Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 review: is it still the king of clamshell phones?

We have tested Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 8. Does it remain the king of clamshell phones?

Samsung has just unveiled its 2026 foldable smartphone line-up. The new Z Fold 8, with its passport-style format, naturally draws most of the attention, but the other two models should not be overlooked. Changes to the Galaxy Z Flip 8 are modest, yet they still deserve a close look.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 512 GB: best prices

RRP: €1,499

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A slimmer design and a new processor mean the Galaxy Z Flip 8 is not reinventing the wheel, although the memory crisis still casts a shadow over its price tag. Pricing has edged upwards, from €1,200 to €1,300 for the entry-level configuration and from €1,320 to €1,500 for the 512 GB version. So, is it still the leading device in its segment? Here are some answers in this full review.

Design: shedding a little weight

On the official Z Flip 8 page, Samsung claims to offer “Our thinnest and lightest Flip”. The changes are incremental, but they are still worth noting. Thickness drops from 6.5 to 6.1 mm, while weight falls from 188 g to 180 g. It is hardly a dramatic transformation, but it is welcome progress for a smartphone whose chief appeal is its compact, cute design. Its remaining dimensions change only marginally, increasing by 0.2 mm in both width and length.

Anyone who remembers early-2000s flip phones will know that part of their appeal lay in opening them smoothly with one hand, then snapping them shut with some enthusiasm. That is slightly more difficult with smartphones, particularly because the hinge must be stronger and the display needs protection. Friction was particularly noticeable on the Z Flip 7, whose flat sides left very little room to get a finger underneath.

For the Z Flip 8, Samsung has therefore given the inner part of the frame a subtle bevel to make it easier to insert your thumb, while its Armor FlexHinge reduces friction. Is it better? Slightly. Is it enough to transport us back to the Matrix era? Not quite.

As ever with Samsung, the finish is impeccable. The materials feel premium, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection plus an IP48 rating, which confirms resistance to splashes, should help ensure good longevity.

Two premium displays

The secondary screen on the earliest models in the range fell short of expectations, but Samsung has ultimately brought its two displays much closer in quality. Inside is a 6.9-inch OLED panel with a Full HD+ definition of 2520 x 1080 px and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Outside, there is a 4.1-inch display with a 1048 x 948 px definition, again at 120 Hz. The Flip philosophy remains unchanged: allowing you to do increasingly more without opening the phone.

There has been progress in this respect, although it still does not match the freedom Motorola offers on its models. Not every app is compatible natively. Widgets and the built-in Multistar utility provide a wealth of functions, but not all of them. Take YouTube Music: you can launch it on the cover display, yet media controls only appear on the home screen when the phone is locked. Nor can you add a widget linked to Google’s music app. In this particular case, the system widget can be found in Quick Settings, but this is only one of many examples of the cover screen’s incomplete implementation.

The 6.9-inch internal display is comfortable to use. However, its format is more elongated than usual. That works well for vertical content and scrolling, but becomes a drawback when watching horizontal videos full-screen, as black bars appear on either side of the image. With a peak brightness of 2600 nits, it remains perfectly readable even in direct sunlight. Reflections can nevertheless reveal the crease, which is otherwise very discreet.

The outer screen is also prone to reflections and struggles to show dark content at its best in bright surroundings. Then again, you probably would not want to watch a horror film on a 4.1-inch panel anyway.

Performance that is more than adequate

Unlike the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, both of which use a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 makes do with an Exynos 2600. This is Samsung’s first chip made using a 2 nm manufacturing process, compared with 3 nm for the 2500, and it promises improved energy efficiency. It is supported by 12 GB of RAM and between 256 and 512 GB of storage.

In practical terms, it is an excellent chip that can run even the most demanding games at full speed. Fortnite, for example, runs smoothly at 60 FPS on High settings, as does Genshin Impact. In other words, it can handle whatever you ask of it, whether that is running the operating system and scrolling through social media or editing photos and videos.

Despite its capabilities, however, the Z Flip 8 is not designed as a gaming smartphone. Its form factor makes heat dissipation more difficult and, like its predecessor, it warms up during excessively long gaming sessions. Does that stop it from maintaining performance? No. Does it use a great deal of battery? Unfortunately, yes.

Battery life in line with expectations

Samsung has made no battery changes. As on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, there is a 4300 mAh cell, capable of lasting from one day to a day and a half depending on usage before needing a recharge. That “depending on usage” caveat matters: the Exynos 2600 performs superbly during light use, but consumes more power than it should once pushed hard. In 15 minutes of Fortnite, for instance, it loses just over 5% of its battery life.

Charging speed is also unchanged from the previous generation. At 25 W, a full recharge takes roughly 1 hour 30 minutes. That leaves it a long way behind the fastest rivals. And, if it still needs saying, no charger is included in the box, so it must be bought separately.

A camera set-up that stands still

Photography is another area that has changed very little, if at all. Like the Z Flip 7 and the Z Flip 6 before it, this eighth-generation model has two rear cameras: a 50 MP wide-angle sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. Despite its price, it still has no telephoto lens, so you will need to move closer or use digital zoom to enlarge your subject.

Image quality is disappointing, especially for a phone at this price. Between overly vivid colours, chromatic aberrations that can appear here and there, and an overall lack of detail, there is no doubt that a device costing half as much would do better. Surprisingly, it is almost at night that it performs best, substantially boosting brightness without making the scene look surreal. Exposure is pleasing, then, but images are smoother.

The Z Flip 8’s greatest photographic strength, and that of foldable smartphones generally, is the creativity its form factor brings to selfies. The 10 MP front camera is decent in daylight, though a little too blurry at night. Fold the handset, place it somewhere, and you can photograph yourself and a group of friends using the main camera module. That is a considerable advantage.

For video, it can record in 4K at up to 60 frames per second with HDR, or in Full HD at up to 240 fps for slow motion. The autofocus is pleasingly smooth and stabilisation is effective. You can also still fold it to 90° to activate camcorder mode, which provides a firm grip.

One UI remains among the best

Over the past few years, Samsung has found a winning formula with its One UI interface. Once criticised, it is now one of the most highly regarded. Straight out of the box, the Z Flip 8 runs Android 17 with One UI 9.0, and the Korean brand promises seven years of Android updates. That is longer support than most of its competitors provide.

As usual, One UI delivers welcome animations, exemplary smoothness, excellent overall consistency and a good range of customisation options. There are a few third-party apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Netflix, Perplexity and TikTok, but it is appreciated that these are all very popular applications. On the other hand, users must also contend with the manufacturer’s own apps, which are especially numerous and often unnecessary. Members and Samsung Shop feel more like brand advertising, Health and Wearable are of little or no use if you do not own a Galaxy Watch, and the browser duplicates Chrome as well as the browser you are prompted to install during initial setup.

Even the Now Brief feature, which can appear on the outer display, lacks relevance. It would be better off replacing its prompt to watch Netflix, which I do not subscribe to, with more useful items, such as the date of my next appointment, smart-home shortcuts or a top 3 of the day’s news.

Samsung has also expanded its AI features. There is assistance for calls, note-taking, messages, web browsing, meeting transcriptions and weather wallpaper, among many other relevant tools. It is a shame that a Samsung account is compulsory in most cases, and that local-only data processing must be enabled manually.

Our view on the Galaxy Z Flip 8

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is a lazy evolution of its predecessor. Overall, it is an update that brings a new chip and a few fewer grams on the scales. Given the choice, save a few hundred euros by checking whether the Z Flip 7 is still available somewhere.

Even so, the Z Flip 8 remains a small engineering gem. Its design, hinge and displays inspire confidence, while the Korean giant’s extended support offers reassurance for the future. In that sense, its cute design appeals to its target audience. Beyond that, it does not truly impress.

Why are we not scoring the Galaxy Z Flip 8?

Samsung was unable to lend us the Z Flip 8 for more than one week. As we had to return it to the brand so it could be shared with our colleagues, which is entirely understandable, we could neither complete our laboratory testing nor use the phone for long enough to give it a final score. We will add that score when we have the opportunity to test it for at least one month, later in the year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 512 GB: best prices

RRP: €1,499

Retailer	Discount	Price	Offer
Cdiscount	-8%	€1,383	View offer
FNAC		€1,499	View offer
Darty		€1,499	View offer
Samsung		€1,499	View offer
Rueducommerce		€1,499	View offer

More offers