Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review finds wider design makes its case

Samsung’s latest foldable gets a strong but qualified endorsement in a Galaxy Z Fold 8 review from The Verge, which says the phone’s shorter, wider shape may point to where foldables are headed. The review matters because Samsung is treating the design as the new default for its book-style foldables, not a side experiment.

The Verge’s Dominic Preston wrote that the Z Fold 8 initially looks unusual, but felt comfortable and normal after a week of use. He described it as the shortest and widest phone he could remember using, while still saying the closed phone was unexpectedly comfortable in the hand.

Samsung priced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at $1,899, according to The Verge’s review and product listing information included with it. The site gave the phone a score of 8, citing strong battery life, low weight for the Fold line and a more useful inner screen among its strengths.

Is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 worth it?

The Verge’s review presents the Z Fold 8 as a convincing foldable for people who want to use the inner display more often, especially for reading and video. Its drawbacks are meaningful at the price: Preston said the move from three rear cameras on last year’s model to two on this year’s phone feels like a downgrade, and the phone lacks a telephoto camera.

The review also notes that the Z Fold 8 still does not have an IP68 rating. IP68 is a common durability rating used to describe resistance to dust and water, so its absence remains a limitation for a premium device.

Preston said app problems with the outer display do occur, though he described them as rare. The issue stems from the phone’s short outside screen, which some apps do not handle cleanly.

What changed with the Fold 8 design?

The biggest change highlighted by The Verge is the phone’s proportions. Samsung gave the Fold 8 a squat, wide body and a 4:3 inner display, a ratio that Preston said works better for both reading and watching video than earlier Fold models.

A 4:3 screen is four units wide for every three units tall, giving it a more tablet-like canvas than a tall phone display. The Verge said that layout led Preston to use the Z Fold 8 as a foldable more often than he had with previous models.

The review places Samsung’s move in a broader foldable-phone race. Preston wrote that Huawei arrived at a similar shape earlier with the Pura X Max, while rumors widely predict Apple’s first foldable iPhone will use a comparable squat design and could launch in September.

The Verge cautioned that the direction of the foldable market will be clearer once Apple enters it. For now, its review says Samsung has made a solid case that the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s shorter, wider format deserves to remain part of the foldable-phone field.

This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.