Samsung Z Fold 8 (Wide) Impressions: Better Than I Thought! | Marques Brownlee

The Gist

The title promises hands-on impressions of a wide Samsung fold. The real answer is that Samsung launched three new foldables including the Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra, with the new wide Z Fold 8 standing out as the biggest practical design shift.

Quick Overview

Samsung released three new folding phones, consisting of the Z Flip 8, the Z Fold 8, and the Z Fold 8 Ultra, with prices starting at $1,199, $1,899, and $2,099 respectively. The standard Z Fold 8 adopts a wider passport-style aspect ratio similar to Oppo and Google foldables, featuring a 5.5-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen. Meanwhile, the Z Fold 8 Ultra scales up to a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W charging, and the Z Flip 8 arrives as a lighter and thinner incremental upgrade.

Key Points: Samsung launched three new folding phones named the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 starts at $1,199 with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 4,300 mAh battery. The standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a wider passport-style aspect ratio, dropping the inner display down to 7.6 inches with a 4 by 3 aspect ratio. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra features a 5,000 mAh battery, 45W wired charging, 20W wireless charging, and an updated ultrawide camera with a 50-megapixel sensor. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899 for 256GB of storage. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at over $2,099, marking a notable price increase over previous generations. The wider Z Fold 8 form factor makes the outer screen and camera viewfinder significantly easier to use with one hand.

Context: Samsung has spent years refining the candy bar folding phone design of the Galaxy Z Fold series. Competitors like Oppo and Google have pushed alternative wider passport-style folding form factors, forcing Samsung to finally adapt its lineup.

Detailed Analysis

Samsung expanded its foldable lineup to three models, introducing the Z Flip 8, the standard Z Fold 8, and the Z Fold 8 Ultra. The Z Flip 8 receives incremental updates including a slightly thinner and lighter chassis, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and a 4,300 mAh battery for $1,199. The big surprise is the standard Z Fold 8, which ditches the tall candy bar shape for a wider passport-style aspect ratio, featuring a 5.5-inch outer screen, a 7.6-inch inner screen, and a 201-gram weight. The Z Fold 8 Ultra retains the traditional taller shape with maxed out specifications, including a 5,000 mAh battery, faster 45W wired charging, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera for video shooting at $2,099.