2026
• This while posting its third consecutive record quarter: ₩171.5 trillion in revenue, ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, and a 52% operating margin
• Samsung is locking 60 to 70% of capacity into five-year supply agreements with price floors

Samsung has told analysts it believes the memory shortage now squeezing everything from server racks to gaming PCs is unlikely to ease before 2028, and that conditions will get worse before they get better.

Speaking on its Q2 2026 earnings call, the world's largest DRAM manufacturer now expects supply constraints to be more severe in 2027 than they are in 2026.

The company said this while reporting the most profitable quarter in its history, with ₩171.5 trillion in revenue, ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, and a 52% operating margin, all of which indicated healthy demand for its DRAM despite price hikes across the board.

An AI-centric problem that is not going away soon

As voracious demand for memory and storage from AI hyperscalers continues, Samsung is a key beneficiary of a shortage it expects to last for years, driven by long lead times and the capital intensity of adding capacity.

The argument Samsung made on its earnings call was arithmetic rather than speculative. B

uilding a new fab and getting it to wafer production takes more than three years, so the industry-wide capital expenditure increases now underway cannot translate into meaningful output within the forecast window. Unmet demand from this year rolls into next year, tightening things further.

Independent forecasting broadly agrees. TrendForce expects NAND supply to ease in the second half of 2027 as new capacity and higher-layer products arrive, but sees DRAM differently: several suppliers plan new lines for 2027, and construction, equipment installation and qualification will push meaningful ramp-up into the second half of that year, meaning substantial extra output does not arrive until 2028.

Samsung's own shipment figures show how tight things already are. DRAM bit shipments rose by low-teens percentages quarter on quarter, exceeding its own guidance, while average selling prices climbed by around 45% for DRAM and close to 70% for NAND in a single quarter.

Hedging against potential downsides

Buried in the analyst Q&A is a structural change that will outlast any particular price curve. Samsung is converting the memory business from a spot market into a contracted one.

The company said it plans to allocate roughly 60 to 70% of total capacity to long-term supply agreements. These run on five-year terms subject to annual renegotiation, effectively rolling forward.

It has already finalized deals with the top five global data center customers and is in final talks with five more, with substantial advance payments written in as a contractual requirement; Samsung says it has received about a quarter of that total so far. For mainstream products, the agreements also carry minimum price floors, set at levels the company describes as sufficient to cover its future investment risk.

The consequences reach retail. Gartner has forecast that combined DRAM and SSD price increases will lift average PC prices by 17% and push global PC shipments down by more than 10%, the steepest contraction in over a decade.

Micron retired its consumer Crucial brand in February 2026 to concentrate on enterprise AI customers, which is the clearest possible statement of where the industry's priorities sit despite whatever it says publicly about wanting to help consumers.

For Samsung's memory division, none of this is a problem. The price floors it has written into a majority of its capacity insulate it from the downside of the boom-and-bust cycle that DRAM markets are notorious for, and its own device businesses are absorbing the cost: mobile and networks posted a combined operating loss of ₩0.7 trillion for the quarter, and the display and TV units both flagged memory costs eating into profitability.

A company earning a mammoth ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, thanks to a 52% operating margin, however, has little reason to move quickly on any of it.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8: Two-minute review

It’s high praise that one of my biggest problems with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is that I wish it had a different name.

The fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has taken up the mantle of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and all previous Galaxy Z Fold models is a little confusing. But titles aside, what Samsung has actually done here with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — that is, build a new kind of foldable for a new kind of audience — deserves recognition, and I'm glad the South Korean giant has once again moved the category forward in a meaningful way.

Ideal Galaxy Z Fold 8 users are those focused on mobile entertainment and exploring new ideas with a pair of screens that Samsung has shaped specifically for watching video and reading, respectively.

While the phone is still technically capable, with an excellent chipset, plenty of memory, and strong battery and charging specs, it’s being sold more on its everyday use cases — and convincingly so.

In one way, it’s going to be hard to judge how good the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is until we get the long-rumored foldable iPhone, which is going to be the second (and perhaps more important) passport-style foldable to hit Western markets. But what I can say right now, looking at the Galaxy Z Fold 8 itself and the wider foldable phone and Android phone markets, is that this mid-sized foldable may herald a new generation of folding phones. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Price and availability

• From $1,899 in the US
• From £1,699 in the UK
• From $2,699 in Australia

Starting at $1,899 /£1,699 / AU$2,699, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is currently in its pre-order phase; it'll hit shelves on August 7.

These prices put the phone in between the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in terms of cost, and it's cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which retailed for $1,999.99 / £1,799 / AU$2,899 at launch.

Samsung releasing a cheaper book-style foldable is absolutely a good thing, but the small price difference between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra makes the former seem a little too keenly-priced.

That said, excluding the Huawei Pura X — which is hard to get in the West and requires some fiddling to get working with familiar Google services — and the as-yet-unnannounced iPhone Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the only representative of this size of foldable you can easily buy right now.

Hopefully future discounts will make this phone more affordable, but right now, it seems like Samsung’s charging a little uniqueness tax on top of what the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is truly worth.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Specs

These are the key specs of the Galaxy Z Fold 8:

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Design

• Compact and light for a “big” folding phone
• Outer and inner screens equally useful

When open, the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s 7.6-inch screen resembles a typical foldable phone, with a few exceptions.

It’s easier to handle, with its 201g weight making it lighter than any other book-style foldable, while the phone's 4.5mm thickness also contributes to it feeling like a small tablet. The minimal crease, while not as invisible as the Z Fold 8 Ultra’s, is barely a distraction unless you happen to catch the light in a particular way, and it's only noticeable to the touch when you’re trying to look for it.

With its slightly rectangular open shape, the Z Fold 8 is much more similar in size and form to an iPad (specifically, the iPad mini) or ereader than most foldables, which tend towards a square shape. And while being square can have its advantages, I have really fallen for the Z Fold 8’s design during my testing time.

While working on this review, I often turned the Z Fold 8 vertically for a physical document-style view of my work. You get almost double the number of lines in Google Docs with the keyboard open as you do with the Fold 8 in its regular orientation, while the keyboard remains split for easier typing. As a result, the Z Fold 8 is now my favorite device without a physical keyboard to write on, even though Samsung considers the Z Fold 8 Ultra to be the top choice for anyone wanting to get serious work done.

However, I also found myself less inclined to open the Z Fold 8 than I have been with other book-style foldables. The phone's outer 5.5-inch screen is perfect for one-handed use of fully-sized apps, which isn't a given even on standard bar-shaped phones today.

To alleviate any (understandable) durability concerns about folding phones, Samsung has rated the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as IP48 for dust and water resistance, which means it's as well-protected against water as any other flagship phone.

The '4' in that designation means no foreign objects above 1mm in size will worm their way into the Galaxy Z Fold 8's inner components, though other foldables — namely the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Honor Magic V6 — offer superior IP68 dust protection.

There’s also Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 on the display and Victus 2 on the back to avoid scratches or serious cracks, plus a Flex Titanium layer under the main display, which makes the most vulnerable part of the Z Fold 8 tougher.

Rounding off these impressive design credentials is a quartet of appealing color options: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available in Lavender (pictured in this review), Graphite, Cream, and the Samsung Store-exclusive Pistachio.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Displays

• High-quality screens inside and out
• Display brightness could still be higher

The Galaxy Z Fold 8's 7.6-inch main display and 5.5-inch cover display have been crafted by Samsung to help you enjoy whatever kind of content you’re into.

The phone's outer screen has a video-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio, while its inner panel uses a more spacious, practical 4:3 ratio that's best suited to reading (though this inner panel is also better suited to widescreen video than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's square-shaped equivalent). We've compared the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's screen sizes elsewhere on TechRadar so you can visualize the difference between the two.

Both screens are detailed and colorful, which is no great surprise — Samsung is one of the best, if not the best, mobile display manufacturers in the world.

That said, despite a high brightness rating of 3,000 nits, the Galaxy Z Fold 8's screen readability can be a problem when using the phone in direct sunlight, even with the Extra brightness setting enabled.

Still, the low-reflection coating on the phone's inside screen makes some difference. It’s not as effective as the one you get on the Galaxy S26 Ultra or Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 definitely softens reflections better than most standard phones, making it easier to see what's on screen.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Software

• The latest Galaxy AI features with foldable-specific upgrades
• A mix of fun features, like My FanCam, and practical ones, like Multi-Window

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 runs on One UI 9, which is based on Android 17. It’s quite different from other Android skins, which hew closer to Google’s original design, but it’s still one of the best options around in terms of adaptation to foldable phones.

Several of Samsung’s software features have been adapted for the Z Fold 8 series, specifically, including Now Nudge. These small, discreet but helpful prompts suggest what app or action you might want to use next depending on what’s on screen, and offer to open a split-screen view on your behalf.

For AI fans, Samsung has expanded task automation for select apps, assuming you’re in the US, UK, or South Korea, where this feature is currently enabled. These automations don’t work all that fast, but assuming your prompt is understood correctly, the Z Fold 8’s AI will work through your request until you decide to take back control, or when it alerts you when it’s time to intervene to finalize a booking or order.

My FanCam, meanwhile, lets you create a motion-tracked video of a particular subject from any video (from your photo gallery, YouTube, or anywhere else). I have not made a fancam before, so I don’t know how well this sort of software — which is popular among K-pop fans — works elsewhere, but Samsung’s version is relatively effective, albeit with some major limitations.

Making a My FanCam clip is easy: just open the AI tools menu with the video you want to use in the Gallery app, tap the relevant icon, then tap your subject. After some processing time, depending on the size of the original clip, you have your tracked footage. But after trying the feature with a number of videos, two problems appeared.

First, the subject needs to be large enough in the frame. Even if you have high-resolution 4K footage, you need to crop in before My FanCam will detect them. Similarly, they need to be well-lit — I tried to use a clip of a dance troupe moving around in dramatic stage lighting, and My FanCam simply would not work.

Since there is no manual tracking option you can use, you are at the mercy of Samsung’s algorithms as to whether your footage is compatible.

As for multitasking, although it’s not as much of a focus on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as it is on the Z Fold 8 Ultra, I still appreciate Samsung’s updates to its Multi-Window system, which lets you use two or more apps at once. The Z Fold 8 and its sibling now let you use three apps side-by-side vertically or horizontally, as well as via the older splitting method, which sees one app taking up half the screen and the other two taking a quarter each.

Multi-Window is still not as versatile as the windowed system you now find on many tablets and rival foldables, but if you’re cross-referencing without wanting to make too many edits to what you’re looking at, it certainly avoids the need to open your laptop from time to time, which makes the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a valuable productivity companion.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Cameras

• No telephoto camera at this price feels unfair
• But cameras that *are* present perform well

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has the undistinguished position of having the highest relative price per camera of any Samsung phone. Unlike the Z Fold 8 Ultra, there’s no telephoto camera to speak of here, although at least the cameras you do get are of good quality. Specifically, there are 50MP main and ultra-wide lenses on the back, plus 10MP selfie cameras embedded in the phone's cover and inner displays.

Samsung’s camera processing has made an important step forward in recent years, going from exaggerated colors to more natural ones, matching the vibe of other flagship smartphone cameras. That’s why, even in the intense sunlight that was slowly melting me during my photo trip to Beckenham Place Park, we still get attractive-looking trees, grass, sky and brickwork.

Samsung’s 50MP main camera offers 2x in-sensor zoom for a little extra reach when you need it without compromising on image quality. The Camera app also offers presets for 4x and 10x (the latter is the maximum available digital zoom), although the image quality deteriorates, as you’d expect.

For selfies, the 10MP cameras on the inside and outside of the phone are identical, and therefore equally competent. You’re also free to open the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and switch the preview to the outer screen for hi-res or ultra-wide selfies — perhaps one of the most underrated abilities of foldable phones.

Portrait mode on Samsung phones is a particular strength, as it can cut accurately around glasses where other phones struggle. These examples show that the Z Fold 8 hasn’t missed out on this ability.

Video maxes out at 8K/30fps, or 4K/60fps if you need your extra frames. Samsung’s videography party trick from the Galaxy S26 series — Super Steady video with Horizontal Lock — has also made it to the Z Fold 8 series.

This feature levels out shaky footage at the expense of some resolution. It does a fantastic job, though, as you can see in these samples of me running along a path (the first is the original footage, the second is the edited footage).

Overall, while it would be nice if Samsung had given the Z Fold 8 a telephoto camera, what’s here works well. And since this phone is designed to appeal to a more casual user, there’s a reasonable chance that anyone interested in the Z Fold 8 won’t mind the compromise.

• Camera score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Performance

• Top-performing chipset with plenty of memory, even by default
• Great for games, even with below-par benchmark scores

The Z Fold 8 contains the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, which is the best version of the best silicon currently available in an Android phone. The scores I got in my own benchmarking tests are a little lower than I would have anticipated, but they're impressive nonetheless, and prove that the Z Fold 8 is absolutely a performance powerhouse.

Indeed, this top-end chipset proved its worth while I tested several games on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Destiny Rising, set to its highest graphical setting and 60fps, ran perfectly smoothly. Similarly, Asphalt Legends at its full high quality/120fps settings proved no challenge for the Z Fold 8.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 features 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default, but you can spec the device up to 512GB if you wish. There’s also a 1TB model, which gets a RAM bump to 16GB, though whether this upgrade is worth the money will depend entirely on how intensively you use your phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 benchmark scores

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 review: Battery

• The phone can last a surprisingly long time if you use the inner screen sparingly
• Charging isn’t the fastest, but it's definitely quick enough when you need it

Despite being smaller than last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 packs a larger-capacity battery — specifically 4,800mAh versus 4,400mAh. That’s thanks to Samsung finally adopting industry-leading silicon-carbon battery technology, which boasts higher energy density than the lithium-ion technology used by Samsung (and indeed most other Western phone manufacturers) in its previous batteries.

Samsung’s battery estimate claims you can get 26 hours of video playback from a single charge of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — and I’m inclined to believe that, if you stick to the cover screen. In my light to moderate mixed usage of the phone during testing, switching between screens, enabling the always-on display and leaving the phone off charge overnight, I would get between a day and a day and a half between plug-ins.

Samsung is using its best 45W wired and 20W wireless charging options on the Z Fold 8 series, which, while slower than some rival devices, is still an upgrade on previous Z Folds. Using a compatible third-party charger, I was able to fill the Z Fold 8 to 43% in 15 minutes, and to 100% in 1 hour and 5 minutes.

In other words, you wouldn’t want to forget to charge this phone overnight, given the sub-two-day battery life, but if you do, it won’t take long to get a usable amount of charge in an emergency.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8?

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 scorecard

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: Also consider

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

I used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 for approximately a week and a half as my work phone, transferring my apps, messages, and SIM card from the Oppo Find N6 I was using beforehand.

As my work device, I used the Z Fold 8 for writing stories, answering emails, scrolling social media and watching tech YouTube videos.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July/August 2026

• The ongoing RAM crisis is projected to continue through 2028
• Samsung says memory shortages are expected to worsen in 2027
• Deloitte reports the big three RAM manufacturers are anticipated to have a combined capital expenditure that will nearly quadruple between 2024 and 2027

The RAM crisis isn't letting up, with shortages continuing to impact PC hardware manufacturers. Unfortunately, it looks like it may become the new normal.

As reported by TweakTown, Samsung says it expects ongoing memory shortages to worsen in 2027 and continue through 2028. This will directly impact consumers with increasingly high retail prices for RAM kits, game consoles, and pre-built PCs.

Samsung's memory chip executive vice president, Jaejune Kim, said to investors in the latest earnings call: "We believe it will be unlikely to see any increase in incremental supply through 2028. The supply constraints are expected to become even more severe in 2027."

Essentially, that means the price increases we've seen for Sony's PS5, Microsoft's Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and, frankly, next-generation consoles will likely face the same consequences of the price hike trend.

The same can be said for Valve's Steam Machine, where Valve previously stated the retail price isn't what it wanted, with suggestions of an initial $750 target. However, the RAM crisis effectively forced Valve's hand, where it couldn't subsidize the Steam Machine the same way it did with the Steam Deck.

Unfortunately, it's not just Samsung that forecasts the RAM crisis worsening. Gamesbeat highlights Deloitte's report, which anticipates an increase in the big three's (Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron) combined capital spending to nearly 340% from 2024 to 2027.

However, new supply from that increased spending isn't expected to arrive until 2029 or 2030, so the RAM crisis is seemingly only just getting started. It frankly means Samsung's estimation is rather optimistic, painting a smaller picture of just how bad the memory shortages are.

Manufacturers and consumers are perhaps now at a stage where the RAM crisis may be a new normal, completely shifting the PC hardware market into an unstable condition.

GPU prices have increased over the last few months, with Nvidia introducing older options via the RTX 3060, and AMD unveiling a new Radeon RX 9050 8GB GPU. Both cases are a strong indication that the market is in its worst state in decades, and there isn't much hope ahead as it stands.