Galaxy Z Fold 8: 10 Things That Surprised Me

Quick summary: Some things about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 surprised me in a good way, like three vertical windows, the speakers and the 16:10 cover screen. Others less so, like awkward landscape photos, unoptimized apps and a tight fit in tripod mounts.

1. Three vertical windows

Open one app, slide in a second, then drag a third to the left or right edge, and you have three vertical windows running. You can mix video, social media and work, or run three work apps at once.

2. Easy multitasking

In One UI 9, tap the faded line at the top of an app to jump into split screen, open a floating window or close the app. It’s great for people who never learned how to multitask on a Fold.

3. Big, wide windows

Split-screen windows are wide enough to read text comfortably, which makes shopping and watching videos in multi-window great.

4. The speakers

I was blown away. In my comparisons they’re louder and better than the Fold 7 and even the Fold 8 Ultra. Walking down the street to get pizza, I could hear the Fold 8 much better than my Fold 7.

5. The cover display

• Keyboard: a perfect size now, instead of cramped.
• Videos: at 16:10, 16:9 YouTube videos barely get any black bars.
• Gaming: easy to hold and big enough to see. I love my word games on it.
• Reading: it’s like a mini e-reader, wide and comfortable.

6. Landscape photos feel awkward

To shoot a horizontal photo you have to turn the phone sideways, and with the buttons up top it feels awkward. It’s easy to block the camera with your hand.

7. Apps that aren’t optimized

I’m a little surprised some major apps aren’t optimized. For apps like Target, go into the app’s settings and set the aspect ratio to full screen. They can still look a bit cut off, and you’ll probably have to do this for a lot of apps.

8. The hinge

It feels very direct: it’s either open or closed, with little in-between. It feels stronger and better built than the Fold 7’s. The Fold 8 also doesn’t have Flex Mode in the camera, though the Ultra does.

9. The crease

You basically can’t feel it, and it’s much better hidden than on the Fold 7. Maybe not as good as an Oppo Find N6, but much closer to it than the old Fold.

10. Tripod mounts

The phone is so wide that I had to extend my phone mount all the way to fit it. My suggestion is a magnetic case, like the dbrand case, with a magnetic mount.

Should you trade in your Fold 7?

Why not? If the restocking fee is low, try it and return it if you don’t like it. Or check one out at Best Buy, a carrier store or a Samsung Experience store. It feels like a cross between the Galaxy Z TriFold and a Galaxy Z Flip.

• Order the Galaxy Z Fold 8 from Samsung
• dbrand case for the Galaxy Z Fold 8
• OhSnap grip at Best Buy