Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 quick review: The new entry

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 is a new entry in the company's foldable portfolio. The device joins Samsung's expanding range of foldables with a familiar design, a dual-display setup and Qualcomm's latest flagship processor. The overall design will be familiar to anyone who has used a Samsung foldable before.

During the Galaxy Unpacked 2026, Samsung unveiled all the three foldables: Galaxy Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8. But, the key headline was the new entry. We spent a few hours with the Galaxy Fold 8 and here is our first impression.

Design and display

The Galaxy Fold 8 retains Samsung's established design language with flat edges, a vertically arranged dual-camera system and a hinge bearing Samsung branding. The only effective change of the design is the ratio of the phone.

Samsung says the Fold 8 weighs 201g, making it the lightest foldable in its portfolio. During the hands-on session, the lower weight made the device feel less cumbersome than earlier Fold models, particularly when used with one hand.

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The company has also made changes to how the dual-display setup is intended to be used. The outer display functions much like a conventional smartphone screen, making it suitable for routine tasks such as messaging, checking notifications, browsing social media or watching short videos without opening the device.

Unfolding the phone reveals a larger inner display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The additional screen space is better suited to multitasking, gaming and watching videos, while running two or more apps side by side feels more practical than on a standard smartphone.

In landscape orientation, the wider display also offers more room for reading articles, viewing documents and browsing e-books. The larger screen reduces the need for frequent scrolling and provides a different viewing experience depending on how the device is being used.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8

Samsung also says the Fold 8 features the brightest display on any of its foldable smartphones to date. During the indoor demonstration, the display appeared bright with good colour reproduction, although its visibility under direct sunlight remains to be tested. Samsung has also confirmed that the Fold 8 uses the same display technology as the Fold 8 Ultra.

As for the specs, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 features 7.8-inch AMOLED inner display and 5.5-inch outer display.

Processor and battery

The Galaxy Fold 8 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. The company claims that the phone is designed to multitask and perform other tasks smoothly. We will verify the claim in our detailed review.

The phone houses a 4,800mAh battery with support for 45W charging. Battery life and charging performance could not be evaluated during the limited time with the device and will require longer testing.

Camera

The Fold 8 features a 50-megapixel primary camera paired with a 50-megapixel wide- angle sensor. On the inner display, 10-megapixel selfie camera.

Alongside the camera hardware, Samsung has introduced several AI-powered photography and video tools.

One of them is My Fan Cam, which allows users to crop recorded videos into different aspect ratios after capture using AI. The feature is intended to make it easier to prepare the same video for different formats, although its impact on image quality remains to be seen.

It is also too early to comment on the overall camera performance, including low-light photography, dynamic range and video quality, based on a short hands-on session.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 first impression

The Galaxy Fold 8 retains much of what is already familiar about Samsung's book-style foldables while introducing a lighter design and a few functional updates. The revised size and display setup remain central to the overall experience, offering different ways to use the device depending on whether it is folded or unfolded.

A brief hands-on session is not enough to assess the phone's overall performance, battery life or camera capabilities, and those aspects will require more extensive testing. However, the more compact form factor is immediately evident and could appeal to users who want a book-style foldable without moving to Samsung's larger Fold 8 Ultra. A full review will determine whether the hardware and software changes translate into a better day-to-day experience.