I have been harping on Samsung for a long time. I feel like the company regularly scrapes by with the bare minimum in changes or upgrades, but because of its power in the market, it still manages to charge premium prices for its devices. Finally, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 smartphone, the company is beginning to innovate in meaningful ways. I haven’t seen them take a leap like this since their original (or the tri-fold, but that isn’t coming to our market), and I really like what I am seeing.
This summer’s Galaxy Unpacked unveiled not one, but two Z Folds: the Z Fold8 and the Z Fold8 Ultra. While the Ultra packs a punch with its better cameras and a slightly better battery, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 brings an entirely new form factor that is shockingly excellent. The Z Fold8 measures in at 123.9 x 81.9 x 9.7 mm folded with a 5.5″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, and 123.9 x 161.4 x 4.5 mm unfolded with a 7.6″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, weighing 201g.
This compares to the Z Fold8 Ultra’s 72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9 mm folded, with a 6.5” Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and 143.2 x 158.4 x 4.1 mm unfolded, with an 8” Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, weighing 215g. These measurements are similar to traditional book-style foldables, like last year’s Z Fold7 or the motorola razr fold.
Clearly, things are a little different with the Z Fold8, and I will be honest, I really wasn’t sure how to feel. Looking at the leaks ahead of Unpacked, I thought Samsung was making another very strange foldable choice. After years of doing next to nothing innovative in its design, suddenly they were going too far in the other direction. I am happy to report, however, that I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Finally, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 smartphone, the company is beginning to innovate in meaningful ways.”
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Smartphone changed the way I look at foldables. This thing has been incredibly comfortable to use, and I genuinely love the form factor. I thought it would be too wide in one hand, especially for someone my size, but it actually feels a lot more comfortable, like the weight is distributed better. It doesn’t hurt being 14g lighter, too. I will note that there are occasions where I can’t just one-hand it, especially with where Samsung puts its voice-to-text button now, but most of the time it was fine.
The 10:16 folded form factor resembles something like a BlackBerry, and even reminds me of it when I open the keyboard. Unfortunately, in this mode, the keyboard takes up a bit too much real estate, leaving a lot less space for actually reading your messages. I noticed the Samsung keyboard is a lot bigger, as when I switched back to another foldable, I was making typos left and right. Aside from that, it was my favourite way to use a smartphone. Compact and incredibly comfortable.
The 4:3 unfolded form factor works double time for me. It is meant to be great for streaming things like Netflix or YouTube or gaming horizontally, but when I used it vertically for things like TikTok or Pokémon GO, it felt like the perfect fit. Often with the longer-style foldables, things just don’t fit right; they get cut off, etc., but every app I used felt really well programmed for this size, likely because of its likeness to a standard tablet.
The form factor does have some downsides, but they would mostly be personal. As I mentioned, I can’t reach across the wider screen with one hand. You also will have a hard time with accessories. Magnetic chargers sit much too low on the device, and any rectangular wallets or stands won’t fit right. Not a make-or-break issue at all, but something to consider. I do have a stockpile of magnetic chargers.
With that, as is standard with Samsung devices, fast charging feels a bit behind where it should be. I am not surprised at the 4800 mAh battery; Samsung rarely reaches for the stars when it comes to battery size. With that comes 45W wired, 20W wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. Many devices out there are surpassing this, including the S26 Ultra, and for a phone with such a high cost, I would expect to make fewer compromises. With that, I was able to charge the device about 60% in an hour.
With that, something Samsung has really mastered is its battery optimization. I was rarely going to bed below 40%, and those were some pretty heavy-use days across pictures, videos, texting, scrolling and more—yes, even with the extra screen real estate. In battery testing, I was losing about 5% every 30 minutes while playing Fortnite on high settings and full brightness. While streaming Netflix, it was 5% per hour. I am a nighttime charger, so I was almost never looking for a charger, outside of my own paranoia.
“The form factor of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 smartphone is what makes gaming truly great, though.”
Something I didn’t expect to love so much on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 was gaming. The Z Fold8 held a solid 60 FPS at high settings in Fortnite, where the base S26 I tested last month struggled hard. It was a nice surprise, since this isn’t the Ultra model of the Fold. I will note that things do get warm, but even with only 12GB of RAM compared to some other devices like the new Pixel 11 Pro Fold, the device held up well.
The form factor of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 smartphone is what makes gaming truly great, though. It just feels right. Stardew Valley filled the screen and looked excellent, and Pokémon GO was a perfect fit. It was even more comfortable to hold, since the screen is wider rather than tall. Its better ergonomics, really.
Cameras are where you are going to see the biggest sacrifice on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8. I have yet to have a Samsung review where I don’t complain about the selfie cams, and somehow with the Z Fold8 they managed to make it worse. Dropping down from last year’s 12MP, both the folded and unfolded selfie cams are 10 MP cameras. This is fine. But in 2026, I expect better than fine, especially for the prices Samsung charges. Luckily, Samsung is ahead of many in its image processing to make up the difference.
The rear cameras are also good enough for most people, though creators may want to think twice. On the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, we have a 50MP wide lens and a 50MP ultrawide lens; that’s it. No telephoto lens. 50MP cameras are more than sufficient for everyday life. Photos of my kids, pets, scenery and more were vibrant, clear, and pretty true-to-life. Even low-light photos were pretty decent overall. Even nighttime shots managed to show off some beautiful colour.
However, I did see the phone struggle a bit when I wanted to take a picture of something further away. Trying to take photos at Canada’s Wonderland, the Z Fold8 struggled to keep things in focus while zooming. This was even worse at night, obviously, but if you’re looking to snap a lot of scenery, etc., this might not be the way for you. You may be better off with the 200MP lens on the Z Fold8 Ultra. There were also notable quality differences compared to the S26 Ultra, where the Z Fold8 struggled with lighting, and the S26 Ultra clearly did not.
And the biggest pill to swallow: the price. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 starts at $1899 USD/$2400 CAD for the 256GB model, which I reviewed. This number climbs to over $3200 CAD if you want 1 TB of storage. That is insane to me. But if you have disposable income, you might consider it. If you are already splurging over $1900 for the Z Fold8, depending on your needs and preferences, it may be a better idea to fork out the extra $200-$300 and upgrade to the Ultra.
Unless you are in love with this form factor—which I am—the Z Fold8 Ultra is the better device on paper. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 is doing something that others have tried before, and doing it better with its passport-style design. They do it in a way that just makes sense, and for someone who uses a lot of foldables, it is going to be very hard to move back to the taller designs. That said, this unique design comes at the expense of better cameras and a better battery, so you need to be sure you love it.
- SHOP NOW: Get an Amazon gift card when you order Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8. You will receive an email once your gift card is available after the product has shipped. Available until 8/23.
- CREATED FOR YOUR CONTENT: Any way you turn it, the new Galaxy Z Fold8 gives you a fuller viewing experience. Designed with your content in mind, this foldable phone is the perfect size to make your movies, books and more incredibly immersive.
