A foldable the size of your passport, and a laptop's worth of work inside.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 drops the tall, narrow shape of past Folds for something shorter and wider. We have owned some of the earliest Galaxy Folds, so we know how heavy and awkward they used to be. This one is the first we would happily carry every day without thinking twice.
Galaxy Z Fold 8, half open
Should you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8?
Buy it if you
- Want a big screen for work, reading and video that still fits in a shirt pocket
- Run two apps side by side every day, emails and chats, docs and the browser
- Play games and want a wider view than a normal phone gives you
- Found older Folds too thick and heavy and gave up on them
Think twice if you
- Shoot a lot of zoom photos at concerts, sports or travel. There is no telephoto lens
- Type one-handed a lot. The inner screen is wide for a single thumb
- Need full waterproofing. IP48 handles splashes and rain, not the pool
- Want the best camera Samsung makes in a foldable. That is the Fold 8 Ultra
The passport shape finally makes a Fold feel like a normal phone
This is the first Galaxy Z Fold built in this passport-sized shape, and it changes the whole experience. Closed, it feels like a regular bar phone, just a little more squarish. Open, you get a proper tablet-style screen with the 4:3 proportions of a paperback book.
We owned some of the first few generations of the Fold, and they were thick and heavy. Heavy enough that one kept sliding out of the car phone mount while we were driving. The Fold 8 is thinner and lighter than any Fold we have owned, at 201 grams. It sits in the hand comfortably, and one-handed use on the cover screen feels natural, which we could never say about the early models.
The Flex Titanium hinge is the other big win. When you own a foldable, you want it to look special when you open it. Here, the crease down the middle is almost invisible. Looking at it straight on, you really have to hunt for it. Well done, Samsung.
Water and dust protection is rated IP48. Rain, a spilt drink at the kopitiam table or a sweaty gym session are fine. Fine sand and a swim are not, so keep it out of the pool and the beach bag.
Folded, in hand
Unfolded, crease close-up
Two screens, and both stay readable in the midday sun
The cover screen is a 5.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel in a 16:10 shape. Because the phone is wider than older Folds, the cover screen finally feels like a normal phone screen rather than a TV remote. Replying to messages, checking maps and paying with your phone all work without opening it up.
Cover screen and inner screen side by side
Open it and you get a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X inner screen in a 4:3 ratio, running at 120Hz. Scrolling is smooth, and the squarer shape suits documents, web pages, comics and videos better than a long, narrow screen does.
Brightness reaches up to 3,000 nits, and the anti-reflective coating cuts down glare noticeably. We used it outdoors in direct sunlight with no trouble at all, which matters on a phone with this much glass.
Audio comes from stereo speakers at the top and bottom. With the phone open in landscape, the sound spreads nicely across the screen for a drama episode or a YouTube video.
Closed, it is just a phone. Open, it is a pocket-sized productivity powerhouse.
Two apps side by side is the sweet spot
This is where the Fold 8 earns its price. The inner screen can run three apps at once with side-by-side multi-window. It works, but in our use two apps side by side was the most comfortable to look at. Chats beside email, or a document beside the browser, each get enough room to be properly usable.
Tent mode quickly became a favourite. Fold it partway, stand it up on the table, and it holds itself in place. Eating alone and want to catch up on your favourite drama? Prop it up next to your plate. It works just as well on a bedside table or your desk at home, no stand needed.
Two apps side by side
Tent mode on a table
One thing to be aware of: typing on the inner screen with one hand is a stretch. The screen is simply wide, so if you have smaller hands you will likely end up typing with both thumbs, or closing the phone and using the cover screen for quick replies.
The phone runs Samsung's One UI 9. If you live in a mixed household with iPhones, you can now AirDrop files to Apple devices, which makes sharing photos after a family dinner much less painful.
A wider screen is a real advantage in games
Under the hood is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The 256GB and 512GB models come with 12GB of memory, while the 1TB model gets 16GB. Day to day, switching between apps and running two of them side by side never slowed it down.
We tested it with Call of Duty Mobile, and the wider inner screen makes a real difference. You see more of the map, the controls are spread out more comfortably, and it simply feels more immersive than gaming on a regular phone.
After a longer gaming session, the phone does get slightly warm. It never became uncomfortable to hold, and performance stayed steady, but you will notice it.
Call of Duty Mobile on the inner screen
Good everyday cameras, but it really needs a telephoto lens
Around the back are two 50MP cameras: a main wide-angle and an ultrawide. On the inner screen there is a 10MP hole-punch camera for video calls. Both rear cameras record up to 8K video, and for everyday photos of food, friends and places, the results are good.
Rear camera module
The weak spot is zoom. There is no telephoto lens, so the 4x and 10x zoom options are digital only. At 4x, shots are usable. Push to 10x and the detail drops off quickly. For a phone at this price, that is the one area that feels like a step behind, and we hope Samsung upgrades the camera hardware in future versions.
Video has some fun extras. Dual recording captures from the front and rear cameras at the same time in different layouts, handy for reaction videos or vlogging. Super Steady with horizon lock keeps footage level even when you are walking or moving around.
Main camera
10x digital zoom
Camera samples taken with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.
AI features you will actually use
Object Eraser is the AI tool we kept coming back to. Circle a stranger or a rubbish bin in the background of a photo, and it removes it with precise, clean results. Not the smudgy patches we have seen on some other phones.
My Fancam is the fun one. It uses AI to motion-track one person in a video, so the frame stays focused on them. At a concert, you can keep your favourite artiste in focus even as they move around the stage. It works just as well when you are out dancing with friends and want one person to be the star of the clip.
Object Eraser before
Object Eraser after
A full day, even with the big screen open
The Fold 8 runs on a 5,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. In our testing it lasted about 12 hours of heavy, mixed use: switching between Wi-Fi and 5G, playing games, watching videos and browsing. That is a solid full day for a phone that spends a lot of its time with a 7.6-inch screen lit up.
When it does run low, 45W wired charging tops it up quickly, and 20W wireless charging is fast for a foldable if you prefer to drop it on a pad at your desk or bedside.
Which Fold should you buy?
The big question for most buyers is whether to spend more on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The Ultra keeps the familiar tall, book-style shape and puts its money into the camera: a 200MP main camera and a dedicated 3x optical telephoto lens, plus larger screens on both the inside and outside.
| Galaxy Z Fold 8 | Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Passport-sized, shorter and wider | Tall and narrow, book-style |
| Main camera | 50MP | 200MP |
| Telephoto | None (4x / 10x digital) | 3x optical telephoto |
| Inner screen | 7.6in, 4:3 | Larger, around 8in |
| Cover screen | 5.5in, 16:10 | Larger, narrower 21:9 |
| Weight | 201g | Heavier, around 215g |
| Charging | 45W wired / 20W wireless | 45W wired / 20W wireless |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
Get the Fold 8 if you mainly want a foldable for work, reading, videos and games, and you value a phone that feels light and normal in the pocket. The passport shape makes both screens more comfortable to use day to day, and you save money for cameras you may not need.
Get the Fold 8 Ultra if the camera matters most to you. If you shoot concerts, your kids' sports day or a lot of travel photos, the optical telephoto and 200MP main camera are worth paying extra for. You also get bigger screens, at the cost of a little more weight.
Fun, productive, and the first Fold that feels easy to live with
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a fun and productive phone. The passport shape fixes what made older Folds hard to love. It is light, it fits comfortably in the hand, the cover screen is genuinely usable, and the inner screen opens up into a proper workspace with a crease you will barely notice. Add a bright, sun-friendly display, flagship performance and a full day of battery, and it is easy to recommend.
The compromises are clear. There is no telephoto lens and the zoom is digital only, the phone warms up during long gaming sessions, and one-handed typing on the inner screen takes some getting used to. If the camera is your priority, step up to the Fold 8 Ultra. If you want the best everyday foldable to work, play and watch on, this is the one we would buy.
Fold 8 back view, folded