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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 surprised me. As someone who has not been a big fan of book-style foldables and generally prefers flip phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 seems to flip everything on its head. In fact, given its small stature, it sits somewhere in the Goldilocks zone between both types of foldables.
I think this is why I like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 so much. I was ready to dismiss the new design when I saw leaks of the phone, but as soon as I put it in my hand, something clicked, and in my two weeks of testing, the phone has been a joy to use. Between the pocketability, the performance, and the price, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 might be the ideal foldable phone for most buyers, although you’ll have to deal with a few compromises.
|
Category |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 |
|---|---|
|
Operating System |
One UI 9 (Android 17), seven years of OS upgrades |
|
Display |
Inner: 7.6-inch LTPO AMOLED, 1-120Hz, crease-less, 1,848×2448 pixels Outer: 5.5-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, 1248×1972 pixels, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 |
|
Processor |
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
|
RAM |
12GB/16GB |
|
Storage |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
|
Rear Cameras |
50MP main; 50MP ultra-wide |
|
Front Camera |
10MP (internal), 10MP (external) |
|
Battery |
4,800mAh |
|
Charging |
45W wired, 20W wireless |
|
IP Rating |
IP48 |
|
Weight |
201g |
|
Dimensions |
Folded: 123.9 x 81.9 x 9.7 mm Unfolded: 123.9 x 161.4 x 4.5 mm |
|
Colors |
Lavender, Graphite, Cream, Pistachio |
It’s a little strange that Samsung popularized the current foldable design, only to shift to a form factor that few others have tried and abandoned. That said, Samsung’s iteration seems to take the design a bit further by incorporating a shorter chassis and wider displays.
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The result is a phone that feels admittedly very different from what we’re used to, especially following the advent of taller smartphone displays. But holding the phone sort of puts the whole thing into perspective; it’s thin and light, and nearly the entire phone fits in the palm of my hand. That’s important for reachability, something that taller smartphones seem to have forgotten is still important.
It’s literally the size of my passport, and it fits in my pocket better than any other smartphone I’ve used in recent years, including flip phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
Part of my original concern was how apps would scale to this odd 16:10 aspect ratio on the external display, and my concerns were mostly unfounded, although not completely.
Vertical videos are still watchable on the external display, and while the minimum black bars on the sides may annoy some, I don’t mind them. I actually like that the app’s UI elements are pushed away from the video. Watching longer-form videos like movies, TV shows, and YouTube also feels pretty natural on the external display.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
The downside of having such a short, wide external display is that app content is a bit condensed, and there are times when I find myself scrolling more than I normally would because of the lack of vertical real estate.
This can be addressed somewhat when you open the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to reveal the surprisingly seamless and tablet-like display.
The wider aspect ratio reminds me of how I felt when I first saw the Galaxy Z TriFold: this is exactly how a foldable phone should feel, like a phone when closed and a tablet when open. It also helps that the new Titanium Flex display makes for a barely noticeable crease. If Apple’s been waiting to get rid of the crease for its eventual foldable, now is definitely the time.
Videos are also a joy to watch on the larger display, and there are fewer black bars on the top and bottom, at least compared to the Ultra.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 also acts like a tablet when it’s open. That means apps like Gmail, YouTube Music, and Chrome open in tablet mode, and you can pull up a taskbar of apps at the bottom from just about any screen.
Oddly enough, there’s no support for the Flex Mode panel, which is on both the Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8. That’s because the hinge can’t really be freely adjusted to stay at different angles, especially beyond 90 degrees. It’s a bit of a missed opportunity for viewing content.
But the wider display means better multitasking. One thing I love about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is that you can use three apps side by side, instead of having one app take up a full side and two apps split in half on the other. And of course you can drag and drop content between apps and resize them to your liking.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
Another benefit the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has over the more square Ultra is that the wider display gives you more options for app layouts. Sure, I can use apps like Instagram or read ebooks in a horizontal orientation, but I can turn the phone and use the app vertically so that certain content fits the screen better.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
Of course, not all apps will scale very well on either display. That mostly goes for games, and while some like Honkai: Star Rail look just fine on either panel, Pokémon Go doesn’t look very good on the inner display. Scaling is very awkward for this game and for a lot of other vertically oriented games as well, and you’re like I’m going to have to fiddle around with the scaling options to find a fit that works for you.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and base 12GB of RAM help the Fold 8 perform just as well as you’d expect, with no hiccups. That said, I notice that the phone gets pretty warm, mostly when gaming, and I imagine it’s due to the phone’s small stature.
The small chassis also means there’s not much room for a huge battery. The 4,800mAh battery should get you through most of the day, although now that Samsung is using silicone carbon batteries, I feel that the company could have squeezed in its larger-capacity unit. After all, the smaller Razr Ultra 2026 squeezed in a 5,000mAh battery with much faster charging.
There are plenty of AI features scattered throughout One UI 9, although admittedly they’re the least interesting thing about the Galaxy Z Fold 8. If you can stand using Samsung Keyboard, which is still pretty bad, you’ll get access to many of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features like writing tools, translation, and Gemini Intelligence.
When I receive a message, for instance, the AI will suggest responses based on the conversation, and even gave me prompts in German when a friend of mine texted “Danke,” which I found pretty fun. It also suggests certain actions, like opening my calendar when my friend asked if I was back in town after a long trip, or sending my location when another friend asked how my trip was going.
And of course, with Gemini intelligence, you can have it perform actions on your behalf, and it supports even more apps than before.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
One of the highlight features on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is My FanCam, which can pinpoint a person in a video and focus on them, allowing you to crop out the rest of the video so that it’s social media-ready. It’s actually quite ingenious, and the result is often better than I expect.
The phone does a good job keeping up with the subject, wherever they happen to be in the video, although the camera movements can be a bit wobbly when tracking subjects. Still, it saves me a ton of time having to edit the videos manually.
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
As for the cameras, the dual 50MP sensors on the back can capture decent images, and you can see my Galaxy Z Fold 8 camera review/comparison for more on that. There is no telephoto sensor, which is also likely due to the phone’s limited space. On the plus side, Samsung included new video capture features the creators will love, such as the ability to capture LOG video or add LUTs to give your videos a dramatic look.
This is one of the things I loved about using LG smartphones like the V30, so I’m glad to see it here.
Should you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8?
Th writing has been on the wall for some time that the era of modern flip phones may be coming to an end. Samsung hasn’t said anything about it, but reports have pointed to the rising popularity of book-style foldables, so much so that even Motorola has joined the party.
If there’s one phone that I can see killing the flip phone and taking foldables truly mainstream, it’s the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It may not have all the Ultra features of its sibling, but it brings much of that added utility of a larger foldable to a smaller, more pocketable, and much more affordable form factor. And it’s a damn joy to use.
