Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 8 Ultra First Impressions from a 12 year Apple iPhone User
As a 12-year iPhone user switching to Android, the first 24 hours have been an experience. When I say 12 years, I really mean it too. Like, I was so deep in the garden I didn't even know the Z-Fold existed until about the 6. It was a lot like having blinders on to anything Android related. Even if I saw it, I just didn't register it mentally as an option. Yet here we are breaking a 12 year streak. I want to start this with my Samsung store experience. It was my first time in a Samsung store, and I have to admit it was a 10/10 experience. Very helpful; they didn't have the case I wanted, so they dropped a more expensive case by more than half to match the price of the case I wanted. I was in and out pretty fast too and did not feel rushed even though they were pretty busy.
Now for the phone itself. 10/10 hardware. It just feels excellent in the hand, closed and open. No, I can't see the crease in normal use. I am writing this now on the Ultra in a bright sunlit room, and I can't see it unless I am looking for it. I also can't feel it either unless I am looking for it as well, running the soft part of my finger on it. I am aware that it will become more noticeable over time, but as it is right now, it's fairly flawless. Something else I noticed right away was how nice the screens are. Just amazingly crisp, vibrant, and responsive. The screen brightness also has me very impressed. But this is Samsung's whole thing. These guys know how to make a solid screen.
I was unsure about my decision to go with the Ultra over the "new" Z-Fold 8 form factor. I was very sold on the Ultra going into the Samsung store, but seeing the 8 and Ultra together, I started having second thoughts. I went with the Ultra in the end for a few reasons. The first one being I liked the outer screen more. Once the honeymoon phase with these devices ends, I think most people end up pretty even on the outer/inner screen usage, with more likely than not the outer screen getting more use.
A taller candy bar shape just works better for me. I think inner display wise, it was closer between both models. I would hold one and think "this is awesome," then hold the other and think the same thing. If I had to pick, I would give the edge in the inner screen aspect ratio to the 8 Wide over the Ultra. But it was so close that my preference for the outer screens was the deciding factor. The outer screen being close to what I am used to from Apple made me think making the transition to Android would be less jarring, which I feel has helped. Also, the Violet Shadow color is absolutely beautiful, and it might be my all time favourite colour on a device.
The software with Android is where I have some issues. Android fans love to oversell Android, and from my experience so far, it's very similar to iOS with most apps and things running slightly worse but with more customization. Yes, it's all there, but one to one iOS will just be more consistent app to app than Android has been. There is just a clunkiness to things at times that iOS just doesn't have. It is negligible at most times but clearly noticeable after 12 years of using iOS.
I did find the switch in some ways difficult and in other ways easy. There's clearly a lot of "inspiration" taken from Apple and vice versa that makes it easy to adapt. The camera is a good example. I feel pretty at home with the UI there. Speaking of the camera. It is perfectly passable. I am a photographer and don't put much weight on phone cameras regardless of Apple or Android. I can't stand the processing done on cellphone images, and even more would go as far as to say I am disgusted by any use of AI in photography as well as any of the arts. I prefer shooting on film, and when it does come to digital, I almost exclusively use my Leica Q3. Samsung has overshot with the processing and AI in the cameras, and I don't care for it past using the cameras for basic geotaging and general documentation.
No nightstand mode was a bit shocking to me. It's just such an easy feature to add. With how much of iOS has been copied over, it's a bit surprising to not add this. Yes, I know there are apps. It does not work nearly as seamlessly, and most of the options have very intrusive ads pushing you to buy the app. It also requires additional setup.
The process of de-googling and de-Samsunging the device was extremely tedious and seems to be impossible to do completely aside from swapping out the OS entirely. But as an advocate for privacy, I think you should do as much as you can. Seeing ads in line with my emails in the Gmail app made me sick to my stomach. Google and Samsung's privacy practices are absolutely disgusting, and anyone who supports or covers for them is just as despicable.
I also can't stand the amount of useless AI integration all over the device. I've gone out of my way to remove or disable as much of it as possible, but like a weed, it keeps popping up when I least expect it. Not just with the Z-Fold 8 Ultra but in general, I am very ready for the AI bubble to collapse. Here more than anywhere else, it's clearly just another means of stealing our data.
I am getting more and more used to things. It has only been 24 hours, but a lot of it is already feeling natural. I'll write an update on things maybe in a week or a month if I feel any changes. As it is, I have my issues as well as my joys with the Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 8 Ultra, but I'm chugging along, and I see the vision.
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P. S. I still have yet to try Samsung Dex, which was a big selling point for me switching from Apple to Samsung, and I still need to try some gaming on this thing. So I might write some posts on that if this one does decent.
These first impressions are written and posted using the Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 8 Ultra. ✌️
