The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the first Samsung foldable designed for the pocket before the spec sheet: 201 g, the footprint of a passport when closed and a small 7.6-inch tablet when open. Sold for €1,999 (around 1,311,000 FCFA) since 7 August 2026, it suits people who read, watch and play a lot on their phone. Photography enthusiasts, for their part, will stumble over the lack of a telephoto lens.
Introduction: where the Galaxy Z Fold 8 sits in the Samsung range
Samsung unveiled its foldables on 22 July 2026, at a Galaxy Unpacked event held in London. The surprise: there is no longer one Fold, but two. The Z Fold 8 Ultra takes up the recipe of the Z Fold 7 (8-inch screen, 200 MP sensor, telephoto) for €2,199. The plain Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts from a different idea: a phone that is short and wide when folded, and opens onto a 4:3 panel.
The name is therefore misleading: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 does not really succeed the Z Fold 7, it opens a new branch. It costs €100 less and weighs 14 g less than its elder, but gives up the telephoto. Buyers have followed: according to the Samsung France press release, it accounted for more than 40% of pre-orders for the Galaxy Z range in France.
Samsung is thus getting ahead of Apple’s first foldable, known for now as the iPhone Duo, which rumours credit with these same proportions. The real question remains: does this format serve you better than a large conventional phone like the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which sells for less and is far better equipped for photography?
Verdict in brief: our view of the Galaxy Z Fold 8
Verdict in 30 seconds
Samsung's easiest foldable to live with: light, compact when closed, with an inner screen that is ideal for reading and watching. The camera and the stamina are not up to the asking price.
For whom People who read, watch videos and play a lot, and who want a foldable that genuinely slips into a pocket.
Avoid if You often zoom when taking photos, you count on two days of battery life or you write with a stylus.
We like
- 201 g and a very compact passport format when folded
- Almost invisible crease and a comfortable 4:3 inner screen
- 45 W charging, at last, and seven years of updates
We like less
- No telephoto at all for €1,999
- Heat and throttling under heavy load
- IP48 rating behind the Chinese foldables
This score of 8.4 out of 10 is based on the spec sheet and on the reviews published since August, not on testing by our newsroom. Notebookcheck gives the Galaxy Z Fold 8 88%, Journal du Geek 9 out of 10 and Presse-citron 8.5 out of 10. The same criticisms come up everywhere: the camera, the heat and the price.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 specs
| Écran principal | Dynamic AMOLED 2X pliable 7,6 pouces 4:3, 2 448 x 1 848, 120 Hz, 3 000 nits |
|---|---|
| Écran externe | Dynamic AMOLED 2X 5,5 pouces 10:16, 120 Hz |
| Processeur | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm) |
| Mémoire vive | 12 Go (16 Go en version 1 To) |
| Stockage | 256 Go, 512 Go, 1 To |
| Appareil photo arrière | 50 Mpx f/1,8 + ultra grand-angle 50 Mpx, sans téléobjectif |
| Caméras selfie | 10 Mpx (externe) + 10 Mpx (interne) |
| Batterie | 4 800 mAh |
| Charge | 45 W filaire, 20 W sans fil |
| Dimensions plié | 81,9 x 123,9 x 9,7 mm |
| Épaisseur déplié | 4,5 mm |
| Poids | 201 g |
| Étanchéité | IP48 |
| Launch price | 1 999 € |
Three numbers sum up the Galaxy Z Fold 8. First, the 201 g: it is the lightest Fold Samsung has ever produced. Then the 4,800 mAh, better than the Z Fold 7 but far from the 6,000 to 7,000 mAh of the Chinese foldables. Finally the 45 W, after years of charging at 25 W.
Design of the Galaxy Z Fold 8: 201 g and the footprint of a passport
Closed, the device is 123.9 mm tall, 81.9 mm wide and 9.7 mm thick. The object brings a passport to mind, where previous Folds looked like a remote control. Open, it spreads out over 161.4 mm and is only 4.5 mm thick.
A feel in the hand that splits opinion a little
Thanks to its reduced height, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 no longer pokes out of a jeans pocket or a shirt pocket. The reviewers at LesMobiles talk of a foldable “finally designed for the pocket rather than for the spec sheet”. The trade-off is the width. At close to 82 mm, small hands struggle to reach the opposite edge. Notebookcheck also notes that the camera bump makes the phone rock when it is laid flat.
Materials and colours
The frame is made of reinforced aluminium (Armor Aluminum), the front is covered with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 and the back with Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Four colours are offered in France: lavender, graphite, white and pistachio, the last being reserved for Samsung’s online store.
Foldable format: what the Galaxy Z Fold 8 really changes
This is where the purchase is decided. A classic Fold pairs a long, narrow cover screen with an almost square inner screen. Samsung turns the logic around: the cover screen becomes short and wide, and the inner screen adopts the 4:3 ratio of a tablet. According to published reviews, four uses benefit:
- video, with far thinner black bars than on a square screen;
- reading books, comics, manga and PDF documents;
- gaming, with more room for touch controls;
- multitasking, with two apps side by side each taking up an almost square area.
Crease and hinge: the real progress
The new Flex Titanium structure slides two layers of titanium under the panel. The result wins unanimous approval: the crease can barely be seen, with the screen off and under raking light. Notebookcheck describes it as “very shallow but visible”, one notch behind the Oppo Find N6, which remains the benchmark on this point.
The hinge is rated for 500,000 folds, or more than 270 openings a day for five years. It is also firmer than before.
Durability: IP48 remains the weak point
The IP48 rating means that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 withstands immersion in fresh water, but only stops particles larger than one millimetre. Fine sand and dust get through. In Douala in the dry season or in Dakar when the harmattan blows, a case is a must. Honor does better, with IP68 and IP69.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra: which one to choose?
For €200 more, the Ultra offers an 8-inch inner screen, a camera trio of 200, 50 and 10 MP with a telephoto, and 5,000 mAh, in 215 g. It is the logical follow-up to the Z Fold 7, for people who work on their phone. The standard model targets those who want a compact device day to day and a big screen to unwind with.
Display: two AMOLED panels with unusual proportions
Both screens on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 are Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels with a variable refresh rate, from 1 to 120 Hz. The inner one measures 7.6 inches at 2,448 × 1,848 pixels, the cover one 5.5 inches at 1,972 × 1,248 pixels. Samsung promises a peak of 3,000 nits on both.
The inner screen is the real success
Notebookcheck’s measurements confirm a well-calibrated panel: 99.2% of the sRGB space covered, an average colour deviation of 2.4 and 1,419 cd/m² in automatic brightness. The anti-reflective treatment, praised by Presse-citron and Journal du Geek, matters as much as those figures for reading in full sunlight.
One caveat for sensitive eyes: the same lab records flicker of between 240 and 480 Hz. If OLED screens tire you out, try it in a shop.
The cover screen, short and wide
With its 10:16 ratio, the cover panel is very well suited to messages, emails and maps, thanks to a wide keyboard. On the other hand, Presse-citron notes black bars at the sides in Instagram and TikTok, because developers have not adapted their apps. LesMobiles also finds it impractical for long texts.
Performance: an elite chip kept on a leash
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy in every market. The chip is backed by 12 GB of RAM on the 256 and 512 GB versions, 16 GB on the 1 TB version, and by UFS 4.0 storage with no microSD card slot.
Day to day and in games
Notebookcheck records 3,615 points in single-core and 11,112 points in multi-core on Geekbench 6. That is slightly below other devices with the same chip, but no review reports any slowdown, and demanding games run without a hitch.
Heat and throttling
The flip side of a 4.5 mm frame is heat dissipation. Phonandroid measures 49 °C on the front and 45 °C on the back during sustained load tests, with performance stability below 60%. Samsung has chosen to throttle the chip rather than let the temperature climb.
That choice weighs more in hot countries: at 32 or 35 °C in the shade, throttling will kick in sooner than in Europe during a long gaming session. As for sound, Notebookcheck calls the speakers disappointing.
Camera: two 50 MP sensors and one big absentee
The camera block on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is limited to two modules: a 50 MP wide-angle (f/1.8, stabilised) and a 50 MP ultra-wide (f/1.9) with autofocus, which also handles macro. Two 10 MP cameras take care of selfies, one per screen. The telephoto and the 200 MP sensor are reserved for the Ultra.
By day: classic Samsung, and effective
Reviews agree on shots that are detailed and well exposed, with a wide dynamic range. The look remains typical of the brand: contrasty, flattering, with blues that are sometimes oversaturated according to Journal du Geek. The pleasant surprise comes from the ultra-wide, which is very convincing according to Phonandroid, including up close.
Zoom and night: where the price hurts
With no dedicated lens, zoom relies on cropping the main sensor. Quality holds up to 2x, then deteriorates: LesMobiles sees the limits from 3x on architectural details, and Phonandroid finds the 10x zoom too noisy to be useful. A tight portrait, a concert or a match call for something this phone does not have.
At night, images stay clean, but the smoothing of textures is visible and sharpness drops. At €1,999, the comparison with an S26 Ultra or with the Vivo X Fold 6 and its 200 MP Zeiss sensor is harsh.
Video and selfies: the cover screen is the trump card
Video goes up to 8K at 30 frames per second and 4K at 120 frames per second, with stabilisation judged effective. The 10 MP cameras, which have no autofocus, are unremarkable and smooth faces heavily. The right reflex is to do without them: with the phone open, the cover screen acts as a viewfinder and you film yourself with the main sensor.
Battery and charging: one day, and no more
The 4,800 mAh battery is the first from Samsung to use a silicon-carbon anode, a technology already common among Chinese brands. Samsung claims up to 26 hours of video playback.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 battery life according to the reviews
Results vary depending on the screen used. Phonandroid gets more than 20 hours on the cover screen and around 16 hours on the inner screen with the PCMark test, and four hours of gaming on the large panel. LesMobiles counts 5 to 6 hours of screen time in mixed use. Presse-citron describes days that are only just completed when the inner screen is working hard.
So count on one full day, not two. Where power cuts are part of everyday life, that reduced margin tips the scales: a power bank remains a wise precaution.
Charging: 45 W, with no charger in the box
The move from 25 to 45 W changes things. Notebookcheck measures 50% in 21 minutes, 80% in 40 minutes and a full charge in 69 minutes. Other outlets, using other chargers, talk more of 90 minutes. Wireless charging reaches 20 W with Qi2.
Good to know — the box contains only a USB-C cable. To make the most of the 45 W, you need a charger compatible with USB Power Delivery and PPS, bought separately.
Software: One UI 9, Galaxy AI and seven years of support
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 ships with One UI 9, the interface that was later rolled out to conventional models, starting with the Galaxy S26 series. Most reviews describe it as based on Android 17. Samsung promises seven years of system and security updates, which means support until 2033.
Multitasking and DeX
The 4:3 ratio lends itself well to working in split screen, and Samsung DeX turns the device into a small computer once it is connected to a monitor. Not everything is polished: Journal du Geek reports a grid limited to four columns of icons and apps that handle the switch from portrait to landscape badly.
Galaxy AI and the missing S Pen
The usual Galaxy AI toolkit is here: call translation, meeting transcription, generative editing, audio eraser, Circle to Search. Part of the processing is done on the device, without a connection.
The stylus, however, is not supported. On a 4:3 panel that invites document annotation, the omission is irritating.
Price and availability: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 price in France and in Africa
In France: €1,999 officially, less in practice
The official price list, detailed on the Samsung France product page, is as follows: €1,999 (around 1,311,000 FCFA) with 12 + 256 GB, €2,199 (around 1,442,000 FCFA) with 12 + 512 GB and €2,399 (around 1,574,000 FCFA) with 16 GB + 1 TB. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been on sale since 7 August 2026.
The real price is more attractive. As early as the French Days sales in September, the 256 GB version was seen at €1,524 (around 1,000,000 FCFA) at an online retailer, and Phonandroid recorded a floor of €1,368.88 (around 898,000 FCFA) at a supermarket chain. Paying full price in early October makes little sense, a few weeks before Black Friday.
Where to buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at the best price
La 8e génération du pliable de Samsung adopte un format passeport avec écran interne 4:3, pour 201 g et 4,5 mm d'épaisseur déplié.
- Fnac1,999.00 € Best priceSee at Fnac
- Darty2,002.00 €See at Darty
Prices checked on October 1, 2026. Prices and availability may change.
Some links on this page are affiliate links: Wanda-techs may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our opinion.
In French-speaking Africa: in the catalogue, with no public price
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 appears on Samsung’s website for French-speaking Africa, but without a price: the brand points to its Samsung Experience Stores. We found no official price in FCFA in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal. Expect an amount higher than the converted French price, once customs and margin are included. As a guide, Nigerian retailer Slot was listing it in mid-August at 2,404,000 naira for 256 GB, and Samsung South Africa at 40,999 rand.
Insist on an invoice from an authorised reseller: the warranty on a folding screen is not something to haggle over with a grey-market importer. On the network side, the device takes one nano-SIM plus eSIMs, and covers the main 4G bands used by MTN, Orange and Camtel.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 201 g and a compact format that fits in any pocket
- Bright, anti-reflective 4:3 inner screen with an almost invisible crease
- 45 W wired and 20 W wireless charging
- Seven years of updates and a very polished interface for multitasking
- Street price sharply down two months after release
Cons
- No telephoto, and zoom limited to 2x at good quality
- Only one day of battery life, far from the Chinese rivals
- Marked heat and throttling under heavy load
- IP48 rating, with no real protection against fine dust
- No stylus, no charger included, and apps still poorly adapted to the cover screen
Alternatives to the Samsung foldable
Vivo X Fold 6
Oppo Find N6 5G 16 Go + 512 Go
These three Chinese rivals keep a classic format, taller and heavier, but each one answers a weakness of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The Honor Magic V6 is the only one officially sold in France, with 6,660 mAh and 80 W charging. The Vivo X Fold 6 is distributed only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the Oppo Find N6 is import-only. And if you are dreaming of something bigger, our guide to the Galaxy Z TriFold tells the story of the brand’s triple-folding adventure.
Conclusion: should you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8?
Yes, if you are buying a format rather than a spec sheet. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the first Fold that can be recommended to someone who has never wanted a foldable: it weighs the same as a normal phone, fits in a pocket and opens onto a screen cut out for reading and watching.
No, if photography matters a lot to you or if you live far from a socket. In that case, the Ultra or an Honor Magic V6 do better for a similar sum. Our advice: do not pay top price for it. At around €1,400 to €1,500, the compromises go down much more easily.
Our pick
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 with 12 + 256 GB — the most pleasant foldable to carry right now, for reading, video and light multitasking, provided you find it on promotion under €1,500 (around 984,000 FCFA).
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in France?
The official price is €1,999 for 256 GB, €2,199 for 512 GB and €2,399 for 1 TB, the last version moving up to 16 GB of RAM. In practice, promotions are already frequent: the 256 GB version was recorded at between €1,370 and €1,525 in September at several retailers. Compare offers before buying.
What are the Galaxy Z Fold 8 specs?
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 combines a 7.6-inch folding inner screen in 4:3 and a 5.5-inch cover screen, both AMOLED at 120 Hz, around a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and 12 or 16 GB of RAM. The camera relies on two 50 MP sensors. The 4,800 mAh battery accepts 45 W wired and 20 W wireless. The whole thing weighs 201 g and is IP48 rated.
Is the Galaxy Z Fold 8 waterproof?
It is IP48 rated. The figure 8 indicates resistance to immersion in fresh water, down to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes according to the standard. The figure 4 is less reassuring: it only guarantees protection against objects larger than one millimetre. Fine dust and sand can therefore get into the hinge: avoid the beach without protection.
What is the difference between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Z Fold 8 Ultra?
The standard model is more compact and lighter: 201 g, a 7.6-inch inner screen in 4:3, two 50 MP sensors and 4,800 mAh. The Ultra takes up the large format of the Z Fold 7 with an 8-inch inner screen, a 200 MP main sensor, a telephoto and 5,000 mAh, for 215 g. It costs €200 more at equal capacity.
Can you buy the Samsung foldable in Cameroon or Côte d’Ivoire?
Yes, Samsung lists it on its website for French-speaking Africa and sells it through its authorised resellers, without showing a price online. No official price in FCFA was public in early October 2026. Ask for a quote in an authorised shop and compare it with the converted French price, which is around 1,311,000 FCFA before fees. Favour an official channel, for the warranty on the folding screen.
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