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Tom’s Guide

Technology

Tom Pritchard

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Who will be king of the Android foldables?

Samsung Google Android Galaxy Pixel Apple OnLeaks Android Headlines Snapdragon

Google pixel 11 pro fold (right) vs samsung galaxy z fold 8 (left).

There may be a lot of attention on the iPhone Ultra, since it's Apple's first foldable phone, but it's far from the only folding phone that's set to arrive this year. Two Android titans, Samsung and Google, are set to release a new generation of foldables in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

Google and Samsung have plenty of experience when it comes to foldables, and they're both powered by some of the most popular flavors of Android available right now. The question is, which new foldable is going to be the better purchase? We don't know everything about the Z Fold 8 Ultra or Pixel 11 Pro Fold just yet, but there have been enough rumors and leaks to give us an idea of what tyo expect.

Here's a rundown of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold battle so far.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Specs

	Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold (rumored)	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (rumored)
Cover display	6.4-inch OLED (120Hz)	6.5-inch OLED (120Hz)
Main display	8-inch OLED (120Hz)	8-inch OLED (120Hz)
Chipset	Tensor G6 (2nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3nm)
RAM	12GB or 16GB	12GB or 16GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB, 1TB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery	4,658mAh	~5,000mAh
Rear cameras	48MP main, 10.5MP ultrawide, 10.8MP 5x telephoto	200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 12MP 3x telephoto
Front camera	10MP selfie (cover and main)	10MP selfie (cover and main)
Price	$1,799	$1,999

Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Release date & price

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is rumored to be unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 (Fold Wide) and the Galaxy Z Flip 8. A release date hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's likely that the phone will go on general sale around two weeks later in early August — after a brief pre-order window.

Pricing isn't clear right now, and considering the situation with RAMageddon and the skyrocketing cost of memory and storage, it's likely that we'll see some kind of price hike. So expect to have to pay more than the $1,999 starting price of Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is set to arrive later this year, likely towards the end of August alongside the rest of the Pixel 11 series. We don't have any kind of date yet, so we can only guess based on past experience.

Likewise, we have no idea how much the phone is set to cost, and whether we'll see a price hike compared to the $1,799 Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I wouldn't bet on there not being a price increase, especially if Google includes 16GB of RAM for another year.

Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Design & Display

(Image credit: OnLeaks/Android Headlines)

We're not expecting huge changes to the design of either phone this year, though the Z Fold 8 Ultra is rumored to be coming with a slightly larger 8-inch foldable screen paired with a 6.5-inch cover display. Both screens are expected to be OLED panels, complete with 120Hz refresh rates. However the display may be creaseless, or as close as Samsung can get.

All the big changes are happening to the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which was previously known as the Z Fold Wide. This new model will have a shorter and wider screen than the Ultra, with a similar look to what we expect Apple will offer with the iPhone Ultra.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is also expected to lose 0.1-inches off its cover display, but with no other meaningful change. Hopefully this is due to Google reducing the size of the phone and its bezels.

The 8-inch interior display is expected to stay the same size, though, and both will presumably offer an OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. There's also rumored to be a Nothing-esque light effect on the back of the phone, known as "Pixel Glow."

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Cameras

We're not expecting Samsung to do much with the Z Fold 8 Ultra's main camera, and will stick with the same 200MP lens that debuted on the Z Fold 7 last year. However, we are expecting to see the ultrawide camera jump from 12MP to 50MP, while the telephoto lens is tipped for a modest increase from 10MP to 12MP. The optical zoom will likely stay at 3x magnification though.

All we know about the Pixel 11 Pro Fold main camera is that it should have a slight resolution boost from 48MP to 50MP. Leaked specs haven't revealed what we can expect from the other cameras, but I certainly hope that we see a minor boost on the 10.5MP ultrawide camera at the very least. If Google wants its foldables to compete with Samsung and Apple, then it's going to need to up its game.

Thankfully, Google does have the computational photography experience to boost the quality of the pictures with AI. But that can only go so far, and since the Z Fold 7 already took excellent photos it's about time Google caught up with its foldable cameras.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Performance

On the performance side of things, it's clear that Samsung will be many steps ahead of Google. Pixel phones are not known for their speed, and since the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is likely to be running another Tensor chipset (the G6), things aren't likely to change this year.

That said, Pixel phones typically have more base RAM than Galaxy phones, with the 10 Pro Fold offering 16GB to the Z Fold 7's 12GB. Higher levels of RAM are typically only available on the highest storage option, and that's likely to be the same situation this year — more so considering all the RAM shortages. The extra memory, along with the alleged AI-optimization of the Tensor chips, may give the Pixel 11 Pro Fold an edge in AI processes.

However, leaked specs suggest Google may take a leaf out of Samsung's book and reduce the base amount of RAM and keep 16GB exclusive to higher specc'd models.

When it comes to raw performance power, Samsung is likely to dominate. Z Folds typically have the flagship Snapdragon chipset, which this year would be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

On top of that, the Pixel 11 series is expected to downgrade the Tensor G6 from eight cores to seven, which will likely cause a noticeable drop in performance power. Likewise, Google is said to be using a PowerVR CXTP-48-1536 GPU, which is based on 2021 chip architecture. So you could see a performance hit for resource-intensive activities like gaming and video editing.

Don't expect to see the Exynos 2600 on the Z Fold, though. While Samsung has started using its own chips on the Z Flip series, and on Galaxy S phones in certain regions, Ultra series phones typically get the Snapdragon chip everywhere.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Battery & charging

Rumors suggest that the Z Fold 8 Ultra could upgrade the battery by increasing the capacity from 4,400 mAh to 5,000 mAh — the same as the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Sadly, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's leaked specs suggest that it will be doing the opposite, dropping from 5,015 mAh to 4,658 mAh.

While higher capacity doesn't necessarily mean longer battery, the fact that Samsung is offering more power reserves definitely works out in its favor. When you remember that Pixel phones haven't always had the best battery life in the past, a drop in capacity is rather worrying.

There's no word on how fast the 11 Pro Fold will charge, though we will likely see 15W Qi2 wireless charging make another appearance. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is rumored to be upgraded to 45W charging which, while not as impressive as the S26 Ultra's 60W is still a noticeable improvement from the 25W on past phones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Ultra vs Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Outlook

Based on the rumors and leaks so far, it doesn't seem like there are a lot of major changes happening to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Certainly nothing that upsets the status quo in any meaningful way.

Samsung should have an edge on camera hardware, performance and battery life, and the crease-free display sounds promising. And Google should offer a Pixel experience in foldable form once more — which includes a lot of AI, early access to updates and some exclusive features.

It certainly seems as though Samsung has the upper hand, and while that may eventually be the case it doesn't change the fact that the Z Fold lineup is rather expensive. In fact, with everything going on, I would be shocked if there wasn't another price hike this year as well. So the Pixel 11 Pro Fold could have the value advantage.

But with Galaxy Unpacked coming in fast, and Google's own launch event likely following roughly a month later, it shouldn't be long before we can test these phones and make a proper conclusion for ourselves.