The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a foldable that's easy to use in one hand

When was the last time you thought something and a company proved you wrong? For me, it was yesterday; the company was Samsung, and the product was the new Galaxy Z Fold 8. Shockingly, especially for someone who tries to make balanced judgments, I completely misjudged the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, but happily, it's MUCH better than I expected it to be.

Ahead of today's Galaxy Unpacked announcement, I spent several hours with all of Samsung's new products. There's the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, but there's also the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra — the successor to last year's excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7 — and the upgraded Galaxy Z Flip 8. On the health side, there are two new wearables: the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, along with a redesigned Samsung Health app and a new Samsung credit card.

Let's dive into the new folding phones and why Samsung has made a significant shift to its folding phone strategy.

Samsung has nailed the Galaxy Z Fold 8 form factor

There's no denying it for me: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a magical phone and the form factor I didn't know I needed. Before seeing it, the leaks and rumors led me to believe I wouldn't like it. I was hopelessly wrong, and you need to hold the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to truly appreciate how perfect its size is.

The front features a 5.5-inch Cover Display, which is 1 inch smaller than the previous Galaxy Z Fold 7 and this year's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Yet the revamped aspect ratio means the internal display still measures 7.6 inches, making this the perfect size for most people. When you unfold it, it's finally like having a proper tablet rather than an odd boxy design. This is further enhanced by the screen, which effectively functions as two 6.5-inch displays side by side, with a 16:10 aspect ratio that makes it perfect for viewing media.

This is where Samsung has nailed it: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the perfect folding phone for those who primarily want a big screen for capturing and viewing content, whether that is video, social media, or even books (in portrait mode, it's the perfect e-reader size). All of this arguably makes this the perfect size for most people.

Samsung has finally joined the Silicon Carbon battery party

Read any review of a recent Samsung phone, and there'll usually be something around battery size and technology. Samsung has been one of the biggest holdouts of adopting the next-generation Silicon Carbon battery technology, which allows phone makers to fit a higher capacity into the same-sized device.

For non-folding phones, the benefit is that it allows them to make phones thinner, but for folding phones, it also lets companies use two batteries with a higher total capacity while taking up less space overall. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and previous Samsung foldables have maxed out at 4,400 mAh, but the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 4,800 mAh battery despite being the lightest Galaxy Z Fold yet. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is even larger, at 5,000 mAh, despite having the exact same dimensions and overall specifications as the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Not content with just the battery, Samsung has also improved charging speeds, with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series supporting 45-watt wired charging and 20-watt wireless charging. It's worth noting that this doesn't support magnetic charging like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but Samsung does have a whole range of cases with magnets for Qi2-ready charging.

Two cameras with one interesting choice

Look on the back of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and you'll quickly notice that there are only two cameras, not three like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Yet, given the telephoto on the latter is just 10MP, you're not missing that much. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 comes with a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera, with the latter also being on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (which has a 200MP main camera).

There are also two new camera features that stand out: Fan Cam and Dual Shot.

How many times have you tried to capture your child's sports day or a concert and then had to crop it so it focused on that subject? If you've done this, you'll know it's a nightmare, and Fan Cam fixes this. From the gallery, you can easily set it to focus on one or more people, and Galaxy AI will automatically crop and focus the video on those subjects. The best thing? If you choose multiple subjects, it'll create individual videos for each subject, and it works on any video, even existing ones captured on another phone.

Dual Shot isn't exactly new, as we've seen many phone makers offer it, including Samsung previously, but it lets you record both the front and rear cameras simultaneously. You can move the preview window around as you need, and one particularly neat feature is that it can either save the video as previewed (with the feeds from both cameras) or it can export each feed individually so you can edit them later as you wish. There's also 8K recording and editing on-device, which should make this perfect for creating vlogs.

I'm taken aback by how good the Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels

There will definitely be some complaints around some of the specifications of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, but I reiterate that this is a phone you cannot judge until you've held it. I had many preconceived notions about the size, form factor, and overall feel, and genuinely thought this would be an appetizer for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra main course.

Instead, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the main course, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the dessert with a cherry on top.

Will I miss the telephoto lens? Possibly, but let's be very honest: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's 10MP telephoto lens isn't the best telephoto, especially compared to the Oppo Find N6, Motorola Razr Fold and Honor Magic V6. Yes, you 'lose' a camera, but you get something far better instead: the perfect size for front or main screen use.

It wouldn't surprise me if other phone makers follow suit, and they should: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has the perfect foldable phone form factor. I can't wait to put this to the test, so stay tuned for much more!

When can you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and what colors does it come in?

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available to pre-order today and starts at $1,899.99 in the US, or £1,699 in the UK. There will naturally be pre-order deals that double storage and/or provide additional credit, but you can find the latest deals at the links in the boxes below.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 comes in four colors. Black, White, and Lavender, which will be widely available from all retailers, and a beautiful Pistachio light-green that's an online-exclusive from Samsung direct.