Deals: Galaxy Z Fold7 vs. Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra, plus Galaxy S26 FE alternatives

Last week, we focused on the i Phone 18 Pro series launch. This week we’ll have a look at what has been going on with Galaxy phones. Let’s start with the foldables.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 – last year’s book-style foldable – is available for $1,350. This is $550 less than what its replacement costs, the Z Fold8 Ultra. Both are surprisingly thin (8.9mm) and light (215g) for foldables, but the new one brings a tangible increase in battery size – 600m Ah over the 4,400m Ah battery of the Z Fold7.

And it increases both wired (25W to 45W) and wireless (15W to 20W) charging. The other major upgrade is the chipset (Snapdragon 8 Elite to 8 Elite Gen 5) and the ultra-wide camera (12MP to 50MP). The 200MP main cameras and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras are basically the same.

Of course, Samsung sees the Galaxy Z Fold8 as the true successor to the series – hence the naming. The Z Fold8 is a wide foldable – its inner screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the nearly square displays of the Z Fold7 and Z Fold8 Ultra. This also affects the cover display, which is a 5.5” panel with a close-to 3:2 aspect ratio.

The bigger Z Folds, meanwhile, have 6.5” 21:9 cover displays. The Z Fold8 is even lighter at 201g, though a bit thicker at 9.7mm. And it has a bigger battery than the Z Fold7 at 4,800m Ah with the faster charging of the Ultra.

The Z Fold8 uses the same Elite Gen 5 chipset as the Ultra, but it pays for its smaller size in other ways. For starters, it only has a 50MP main (with a smaller 1/1.56” sensor) and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. There’s no dedicated telephoto, not even a 200MP 1/1.3” sensor in the main camera like on the Ultra.

Also, the phone measures 81.9mm wide when closed, compared to 72.8mm for the bigger folds (well, “taller” would be more accurate). This makes it tricky for one-handed use. And then there’s the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra – its name leaves little doubt that it’s the flagship of the series.

We already covered its specs above, the only question that remains is whether you want the extra size and are willing to pay the extra cost for it. Taking a break from Samsung for a moment, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is a $450 phone that packs a lot of hardware. It has a large 6.83” 144Hz OLED display (a sharp 1260p+ panel at that), a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset and a 5,080m Ah battery with 50W charging.

The cameras are interesting – the 50MP main (1/1.56”) is joined by a 50MP 3.5x/80mm periscope and an 8MP ultra-wide. Most phones in this price class omit the telephoto. Case in point, the Galaxy A57.

The base model costs the same as the (4a) Pro, but it comes with a smaller 6.7” 120Hz OLED (1080p+), a slightly slower Exynos 1680 chipset and a 5,000m Ah battery with 45W charging. As for its cameras, the 50MP main has the same size sensor (1/1.56”), but there’s only an 8MP ultra-wide next to it. The A57 does have better water resistance (IP68 vs. IP65) and it will get twice as many OS updates – 6 vs. 3 (both phones launched with Android 16).

Looking at the A57 reminded us of the Galaxy S26 FE – it launched earlier this month and kind of disappeared. What happened to it? Nothing happened – there’s no discount and its MSRP is too high. Unless you’re willing to spend $700 on a phone with only 128GB storage, you’ll want the $800 256GB one.

Except you’d be better off with a Galaxy S26+ for $100 more. The S26+ has the better 6.7” screen (1440p+ LTPO vs. 1080p+ LTPS), better chipset (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs. Exynos 2500) along with slightly better cameras and charging. We think these differences are worth the $100.

But if you don’t want to spend extra, why not spend less? The Galaxy S25 FE is a lot cheaper and it’s mostly the same phone, except it uses the even older Exynos 2400. The only problem is that the 256GB version is over $100 pricier than the 128GB model. It’s still a lot cheaper than a 256GB S26 FE, though.

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上周，我们聚焦于 iPhone 18 Pro 系列发布。本周我们将探索 Galaxy 手机的动态。让我们从折叠屏开始。三星 Galaxy Z Fold7 - 去年的书式折叠屏 - 目前售价 1350 美元。这比其继任者 Z Fold8 Ultra 便宜 550 美元。两者出人意料地薄（8.9mm）且轻（215g），适合折叠屏，但新机型带来了电池容量的有形增加 - 相比 Z Fold7 的 4400mAh 电池，新型号为 600mAh。它同时提升了有线充电（从 25W 至 45W）和无线充电（从 15W 至 20W）。其他主要升级是芯片组（从 Snapdragon 8 Elite 至 8 Elite Gen 5）和超广角摄像头（从 12MP 至 50MP）。200MP 主摄像头和 10MP 3x 长焦摄像头基本保持不变。当然，三星将 Galaxy Z Fold8 视为该系列的真正继任者—— hence the naming（ hence 原文保留，意指“因此”）。Z Fold8 是宽折叠屏——其内屏采用 4:3 宽高比，而不是 Z Fold7 和 Z Fold8 Ultra 近乎正方形的显示屏。这也影响了 the this Fleet 1 .2

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