I Wanted to Love the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Turns Out I’m Just Not a Foldable Person.
When Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 8, it was the first time that I had been really tempted by a folding phone. The new form factor and the fact that it is targeted at consuming content on your phone got me really curious, and eventually that curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered it.
I really wanted to love the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and it started off well, but as the days passed, things started to change, and I found myself reaching for it less and less. In the end, after two weeks, I decided to return the phone, not because I really disliked the phone; I just realised that I am not a foldy phone type of girl and that’s OK.
In this post, I am going to run through my first impressions and why I just decided that it wasn’t for me.
My First Impressions:
I was genuinely excited to unbox the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and at first glance I really liked the design. The compact square form factor when it’s folded was nice, and I thought that I would be using it like this a lot, as I was expecting it to fit and feel really nice in my hand, but it was the unfolded form factor that I actually found using more.
I was wondering what the crease would be like on the phone and if it would bother me when I was watching content on YT or just scrolling on my social, and to be fair, it’s there, but it didn’t bother me. After a while, I didn’t really notice it at all. I can see why people enjoy watching content on this device; the screen is really nice and when unfolded it’s like a mini tablet and the aspect ratio is perfect for watching YT videos.
What I did notice pretty much straight away was that not many apps seemed to be optimised for this form factor. They didn’t fill the screen properly and just didn’t look great, which for me personally took away from the experience. I also had a few instances when the screen would freeze when opened, and I would have to close the screen to exit the app and restart. Not the end of the world, but it was annoying
What Changed?
In a word, the novelty wore off. There wasn’t one thing that really tipped the scales for me; I just wasn’t reaching for it over my iPhone 17 Pro. I started to find it uncomfortable in my hand when close, and to type, you really needed to use both hands whether open or not. It wasn’t giving me a better experience than your more traditional slab phone.
The camera was decent enough, but to be honest, I didn’t take a lot of photos with it and definitely not one of the reasons that I decided to send it back. The battery life was great; it is very much an all-day phone. I don’t multitask with my phone, so that element was also wasted on me; I didn’t really need all that extra screen estate. What I have already was more than enough for me to get what I need to do done.
One thing that I got out of this that is not a hardware point is that I am not a fan of Samsung’s One UI. I am not sure exactly what it is that I don’t like, but it’s really not my cup of tea. For me, on the Android front, its Googles UI that I really like, and this might be another reason why I was happy to send it back
Final Thoughts:
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great phone, but for me it just didn’t work enough for me to want to keep it alongside my iPhone 17 Pro. And for the price, I would want to be using it a lot.
There are plenty of reasons as to why it’s worth buying
- Great for reading books, etc.
- You consume a lot of content.
- Tablet replacement – one device that does it all.
- Form factor – small enough to fit in your pocket when closed.
- Great for multitasking
And there are plenty more things that I could add to the list. Like most things, you need to understand what your use cases are and if it’s going to achieve them before you decide on pushing the button on buying one.
I am glad that I tried it, although it was short-lived. I think that it has reaffirmed that the fold is not for me, at least not this one lol. For now, I am back to just my iPhone 17 Pro, but I am ordering the Pixel 11 Pro XL, as for me the Google phones are my favourite Android devices, so keep an eye out for that arriving.