Galaxy Z Fold 8: Samsung Rebuilds the Foldable – and Removes Features

On 22 July in London, Samsung unveiled the eighth generation of its foldables: Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra and Flip 8, on sale from 7 August. What makes it interesting is less what has been added – and more what Samsung left out, and what the price says about the market.

Key takeaways

• German launch prices started at €1,999 for the Fold 8 and €2,199 for the Fold 8 Ultra.
• It is not a direct successor to the Fold 7 but a new format: shorter, wider, built for reading and watching.
• Telephoto and Flex mode have been cut – deliberate decisions in favour of price, weight and form factor.
• At 201 grams it is Samsung’s lightest book-style foldable; the battery grows to 4,800 mAh thanks to silicon-carbon technology.

The new format: wider instead of longer

The most visible change is the geometry. Closed, the Fold 8 measures 5.5 inches at a 16:10 ratio; opened it becomes 7.6 inches at 4:3 – closer to a square than before. Samsung is moving away from the long, narrow cover display that characterised early Folds and that many found uncomfortably slim.

The result is a device that works like a normal, slightly wide phone when closed and, when opened, more like a small reading tablet than a multitasking tool. Samsung says as much: the audience is people who consume content – and first-time buyers who were previously put off by the form factor.

The technical side: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, two 50-megapixel cameras, 4,800 mAh with 45-watt charging, 201 grams. The crease down the middle is all but gone thanks to Samsung’s “Flex Titanium” – though after the first hands-ons, reviewers agree that the crease-free display still has a crease. It is smaller, not absent. Samsung’s Fold 8 specifications.

What is missing – and why that is more honest than it sounds

Two omissions stand out. There is no telephoto lens, and Flex mode is gone – the half-open state in which the device acts as its own tripod for video calls or self-timer photos.

Neither is a quiet cost cut; both follow from the positioning. A device meant primarily for reading and watching needs less camera acrobatics and fewer propping angles. If you use those features, you are simply not the target audience – the Ultra or the previous generation remains your option.

It is remarkable nonetheless. The foldable narrative of recent years has always been about more: more surface, more modes, more possibilities. The Fold 8 is the first to actively take features away in order to be a clearer device. Whether that counts as focus or as a step backwards is decided by your own daily use, not by the spec sheet.

The price tells a bigger story

At launch in Germany the Fold 8 sat between a conventional flagship and the more expensive Ultra. Compare today’s prices for the same storage capacity; a current offer is more useful than July’s recommended price.

The second comparison is personal: does the phone actually replace a small tablet when you travel? If you mostly use the outer screen, you pay for the hinge without getting much use from the larger display.

For the buying decision that means: do not wait for prices to fall, work out whether the device carries its cost now. And include the second-hand market in that calculation, which for premium devices has become dependable – why that is often the better decision is covered in our article on buying refurbished instead of new.

Who it pays off for

The honest answer is unspectacular: it depends on what you actually do with the device each day.

It pays off if you regularly read long documents on the move, check spreadsheets, proofread or need two apps side by side. In those cases the unfolded surface replaces the tablet that would otherwise have to come along. If you drop a tablet from your bag, the maths changes.

It does not pay off if your phone mainly handles messages, calls, navigation and photos. Then you pay roughly twice the price of a very good conventional smartphone for an advantage you rarely call on – and accept a more delicate device in return.

If you plan to keep a foldable for four years, find out what an inner-screen replacement costs and whether accidental hinge damage is covered. See our guide to the right to repair.

The bottom line

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the most interesting foldable of this cycle, but not because of new records. It is the first to make a clear choice: a manageable reading device rather than a multitasking machine, with the loss of telephoto and Flex mode as the price.

Whether that is the right choice depends less on Samsung than on you. Two questions settle it: do you regularly read or work on the move on a surface that ought to be bigger? And can you deploy 2,000 euros so that they deliver value for more than two years? Answer yes to both and you get a good device here. Hesitate on either and you already have your answer.

Samsung confirms the German retail launch on 7 August 2026. In a shop, open two apps side by side, read a long passage and try the camera at the same distance as your own phone. That tells you more than the launch price about what the premium buys you.