Phones are Cool Again! Galaxy Z Fold 8 First Impressions
This is the most excited I’ve been for a phone in a really long time. As much as I love foldables, the form factor just wasn’t my thing because the Fold 7-era phones were too tall, but with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Samsung finally made it wide. I bought this one for myself, so I unboxed it, put it next to the S26 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro, and then used it for a couple of weeks to see what you actually get for nearly $2,000.
The box is bare: a USB-C cable and possibly a quick start guide, and for nearly $2,000 I wish it came with a case. I went with black because the other options were cream, an online-exclusive pistachio, and lavender, and none of those colors did it for me. The inner screen looks really nice with no visible crease at first, and Samsung is using new tech that should help keep it less noticeable over time. Next to the S26 Ultra it’s a lot shorter but a little wider, and next to an iPhone 16 Pro it’s much wider but still shorter, which makes everything easy to reach. It feels like a block or an old MP3 player, which I like for the vibe, but the sharp corners dig into my hands and I wish they were rounded. The inner display is fantastic for video, and the cameras are good enough, though not flagship level. The cons: there’s no magnet for MagSafe-style wireless charging, so you need a case for that, the selfie camera sitting in the middle of the inner screen feels awkward and floating in games and apps, and there’s no dust resistance, which matters because I go to the gym and rock climb a lot. My first screen protector from Amazon didn’t stick at all and the second one came with a few bubbles and doesn’t cover the full screen, and the clear case I tried didn’t suit the black color, so I’m probably returning it.
Watch the full Galaxy Z Fold 8 first impressions to see the unboxing, size comparisons, and everything I ran into. Final thoughts: it’s a really expensive phone, but it’s beautiful, it feels so nice to hold, and I don’t regret getting the black color. I’m excited to see how it holds up over the next year, and to check out the Pixel Fold, which has dust resistance, and compare both to the iPhone Fold; the screen protector I used and the TOPDON TC002C Duo thermal camera from this video’s sponsor segment are linked in the video description.
