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Samsung’s foldable lineup is ambitious lately, from last year’s super-slim Galaxy Z Fold 7 to the sprawling Galaxy Z TriFold. But the phone I’m most excited about using is the new passport-sized Galaxy Z Fold 8.
With a 4:3 aspect ratio and a satisfyingly compact build, the Z Fold 8 feels refreshingly different from most phones sold today. Unfolded, it’s well-suited for watching horizontal videos and multitasking in landscape mode, while also giving vertically oriented apps more room to breathe in portrait orientation. The 5.5-inch cover display is comfortable for everyday tasks like texting or checking email, while the 7.6-inch inner display is more versatile for scrolling or binging without feeling oversized.
One element that isn’t small is the price; the Z Fold 8 starts at $1,900. It comes with two 50-megapixel rear cameras (no telephoto camera here) and a 4,800-mAh battery with support for 45-watt wired and 20-watt wireless charging.
I’ve been using the Z Fold 8 following Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in London, and will be sharing my first impressions here over the next couple of days. Stay tuned for my full review, but for now, here’s what stands out to me about using Samsung’s reimagined book-style phone. (And fear not: The Z Fold 7‘s design, which won a CNET Editors’ Choice Award, lives on in the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.)
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available for preorder, and hits shelves on Aug. 7.
I love how when the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is open, gallery images fill the screen, whether taken vertically or horizontally. In portrait orientation, you get the benefit of viewing images in a similar yet larger format than you would on a standard bar-style phone.
One aspect I’m pleasantly surprised about is how the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s 5.5-inch cover display doesn’t feel too small to use, even though I have bigger hands. Typing doesn’t feel cramped, though the keyboard dominates much of the screen, so I see less of a document or message.
I admittedly did struggle a bit with texting while lying in bed last night. When the phone is closed, there’s less room to grip the Z Fold 8 and keep it from falling on my face, but I thankfully managed to avoid that outcome.
I’m not sure if I’ll reach a point where I’ll just want a “normal-sized” cover screen again, like there is on the Z Fold 8 Ultra. But for now, the Z Fold 8’s is working just fine.
The Z Fold 8 has Samsung’s new Flex Titanium display, which is thinner and more durable than previous Galaxy Fold displays.
Flex Titanium also allows the Z Fold 8 to have a more minimal crease, which really is hard to notice when using the phone. Here’s a comparison with the Z Fold 7’s crease when both screens are off.
I learned all about Flex Titanium and how Samsung tests the durability of its foldable displays during a rare visit to its facilities in Korea, which you can read about here.
One big way Samsung has improved the Z Fold 8 Ultra is by reducing the crease, as seen in this comparison with last year’s Z Fold 7.
Samsung
Even if you have last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Z Fold 8 has a completely reimagined design. It has a 4:3 aspect ratio when open and 16:10 when closed. That gives it a totally different feel from the Z Fold 7 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, which have a taller, 21:9 cover screen aspect ratio.
So if you’re in the market for something fresh, it could be worth waiting for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to drop on Aug. 7. If you have $1,900 ready to spend, that is.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,900. That makes it $200 less than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which maintains the taller 21:9 cover screen aspect ratio of last year’s Z Fold 7.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETThe Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available for preorder now, and will be available Aug. 7. Samsung’s other new foldable phones, the Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8, also launch that day.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETThis is a question I’ll have to answer more thoroughly once I’ve fully reviewed the phone, but so far, the Z Fold 8 has been enjoyable to use, largely because of its size and versatility. I’m currently typing this response in the car while holding the phone open in landscape orientation, with my laptop securely in the trunk. Having a larger screen that can fold up is handy for on-the-go work, or something more fun like watching videos.
But my favorite aspect of the Z Fold 8 so far is turning it to portrait orientation and scrolling on social platforms like Instagram or reading a document. It feels like a much more natural way to navigate the vertical apps and watch the videos that dominate our phones today.
The Z Fold 8’s camera is one aspect I’ve been most curious about. The lack of a telephoto lens is a downside, but so far, as I’ve roamed around London snapping photos, the 50-megapixel wide and ultrawide cameras have carried their weight. I’ll follow up with my final camera thoughts in my full review.
When the Z Fold 8 is open in landscape orientation, the split-screen interface can obscure some app features. For instance, when Instagram is open in the top half of the screen and the gallery is at the bottom, I can’t access the Instagram like button because it’s hidden off-screen.
The more cramped configuration isn’t helped much in portrait orientation, as the like button is still nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, I can still double-tap to like an Instagram post. But clearly, some corners have to be cut to allow multiple apps to run in a tighter configuration.
I’m not too bummed about this caveat, since the more natural way to multitask on the Z Fold 8 is by placing apps side by side, not one on top of the other. I haven’t had any issues placing apps next to each other that way.
The funny thing about using last year’s Z Fold 7 is that its 6.5-inch cover screen was so practical, I hardly used the 8-inch main display unless I was watching a movie. The cover screen made it easy to do everything I’d normally do on a standard slab phone, so I hardly felt the need to opt for the larger inside display.
So far, I’ve had a different experience with the Z Fold 8. I’ve found myself unfolding the phone more often for everyday tasks like scrolling through Instagram, checking Google Maps and texting. Part of that could be chalked up to the novelty of this phone – I can’t stop opening and closing it because it’s just so satisfying. So we’ll see if that habit continues, or if I end up relying more on the cover screen over time.
Typing on the Z Fold 8’s 5.5-inch cover screen is easy, but it can feel like a bit of a stretch (literally) when I type on the 7.6-inch main display in landscape mode. I have bigger hands and like the way the phone feels overall, but it takes a bit of effort to reach every part of the keypad, even in this slightly sized-down book-style fold. (By contrast, the Z Fold 8 Ultra’s main screen measures 8 inches.)
Turning the phone to portrait orientation solves that problem. The keyboard is perfectly sized for typing in that position, while also giving more headroom for content above the keyboard so it’s easier to see more of my documents, texts or social media posts.
The Z Fold 8 is the lightest Galaxy Fold device, clocking in at 201 grams. It’s not much thicker than the super-thin Z Fold 8 Ultra, measuring 4.5mm when open and 9.7mm when closed. It’s also hardly thicker than a regular phone like the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which measures 8.75 mm.
The Z Fold 8’s squarish design allows it to sit snugly in my palm, giving it a feel like a little pocket notebook. I can’t help feeling like a fictional detective jotting down a note or checking a map when I pull out this phone.
The fun begins. I was thrilled to get the Z Fold 8 in lavender, which is a much more eye-catching hue than cream (white) and graphite (blackish silver). There’s also an online exclusive light green shade called pistachio, which is my second favorite option. More color is always the answer!
I got to spend some time with the Z Fold 8 in London ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event. With a fresh, passport-sized design, the “wide” Fold is optimized for both horizontal and vertical media. It’s also incredibly fun to use. Take a look:
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