After years of refining the same tall-and-skinny foldable formula, Samsung has finally done something different this year. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 isn’t just another thinner Fold. It gets an entirely new shape which I think makes better sense.
Instead of the familiar narrow cover screen that opens into a squarish tablet, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 adopts a compact passport-sized form factor. It’s a refreshing take and it feels like it sits somewhere between the Galaxy Z Flip and the traditional Galaxy Z Fold.
From our brief hands-on, this might actually be the Fold that would appeal to a wider audience.
The new passport shape makes a huge difference
The first thing you’ll notice is the proportions. When folded, the 5.5-inch (2520×1080 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x) cover display with a 16:10 aspect ratio feels just right.
It’s slightly smaller than an actual passport, making it easy to hold and surprisingly comfortable to type as it gets a wider on-screen keyboard.
The 16:10 aspect ratio on the cover also works brilliantly for media consumption. You can comfortably watch videos without unfolding the device, and even in tent mode, 16:9 videos almost fill the entire display with very little blank space.
Open it up and you get a 7.6-inch (2504×2256 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x) inner display with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
This is arguably the sweet spot for content consumption. Since most smartphone photos are captured in 4:3, they fill the display beautifully without weird cropping. Landscape video playback also benefit from smaller black bars than Samsung’s traditional Fold form factor.
For improved durability, the cover display gets Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, while the back cover is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Remarkably light, yet packs a bigger battery
Samsung has also managed to improve the hardware without sacrificing portability. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 measures just 4.5mm when unfolded and 9.7mm when folded, while weighing only 201g.
Samsung claims the new Z Fold 8 is the world’s lightest foldable, and it’s even lighter than the Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro.
Despite the slimmer body, Samsung has fitted a much larger 4,800mAh battery. That’s a significant improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh capacity, while retaining a slim profile.
Charging is also upgraded slightly with support for 45W fast wired charging, reaching up to 63% in 30 minutes. It also supports 20W wireless charging.
Under the hood, it runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.
Out of the box, it runs on One UI 9.0 based on Android 17. In terms of colours, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available in Lavender, Graphite, Cream and an online-exclusive Pistachio.
But why only two rear cameras?
So far so good but the only downsize is the camera department. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is equipped with a dual-camera setup consisting of a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera.
That means there’s no dedicated telephoto camera. If you want to zoom in, you’ll have to make do with its 2x “optical-quality” zoom that utilises the main camera. For a flagship at this price range, it feels like an unnecessary compromise.
Both the cover and inner displays feature 10MP punch-hole selfie cameras like the previous Fold device.
The new passport-sized design is arguably the better everyday form factor, yet buyers have to give up the versatility of a zoom lens. If you want Samsung’s full flagship “Ultra” camera experience, you’ll have to step up to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
The traditional Fold isn’t gone
If you still prefer the larger Fold experience, there’s the Z Fold 8 Ultra which is the true successor to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
It retains its larger 8-inch inner display that’s better suited for multitasking while the cover retains the same skinny 6.5″ display. If you’re constantly running split-screen apps or multiple floating windows, the Ultra’s larger inner display still has the advantage.
Apart from having a newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, other upgrades include a bigger 5,000mAh battery, upgraded 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera and faster charging up to 45W wired and 20W wireless.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Malaysia price and availability
Here’s the official pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 in Malaysia:
- 12GB + 256GB – RM7,299
- 12GB + 512GB – RM8,099
- 16GB + 1TB – RM9,699
As part of the pre-order promo from today until 13th August 2026, Samsung Malaysia is offering exclusive offers worth up to RM1,950:
- Exclusive rebate of up to RM800
- Samsung Rewards Points Booster worth up to RM400
- Instant rebate of RM500 with selected bank cards
- Samsung Reservation+ Voucher worth RM250
- 0% interest instalment plan of up to 36 months at participating banks
- up to 30% off for Samsung Galaxy accessories