Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition Manufactured in October, 2024, with display 8 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
  • Larger display: 8in
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Lighter design: 214g vs 236g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4400mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options 16/512 GB - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 8 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1968x2184 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 367 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness n/a 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 91.2 % 91.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 157.9 mm (6.22 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 142.6 mm (5.61 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 5.6 mm (0.22 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 236 g (8.32 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP48 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors Black - White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
91.2 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 3390 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 750 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 1536 1536
GPU Frequency 1000 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 2774 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
2279
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
6910
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)22793753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)691011259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
1885765
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU4407811094797
GPU7950021447696
Memory344091425113
UX305891752613
NanoReview Score18857653720219

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 16 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity512 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 14 Android 16
UI Skin One UI 6.1.1 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 4400 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (38% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:40 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsingn/a10:12 h
Video Playbackn/a21:39 h
Gamesn/a06:42 h
Standby Moden/a130 h

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution n/a 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x 141
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix200 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.4
Focal lengthn/a23 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor sizen/a1/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel sizen/a0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusLaser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.9
Focal length66 mm111 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL 3K1Sony IMX854
Sensor size1/3.941/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/1.9
Focal length13 mm13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor sizen/a1/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2024 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date October, 2024 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 1999 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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