Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Is What Foldable Phones Should Have Been All Along

If you go to a mobile shop and ask for Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold 8, you may be in for a surprise. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks nothing like Samsung's previous foldables. It is squarish, almost the size of a passport. If you know BlackBerry, you would immediately be reminded of the BlackBerry Passport.

Samsung's pitch is that this design has an aspect ratio that makes watching videos more immersive, scrolling through reels more enjoyable, and reading e-books more engaging. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 4:3 inner display, which gives it an entirely new form factor.

If we keep aside the confusion the shift in the nomenclature of Samsung's new foldables could cause customers, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a bold move that gives Samsung the first-mover advantage ahead of the rumoured reveal of the iPhone Ultra, which will reportedly look similar to the new Fold 8.

I used the phone very briefly before the announcement, and I can confirm that I was impressed. Samsung has put its years of expertise in making foldables into what looks like the future of foldable phones that are more convenient to use and carry.

The biggest advantage I could immediately feel was how handy this phone is compared to its bigger and more expensive sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which succeeds the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Strange nomenclature, but it also indicates that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is not the top-of-the-line foldable anymore.

That means a few trade-offs, such as the lack of a 200MP camera and a dedicated telephoto camera compared with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

If you look at the Fold 8 in isolation, it is a device with a relatively small screen, and that is nearly a trade-off. But the device unfolds easily with one hand, and you don't necessarily have to use the other hand to operate it. The wider screen allows your thumb to navigate across the display more freely, reducing the need to constantly adjust your grip or bring in your second hand.

Samsung says the phone uses an Armor Aluminum frame with a glass back, the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. What's reassuring is that it also shares its underlying construction with the Ultra, featuring the company's new Flex Titanium technology. Samsung claims this makes the hinge considerably stronger while making the crease even less visible.

During my brief time with the phone, the crease certainly appeared less distracting, but whether Samsung's durability claims stand the test of time will require long-term usage.

The 7.6-inch main display is Samsung's top-class Dynamic LTPO AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. My first impression is that the display looks amazing, and videos, depending on their aspect ratios, can look more immersive.

Whether you are sensitised to black bars and unused screen space will decide how much this form factor improves your experience with reels and videos. Either way, the unusual aspect ratio will require some getting used to.

The cover display also feels like a novelty because of its shape, although the benefits Samsung is pitching for the larger inner screen don't necessarily translate here.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip should offer flagship-level performance, but whether this unusual aspect ratio will appeal to gamers remains to be seen. Games will need to be properly optimised to take advantage of the available screen space. Typing on either display can also leave less room for content above the keyboard, although One UI allows you to adjust the keyboard's height to make better use of the screen.

The main display retains the same multitasking capabilities that have made Samsung's foldables useful for productivity. Running multiple apps simultaneously remains one of the biggest reasons to own a foldable, and One UI 9, based on Android 17, brings further improvements to the experience.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 packs a 4800mAh battery, which should ideally last an entire day, although I have yet to test this properly. The upgrade to 45W fast charging is a welcome relief, especially considering how conservative Samsung has traditionally been with charging speeds on its foldables.

The camera setup is another area where Samsung has drawn a clear line between the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra. The 50MP main and 50MP ultrawide cameras are expected to well-detailed photos, but the absence of a dedicated telephoto camera could sting some buyers, particularly on a phone that still costs considerably more than a conventional flagship.

At ₹1,79,999, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is certainly not affordable. But my brief time with the phone left me intrigued by what Samsung is attempting here.

Instead of simply making another thinner and lighter version of its existing Fold, Samsung has fundamentally changed the shape of the device. The result is a foldable that feels more compact and convenient to carry while still giving you a large screen when you need it.

Whether the unusual aspect ratio turns out to be genuinely useful or merely different will require more time with the phone. But if this is indeed where the foldable industry is headed, Samsung has managed to get there first.

I will be back with a full review soon.