Samsung Z Fold 8 Review: The Perfect Phone?

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is one of the most exciting phones in years — its passport-sized form factor feels fresh, the battery impresses, and the internal display is genuinely useful. The lack of optical zoom and the premium price tag are real caveats, but this is a landmark device.

The Good

1. Passport form factor is unlike anything else on the market
2. Exceptional battery life with silicon carbon cell
3. Both displays are bright, vibrant, and anti-reflective
4. Flex Titanium hinge inspires confidence and reduces crease

The Not So Good

1. No optical zoom beyond the main lens
2. Flex Mode no longer supported
3. Some apps still poorly optimised for the internal display
4. Expensive at £1,699 / $1,899

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I’ve spent a good few days testing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 as my main phone, and I’m having to resist the temptation to make a rather big claim.

The TL;DR of this initial review (more thoughts will follow over the coming months) is that it might be one of the best phones I’ve ever used, and Samsung may have stumbled across the ideal form factor. They’re not the first to do so, but they are, arguably, the first brand that could make the ‘passport phone’ a commercial success.

There are still plenty of questions. Will the Fold 8 become the foldable of choice for existing Samsung Fold fans? Will it convert more people from regular to foldable phones? Will it completely kill the idea of a tablet for a lot of people?

I don’t have the answers to all of those questions yet, but I’ve been mulling them over a great deal, and I have plenty of thoughts.

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Form factor and design

Quick reminder: the Fold 8 is not the replacement for the Fold 7. That task has been given to the Fold 8 Ultra, which is very similar to last year’s Fold 7 in many ways, but also entirely different (review in the works).

The Fold 8 is, therefore, a brand-new device for Samsung, in every sense of the word. It’s also the lightest Z Fold yet at 201g. Folded, it’s 9.7mm thick, and 4.5mm unfolded. It’s diminutive, chunky, squat, and unlike any phone you’ll ever pick up.

In terms of form factor, it’s nigh-on identical to that of a passport. It is a passport phone.

The cover screen is the most striking thing when you first encounter the Fold 8. It’s 5.5″, which makes it a rather unusual 10:16 aspect ratio. That said, serious Blackberry vibes are going on here, minus the physical keyboard. It might be a little too wide for some people, but that’s something you’re going to have to assess yourself if you’re tempted.

Unfold the Fold 8, and you’re presented with a 7.6″ display which is either 4:3 or 3:4, depending on the orientation in which you’re holding it.

One of the overriding questions I’ve had while using the Fold 8 during these initial days of testing is: why did it take so long to get here? I know Huawei already has a device like this, and we’ve seen very similar form factors in the past, but none of them has felt or looked like this. It makes you wonder how long Samsung has been sitting on this and what prompted them to act in 2026.

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Regardless, it’s here. And while it’s early days for me – and there is absolutely such a thing as New Device Syndrome – I can’t stop using and thinking about the Fold 8. It has already seriously got under my skin.

I just wish it didn’t wobble quite as much on the desk with that camera bump. At least that can be fixed with a case.

Living with the Z Fold 8 for a week

So, what’s it like to live with the Z Fold 8?

Well, the first thing I did was switch to Gboard, immediately. As has always been the case for me, Samsung’s default keyboard always feels too fiddly and inconsistent. Google’s is the gold standard – for any Android-based smartphone.

That entirely minor gripe to one side, the biggest thing for me so far with the Fold 8 is how enjoyable and natural those unfamiliar screen ratios have been to use. Closed, it really does give me Blackberry vibes, as noted, but I also love how most apps present themselves on that squat, wide display. Typing is a breeze on it, too – and I can even get away with using it one-handed.

I’ve really been enjoying the big screen experience on the Fold 8, too. The 4:3 landscape ratio is one of the best I’ve experienced for watching video content (particularly YouTube) and perfect for dual app multitasking (although it’ll happily run three apps side-by-side along with a fourth floating one, if you fancy it). Oh, and it works beautifully as your default Kindle device. In fact, that might be one of my favourite features of the Fold 8.

Switch to portrait (3:4) mode, and it’s just as usable, but for different reasons. Scrolling through social media and websites is a joy in that orientation, and the split keyboard often feels far easier and more natural to use.

The Fold 8 is fun, productive, and engaging. Which I think is exactly what Samsung was angling for. More importantly, I’m using that internal display with intention, which has so often been absent for me with other foldables.

Wondering how the Fold 8 stacks up against last year’s model? Check out our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review for the full picture.

The screens and the build

Let’s get back into the nitty-gritty of the Fold 8.

Both displays are rather capable. They’re Dynamic AMOLED 2X units with 120Hz variable refresh rates and Vision Booster technology. They also pump out up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness and, just like the Fold 8 Ultra, feature Samsung’s superb anti-reflective coating.

The hinge is rather fancy, too. This year, Samsung has opted for a Flex Titanium hinge, which apparently results in a thinner, more durable design which also reduces crease visibility. On the subject of the crease, it is definitely less noticeable than before, both visually and to the touch.

Just like the Fold 8 Ultra, the Fold 8 snaps open extremely confidently – and rather forcibly. It inspires confidence and feels superb, but the downside is that Flex Mode no longer exists. For the uninitiated, this is when you could leave the Fold half-open (at around 90 degrees) and use it ‘laptop style’. That’s impossible now, because if you try and keep it open at that angle, it just snaps fully open. Doesn’t bother me, but it will doubtless irritate certain long-term Fold users.

Water and dust resistance is capped at IP48, which isn’t the highest in terms of foldables, but it’s arguably enough for most people. Regardless, the Fold 8 feels like an extremely capable device in terms of durability. Long-term tests will prove whether that’s right or wrong, but we are at least in good hands with Samsung, given the time and funds they’ve ploughed into foldable R&D over the years.

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App performance

If you’ve never used a foldable before and you’re tempted to pick up a Fold 8, you’ll be wondering what the app experience is like. This is a particularly important consideration with the Fold 8 because it’s such an unusual form factor.

How do apps deal with that squat, wide cover screen?

On the whole, really well. Typing feels natural, too (the aforementioned one-handedness is a boon for yours truly), and I’m yet to find an app which doesn’t translate well to the Fold 8’s cover screen. For reference, the apps I use most regularly are Slack, Outlook, YouTube Studio, Instagram, TikTok, Claude, Monday.com, WhatsApp, and Chrome.

As for the internal screen, that’s where things get really interesting. Held in landscape, it’s one of the best ways I’ve experienced to watch video content. It’s also my new default Kindle reader. Reading books on the Fold 8 feels utterly natural.

And then you have the apps that have been optimised for that screen estate. Outlook has long been a shining star in that regard on foldable devices, and so too is Claude. On the Fold 8’s internal display, they implement panes and adjust the content sensibly, rather than simply providing a wider view of the app you were previously using on the cover screen.

I wish the same could be said for the likes of YouTube Studio (come on, Google, now’s the time!).

Hold the Fold 8 in 3:4 portrait orientation, and web browsing, social media doom-scrolling, and email triage become a joy. This is what separates the Fold 8 from regular foldable phones.

Some apps work nicely between those screens, too. For instance, publishing content on Instagram is best handled on the cover screen, while viewing content is a treat on the internal display.

Multitasking? The Fold 8 devours it. I’m a two-app kinda guy, but you can go much further if desired, and split-screen stuff works brilliantly regardless of the orientation you’re in. I’m also a big fan of how One UI handles the notifications and quick panels on the big screen. They appear as floating windows when you pull down, rather than replacing the view entirely.

As you might expect, there’s a boatload of Galaxy AI stuff on the Fold 8. I need more time to explore it (and I’m not a big user of consumer AI tools, personally), but Samsung remains top of the tree in what it offers there, so if it matters to you, you’re in good hands.

Cameras

The Fold 8 features two 50MP cameras. One is an ultra-wide with a 120-degree field of view, and the other is the main camera. Oh, and there are two selfie cameras, both of which are 10MP.

I’ve given the Fold 8 a thorough test when it comes to regular photography both at home and while on a trip to London during the Galaxy Unpacked launch event. Those tests have revealed that the camera system on the Fold 8 is perfectly capable, if slightly hamstrung.

The presence of an ultra-wide is very much welcome for yours truly; it’s something I miss most days on the iPhone Air. The regular 1x wide camera is capable of beautiful shots, straight out of the box. It’s just important to remember that everything beyond that in terms of zoom is digital and assisted by AI.

At 2x and 4x, the Fold 8 does a great job in most scenarios and will let you get as close to subjects as you need to. At 10x (the maximum zoom length), you need good conditions – decent light, primarily. Providing you have those conditions, the Fold 8 does admirably for an entirely digital zoom. But it won’t beat the S26 Ultra, despite being more expensive, and I would love to have seen a third lens on the back for optical zoom purposes.

Video performance is great, and, yes, the Fold 8 will shoot up to 8K if you’re that way inclined.

An addition to the AI suite of camera tools this year is My FanCam. Terrible name, but pretty interesting functionality which is clearly built for the Instagrammable generation – it auto-tracks the subject and reframes the video in your chosen ratio. Great for sharing, etc.

If you have any misgivings about the Fold 8’s cameras, there’s one thing that’ll possibly make everything immediately better, and that’s the experience you get from viewing your photos on that internal display. Whether they’re shot in landscape or portrait, holding the Fold 8 appropriately fills the display with your photos and they look utterly wonderful.

If camera performance is your top priority when choosing a Samsung, our Samsung S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max breakdown is worth a read.

Performance and battery

The Fold 8 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which is the latest flagship mobile chip from Qualcomm. I have run out of things to say in this regard. In a good way. You’ll get flagship performance, and the best of it (particularly given that this chip is tuned specifically for Samsung).

Now the big one – the battery performance.

It’s really good. Samsung has taken a fair bit of flak for apparently being behind the Chinese competition when it comes to its approach to mobile battery technology. Where’s silicon carbon? Where’s more milliamp hours?

Well, they’re here. To a degree. The battery in the Fold 8 is made from silicon carbon (although Samsung hasn’t made a big deal about this publicly, which I find interesting – and a little refreshing). It’s also 4,800mAh, which isn’t the biggest on the market, but is bigger than the Fold 7. Samsung claims up to 26 hours of video playback on the Fold 8.

During my first day of use, the Fold 8 got to 20:30 with 15% remaining, having come off charge at around 08:30 that morning. That might not sound epic, but it was rather impressive given that I was using it all day and, for most of it, hammering the camera system.

On a normal day’s use, I’ve seen as much as 60% remaining by bedtime. The Fold 8 will absolutely get you well beyond a single day of use, and the standby time should ensure it’ll go for even longer if you’re not a particularly heavy user. It also supports 45W wired and 20W wireless charging if you need to juice up quickly.

I’m impressed, and I think you will be, too.

Concerns

No phone is perfect, and that’s certainly the case with foldables.

At £1,699/$1,899, the Fold 8 is expensive and only £200/$200 less than the Fold 8 Ultra. I guess very few people buy their phones outright, though, and upgrade deals and carrier subsidies will likely help here.

As great as I’ve found the app experience on the Fold 8, there are still inconsistencies and frustrations. This isn’t specific to Samsung’s latest foldable – it’s the same deal on the Fold 8 Ultra and all that came before it. Some apps aren’t designed at all for that big internal display; they simply widen themselves and, often, look rather daft. Google’s own apps, curiously, are one of the worst offenders.

The camera will be fine for most owners of the Fold 8, but the lack of optical zoom options will be frustrating for some – particularly at this price point.

The Fold 8 won’t be for everyone, and there is one obvious choice people are going to have to make, regardless.

Z Fold 8 vs Fold 8 Ultra

I will be publishing a full review on the Fold 8 Ultra, but given that it isn’t a huge update over the Fold 7, I feel informed enough to help you choose between it and the Fold 8.

According to Samsung, the Fold 8 is built for “everyday immersion” (creating and digesting content, whether that be video- or words-based). The Fold 8 Ultra is aimed at “maximum productivity” and content creation within a bigger workspace.

That means you’re getting bigger displays (in both cases) on the Ultra, better cameras (it has a 200MP main camera and a 3x optical telephoto alongside the same ultra-wide), and a slightly bigger battery.

However, they share a lot of the same stuff. The chip, storage/RAM tiers, IP48 rating, and connectivity specs are all identical. They have the same screen tech, and share that fancy titanium hinge, which means they feel the same in the hand when snapping open. Obviously, they run the same version of One UI 9, too.

If you’re due an upgrade on your older Z Fold and enjoy that form factor, I recommend checking out the Fold 8, just in case, but you’re likely to swing towards the Ultra given the familiarity and the significant upgrade you’ll feel over your pre-Z Fold 7 device.

However, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Fold 8 is going to tempt a lot of people away from the obvious choice. It might even convert a few Flip loyalists.

Verdict (for now)

Why did Samsung wait until 2026 to launch the Fold 8? I have no idea, although I’d imagine they’ve had this form factor sitting in their lab for quite some time. The rumours surrounding Apple’s potential leap into the foldable game later this year will doubtless have had an impact on the Fold 8’s emergence.

Does that matter? Not at all. I really couldn’t care less. The Fold 8 is one of the most exciting devices I’ve got my hands on for a very long time. It enters a stagnant smartphone market which has simply way too many devices to choose from if you’re heading into Android land.

I’ve often said that’s a nice problem to have, but I’m not convinced any more. There is such a thing as too much choice. The Fold 8 is, actually, a refreshingly simple choice. It will be a no-brainer for a lot of people, and unless you’re willing to go through the hassle of trying to make a Huawei phone work outside of China, there really is no competition.

Yet.

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