Samsung Z Fold8 Ultra: The Evolution of Folding Phones

So this one's a little different, kind of caught me off guard

Samsung actually sent over their original fold. That's this right here, and this thing brought me back

They asked me to do kind of an evolution, or at least to compare where this whole folding smartphone thing started

to where we are right now. Honestly, it's easy to forget. Like, things move fast in the technology space

But like, this, when it came out, was shocking to people. The idea of a folding display at all

It was crazy. In fact, Samsung sent me one of my early videos from seven years ago back in 2019

And people are interested in this fold no matter what you say

If you're already skeptical, I don't think this is the product for you. I don't think you should buy this. I said it before. I'll say it again

Don't rush out and get this thing. It's not for you. It's for the people who are comfortable with a whole new form factor and all the potential drawbacks that come with that

So first of all, how about young Lou seven years ago with far fewer silver beard hair, you know what I mean

Back then, there was a question about this form factor as a whole, like whether or not it would continue to exist

People were skeptical. So some of the issues that existed with this one, they were around the hinge, they were also around the display

Obviously something else you'll notice on this device was a far more prominent crease where the hinge was

And we had this strange orientation on the front. I use this thing a lot

And there is something comforting about this form factor because it so narrow but there obviously a downside which is you pretty much need to open it up all the time to do anything more than answer a text

or phone call. Now, here we are seven years later and we have something that's practically

unrecognizable. I think it looks like a sandwich comparatively. That looked like a sandwich, Will

Submarine sandwich up there. I mean, it's pretty wild in a short amount of time. And this is kind

know why in the technology space you get excited about innovation because you know sometimes when

you're experiencing a product like an early generation of like a new segment you know things

are only going to get better from there and they sure have like a youtube session on this thing

is a totally different proposition than a youtube session on a smartphone as it currently stands

is it that was true at the time that was true at the time it's still true today you unfold one of

these things and you get to experience youtube beyond what other smartphones can deliver but

as far as i can tell i mean this is the biggest video watching experience i think i've ever had

on a phone it's super easy to hold like you're holding it like this this is real life now guys

this is what it's going to be on the street on the bench in the public transit it's a whole new

thing and you're going to notice it from a mile away i think this thing has fully engaged the

sci loo right now I tend to think that early adopters and enthusiasts are the only ones willing to take a chance on the unknown when it comes to a new tech object but that not the case anymore

because the new version is so much more refined now. Now look at our front facing display, that's night and day

This device here, you don't even need to open it up. Like you can fully use this as a standard smartphone

And by the way, it's not just Samsung. Many manufacturers have continued to invest in folding designs and done all kinds of amazing things because this one existed first

Blazed the trail, so to speak, in the folding smartphone marketplace. And when you open this one up, it might get even more impressive because the screen to body ratio here is crazy

The display and the appearance of the crease has been greatly minimized

We've got more brightness and then the thickness gets even more impressive when we look at it like

that. And the whole thing has gotten so much lighter too. That's the other thing I noticed

when I do this one-to-one comparison. Now the cameras are not even comparable. That's another

area where it's night and day. We've now got Samsung's 200 megapixel full-on flagship specs

here. It did require that area to protrude, but that's pretty much the case on any flagship

I think the priority on the original version was just finding a way to make it work

Better battery, faster charging. I mean, what do you want, Will? Now there's other things that have happened

on the software side as well that have improved the experience. For example smart switch has continued to get better as far as transitioning or migrating from one device to the next if you pick up one of these You also got Quick Share now plus AirDrop support There now some interplay there

And you've also got RCS messaging. So other things have developed as well in the background

while these hardware developments have transpired. When I think about innovation here

like in the progress between these two devices, this is the biggest deal to me, is this external display

Sure, when you open them up and they are folding devices, they get a lot better

Both of them do. When I hold onto this thing and look down at this, it's almost exactly like holding just a flagship slab phone

So you don't feel the need to open it up all the time. The first iteration had this slender display

which really encouraged you to open it up. Now, I don't know, having played with it

how much functionality I'm gonna get out of the closed off phone

This is a bizarre situation here. It's like, when, how often are you going to use that

You know, in the short time that I've had it, I've realized you just flip it open almost for everything

Kind of like a laptop. I mean, these things are not comparable

and it does change the way you use the device. Nonetheless, it's an impressive transformation

impressive evolution. There were many versions in between these two, but when you stack up the latest versus the original

that's where the differences are most glaring and where you can appreciate the advancement the most

This right here, that's what seven years looks like in relationship to folding devices