5 Galaxy Z Fold 8 features iPhone 18 Ultra will struggle to top

This week, Samsung announced a new addition to its foldable family, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and so far, it looks like a very impressive device. It should be very competitive with Apple's still-unannounced iPhone Fold Ultra, which is rumored to have a similar design.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 finally made its big debut at Galaxy Unpacked, meaning all eyes are now on Apple's inevitable-feeling folding iPhone announcement in September. We've gone hands-on with the Z Fold 8 and can confirm it's pretty neat, to the point where we're wondering if Apple can keep up in a couple of months. Here are some of the best features the Z Fold 8 comes with that Apple will need to work hard to top.

Comprehensive creator tools

Samsung has gone hard on courting creators in recent years, and the Z Fold 8 is no different.

Specifically, the Z Fold 8 comes with something called "My Fan Cam," which uses AI to track a particular subject in a horizontal video and automatically crop a vertical clip for ready-made social clips. Between that and all the fun camera tricks you can do with the average foldable, people will probably get up to some fun nonsense once this phone is in the public's hands. On top of that, Galaxy AI and Gemini already offer a ton of great photo editing tools for creators.

To be fair, the Z Fold 8 doesn't have the most powerful cameras in the world, so any software-level assistance is going to be massive for creators.

Gemini out of the box

Speaking of Gemini and AI, Apple has been behind the curve in the department for a few years now.

However, the Z Fold 8 (and other new Samsung devices) has access to Gemini right out of the box thanks to a partnership between Google and Samsung. The conversational AI chatbot can help you perform tasks across apps, and it's a lot more advanced than what Apple offers on any of its devices right now. It should be noted, though, that Siri AI looms large over this discussion. It could, theoretically, get Apple up to speed once it launches in September.

As an added perk, the Z Fold 8 comes with six free months of Google AI Pro, giving users access to a bunch of premium creative tools and lots of cloud storage without having to pay anything...for six months. Galaxy users also get free access to the popular Gemini Notebook tool (formerly NotebookLM), which comes pre-installed on the Z Fold 8.

It's real, real thin

Samsung has recently mastered the art of creating ultra-thin, lightweight foldables, and the Z Fold 8 is no different. It measures in at 9.7 mm of thickness when folded and a mere 4.5 mm when unfolded. It also weighs just 201 grams. We don't yet know the physical dimensions of the iPhone Ultra, but Apple is going to have a tough time beating that.

The crease is invisible

Lastly, Samsung is using a new proprietary display technology for its latest foldables called Flex Titanium. Using titanium (duh), Samsung has been able to create more durable hinges and creases that are more or less invisible to the naked eye, at least when the phone is brand new. The verdict is still out on this new tech, but Samsung has a good track record in this regard.

Of course, Samsung Display is also making the flexible screens for the iPhone Ultra Fold, so the folding iPhone could match Samsung for the most part.

Powerful performance

Finally, the Z Fold 8 is built for multitasking and supports power users. It comes with 12GB to 16GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset. Apple has powerful processors of its own, and the iPhone Ultra certainly won't be a slouch in this department. However, it's a steep hill to climb, and Samsung has far more experience optimizing the foldable experience for multitasking.

One last note: Samsung has the experience

Don't forget, as excited as we are for the first foldable from Apple, Samsung has been making excellent foldables for many years. Apple could nail this form factor on the first try, but both Motorola and Samsung have had to spend years working out kinks to get these devices right.