Hands on with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 – This is the form factor we needed

In recent days, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time holding and using the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 8 in its new passport-sized form factor.

This is a remarkable change in direction for Samsung, though they of course retain the form factor of the original Fold through the Fold 8 Ultra and of the original Flip through the new Flip 8.

Samsung sees this as adding to their portfolio, expanding their available audience, and essentially giving more choice to consumers. I’ve got to say it’s a winner.

I just love the way it feels in your hand when it’s closed. It’s still got a big enough screen for you to do pretty much all your normal activities. It’s not restricted like perhaps the flip form factor is, with its much smaller front screen, mainly because it’s not encumbered by the cameras and the camera lenses as per the flip.

Opening the device is vastly better than last year’s Fold 7, an improvement that also applies to this year’s Fold 8 Ultra.

Making it easy to open is a critical part of making a fold device usable for the average punter.

The most critical part about this device in this passport-sized format is what it’s like when you open it up.

I, for one, have struggled to want or need to open the Fold in years gone by. It’s just such a big screen. It’s basically daunting, and one of the challenges with the Fold has always been: are you seeing more or less than you would on a normal candy bar phone?

For example, Instagram. I’ve always said that on a Fold device you see less content on Instagram because it’s a wider screen and there’s less depth to the content. Whereas with the new Fold 8, held in a portrait mode, you’re getting a taller screen, so you will see more than you certainly will on a Fold “Ultra”. Perhaps not as much as you’d see on a traditional smartphone.

But it’s that versatility to go wide-screen horizontal to a vertical format, depending on what you’re doing, that makes the Fold 8 stand out in this foldable space from Samsung.

Watching a YouTube video, streaming sport, watching any video content on an open Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks great because you’re not getting large black letterbox space above and below the picture. There is still black space. It isn’t a 16:9 aspect ratio.

In fact, it’s strange when you twist it to a portrait aspect ratio. It feels wider than you would have expected from having looked at it in the landscape view, perhaps some trick of the eye, but in landscape mode it doesn’t seem as tall as it is wide when you switch to portrait! However this portrait view is actually ideal for browsing the web, reading documents, or even reading ebooks as many people might do.

Most people won’t get to hold this phone before they order it, and many will probably spend minutes with it in a retail store or telco store. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend far more time than that holding and testing this device, even in a controlled environment at a Samsung event, well before it was even announced. That’s given me the sense that this really is something different. It really is something unique, in a very good way.

I’ve always been drawn to the flip form factor of the foldable range, mainly because I like a normal smartphone. I like the fact that it’s much smaller when it’s closed, and what Samsung calls pocketability is very positive. Whereas with the larger-screen fold, I think it’s definitely designed for people looking for productivity and a real different use case to your traditional smartphone. I think the Fold 8 form factor bridges that gap. I think it makes it very easy to use as a normal smartphone when closed, but at the same time, it gives you a vastly better option for viewing and reading content when the phone is open.

I think the bottom line here is what I’ve realized very quickly and early on in this experience with this new foldable range for 2026 from Samsung: the Fold 8 Ultra will absolutely appeal to people who have loved the Fold and been drawn to the Fold8 Ultra all along. No questions there. It’s a better phone than the Fold 7. It’s thinner, it’s lighter, it’s more powerful, and it’s got a better screen. That’s a huge win.

The Flip’s an interesting one, though, because in reality it hasn’t progressed much. Yep, the outer screen is more usable, but really, I think the Flip users are more likely to move up through the ranks into this now standard Fold 8 passport-sized phone than consider a new Flip (especially given the Fold 8 is as thin as you might want and expect and has the same amazing screen technology as the Fold 8 Ultra).

I can’t wait to spend a lot more time with this phone. I can see it being a daily driver, and I’m fascinated to see how and why I open it up.