The Most Enjoyable Cellphone in Ages

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the very best cellphone (not simply foldable) I’ve ever used for consuming content material—watching movies, taking part in cellular video games, studying, and sure, even doomscrolling social media—because of its 7.6-inch interior display screen.

The book-style foldable cellphone’s novel form when closed could look unusual at first, however I promise you that its shorter and wider footprint (when closed) rapidly feels regular after a couple of days. The entire level of this kind issue is to unfold it for its bigger tablet-sized display screen, and I can guarantee you that you just’ll be doing that always as a result of the expertise encourages it extra.

See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Samsung

See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Amazon

Extra importantly, the Z Fold 8 has fewer of the compromises that held again Samsung’s earlier foldable telephones. The gadget is lighter and simpler to unfold, the battery is larger and lasts all day, and Samsung has enormously diminished the crease on the interior display screen.

Some apps nonetheless won’t show accurately on each screens, besides, I’m declaring the Z Fold 8 a house run. I can’t cease utilizing it.

The most effective dimension comparisons for the Z Fold 8 are a passport or a B7-sized notebook. The foldable measures 4.88 x 3.24 inches when it’s closed. It’s a couple of hairs thicker than the Z Fold 8 Extremely, however due to the squatter dimensions and lighter weight, the Z Fold 8 doesn’t really feel unwieldy. I’m principally in a position to attain nook to nook on the 5.5-inch AMOLED cowl display screen, one thing I haven’t been in a position to do on any “common” (learn: 6 to six.9-inch) bar-style cellphone in years.

It additionally suits in my entrance pants pockets higher than anticipated; I had issues that the width is perhaps too huge. I suppose if you happen to’re already used to the width of an iPhone 17 Professional Max or a Galaxy S26 Extremely, the Z Fold 8’s solely barely wider.

I’m in a position to attain the ability button/fingerprint reader simply with my proper thumb. Lefties may wrestle since they will’t use their thumb and must register their index finger, which is perhaps just a little stretch to press the button, like it’s for me. The quantity rocker is just a little excessive for me; I favor its decrease place on the Z Fold 7/Z Fold 8 Extremely. Typing with two arms on the quilt display screen is a a lot simpler affair than on narrower telephones; I made fewer typos in comparison with my iPhone. One-handed typing will rely on whether or not your hand is giant sufficient and your thumb can stretch throughout the keyboard.

The ten:16 side ratio of the quilt display screen can also be not as cramped because it appears. You lose vertical house in comparison with most common telephones and taller foldables just like the Z Fold 8 Extremely, which suggests apps will present much less and also you’ll must scroll extra, however that’s principally a non-issue if you happen to open the cellphone and rotate it to vertical orientation. I by no means discovered myself bothered that I couldn’t see sufficient on the quilt display screen. If something, I appreciated the shorter display screen extra as a result of I didn’t really feel compelled to tug it out as a lot until I wished to unfold it.

Like on the Z Fold 8 Extremely, you should utilize the Z Fold 8 in “tent” mode. That is nice for propping up the gadget on a airplane tray desk or if you happen to’re simply too lazy to carry it up whereas in mattress. I fly loads for work, so tent mode is one thing I discover very helpful. A Z Fold 8 Extremely characteristic that you just gained’t discover on the Z Fold 8 is “Flex mode.” On the Z Fold 8 Extremely, you’ll be able to snap the display screen in order that it resembles a child laptop computer, and a few apps, like YouTube, will show the video above the crease and controls beneath it. I by no means discovered a lot utility for Flex mode on the earlier Z Folds and I don’t miss it on the Z Fold 8. If that’s one thing you care about, get the Z Fold 8 Extremely as an alternative.

Out of all of the book-style foldable telephones I’ve examined over the previous seven years, the Z Fold 8 is the one one which I’ve unfolded extra occasions than I’ve not. With every technology of Z Fold, Samsung made the scale extra like an everyday bar-style cellphone. I heaped reward on the Z Fold 7 for lastly ditching the earlier skinny, remote-like form. And although I thought-about the Z Fold 7 my favourite Android cellphone of 2025, I spotted that I solely used its interior display screen perhaps lower than 50% of the time I pulled it out. With the quilt display screen being normal-sized, there simply wasn’t as a lot of a must unfold it for the 8-inch display screen.

That hasn’t been the case with the Z Fold 8. Due to the shorter cowl display screen, I nearly all the time unfold it to make use of the bigger show. Possibly that’s as a result of the Flex Titanium know-how helps the hinge spring open higher or the beveled aluminum body makes it simpler to unfold while not having fingernails, or each. Regardless of the causes are, it’s simpler to see and really feel the advantages of the bigger dimension of the interior display screen’s 4:3 side ratio for many content material than on a extra square-ish folding display screen just like the Z Fold 8 Extremely’s. To get roughly the identical diagonal display screen for widescreen movies on the Z Fold 8 Extremely, you want to rotate it, which is an additional step. It’s a tiny little bit of friction that makes the duty of rapidly unfolding and getting extra display screen actual property much less handy. If you’re unfolding the cellphone dozens of occasions a day, that one additional step provides up.

After two weeks of utilizing the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Extremely, I’ve concluded that if you happen to watch extra movies and recreation greater than you learn, the Z Fold 8 is the higher foldable because you gained’t must rotate it a lot. In case you do extra studying and split-screen multitasking, the Z Fold 8 Extremely is extra appropriate because you’ll get extra vertical show on each the quilt and interior screens with out rotating, and also you’ll do much less scrolling.

I eat a ridiculous quantity of content material every day, so I discover the 4:3 side ratio extra versatile for my wants. In simply two weeks, I watched, gamed, and browse extra on the Z Fold 8 than I’ve on any new cellphone I’ve ever examined. Movies look unimaginable on the 7.6-inch interior display screen; 16:9 movies have minimal letterboxing (black bars) above and beneath them, and outdated content material like many authentic anime collection in 4:3 side ratio replenish all the display screen. I’ve by no means felt extra knowledgeable and entertained from my cellphone.

As with the Z Fold 8 Extremely, the Z Fold 8 permits you to run three apps in split-screen layouts or 4 (with a pop-up) on the interior display screen. I wouldn’t advocate operating greater than two apps aspect by aspect in panorama orientation. Three apps aspect by aspect make every app window very skinny, and one app on one aspect and two stacked on the opposite half really feel squished. Cut up-screen apps in vertical orientation simply look too lengthy to be helpful typically. In some split-screen layouts, Samsung’s One UI 9 does allow you to faucet between split-screen apps to have it fill extra or many of the display screen, however it’s not a operate that’s straightforward to find.

Efficiency from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip is snappy and the 12GB of RAM on my 256GB evaluate unit (you’ll get 16GB if you happen to purchase the 1TB mannequin) by no means chugged after I threw Gemini and Galaxy AI duties at it. The one factor that sometimes bugs me is that the Z Fold 8 will get toasty even after I’m not doing something power-hungry. I believe the super-thin design doesn’t go away a lot room for enough thermals; there’s no vapor chamber for cooling like there may be on the Galaxy S26 Extremely and iPhone 17 Professional.

The interior display screen has been a pleasure to make use of, particularly on my 1-hour subway commute to and from work. And as an alternative of reaching for my iPad mini in mattress, the Z Fold 8 now fills the position as an alternative. It’s nice solely having to cost one gadget.

On the subject of charging, the Z Fold 8’s battery is rock strong, lasting me a full day even with heavy use of the interior display screen. That’s not shocking since Samsung added a small share of silicon carbon into the 4,800mAh battery, which permits for the bigger cell whereas sustaining a slim dimension. The 45W quick wired charging, with a appropriate charger bought individually (in fact), was greater than fast sufficient to present me a recharge (round 0% to 65% in half-hour) each time I used to be low on energy. The Z Fold 8 additionally helps quick wi-fi charging at 20W, however I used it much less in comparison with different telephones just like the iPhone 17 Professional or Pixel 10 Professional as a result of Samsung nonetheless refuses to incorporate built-in magnetic charging rings. You, once more, want to purchase a case with magnets to align the cellphone effortlessly with a Qi2 charger.

The one blemish, actually, on the bigger display screen expertise is the 10-megapixel hole-punch digital camera on the interior display screen. It will possibly obscure important elements of a menu, buttons, or textual content relying on what you’re . For instance, in Asphalt Legends, I couldn’t see a menu button that the outlet punch coated. The opening punch is most noticeable when studying lengthy blocks of textual content or black and white manga. It makes extra sense to place the digital camera within the nook since it could’t slot in a bezel like on an everyday pill.

Aside from that, I’d nitpick the location of the 2 stereo audio system. They’re situated on the highest and backside of the quilt display screen, which makes them left-side oriented when the Z Fold 8 is unfolded. The audio system get loud sufficient, however as a result of they’re each on the left in pill mode, it nearly sounds mono coming from one aspect. To be clear, these are stereo audio system. I get why Samsung might need designed it like this: the audio system hearth out of the left and proper in tent mode. Possibly put one speaker on both sides for a balanced sound when it’s unfolded?

As for the crease… It’s much less seen for positive, however hasn’t been utterly eradicated. Contemporary out of the field, the interior display screen is pristine and crease-free. Two weeks in, the crease has deepened with a whole bunch of folds and I can see it when the display screen is off, however it doesn’t warp as a lot because it did on previous Samsung foldables. I nearly by no means discover it after I’m watching movies, gaming, or studying. In addition to the strengthened titanium alloy movie on high of the display screen and the titanium plate beneath it to make sure it stays flatter to the contact over time, Samsung additionally added an anti-reflective layer to cut back glare, and it actually does assist. I’ve stated it earlier than and I’ll say it once more: the crease could by no means be totally eradicated from folding screens. The most effective we will hope for may be making it much less seen.

Relying on what you think about the Z Fold 8, both because the sequel to the Z Fold 7 or as a brand new class of foldables, the cameras will impress or disappoint. If seen as a Z Fold 7 successor, the 50-megapixel important digital camera could really feel like a downgrade from the earlier 200-megapixel shooter. The 50-megapixel ultrawide on the Z Fold 8 will, nonetheless, be an improve from the Z Fold 7’s 12-megapixel one. You may additionally be upset it doesn’t have a telephoto lens.

If you’d like triple rear cameras and extra decision for the principle digital camera, Samsung sells the Z Fold 8 Extremely. I’ve no complaints with the twin 50-megapixel rear cameras and twin 10-megapixel hole-punch cameras on the Z Fold 8. I don’t suppose most individuals will care there’s no telephoto. You continue to get a 2x zoom that crops in on the 50-megapixel sensor and appears practically optical-quality to me. That is just like the digital 2x “telephoto” that you just’ll discover on different telephones and all current iPhones which have bigger important sensors. The 4x and 10x zooms on the Z Fold 8 are digital, although, and the fuzzier picture high quality reveals.

For on a regular basis photographs and movies, the Z Fold 8 cameras are ok. Picture high quality appears to be like vibrant and never overly saturated prefer it used to on Samsung telephones and I believe the HDR appears to be like much less processed in comparison with iPhone photographs. Low-light pictures look strong, too. In case you’re the kind of one that doesn’t need to spend an excessive amount of or any time enhancing your photographs, the Z Fold 8 photographs are greater than advantageous to publish on to social media.

The Z Fold 8 is loaded with a bunch of AI enhancing options, like “Photograph Help,” which helps you to describe an edit with textual content; “My FanCam,” which helps you to motion-track a topic in a video after which crop it for various side ratios for posting to social media; and a “Scan” characteristic that may clear up photographs of paperwork (i.e. sharpen textual content, flatten and repair the geometry, and take away folded corners or fingers). These will be helpful, however there already are apps that exist that do this stuff. I suppose it’s good they’re free and built-in.

I additionally don’t hate any of the brand new video recording options, like the twin recording mode that permits you to file from each the entrance and rear cameras concurrently in numerous layouts (aspect by aspect, break up high and backside, and movie in image) and tremendous regular recording with horizon lock, which retains the horizon line straight. Once more, none are notably particular, however it’s good that they’re there once you may want them.

It didn’t take lengthy for me to fall in love with the Galaxy Z Fold 8. That’s simply not one thing that occurs typically anymore. However fall in love with Samsung’s new foldable—I did. The Z Fold 8 is proof that nice {hardware} nonetheless issues—and issues greater than merely shoving in additional AI options.

I prefer it greater than the Z Fold 7 and the Z Fold 8 Extremely, primarily as a result of its 4:3 interior display screen makes consuming content material a greater and extra enjoyable expertise than swiping on a protracted bar. One UI 9 is a really polished Android expertise, and a characteristic like Fast Share, which helps you to AirDrop information to Apple units, is a game-changer. Something that makes an Android cellphone work with Apple units is a giant plus to me.

There are nonetheless some minor issues that individuals will discover fault with, like the truth that Samsung has caught with an IP48 ranking for mud and water resistance as an alternative of bumping that up larger to IP68 like Google did with the Pixel 10 Professional Fold or that Samsung didn’t deliver again S Pen assist. Neither omission makes the Z Fold 8 really feel inadequate in my ebook. I’m not exposing the Z Fold 8 to harsh circumstances and I’ve no attachment to a stylus.

Look, I get it: the Z Fold 8 continues to be costly beginning at $1,900. I don’t foresee the value of it coming down anytime quickly. Samsung’s caught to round $2,000 for its book-style foldables because the authentic Galaxy Fold. In case you can justify the worth of a bigger display screen expertise, the Z Fold 8 is wonderful in nearly each side.

See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Samsung

See Galaxy Z Fold 8 at Amazon