Pixel 11 Pro Fold vs Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra · Two 8-inch folds, €200 apart
Google and Samsung sell the same shape of fold at almost the same size: a tall phone that opens into an 8-inch, nearly square screen. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is sealed to IP68, carries a real 5× telephoto and 16 GB of RAM on every tier, and costs €1,999. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is 24 g lighter and 1.2 mm thinner, its inner screen is sharper and anti-reflective, its main camera is 200 MP with 8K video, and it costs €2,199 with 12 GB. Prices are the official German ones.
Published · prices checked
Which one to buy
- If weight and thickness decide it
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
- 215 g against 239 g, 8.9 mm against 10.1 mm closed, and 4.1 mm against 5 mm open. The Ultra is the lightest 8-inch-class fold we cover; of the folds this shape, only the Motorola Razr Fold weighs more than the Pixel.
- If the phone gets dusty or wet
- Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold
- IP68, sealed against dust and immersion, against IP48, which keeps water out to 1.5 m but only particles above 1 mm. Google publishes no depth or duration; on a fold the hinge is the way in, so the dust rating is the one that matters.
- If you shoot zoomed photos
- Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold
- A 5× telephoto, 10.8 MP at f/3.1 with stabilisation, against the Ultra's 10 MP 3× lens. Both reach 30× digitally, but the Pixel gets there from twice the optical reach.
- If the main camera, the ultra-wide and video decide it
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
- A 200 MP main with HDR at full resolution and a 2× optical-quality crop, a 50 MP ultra-wide against the Pixel's 10.5 MP, and 8K at 30 fps with the APV codec against 4K at 60. Everywhere except the telephoto, Samsung has the more capable glass.
- If you work on the open screen
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
- The same 8-inch area at 422 ppi against 372, under an anti-reflective coating, with DeX for a desktop on a monitor. The Pixel answers with 16 GB of RAM on every tier, where the Ultra fits 12 GB below 1 TB, and neither takes a pen.
- If price decides it
- Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold
- €1,999 against €2,199 for 256 GB, and the Pixel's price includes 16 GB of RAM where the Ultra's includes 12 GB. In the US it is $1,899 against $2,099.99; in the UK £1,799 against £1,899.
The thing neither spec sheet tells you
Both makers say 8 inches, and for once the diagonals do not hide anything: worked out from the published resolutions, the Pixel's 2076 × 2152 panel and the Ultra's 2504 × 2256 panel both come to about 206 cm², within a square centimetre of each other. What the diagonal does hide is density. Samsung fits 26 % more pixels into that same area, 5.65 million against 4.47 million, which is the whole of the 422 against 372 ppi gap. And the price gap runs the other way from the memory: the phone that costs €200 more is the one with 4 GB less RAM at the base tier.
Same shape, 24 grams and 1.2 millimetres apart
These are the two tall, book-shaped folds sold in Europe with an 8-inch inner screen, and the Pixel is the bigger phone in every dimension but one. Closed, it is 155.2 × 76 × 10.1 mm against the Ultra's 158.4 × 72.8 × 8.9 mm, so 3.2 mm shorter, 3.2 mm wider and 1.2 mm thicker; open, it is 5 mm against 4.1 mm; it weighs 239 g against 215 g. Google's frame is aluminium with a glass-fibre composite back and a hinge rebuilt without gears, rated at three times the previous generation's durability; Samsung's is Armor Aluminum with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 on the cover, Victus 2 on the back, and the Flex Titanium plate under the inner screen. The Ultra is Samsung's thinnest Fold and the lightest 8-inch-class fold in our catalog.
Sealing: IP68 against IP48
The Pixel is rated IP68, so dust as well as immersion in fresh water, although Google publishes neither a depth nor a duration. The Fold8 Ultra is IP48: immersion to 1.5 m for 30 minutes, but the 4 means only particles above 1 mm are kept out. On a fold the hinge is the way in, and over the years a phone is now kept the dust rating is the one that matters. Google's rating still trails the HONOR Magic V6's IP68 plus IP69, but it is ahead of every Samsung fold, all of which stop at IP48.
Screens: the same area, a sharper Samsung, a brighter Pixel
Both open to 8 inches and about 206 cm². The Ultra's panel is 2504 × 2256 at 422 ppi with an anti-reflective coating; the Pixel's is 2076 × 2152 at 372 ppi. Outside, both carry a 6.5-inch cover screen, Samsung's at 2520 × 1080 and 422 ppi, Google's at 2342 × 1080 and 399 ppi. All four panels run at 1–120 Hz. The Pixel peaks higher, 3,600 nits against 3,000. On the crease, Google's own imagery shows a darker band down the inner panel; Samsung publishes no figure and relies on its Flex Titanium plate to reduce visibility over time. Neither phone takes a stylus: the Ultra has no S Pen support and the Pixel no pen at all.
Cameras: reach against resolution
The Pixel carries a 48 MP main on a 1/1.56-inch sensor at f/1.7, a 10.5 MP ultra-wide covering 127° with autofocus and macro, and a 10.8 MP 5× telephoto at f/3.1 on a 1/3.2-inch sensor with stabilisation, with Super Zoom to 30×. The ultra-wide and the telephoto are the standard Pixel 11's small sensors, not the Pixel 11 Pro's. The Ultra carries a 200 MP main at f/1.7 with HDR at full resolution and a 2× optical-quality crop, a 50 MP ultra-wide at f/1.9, and a 10 MP 3× telephoto at f/2.4, digital to 30×. Video runs to 4K at 60 fps on both of the Pixel's sides and to 8K at 30 fps, 4K slow motion at 120 fps and the APV codec on the Ultra. Each has two 10 MP selfie cameras; the Ultra's inner one covers a wider 100°.
Chip, memory, battery and charging
Google runs its own Tensor G6 with the Titan M3 security chip; Samsung runs the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy at up to 4.74 GHz. Memory is 16 GB on every Pixel configuration, from 256 GB to 1 TB, where the Ultra has 12 GB and reserves 16 GB for the 1 TB model. The Ultra's 5,000 mAh dual cell is 194 mAh larger than the Pixel's 4,806 mAh, and it charges faster on a cable: 45 W dual-path, 67 % in about 30 minutes, against 30 W and 50 % in 30 minutes. Wireless goes the other way, 25 W over Qi2.2 on the Pixel against 20 W, and only the Ultra charges earbuds or a watch from its back through Wireless PowerShare. Neither ships a charger in the European box.
Price, software and support
The Pixel costs €1,999 in Germany, £1,799 in the UK and $1,899 in the US for 16 GB with 256 GB; the Ultra €2,199, £1,899 and $2,099.99 for 12 GB with 256 GB, then €2,399 for 512 GB and €2,799 for 16 GB with 1 TB. Both run Android 17 and both promise seven years of OS and security updates, Google adding its Pixel Drops and Samsung dating its pledge to July 2033. Google's foldable-specific software includes sign-to-text, which reads American Sign Language through the camera and prints it on the cover screen, and the HiLight ring around the flash; Samsung answers with One UI 9, DeX, Now Nudge, Now Brief and a Quick Share that talks to AirDrop. The Ultra has been on sale since 7 August 2026, the Pixel since 20 August.
Where they actually differ
| Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (folded) | Height155.2 mmWidth76 mmThickness10.1 mm | Height158.4 mmWidth72.8 mmThickness8.9 mm |
| Dimensions (unfolded) | Height155.2 mmWidth150.4 mmThickness5 mm | Height158.4 mmWidth143.2 mmThickness4.1 mm |
| Weight | 239 g | 215 g |
| Materials | Aluminium frame · glass fibre composite back | Armor Aluminum framecoverGorilla Glass Ceramic 3backGorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Hinge | Gearless hinge · multi-alloy steel with aluminium cover | Armor FlexHinge · Flex Titanium |
| Ingress protection | IP68 | IP48 |
| Main display | 8″ Super Actua Flex OLED, 1–120 Hz | 8.0″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 1–120 Hz · anti-reflective coating |
| Main resolution | 372 ppi2076 × 2152 | 2504 × 2256 (QXGA+), 422 ppi |
| Cover display | 6.5″ Super Actua OLED, 1–120 Hz | 6.5″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 1–120 Hz |
| Cover resolution | 399 ppi2342 × 1080 | 2520 × 1080 (FHD+), 422 ppi |
| Peak brightness | 2000 nits HDR · 3600 nits peak | peak3000 nits |
| Chipset | Google Tensor G6 + Titan M3process nodeTSMC 3 nm | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxyprocess node3 nm |
| RAM | 16 GB | 256 GB / 512 GB12 GB1 TB16 GB |
| Operating system | Android 17 | Android 17 · One UI 9 |
| Software support | 7 × OS, security and Pixel Drop updates | to Jul 20337 × OS + security |
| Main camera | 48 MP wide, f/1.70, 1/1.56″, OIS | 200 MP, f/1.7, Quad Pixel AF, OIS · 2× optical-quality |
| Telephoto | 10.8 MP, 5× optical, f/3.1, 1/3.2″, OISdigital30× Super Zoom | 10 MP, f/2.4, OIS · 3× optical · 30× digital |
| Ultra-wide | 10.5 MP, f/2.2, 127°, autofocus · macro | 50 MP, f/1.9, Quad Pixel AF, 120° |
| Inner camera | 10 MP, f/2.2, 87° | 10 MP, f/2.2, 100° |
| Video | 4K@60 rear and front · 1080p slow-mo@240 · 10-bit HDR | 8K@30 · 4K slow-mo 120 fps · APV codec |
| Battery | typical4806 mAhrated4658 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 50 % in 30 min30 W USB-C PPS | 67 % in 30 min45 W dual-path |
| Wireless charging | Qi2.225 W Pixelsnap | 20 W |
| Reverse charging | – | Wireless PowerShare |
| SIM | nano-SIM + eSIM | nano-SIM + eSIM / 2× eSIM |
| EU price | 🇪🇺€1 999 · 🇬🇧£1 799 (16 GB + 256 GB) | 256 GB€2,199512 GB€2,3991 TB€2,799 |
| US price | 16 GB + 256 GB$1 899 | 256 GBfrom $2,099.99 |
Sources
- Google Store – Pixel 11 Pro Fold technical specifications
- Google Store Germany – Pixel 11 Pro Fold pricing
- The Keyword – Google's most sophisticated foldable: Pixel 11 Pro Fold
- Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra – official specifications (Samsung UK)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 – official announcement with pricing (Samsung Newsroom)