I went hands-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — wide, weird and I want it

It’s wide. It’s kinda weird. And I want one.

Samsung is giving us two book-style foldable phones in 2026, but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the one I’d prefer to carry. And that’s because it has a completely different look than every foldable the company has given us over the past 7 years.

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You get a super compact and light design that’s nearly identical to a passport with super wide front and main displays. This is a foldable that’s tailor-made for consuming content.

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The Fold 8 also has many of the same innovations inside the pricier Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, including Flex Titanium for minimizing the crease, a high capacity silicon carbon battery and an anti-glare coating.

You have to make some trade-offs for the $1,899 price, including no telephoto zoom and the lack of a Flex mode. But I can see a lot of people gravitating towards the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Here’s my hands-on impressions so far.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Release date and price

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a release date of August 7th and pre-orders are available today, July 22..

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899/£1,699 for 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. We will update this hands-on once we have pricing for the 512GB model and the 1TB version with 16GB of RAM.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Design and durability

The first time I put the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in my hand I loved it. And it starts with just how light this thing is. Weighing just 201 grams (7.1 ounces), this is the lightest book-style foldable phone ever. And the Z Fold 7 was already pretty frickin’ light at 215 grams (7.5 ounces), the same weight as the new Fold 8 Ultra.

The next thing I noticed was just how wide the front display is. It feels much less cramped than the Z Fold 8 Ultra. When you do open to the main 7.6-inch screen you’ll appreciate that the black bars are minimized above and below the display.

Another plus is that Samsung precisely engineered the side frame to make this foldable easier to open than the Fold 7, thanks to new grooves that have been machined into the edges.

Hate the crease? Samsung has dramatically reduced it thanks to new Flex Titanium technology. And yet the Fold 8 is tested to withstand up to 500,000 folds, which I saw first hand in Korea ahead of launch.

The IP48 rating on the Fold 8 means you get water resistance but no dust resistance, which is a shame because this is a phone I’d like to use for beach reading.

The 10MP camera punchout on the main display continues to be a bit of an eyesore, so those hoping for the return of an under-display camera (UDC) will be disappointed. And don’t expect S Pen support either, which would have been nice on such a wide canvas.

Measuring 161.4 x 123.9 x 4.5mm (6.35 x 4.88 x 0.18 inches) unfolded and 123.9 x 81.9 and 9.7mm (4.88 × 3.22 inches x 0.38 inches) folded, the Z Fold 8 isn’t quite as slim as the Fold 8 Ultra (4.1mm) but this is definitely not a bulky handset.

To me the standout Fold 8 color is Lavender, but you can also pick from Graphite and Cream and there’s a Pistachio option online only.

To be clear, Samsung is not the first to launch a wide book-style foldable. Huawei already has the Pura X Max with 5.4- and 7.7-inch displays. But it’s heavier and thicker than the Fold 8 and not available in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Displays

The front display on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 measures 5.5 inches, which seems small, but its wide 10:16 aspect ratio makes it easy on the eyes, whether you’re scrolling TikTok or typing with two hands.

The main 7.6-inch display has a 4:3 aspect ratio that’s better suited for watching video than the square 8-inch panel on the Fold. The black bars are there, but they’re less noticeable. Flip the Fold 8 around and you get a 3:4 aspect ratio that’s great for browsing the web or reading ebooks.

I just wish the keyboard didn’t take up so much of the screen when you’re typing.

Samsung has boosted the brightness on the Z Fold 8’s main display to a whopping 3,000 nits, which is the brightest on any Samsung phone and a pretty big leap from the 2,600 nits on the Fold 7. During my hands-on time, I actually had to turn the brightness down a bit to capture the screen best for video.

It gets better. Samsung has also applied an anti-glare coating to the main display, so it should be much easier to use outdoors in direct sunlight.

Unfortunately, Samsung did not find a way to add the Privacy Display from the Galaxy S26 Ultra series, which has been great for keeping prying eyes away.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Cameras

There’s no getting around it. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 features just two rear cameras: a 50MP main shooter and a 50MP ultrawide. And that means you don’t get a telephoto zoom like the 3x optical on the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Provided you can live without that third lens, you should be pretty happy with the photo quality from this foldable. Samsung in particular has focused on better Nightography performance for photos and videos, and I tried it out during a demo. The images I took looked brighter than through the Z Fold 7, but I wouldn't say the detail was better.

Another upgrade is dual recording. You can record video using both the front and rear cameras at the same time, allowing you to preview the results on the main and cover displays. And with this split-screen look you can have some fun with it in real time.

The coolest video feature is powered by AI. Called My FanCam, you can select a subject in your video and the Fold 8 will automatically edit the footage so that it “follows” that person in the frame throughout the clip. I tried it and it works well.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: AI Features and Software

My favorite Galaxy Z Fold 8 AI feature makes perfect sense for a foldable. The improved Now Nudge feature will recommend that you open a related app and when you act on the tip it will automatically open in a split view window.

Say you get a message asking about dinner for a particular day. A Calendar icon will pop up right in the Messages app. This is multitasking done right, and it works for other things like browsing a location, sending an email or saving a place. Now Nudges will also appear within notifications, which saves time.

Samsung has also worked to optimize Gemini automation for its foldables. So if you go to book a vacation using Expedia and have Gemini do most of the work for you, the work will appear in a pop-up window. And you can dive in at any time or just wait until it’s time to pull the trigger on the reservation and take over.

There’s some things I think could be better with the software experience. For example, if you’re browsing TikTok and click on Comments, it takes over most of the screen and it’s hard to see the content. It would be better if the video shifted to the left and the comments were on the right. I’d like to see Samsung work with Google and developers to better optimize apps for the Fold 8’s ultra-wide screen.

If you liked Flex Mode on previous Samsung foldables, you won’t find it here. So if you like the idea of using your phone like a mini laptop with the main app area up top and controls down below — which has come in handy for me when making Google Meet calls — you’ll want to pick the Fold 8 Ultra instead.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Performance

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip and is paired with 12GB of RAM for the starting configuration with 256GB of storage and the 512GB model. If you want 16GB of RAM, you’ll have to step up to the 1TB version.

We have not yet tested this chip inside the Fold 8 but it delivered remarkably good performance inside the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It beat the iPhone 17 Pro Max on the Geekbench multi-core test, as well as the 3DMark Solar Bay Unlimited Graphics Test.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Battery and charging

It’s been a long time coming, but Samsung has finally embraced silicon carbon technology for the Fold 8. And that allows this phone to pack a pretty beefy 4,800 mAh of capacity despite having a more compact design than the 4,400 mAh Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Fold 8 Ultra goes all the way up to 5,000 mAh using the same tech.

The charging on the Z Fold 8 also gets an upgrade. Wired charging is now 45W, up from 25W on the Fold 8. That means you should get to 69% in 30 minutes.

The wireless charging gets a boost, too, going from 15W on the Fold 7 to 20W on the Fold 8. Just don’t expect MagSafe-like magnets on this design. You’ll still need a case to enjoy that perk, which is a bummer.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Early reaction

I really need to live with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to see if my initial infatuation lasts, but right now it’s my favorite foldable design yet. I really like the wide front and main displays, as well as just how light this thing is.

Other perks include a greatly reduced crease, a brighter main screen and a pretty beefy battery. And while I’m getting kind of sick of AI features, I can see myself using things like Now Nudge and My FanCam.

I wish I didn’t have to sacrifice a telephoto zoom but overall I feel like Samsung made the right trade-offs to deliver a big-screen foldable in a very pocket-friendly design.

Samsung Galaxy Z fold 8 pre-orders open up today, with general release scheduled for August 7. Prices start at from $1,899 / £1,699 / AU$2,699.