I've used Samsung foldable phones for 7 years, and the Z Fold 8 Ultra finally gets it right

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET's key takeawaysThe Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is available for preorder, starting at $2,099. It features improved visibility, a more durable display, and a sharper ultrawide camera.A 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging puts this above previous Z Fold models.I'll start by giving Samsung its flowers for innovating in a space that, by now, is clearly divided between the adopters and the "normies." There's no right or wrong side when it comes to choosing between slab-style and foldable phones, but if you're on the latter side, the new , as of today, represents the peak of the movement.Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs. Z Fold 7: After a year of usage, I'm ready to upgradeAhead of this week's Unpacked event, I spent an intimate morning with the latest foldable phones, and I won't bury the lede: they're great. Perhaps it's because I've been using foldables since the first one went mainstream in 2019. Over the past seven years, it's been a steady, mostly positive trajectory for shape-shifting handsets, with the latest Z Fold 8 Ultra resolving the remaining issues I had. Let me break them down.A narrow design is actually... better?I'll be the first to admit that Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series has never been optimized for multimedia consumption, with the outer 21:9 aspect ratio being too narrow for landscape viewing, and the inner 1.11:1 aspect ratio being too squared -- leaving thick letterboxing that renders the extra screen area useless.While the new non-Ultra Z Fold 8 effectively solves this issue with a wider 4:3 aspect-ratio display, there's a subtle caveat that users will slowly but surely notice: ergonomics. See, I'm often using my phone for texting, scrolling through social feeds, and sifting through maps suggestions, all with just one hand. It's a habit and lifestyle I've developed as someone constantly navigating the bustling city of New York. That's where the narrow, folded design of the Z Fold 8 Ultra becomes a strength, as I can effortlessly swipe-to-text, prompt back gestures, and reach from one end to the other with just my thumb. It's also become easier to unfold the device, as the side rails have a subtle indent that makes them easier to lift with the tip of your finger. I criticized the Z Fold 7 last year for lacking this design, so I'm glad to see Samsung making changes.Also: Samsung Galaxy vs. Google Pixel: I've used both brands extensively, and this one's betterThe company is introducing a few more upgrades to the Z Fold 8 Ultra display that many will appreciate, including a brighter 3,000-nit panel that should improve outdoor viewing, a more durable flex titanium layering that makes the polymer of yesteryear feel flimsy, and an anti-reflective coating that reminds me of the light-dispersing characteristics of the S26 Ultra.My only question now is how scratch-resistant the new display will be, especially given all the lint, dust, and other particles in our pockets and bags. Samsung tells me that the anti-reflecting coating, which has a matte finish, should help with that, but I'll have to kick the tires and see for myself. (All that's missing now is support for stylus inputs! I digress.)Truly a power user's phone, finallySince the beginning, the Z Fold has always played second fiddle to Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra model when it came to performance and battery life. I'd like to think that the physical challenges of constructing a foldable device are responsible for that. But for a company as large as Samsung, there had to be a way to offer better processing power and battery life, without compromising on the rest of a $2,000 phone. The Z Fold 8 Ultra feels complete in this sense, with a 5,000mAh (up from 4,400mAh) battery that can now charge at 45W (up from 25W) thanks to the same dual-path charging architecture that's used in the S26 Ultra. It's a fancy way of saying that power is drawn through two channels instead of one, and, in my experience, makes those last-minute morning charges much more efficient.Also: Light's new $299 flip phone has no apps and T9 texting, but aims to connect peopleSamsung tells me it's banking on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset to improve battery efficiency as well, though I'll have to see how it fares under real-world duress. It's very likely a step up from the Exynos chipsets we've seen on other Samsung phones (especially if you're based outside the US), so I'm hopeful.The AI features are nice-to-havesI'm going to bet that Samsung will spend at least 1/4 of its Unpacked keynote talking about the various Gemini-enhanced AI tools across its Galaxy Z lineup, and I don't really mind it. There are a few standouts this year, including the background AI automation capabilities that Google first demoed at I/O in May, as well as "Now Nudge," a context-aware shortcut that appears in popular apps like Messages and email. When the Z Fold detects that a conversation is about a date or time, for example, a floating button will suggest opening the calendar app in split-screen mode, so you can add or check for an event. It's an unintrusive gesture that should make using the main display of the Z Fold 8 Ultra feel more natural -- and I wish Samsung offered more features that encouraged the behavior. You're paying two grand, after all.Bottom line (for now)After years of covering Samsung's foldable lineup, I'd say it's about time the company fixed two of its biggest pain points in battery life and charging. I'm more excited about the prospect of improved endurance than anything else this year, and will put both the Z Fold 8 Ultra and previous models through their paces to see exactly how significant the changes truly are.You can , as well as every other device Samsung announced at Unpacked, starting today, with a base price of $2,099. And if you need the highest RAM configuration, you'll need to upgrade to the 1TB variant to get 16GB instead of 12GB.