Reviewers said the Z Fold 8 crease was dead. 7 days later, my screen proves otherwise

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 — (Image credit: Future)

A few days ago, I wrote that the Galaxy Z Fold 8's crease practically disappeared in daily use. Samsung's new titanium alloy film and reinforced back plate seemed to have solved the foldable world's biggest annoyance. I was impressed.

But that was day 1. Welcome to day 7.

I thought I was gaslighting myself into seeing more of a crease in my day-to-day (and in the photos from our review). But I'm not going crazy — after seeing validation on X/Twitter, turns out wear and tear does catch up to this thing.

The 7-day reality check

A week of daily driving, big-screen use in between sets at the gym, web browsing and TikTok scrolling has taken its toll. Folding a screen, no matter how creaseless, will make a crease after 168 hours.

So what happened? From my years of testing all kinds of foldable displays, one thing has always become clear: nobody can defeat the law of physics.

When you first pull the Z Fold 8 out of the box, the ultra-thin glass and additional protective layers are fresh, pulling completely taut across the hinge. But after a week of real-world use — folding and unfolding it a hundred times a day, letting the device heat up during intense multitasking and stuffing it into tight pockets — I believe those display layers undergo mechanical fatigue.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 shown open on a stone bench — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Engineers call it "plastic deformation." The continuous stress of bowing into the hinge's teardrop cavity, combined with the heat of the device, causes the materials to lose their factory-fresh tension. They slowly begin to settle into the mechanical trench underneath the display.

That titanium alloy film and back plate may be stronger, but that screen still has to obey the mechanical reality of being folded in half. And the result is that by the end of week one, that invisible crease will settle into a visible rut.

I've seen this happen to every foldable — be it the Honor Magic V6, Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold or Motorola Razr Ultra.

How bad is it actually?

Galaxy Z Fold 8 shown held in-hand — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

In short: it's not.

Let me be completely clear here. This is not a bad phone because of a display crease. In fact, this passport-size form factor won me over compared to the taller options — being much more pocketable and a better aspect ratio for content consumption.

That being said, a lot of journalists have been quick to describe the display as being "virtually crease-free" (even though Samsung never said that itself). So let's go deeper on this reality check.

The feel of it remains unchanged both before and after the trench deepened. You can subtly feel it with your finger whether the display tension is there or not. So this is definitely just a visual thing you'll notice when the screen catches a glare.

And speaking of the glare, while that anti-reflective coating is great, I feel it almost highlights the crease more when held against a harsh light source (like a sunlit window) because the distortion in the reflection becomes more obvious.

The $1,899 question

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 in hand — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Now, is this a dealbreaker? If you're paying nearly $2,000 for a premium device, it's fair to expect premium longevity. However, I'll go out on a limb and say it's not as big of a problem as you think.

The Z Fold 8 is still a fantastic foldable with a form factor that I love. And to Samsung's credit, the crease is definitely less noticeable now than it's been on the company's previous phones. But with the "crease-free" word on the street, it's only fair that I make it clear that this is a temporary illusion, not a permanent feature.

That being said, I'm just one person spouting my thoughts. I'd love to know what you think. Let me know below — are you planning to pick up the Z Fold 8?

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Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a Managing Editor of Computing at Tom's Guide. He has previously written for Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you'll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn't already.