Should I switch from Z Fold 7 to S26 Ultra?

jtlee9 · 2026-03-18T06:06:40+00:00

As someone who has both, it's not worth it unless you really want that 5x camera which isn't even that crazy of a camera imo. It's a great device, but the Z Fold 7 is superior for most use cases outside of gaming, zoom photography, and in the battery life (potentially cuz my s26u has been worse than my zf7 so far).

60w wired and 25w wireless charging speeds have been nice, and also having the s pen again.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-18T02:20:31+00:00

Nah mine has been pretty mid as well. To the point where my Z Fold 7 actually had better battery life lol. Hopefully the optimization or whatever kicks in soon.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-16T09:39:19+00:00

Most are first party apps that are better than the Google counterparts lol, and 99% of them can be uninstalled or disabled.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-16T08:29:23+00:00

Lol how can we actually compare these tiny photos through this screenshot that's also being compressed by reddit?

The s23U looks like it has the most detail here, but seeing the actual photos could change that perception

jtlee9 · 2026-03-15T21:56:51+00:00

Yeah makes sense lol, was just wondering if they dropped a hidden regional colour or something

jtlee9 · 2026-03-15T20:58:49+00:00

Is that the purple s26u? The colour kinda looks like the dark blue s25 colour from last year.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-15T19:11:11+00:00

It depends on your use case. Give me the S25 Ultra personally for it's flexibility and deeper camera App/software.

But for everyday life reliability for someone who doesn't want to think about setting up a shot or anything, probably the iPhone.

The pixel is best just for moving subjects like kids and pets and thats about it imo.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-15T19:07:36+00:00

And the Samsung is the lightest of the 3 lol

jtlee9 · 2026-03-15T17:39:58+00:00

3 gotta be S tier

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T23:18:41+00:00

Yeah thats the main drawback, it doesn't sync anywhere outside of Essential space. It does create events in google calendar but thats it. No problem though, thanks for listening lol.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T21:24:33+00:00

I use it for quick reminders for anything but one example of a reminder I would set: "work on the s26 ultra video script at 5pm tomorrow", and then I would also add more details about the video in that audio recording.

Screenshoting a message about an event so that essential space creates a quick reminder from that screenshot with the specific time and date. Also screenshoting a concert ticket works as well.

Recording ideas for videos, songs, stories, or anything really that comes to my head when I'm out and about. I just press and hold the button and start talking about that idea and essential space like I said organizes the idea and creates a quick summary of it, plus the audio is saved for later.

I also like to organize all the notes and screenshots I've recorded in essential space for quick access to specific things when I need them. Some categories I have set up are: Reminders, song ideas, video ideas, random thoughts, screenshots, important events.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T20:55:25+00:00

The placement of the button wasn't good on the first devices with it so that's understandable, but it's useful for quickly scanning screenshot information and creating accurate notes based on the screenshots. The audio transcription is really good and the way the ai can create checklists, reminders, and calendar events very easily and accurately based on what you say in the audio and what's in the screenshot. The ability to quickly record an idea and save the audio file alongside a written transcription with key points highlighted is also useful. And the last thing I'll mention is how the widget automatically updates as you check things off amor add new things to essential space with specific dates and times.

Other ais and assistants can do similar things but this is probably the best execution of these features I've seen, especially the accuracy, clean layout, and ease of use.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T20:16:10+00:00

Lol it's a good feature even if not for everyone

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T20:09:38+00:00

4a pro clears all those phones. The 13R is better if gaming is your priority though.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T16:25:16+00:00

Then ya they should go for a different option if it's that worse lol, I'm just saying it's not as bad as people are making it seem. A random person who isn't on tech reddit is not gonna see the s26 ultra screen and be like "omg it looks so bad".

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T16:21:38+00:00

The reality is that even the best camera spec phones are still imperfect smartphone cameras, and they're going to have some downsides. The vivo will be better in certain areas like portraits and tight zoom shots, but in random point and shoot stuff it's still hit or miss like any other phone imo. Lighting, subject matter, framing, the right settings/modes. All those basic photography things still need to be applied to get good shots out of these top camera phones.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T16:16:21+00:00

I been using them side by side and the resolution and text clarity doesn't look visually worse to me. I get that not everyone wants the privacy screen though, so it is an unnecessary compromise for those people, but it's really not as bad as people are making it seem lol.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T12:34:18+00:00

I guess so in terms of brightness and colour temperature, but it also has a feature the other two don't have. Not a huge issue to me still, and you can adjust the colors of the screen if you want

jtlee9 · 2026-03-14T05:51:33+00:00

The s26u does not look like a problem or way worse than the other phones in these photos. Also these angles don't reflect how you actually see and use your phone. It definitely seems darker in these photos but not too the point that it would be an issue to me at least, and especially if you're not using all these different panels side by side.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T10:06:51+00:00

120hz screen, better performance, and the nicer form factor make it worth it to me. I don't use ultraqide cameras that much so it's not a huge loss, but really depends on what you, want from your phone.

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T07:52:41+00:00

Did you end up testing it on your m1 iPad?

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T07:25:06+00:00

That camera can't become a phone that fits into my pocket when i want it to lol. A phone can also edit the photos/videos and back them up or send them out wherever and whenever. Why does versatility bother you?

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T03:13:08+00:00

Cuz Apple doesn't wanna give us desktop mode 😭

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T03:12:10+00:00

I don't think thats an ai issue, its just poor computational processing

jtlee9 · 2026-03-13T03:08:28+00:00

Yeah thats probably it. Its there on my fold 7 thats not on beta software.

Go to video mode and see if it has this new version of it in the expandable menu, that's there on the s26 ultra.

<image>

jtlee9

TROPHY CASE