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Samsung has lengthy championed its Fold series of telephones to AV aficionados searching for an all-in-one leisure machine that may operate as a flagship smartphone and small pill, because of its intelligent flexible display screen tech.
At first look, that pitch continues with the Z Fold 8 Extremely, which provides a refined tackle its Z Fold 7 predecessor – together with an enormous enhance to each its screens’ peak brightness ranges and upscaling powers.
And have been it not for one key problem, we’d wholeheartedly be praising it as one of the best foldable for our discerning readers. However sadly, because of the looks of a wildcard from Samsung, the Extremely is, satirically, not the last word possibility for Android AV fanatics; its cheaper sibling, the Samsung Z Fold 8, is.
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Worth
The Z Fold 8 Extremely is undeniably a premium product. The most cost effective 256GB mannequin we have now in for evaluate prices £1899 ( $2099 / AU$2999). The 512GB mannequin will set you again £2069, whereas the top-of-the-line 1TB mannequin sells for £2049. The additional enhance for the 1TB mannequin can be as a result of it having extra RAM.
To place that in context, you possibly can simply choose up sufficient entry-level Android telephones and tablets to equip a household of three, or 2.4 Award-winning iPhone 17s, for a similar value.
That additionally makes it over £100 / $100 dearer than the older Z Fold 7 was at launch, £200 dearer than the entertainment-focused Z Fold 8 and £620 greater than Samsung’s flagship non-folding cellphone, the five-star Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Construct
The value will probably be a tough capsule to swallow for some, however there isn’t a denying the Z Fold 8 Extremely feels premium and, dare we are saying, rugged (no less than in contrast with previous foldables we’ve examined).
Samsung Z Fold 8 Extremely tech specs
Display measurement 6.5-inch (outer) + 8.0-inch (internal)
Display sort Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz
Display decision 2520 x 1080 (outer) + 2184 x 1968 (internal)
Finishes x 4 (Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jetblack, Mint)
Working system Android 17 (One UI 9)
Storage 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
RAM 12GB (256GB/512GB fashions), 16GB (1TB mannequin)
The ultimate level is a selected shock for the staff, one in all whom had the enjoyment of watching his first-generation Z Fold handset break in his hand when he first examined the folding mechanism many moons in the past.
That is primarily because of Samsung’s Flex Titanium Know-how show tech. The tech locations a skinny alloy mesh and versatile titanium plate underneath the AMOLED screens, which lets the agency cut back the cellphone’s measurement whereas enhancing its folding mechanism’s usability and sturdiness.
Gone are the times if you would wince and pray to the tech gods everytime you opened it up. Now the Z Fold’s mechanism feels stable and suitably straightforward to make use of with out requiring uncomfortable ranges of drive.
Uniformity can be improved, and in contrast to previous Samsung Fold telephones, the internal show’s crease is near unnoticeable, leading to a extra immersive expertise, particularly when taking part in media.
The rigidity, smaller dimensions and usually polished design make the Extremely really feel premium – although be warned, its IP45 rating means it is nonetheless not seashore or pool-ready, and received’t survive most aquatic adventures.
The one different draw back is that it retains the Fold’s atypical type issue, which, whereas having advantages for film followers, remains to be firmly targeted on ‘energy customers’ who wish to have a number of apps open on the identical time.
The 21:9 facet ratio 6.5-inch outer show is thinner than most conventional telephones and has intuitively positioned energy and quantity controls on its facet, and in addition homes its fingerprint scanner.
However its 8-inch internal display screen remains to be decidedly square-shaped, and the 2 side-facing audio system are fairly straightforward to dam should you flip it on its facet to benefit from the additional actual property. Doing so may even drive the interior hole-punch-design selfie digicam to dam a part of the display screen, even when watching 21:9 content material.
This makes the smaller Z Fold 8 really feel more energizing and extra attuned to media consumption, because of its new passport-sized 10:16 facet ratio outer display screen and seven.6-inch 4:3 panorama inside show.
Options
Regardless of the power-user focus, the Fold 8 Extremely nonetheless homes a number of treats for film and TV followers particularly.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset and 12GB of RAM guarantee our evaluate unit by no means stutters and is a pace demon with most processes – you’ll be capable of sport, edit spreadsheets and reels with zero problem. That is additional aided by each screens’ variable refresh charge (VRR) 120Hz assist.
For media, the cellphone doesn’t have the identical Samsung ProScaler tech that wowed us on the Galaxy S26 Extremely. As a substitute, it depends on Samsung’s cellular Digital Pure Picture engine (mDNIe) {hardware}. Somewhat than upscaling content material, as ProScaler does, mDNIe makes use of superior picture processing to assist the Extremely ship extra delicate and lifelike colors. Samsung particularly claims it’s “4 occasions extra correct” than the older Z Fold 7.
Outdoors of this, each the Fold 8 Extremely’s screens assist Samsung’s HDR10+ normal. The interior display screen additionally has a staggering 3000 nits peak brightness. That’s 400 nits greater than the older Fold 7. Mixed with the handset’s Imaginative and prescient Booster function, which adjusts distinction and the display screen’s settings based mostly on ambient mild situations, we by no means battle to see what’s onscreen, even in direct out of doors daylight.
Dolby Atmos assist can be included, each for the inbuilt audio system and linked headphones – although it’s a must to activate it within the Extremely’s settings.
Regardless of its 4.1mm slimness when unfolded, the cellphone’s battery can be moderately sized. The 5000mAh cell is quoted as providing 27 hours of video playback from a single cost. That determine requires some sacrifices to the show’s brightness, however we nonetheless discover ourselves solely shedding a median of four-to-seven per cent of the cellphone’s cost watching Netflix on our hour-long commute house every day, which is stable by cellular requirements.
Samsung’s One UI software program sits over its base Android 17 OS. The pores and skin brings some helpful options, however they’re principally to do with AI and taking advantage of the second display screen. These embody the flexibility to have a number of apps open on the internal show, which could be a boon.
Whether or not it’s chatting on Slack with the spreadsheet you’re discussing open on the opposite facet of the display screen, or WhatsApping your folks with Google Maps open as you attempt to navigate your strategy to the pub you’re assembly at, there are many moments it is helpful – although we do sometimes discover ourselves hankering for a stylus just like the one seen on the S26 Extremely, particularly when working with spreadsheets.
Outdoors of the split-screen performance, Now Transient and Now Nudge are most likely probably the most used options. The primary function pushes contextual data all through your day, whereas Now Nudge, slightly creepily, raids information from all of the apps in your machine and the cloud to supply contextual replies.
Lastly, the Extremely comes with a reliable digicam set-up. On its again you’ll discover a 200-megapixel fundamental digicam, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide (up from 12 megapixels on the Fold 7) and a 10-megapixel telephoto. It additionally options the identical ProVisual Engine with superior AP processing for Nightography video.
The Fold 8 has a downgraded set-up, that includes a fundamental 50MP fundamental and secondary 50MP ultrawide lens. Each function 10MP selfie cameras with a hole-punch design embedded in every display screen.
Given our AV focus, we received’t delve into an excessive amount of element right here, however the cameras are good, although not one of the best you’ll discover at this finish of the market. The Extremely can take fascinating photographs and is greater than adequate for capturing video for social media – as evidenced by plenty of Reels we have posted on our channels utilizing it.
Stabilisation is stable, and low-light pictures appears to be like good and is usually noise-free. However Samsung’s processing remains to be a smidgeon aggressive for many who worth realism. Except you go full handbook, it nonetheless can oversharpen barely, particularly in contrast with a contemporary iPhone or Pixel, and colors sometimes look a tad overbaked.
Image
The large query is, how does the Extremely carry out as a house cinema in your hand? And right here the reply is attention-grabbing. Our reviewers examined each of this yr’s Fold telephones and, regardless of the telephones having the identical nit depend and upscaling powers, ended up utilizing them pretty in another way.
Aspect by facet, taking part in Crime 101 in HDR10+ on Amazon Prime Video on the unfolded screens, it’s instantly clear each are minimize from the identical fabric. Colors are properly wealthy, regardless of the low-light scene’s tough nature, and there’s a delightful degree of darkish element all through the cityscape.
However curiously, the essential Z Fold 8 goes a smidgeon brighter in sure components, with the night-time sky initially providing a tad extra distinction than the Extremely.
We make subsequent to no changes to the display screen settings, exterior of turning off the ambient mild and color temperature controls, to make sure uniformity, as Samsung has refreshingly set the display screen to its pure, not vivid mode, out of the field.
Shifting to Prepared Or Not 2 on Disney+, the cellphone’s AMOLED display screen does a stellar job, delivering darkish particulars which can be misplaced on cheaper handsets, nevertheless it’s the Fold 8 Extremely’s means to retain color quantity, even in low mild, that steals the present.
Avoiding spoilers, the viscera throughout a heated scene, mixing intense sections of sunshine and darkish components, retains a delightful degree of realness, with out ever being oversaturated. Pores and skin tones as characters creep by means of the shadows retain a practical heat, by no means trying jaundiced or flat as they usually can on cellphone screens.
Masters Of The Universe, on Prime Video, continues the robust efficiency, with the deliberately brilliant, nearly cartoony, colors of Eternia popping, however by no means veering too far towards changing into oversaturated.
If something, the display screen feels prefer it may go tougher, particularly when pushing the quite a few explosions billowing round He-Man. Right here, curiously, the bottom Fold 8 seems to be keen to push the brightest a part of the image just a little tougher than the Extremely. However, as all the time, we’ll take finesse over bombastic artificiality any day of the week.
The upscaling can be stable. Switching to Batman Begins, the cellphone admirably sharpens the Caped Crusader, giving the movie a splendidly three-dimensional however by no means synthetic really feel. Actions particularly retain their weight, as we really feel each one in all Batman’s exact however heavy blows. It’s solely when he switches to the Batmobile and begins racing throughout Gotham that we detect a touch of oversmoothing.
With episodes of One Tree Hill on Netflix, the upscaling can’t utterly take away the fuzzy grain from the ageing millennial melodrama, and a few black crush does creep into sure scenes. However the present appears to be like leagues sharper, extra three-dimensional and finally immersive than that which we discover on most rivals.
Have been it not for one massive elephant within the room, we’d wholeheartedly say that, for probably the most half, it seems like we’re watching a shrunk-down Samsung OLED. That elephant within the room is the facet ratio. The pill display screen solely provides a smidgeon extra actual property than its smaller sibling. And benefiting from it means placing up with large black bars on the higher and decrease edges, with the hole-punch digicam intruding on what you’re watching.
Earlier than, this was simpler to place up with. However with the usual Fold 8 being cheaper and having a extra entertainment-focused facet ratio, for individuals who simply wish to watch media, it makes the dearer Extremely a tougher promote.
In truth, the dearth of additional actual property garnered from unfolding the handset signifies that at occasions, particularly when commuting (until, say, we’re studying a comic book or e-book on Kindle), we frequently simply use the entrance display screen, with its far more movie-friendly 21:9 facet ratio.
Sound
Audio efficiency is an space the place Samsung telephones have confirmed to be good, however not finest at school for some time – therefore the four-star (and under) ‘Sound’ scores on each handset we’ve reviewed because the Galaxy S23.
And that is largely as a result of, exterior Atmos and Spatial Audio, the agency doesn’t appear too bothered about enhancing its telephones’ musicality. It is a key motive Apple iPhones have dominated our Awards not too long ago.
Does the Fold 8 Extremely reverse this development?
Testing the audio with a pair of wired headphones utilizing a USB-C to three.5mm converter, the handset leaves a optimistic opening impression taking part in Philip Glass’s Floe on Apple Music.
There’s a pleasing separation to each instrument because the demanding, rhythmically pushed, harmonic development strides ahead. And the sound by no means feels uncontrolled – a formidable feat contemplating how straightforward it’s for the low-end, heavy bass synthesiser to overpower the extra delicate string and flute sections.
As we transfer to 16 Horse Energy’s Sinnerman, the cellphone’s give attention to management continues. The handset precisely articulates the mid-heavy nature of the piece, retaining the observe’s deliberately swampy, uncooked, gritty Gothic Americana tone with out pushing its personal sonic signature on it.
However switching gears to the extra energetic Good To Your Earhole (the all-analogue remaster, in fact) by Funkadelic, the efficiency is a bit too tame. The attacking funk guitar doesn’t land with the supposed scooped tone or have the rhythmic drive and precision we wish. Our reviewers’ ft stay firmly on the ground, slightly than tapping alongside as they usually would, consequently.
Shifting to Led Zeppelin’s Complete Lotta Love, the cellphone as soon as once more performs it just a little too protected; the crash of John Bonham’s drums getting into the composition doesn’t have the burden and impression it ought to, exhibiting the cellphone’s middling dealing with of dynamics and, dare we are saying, a scarcity of enjoyable within the sound.
There’s nothing disastrously incorrect with the audio. We simply want the Fold 8 Extremely was a bit braver, a bit extra assured and finally a bit extra thrilling to hearken to.
Switching to the handset’s audio system, the Fold 8 Extremely provides a properly large soundstage by cellphone requirements.
The automobiles in F1: The Film really feel like they’re zig-zagging left to proper with a precision and pace missing on many telephones. However the audio system are underpowered, missing the low-end heft required to do the rumbling engines justice.
Musically, the sound can be too skinny for gratifying listening. 9 Inch Nails’ The Day The World Went Away sounds hole and lacks its supposed lumbering menace – although that is the case on practically all of the cellphone audio system we evaluate.
The mixture of things makes the Z Fold 8 Extremely a dependable, albeit unremarkable, cellphone for audio.
Verdict
The Galaxy Fold 8 Extremely is a reliable cellphone that’s supreme for its goal market: energy customers and ’80s-style enterprise folks who must edit spreadsheets on the go. It’s additionally a reliable cellular leisure machine for individuals who like to observe movies and TV whereas out and about.
However because of its productivity-focused type issue, the advantages to AV followers of the second, foldable display screen aren’t as pronounced as they’re on its cheaper sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Its protected however unremarkable audio additionally places it behind fashionable iPhones for anybody on the hunt for a cellphone that may double as a transportable music participant. This all provides as much as make it a superb, however not good possibility for AV followers.
SCORES
- Image 4
- Sound 4
- Options 5
MORE:
Learn our evaluate of the Samsung Z Fold 8
Additionally think about the iPhone 17
Learn our Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra evaluate
