{"id":614685,"date":"2026-08-01T06:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T06:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/614685\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T06:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T06:03:12","slug":"samsung-galaxy-z-fold-8-review-is-this-the-foldable-phone-you-have-been-waiting-for-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/614685\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: Is this the foldable phone you have been waiting for? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 <\/strong> <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Price:<\/strong> \u20ac2049<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.samsung.comOpens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Where To Buy:<\/strong> Samsung<\/p>\n

Are we about to see a battle in the foldables market? Samsung<\/a> has been pushing the idea of folding phones as the next frontier since it released the original Fold in 2019 and the Flip in 2020. <\/p>\n

Along the way it has had some competition, but, with alternatives limited in the Irish market, the majority of the folding, flipping screens have come with the Galaxy Z series branding. <\/p>\n

As we all know, being early into the market isn\u2019t necessarily a guarantee that you will stay at the top. Ask Creative about music players, Nokia<\/a> about smartphones or MySpace about social media. If you don\u2019t offer something compelling for consumers to stick with you, then they will find it somewhere else. <\/p>\n

Apple<\/a> is snapping at Samsung\u2019s heels, if you believe the rumours, and Samsung is keen to maintain the lead it has built up over the past few years. <\/p>\n

That is how we have ended up with not just one Fold but two: the Z Fold 8 Ultra, which is pitching itself at the productivity market, and the Z Fold 8 with its redesigned passport-style shape and 4:3 screen. <\/p>\n

The latter is arguably the more interesting of the two. Could this be the foldable phone that actually manages to capture the imagination of the masses? <\/p>\n

After almost a week with the Fold 8, I could imagine it happening. It is early days, but, so far, the Fold 8 is big enough to get things done while still being small enough to be tucked away. <\/p>\n

It is thin, light and comes in a couple of interesting colours, including lavender. It is the perfect balance between the space of the regular Fold and the compact nature of the Flip. <\/p>\n

For context, when closed, the Fold is a fraction smaller than my passport and, with the shorter screen, small enough to reach mostly across its width with one hand. You cannot unfold it one-handed, although the outer screen allows you to do so much that unfolding is a conscious act rather than a necessity. <\/p>\n

I found myself unfolding it for more immersive uses \u2013 social media or when watching streaming video \u2013 or when working, so I could have two apps side by side, such as email and documents. The Fold 8 may not be pitched for productivity, but it can certainly make a good stab at it. <\/p>\n

That all works best when you are holding the phone in landscape mode, although typing on the device is comfortable both while it is folded out and in portrait mode. <\/p>\n

If you are a previous Fold or Flip user, you will notice the lack of one feature: Flex Mode. That was the name Samsung gave its phones\u2019 ability to stay half open, and have the apps adjust. For example, in the camera mode, one half of the screen would become the viewfinder, and the controls would switch to the bottom half of the screen, and it could be used as a stand. <\/p>\n

Because the hinge on the Fold 8 has more snap to it, you can\u2019t leave the phone half open. But on the other hand, the crease on the screen, a bugbear for many, is much less visible than before. It\u2019s a trade-off, one that I would be happy to make. <\/p>\n

Battery life was okay, with the device lasting a full day but not quite meeting the standards set out by Samsung\u2019s S26 Ultra, for example. However, the Fold 8 now supports 45W wired charging, so you can power up to full power in a shorter period of time. <\/p>\n

The camera may be one area where people struggle to get on board, particularly if they are already using one of the top-end phones. The Fold 8 has a good camera, with two 50-megapixel sensors that look after wide and ultrawide shots. There\u2019s a decent low-light performance. <\/p>\n

It also has the pro mode, which allows you to tinker with the settings, and has the ability to shoot in RAW format once you download the necessary software from the Samsung Galaxy Store. The front-facing selfie camera also offers good resolution. <\/p>\n

However, put up against Samsung\u2019s top-end phone, the differences become apparent. Most notable is the lack of an optical telephoto lens, which some people may not feel the loss of, but I did. You are stuck with digital zoom and cropping, which works fine but isn\u2019t the same quality. <\/p>\n

The camera bump on the rear also means the Fold is fairly unstable when lying flat on a surface. Be prepared to be annoyed by this on a regular basis. <\/p>\n

Good<\/p>\n

When it comes to sizing, the Fold 8 has got it almost spot on. <\/p>\n

The crease, while not invisible, has once again been reduced so you barely notice it, and the hinge feels snappy. <\/p>\n

Bad<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not cheap, although most people will be buying it as part of their phone contract, so may not notice the immediate financial hit. <\/p>\n

The camera is good, but if you have become used to the top-end smartphones, then you might notice the lack of the an optical telephoto lens. <\/p>\n

Everything else<\/p>\n

Flex Mode has been ditched for this Fold, which is a shame but if it is a necessary sacrifice for a less visible crease, I\u2019ll take it. <\/p>\n

Verdict <\/p>\n

An almost perfect balance for foldables, this could be the one that wins people over. <\/p>\n

samsung.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 Price: \u20ac2049 Website: https:\/\/www.samsung.comOpens in new window Where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[257],"tags":[311,18,19,17,279,12592,1470,31919,82],"class_list":["post-614685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-apple","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-nokia","tag-samsung","tag-tech-tools","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117018742201385239","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}