GSMCritic Take:
With its passport-shaped foldable design, bright 120Hz AMOLED displays, and long-lasting battery, this phone makes everyday use feel surprisingly natural for a foldable, though pushing its flagship hardware for extended periods can lead to heat buildup and throttling.
Screen:
7.6"
Weight:
201g
Waterproof
Charging:
45W
Optical Zoom:
None
Thickness:
9.7mm
Screen covers
88.9% of body
Reviews
Overall rating and the reviews that impact it
88
GSMCritic Score
Very Good
Pros
Camera
Video Capabilities: The phone offers extensive video capabilities.
Reliable Main Cameras: The camera system produces pleasing photos in most situations.
Autofocus Ultrawide Camera: The autofocus ultrawide camera performs well.
Performance
Flagship Performance: The phone delivers flagship-class responsiveness, fluid multitasking, and enough power for demanding productivity workloads.
Phone Appearance
Wider Foldable Design: The noticeably wider passport-style design makes both the outer and inner displays far more practical and natural to use in daily tasks.
Lightweight Build: The device remains impressively lightweight and easy to carry despite its larger footprint.
Titanium-Enhanced Construction: The premium titanium-enhanced construction provides a reassuringly solid feel without adding unnecessary bulk.
Flexible Selfies: The foldable design provides particularly flexible selfie options.
IP48 Rating: The device offers IP48 ingress protection.
Display
Reduced Display Crease: Updated hinge and display engineering dramatically reduce the visibility and feel of the crease during everyday use.
Bright AMOLED Displays: Both AMOLED panels are exceptionally bright, support adaptive 120Hz refresh rates, and include an effective anti-reflective coating for excellent outdoor visibility.
Improved Inner Display: The inner display's improved aspect ratio provides a more enjoyable experience for multimedia consumption.
Battery
Excellent Battery Life: The silicon-carbon battery comfortably lasts through a full day and often well beyond that.
Faster Charging: Faster wired and wireless charging provide a welcome improvement over earlier models.
Software
AI Features: Samsung includes practical AI tools such as Now Nudge and My FanCam.
Advanced Multitasking: The software includes mature multitasking features and DeX support.
Long Software Support: Samsung promises seven major Android version upgrades.
Cons
Camera
No Telephoto Camera: The absence of a dedicated telephoto lens limits zoom photography and reduces camera versatility.
Performance
Thermal Throttling: Under sustained heavy use the chipset becomes noticeably warm, especially while folded, causing display brightness reduction and aggressive throttling.
Phone Appearance
Fingerprint-Prone Inner Display: The flexible display attracts fingerprint smudges much more easily than conventional glass screens.
Price
Conservative Camera Hardware: The camera hardware feels conservative considering the premium price.
Premium Price: The phone carries a premium asking price.
Software
Incomplete App Optimization: Some Android applications still fail to properly adapt between the cover and inner displays or fully utilize the wider layout.
Average Image Quality: Overall image quality remains closer to good than truly exceptional.
No Built-In Qi2 Magnets: Integrated magnets for Qi2 accessories are absent, requiring a compatible case for magnetic accessories.
Audio
Average Speakers: Speaker performance is serviceable but offers only average loudness and less convincing stereo separation when unfolded in landscape orientation.
Other
Limited Dust Resistance: Although rated IP48, the device lacks full dust resistance, leaving fine particles as a concern for the folding mechanism.
No S Pen Support: The phone omits S Pen compatibility.
No Flex View: The device does not support Flex View functionality.
Rankings
Where Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 stands in 2026
Best Phone Of 2026
#12
Largest Screen
#6
Smallest Screen
#34
Lightest
#14
Thinnest
#37
Fastest Charging
#30
Highest Screen Ratio
#33
Cheapest
#37
