Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 is for everyone who can’t stop scrolling

Samsung has finally made a writing style Foldable This is geared less towards productivity and more towards entertainment. The company seems to have realized that some of us just want a better way to scroll and watch.

$1900 Galaxy Z Fold 8 It’s Samsung’s new entry-level book-style foldable model, sandwiched between the $1,200 clamshell-style Z Flip 8 and the $2,100 Z Fold 8 Ultra, which carries last year’s design. Z Fold 7. The phones made their debut at the company Galaxy is open The event is on Wednesday, and it’s available to pre-order now before it hits shelves on August 7.

With a 4:3 aspect ratio and a passport-sized design, the Z Fold 8 looks equally optimized for watching horizontal videos, multitasking in landscape mode, and browsing portrait-oriented apps in portrait mode. This versatility and compactness makes the Z Fold 8 one of the most enjoyable phones I’ve used so far this year – although I still have a few lingering questions that I look forward to answering in my full review.

The boldly redesigned Z Fold 8 arrives at a critical time, with Apple reportedly gearing up to launch its first phone Foldable iPhone In the fall. Rumors suggest that the device could also have a square 4:3 aspect ratio (similar to some iPad models), so this may be true. Samsung’s attempt to stay ahead of the curve. While Apple’s expected entry will mean new competition, Samsung has the advantage of having several foldable generations — and years of consumer feedback — under its belt.

“This is Samsung going on the offensive,” said Francisco Geronimo, IDC’s vice president of client devices. “By bringing a wider, foldable Passport-style device to market before Apple, Samsung will be able to define the new format on its own terms rather than react to it later.”

He added: “With Apple’s announcement less than two months away, this is the first Unpacked where Samsung has had to defend the category it created, which is why it can’t play it safe.”

What makes the Z Fold 8’s design different?

I first got my hands on the Z Fold 8 during a visit to Samsung’s headquarters in Korea last month, and I was eager to spend more time with it at this week’s Galaxy Unpacked event in London. The phone appears compact and palm-sized when folded. It’s a welcome break from the monotony of today’s smartphones, including Samsung’s other foldable phones, which haven’t changed much from last year’s models.

The Z Fold 8 fits comfortably in my hand, giving you the feel of a compact notebook that you use to quickly jot down notes. It is simply a fun phone to use due to its size and design. It’s no thicker than the ultra-thin Z Fold 8 Ultra, measuring 4.5mm when open and 9.7mm when closed. It’s also the lightest Z Fold device, weighing in at 201g.

Samsung Executive Vice President Kehwan Kim told me that the Z Fold 8 is “very suitable for people who really enjoy media and social networking.” He added that the company “collected a lot of feedback from different types of users” to better understand the needs of people who prioritize media consumption. I can see myself using the Z Fold 8 in landscape mode when watching a movie or browsing through multiple apps, and then rotating it vertically when I’m on Instagram or reading an e-book.

Customer feedback has also prompted Samsung to make it easier to open its new book-shaped foldable devices. This includes reducing the tension on the hinge, which causes the phone to open. You won’t be able to partially open the Z Fold 8, unlike the Z Fold 7, but it takes noticeably less force to open it.

One key spec hasn’t changed: the Z Fold 8 retains its IP48 rating, meaning it can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes and is protected against solid objects larger than 1mm, but not dust or sand. This is in line with most foldable phones, despite Google’s last year Pixel 10 Pro Fold It features an IP68 rating, which puts its resistance to liquids and particles on par with premium non-foldable phones.

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View promotions on Galaxy Z Fold 8

The Z Fold 8 has a 5.5-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch inner display. Both displays have an anti-reflective coating, which Samsung says can reduce glare by up to 50%. When combined with up to 3,000 nits of brightness, it should be easier to use apps and watch shows, even in bright outdoor settings. I noticed reduced reflections even while shooting phones indoors before Unpacked.

The Z Fold 8 uses a new display technology called Flex Titanium. It combines a layer of titanium alloy with a titanium plate to create a thinner, more durable display body that can better withstand drops and other impacts. I watched Samsung Put those presentations through their paces At its headquarters, providing some reassurance that the screen is designed to withstand daily use and hundreds of thousands of folds.

Flex Titanium also reduces screen creasing, a long-standing sticking point with foldable phone critics. Although I found the crease on last year’s Z Fold 7 to be negligible, the Z Fold 8 is hardly noticeable when using the phone. This could be another way for Samsung to hope to take on Apple, as rumors suggest that a foldable iPhone could have… Crease-free screen – Which could be the case Made by Samsung Display.

The Z Fold 8’s 4:3 aspect ratio follows in the footsteps of other wider foldable phones like the Z Fold 8’s 4:3 aspect ratio Microsoft Surface Duothe The first Google Pixel Fold and Huawei Bora X Max. It is worth noting that Galaxy Z Tri-Fold It also has a 4:3 aspect ratio, albeit with a more spacious 10-inch main display. The Z Fold 8 reduces that to a more compact design that’s better suited for people who don’t want to carry a small laptop.

However, this will be an adjustment for those of us who are used to bar-style phones. The Z Fold 7 was one of my favorite devices I reviewed last year because using the cover screen feels remarkably like holding a tablet. I’m curious to see if the Z Fold 8’s square cover display will make me more inclined to open the phone and use the home screen — something I didn’t do much with the traditional-looking Z Fold 7.

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Battery life is enhanced on the Galaxy Z Fold 8

Samsung has equipped its foldable phones with higher capacity Silicon-carbon battery. While the Z Fold 7 has a 4,400 mAh battery, which made it capable of lasting all day but didn’t last longer, the Z Fold 8 tops out with a 4,800 mAh battery. Hopefully this will reduce the urge to impatiently check battery levels.

The Z Fold 8 also supports 45W wired charging, which Samsung says can take you from 0% to 63% battery in 30 minutes. This is a noticeable upgrade from the 25W charging found on the Z Fold 7, which was one of the phone’s weak points. The Z Fold 8 also supports 20W wireless charging, up from 15W charging last year. I’m looking forward to testing out these faster speeds, which is especially welcome given its higher price.

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Cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 8

One compromise you can make when choosing the Z Fold 8 over the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the smaller camera system. The Z Fold 8 only has two rear cameras, a 50MP wide-angle and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. There is also a 10-megapixel selfie camera on the cover display and another 10-megapixel camera on the inner display.

That should be enough for most people, but the lack of a telephoto lens may leave some wanting more. I’m not a professional photographer, but I do take a lot of photos, so I’m curious to know whether or not I’ll miss having a dedicated zoom lens. However, hopefully cropping the sensor in 2x and 4x shots will be enough.

The artificial intelligence and processor in the Galaxy Z Fold 8

The Z Fold 8 has a number of camera AI updates, including My FanCam. In videos you shoot with multiple people moving, such as a ballet recital or a soccer match, you can choose one person for the AI ​​to track. You can also select the aspect ratio, so you can crop a video horizontally to post on social media platforms. It’s a fun feature, although video quality will suffer as My FanCam zooms in on a subject.

It also appeared for the first time this year Galaxy S26 Photo Assist now lets you enter text prompting the AI ​​to change the photo to your liking. I tested this on an image with an overcast sky, which I asked the Galaxy AI to make it sunny instead. I was impressed with how the shadows on the building below changed to better reflect this false reality, although the brick details became more grainy. Unlike the generative editing capabilities that let you erase someone into the background of an image, this feature seems a bit misleading, so I’m not sure I’d really choose it.

The Z Fold 8 is powered by A Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 5 SIM card for Galaxy. This makes taking advantage of AI features, endless scrolling, and multitasking a breeze.

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New foldable design at a critical time

Besides its quirky appearance, the Z Fold 8 underscores Samsung’s efforts to stay ahead in a category it has dominated for years. But the competition is fierce. Earlier this year, Motorola debuted its first book-shaped foldable phone, the… Razr Fold.

Apple’s expected entry could give the foldable phone market an overall boost. In fact, shipments of foldable phones are expected to surge globally Growing by 21% year on year In 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung is expected to maintain first place with a 32% share, compared to Apple’s expected share of 25%. But the Korean phone maker will have to keep innovating to maintain its lead, and the Z Fold 8 feels like a deliberate effort to stand out in an increasingly crowded space.

“The competition is actually good,” Kim told me. “Over the past seven generations, we’ve really seen a lot of things (and received) a lot of feedback from users and the market, and we’ve evolved to meet those needs. … We’re very confident in what we’ve done.”

Now that I’ve spent some time getting to know the Z Fold 8, I’m eager to take it out into the real world to see how it fits into my media habits — and whether it pushes the foldable category forward.