{"id":822172,"date":"2026-07-24T02:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/822172\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T02:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:56:12","slug":"my-galaxy-z-fold-8-ongoing-review-living-with-samsungs-passport-foldable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/822172\/","title":{"rendered":"My Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ongoing Review Living With Samsung’s Passport Foldable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samsung\u2019s foldable lineup is ambitious lately, from last year\u2019s super-slim Galaxy Z Fold 7<\/a> to the sprawling Galaxy Z TriFold<\/a>. But the phone I\u2019m most excited about using is the new passport-sized Galaxy Z Fold 8<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a 4:3 aspect ratio and a satisfyingly compact build, the Z Fold 8 feels refreshingly different from most phones sold today. Unfolded, it\u2019s well-suited for watching horizontal videos and multitasking in landscape mode, while also giving vertically oriented apps more room to breathe in portrait orientation. The 5.5-inch cover display is comfortable for everyday tasks like texting or checking email, while the 7.6-inch inner display is more versatile for scrolling or binging without feeling oversized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One element that isn\u2019t small is the price; the Z Fold 8 starts at $1,900. It comes with two 50-megapixel rear cameras (no telephoto camera here) and a 4,800-mAh battery with support for 45-watt wired and 20-watt wireless charging.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been using the Z Fold 8 following Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Unpacked event in London<\/a>, and will be sharing my first impressions here over the next couple of days. Stay tuned for my full review, but for now, here\u2019s what stands out to me about using Samsung\u2019s reimagined book-style phone. (And fear not: The Z Fold 7<\/a>\u2018s design, which won a CNET Editors\u2019 Choice Award, lives on in the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available for preorder<\/a>, and hits shelves on Aug. 7.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"ATyping on the wide cover screen of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a breeze.Andrew Lanxon\/CNET<\/p>\n

Typing on the Z Fold 8\u2019s 5.5-inch cover screen is easy, but it can feel like a bit of a stretch (literally) when I type on the 7.6-inch main display in landscape mode. I have bigger hands and like the way the phone feels overall, but it takes a bit of effort to reach every part of the keypad, even in this slightly sized-down book-style fold. (By contrast, the Z Fold 8 Ultra\u2019s main screen measures 8 inches.)<\/p>\n

Turning the phone to portrait orientation solves that problem. The keyboard is perfectly sized for typing in that position, while also giving more headroom for content above the keyboard so it\u2019s easier to see more of my documents, texts or social media posts.<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s small, it\u2019s wide, it\u2019s thin \u2014 the Galaxy Z Fold 8.Andrew Lanxon\/CNET<\/p>\n

The Z Fold 8 is the lightest Galaxy Fold device, clocking in at 201 grams. It\u2019s not much thicker than the super-thin Z Fold 8 Ultra, measuring 4.5mm when open and 9.7mm when closed. It\u2019s also hardly thicker than a regular phone like the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which measures 8.75 mm.<\/p>\n

The Z Fold 8\u2019s squarish design allows it to sit snugly in my palm, giving it a feel like a little pocket notebook. I can\u2019t help feeling like a fictional detective jotting down a note or checking a map when I pull out this phone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fun begins. I was thrilled to get the Z Fold 8 in lavender, which is a much more eye-catching hue than cream (white) and graphite (blackish silver). There\u2019s also an online exclusive light green shade called pistachio, which is my second favorite option. More color is always the answer!<\/p>\n

I got to spend some time with the Z Fold 8 in London ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event. With a fresh, passport-sized design, the \u201cwide\u201d Fold is optimized for both horizontal and vertical media. It\u2019s also incredibly fun to use. Take a look:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Abrar\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbrar Al-Heeti\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSenior Technology Reporter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbrar’s interests include phones, streaming, autonomous vehicles, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. In addition to her current role, she’s worked for CNET’s video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco — steep inclines and all.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSee full bio\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samsung\u2019s foldable lineup is ambitious lately, from last year\u2019s super-slim Galaxy Z Fold 7 to the sprawling Galaxy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,61],"class_list":["post-822172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}