Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 7: main differences

Design and Size

The light notepad or the massive screen?

These are both pretty huge phones, ones that we used to call “phablets”. Technically, the Z Fold 7 is much closer to such a description due to its… you know — semi-tablet-sized main screen.

But, when it’s closed, it’s about as thin as the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and not any heavier, too!

You will also notice that their design language is very similar, with their main camera modules housed on a camera island now. Apparently, this is the new Samsung design language, at least for the time being.

But there’s no going around this — these are very different types of phones. One 6.9-inch chocobar with an S Pen. The other unfolds to give you a square-ish 8-inch screen, which may not be amazing Netflix binging, but super-powers multi-tasking.

Still, the Z Fold 7 can easily be a chocobar phone. Last year, Samsung made great strides towards thinning its foldable out and making the external screen bigger. Unfortunately, the S Pen fell victim during the efforts. No, you can’t even buy one separately and use it — the Z Fold 7 does not have a stylus digitizer under its screen.

Display Differences

The galaxy S26 Ultra did not come with upgrades to peak brightness — something we’ve learned to expect year over year. In fairness, 2,600 nits peak is still plenty bright. And it’s assisted by the excellent anti-glare properties of the Gorilla Armor glass on the S26 Ultra.

The Z Fold 7 also hits 2,600 nits peak and has been looking pretty striking over the past few months. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get the anti-glare treatment.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra does have a new feature around its display, though — Privacy Display. When enabled, it narrows side viewing angles so the screen is harder to read from the side. It kind of works like a privacy screen protector… just one that you can toggle. And actually looks better.

You also don’t need to cast the shade over your entire screen — it can be set up to hide notifications, PIN input, or just specific apps like the one you use for banking.

Performance and Software

New Snapdragon, new heat management

The S26 Ultra comes with the all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, of course with the “for Galaxy” moniker to show that it has been slightly overclocked.

Performance-wise, Samsung says the S26 Ultra has a 19% faster CPU, a 24% stronger GPU, and a 39% improved NPU compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy in the Z Fold 7. Clearly, the focus was on improving the performance of AI-related functions.

There is also a redesigned vapor chamber and other small improvements to help the S26 Ultra maintain peak performance levels for longer. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 does not have a vapor cooling chamber, but does use a graphite sheet, which is still effective and helps slim the device down. Still, we expect more sustained performance from the S26 Ultra. Benchmarks below.

Perfect improvement across the board. To be fair, the Z Fold 7 is still no slouch, but the Galaxy S26 Ultra performance is definitely that “next level”.

Camera

Still 200 MP, but with new optics

The S26 Ultra’s cameras don’t sound new on paper: 200 MP main camera, 50 MP ultrawide, 10 MP 3x telephoto and a 50 MP 5x telephoto.

But the 5x telephoto and main cameras now come with new lenses with wider apertures that capture more light. This should reduce blurry photos further, and improve low light performance yet again.

And yes, the Z Fold’s lone telephoto camera has a wider aperture, but that’s because aperture size can be bigger when the lens provides less zoom. Which is the case here.

Samsung is now focusing on video, though, with 8K 30 FPS available on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. We also get 4K at 120 FPS, which will mean super-sharp slow-mo videos!

It also introduces support for APV, which stands for Advanced Professional Video. APV is a new high-quality video format designed to preserve more detail, dynamic range, and color information during recording, giving users more control during their workflow.

So the galaxy Z Fold 7 is back to the “is this a compromise?” bench. Yes, you get that big screen, but if you are more invested in photo and video, it seems the Galaxy s26 Ultra is the Samsung camera flagship.

Battery Life and Charging

Faster charging is here

We are still stuck at a 5,000 mAh barrier with the Samsung flagships. No magnets on the back, so no full Qi2 support, too (unless you add a case). 

Wireless charging also takes a major step forward to up to 25W thanks to Qi2.2. Technically, the S26 Ultra doesn’t cover the full standard due to the lack of magnets, but it does adhere to the charging protocols.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 takes it easy with the charging speeds. Very easy — limited to 25 W wired. Possibly just to be on the safe side with that thin, thin body.

Specs Comparison

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

Dimensions
163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm (~10 mm with camera bump)	158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2 mm (~8.6 mm with camera bump)
Weight
214.0 g	215.0 g

Size
6.9-inch	8.0-inch
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz	Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz

System chip
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-AC (3 nm)	Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy SM8750-AB (3 nm)
Memory
12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/512GB 16GB/1024GB	12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/512GB 16GB/512GB

Type
5000 mAh	4400 mAh
Charge speed
Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

Main camera
200 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung ISOCELL HP2 Aperture size: F1.4 Focal length: 23 mm Sensor size: 1/1.3″ Pixel size: 0.6 μm	200 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.3″ Pixel size: 0.6 μm
Second camera
50 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung JN3 Aperture size: F1.9 Sensor size: 1/2.5″ Pixel size: 0.7 μm	12 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Sony IMX754 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Sensor size: 1/3.94″ Pixel size: 1.12 μm	10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 67 mm Pixel size: 1.0 μm
Fourth camera
50 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Sony IMX854 Optical zoom: 5.0x Aperture size: F2.9 Focal Length: 115 mm Sensor size: 1/2.52″ Pixel size: 0.7 μm
Front
12 MP (PDAF, HDR)	10 MP (HDR)

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Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 specs comparison

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Summary

It’s a tough call, really. Both of these phones are true gems of Samsung engineering. The main question is — do you want the camera upgrades or do you want a big screen to hover multiple apps on?