Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 review
Design, build quality, handling
"Book-style" foldables are not exactly a new concept. Granted, with word of an upcoming iPhone Ultra in similar proportions on the horizon, manufacturers have unquestionably started looking at the concept once again. We already have the China-only Huawei Pura X Max and undoubtedly other major industry players will follow suit sooner rather than later on an accelerated timeline once the iPhone becomes a reality. That's just how the wheel usually turns.
And having spent some time with it we realize there is a lot to love about this form factor. In fact, this particular reviewer finds it much better than the Z Fold8 Ultra proportions. Perhaps it didn't really matter as much with early designs that couldn't quite make proper use of the folded state with far from borderless displays. Not that the Z Fold8 doesn't have pretty sizeable display borders as well, but the usability of the cover display is undeniable.
Yes, it's true, most of the modern online content does benefit from a taller display. You just scroll vertically most of the time to jump from post to post or further along in an article. However, there is something to be said about content scaling and display utilization. With its 10:16 aspect (or at least very close to that), the cover display is an all-around joy to use in pretty much every scenario. Social media looks great and in most cases spans a large portion of the display. 16:9 videos look great with minimal black bars. Reading is very pleasant, and the cover display is convenient to type on.
As for the main internal display, it is being marketed as 4:3 (though technically it is slightly off). We found that to be a perfectly-proportioned canvas for most activities as well. Your typical photo is 4:3, so that makes perfect sense. 16:9 video isn't half bad either. You would think that the Z Fold8 would lack usable space to properly "stretch and fit" a 16:9 video, but it's much better than the Z Fold8 Ultra as you can see from the photo.
Left:Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra * Right: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8
Beyond that, if you just happen to be a fan of, say, old anime or cartoons, 4:3 is kind of ideal. Reading, both comics and books, is pretty perfect too. And, while not as good as on the Ultra, there is enough space for two windows side by side for increased productivity. Gaming works surprisingly well too. Honestly the rather awkward camera viewfinder is probably the worst part.
The Z Fold8 is almost the same size as a passport, which is pretty standardized and the best proverbial "banana for reference" we can offer you right now. It is a very pocketable size.
Despite its different proportions, the Z Fold8 sticks surprisingly close to the overall design of the Z Fold family. That means flat sides and boxy corners, especially on the displays, which goes against modern design norms with aggressively curved corners.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8
The camera island design is also very "modern Samsung." It does look a bit weird with just two lenses on there, but it is definitely recognizable. All of the controls are exactly where you would expect them to be. The power button and volume rocker are well-positioned height-wise.
Just like on the Z Fold8 Ultra, Samsung opted for a side-mounted fingerprint reader. It is housed inside the power button. These capacitive readers have become really good at this point. This particular one is both snappy and accurate. We have no complaints with it.
The rest of the controls are pretty self-explanatory. Speaker positioning is the same as on the Z Fold8 Ultra. The two speakers sit on the same phone half, one on the top and the other on the bottom. This can be a bit awkward depending on how you hold the phone.
Samsung didn't skimp at all when it comes to construction and materials. The Z Fold8 is basically made in the exact same premium way as the Z Fold8 Ultra. You are looking at an Advanced Armor aluminum frame with a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back and a Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 3 protecting the cover display.
The inner display is technically still covered by plastic. That's just how modern foldable displays work. That said, Samsung does boast about its new and improved "Flex Titanium" technology. It actually refers to a combination of a few things. The flexible Titanium plate from last year that sits underneath the display was carried over, and there is now a second flexible titanium plate in the AMOLED panel itself. It should make it more resilient, especially to pressure and impact, and Samsung also claims it makes the whole assembly thinner somehow.
Samsung also claims that the new construction is meant to "reduce crease visibility". In all fairness, our regular Z Fold8 unit has a far less visible crease than our Z Fold8 Ultra. That doesn't, however, mean that the crease is totally gone. It is still there, although you stop noticing it even faster than on most other foldables.
Samsung also says it has refined the hinge by adjusting the display tension and magnetic force to make unfolding feel "smoother, lighter and more natural". The company calls this the Easy Open-and-Close Mechanism, and says it draws inspiration from the Galaxy Z TriFold.
Left:Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 * Right: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
Compared to earlier Samsung hinge designs, the initial few millimeters of travel require noticeably less effort, with the magnets releasing more easily and the hinge offering virtually no resistance. That said, despite the improved feel, opening the phone one-handed is still difficult and remains impractical for most cases.
The Galaxy Z Fold8 has an IP48 ingress protection rating, matching the Fold8 Ultra. That means it should technically be able to survive a dip in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes at a time. That's pretty much the best you can hope to get on a modern foldable.
Left:Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 * Right: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
We already mentioned this, but the Z Fold8 is quite easily pocketable. It measures 81.9 x 123.9 x 9.7 mm folded and 161.4 x 123.9 x 4.5 mm unfolded. That technically makes it notably thicker than the Z Fold8 Ultra, but the extra thickness is hardly noticeable in practice. If you have long enough fingers, grasping the phone closed with one hand and reaching pretty much every edge of the display is perfectly doable.
By the way, the cover display is anything but bezel-free. Samsung is certainly a step behind some competitors like Honor in this regard. It is hardly as bothersome on this shorter screen, but it is worth noting.
Finally, we would like to go through your options when it comes to colors. The Z Fold8 is available in the same "standard" Graphite and Cream as the rest of the 2026 Galaxy Z lineup. The hero color is called Lavender, and the Samsung.com exclusive color is Pistachio.
