Well, there are two things to kind of look forward to. But one of them is so outdated already that I don’t think it should count, even if it is very welcome.
Same old, same old
The Fold 7 is excellent, but it’s not perfect, Samsung! | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 was a massive leap in innovation over the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It was much slimmer, to start, and it also featured an even better display with a less noticeable crease.
Leaked Galaxy Z Fold 8 specs reveal that this will not be the case for the upcoming foldable flagship. Instead, it will almost weigh the same and it will also remain at almost the exact same thickness. The differences will be negligible and difficult for the average consumer to notice.
In addition, there will still be no S Pen support and the phone will, as most would have expected, not feature the privacy display found on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Perhaps worst of all, the display crease will barely be different from the Fold 7. That is a real bummer because, earlier this year, Samsung unveiled a crease-free foldable display.
I had been really hoping that the Fold 8 and the Wide Fold — or the Fold 8 Wide as some reports call it — would feature this display. Ah, well. Perhaps in a year or two from now.
The outdated upgrade
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely lose to the foldable iPhone Ultra when it comes to battery capacity. | Image by Fpt.
I mentioned before that there were two upgrades that were worth talking about, though one of them is something that we’ve been waiting years for. It’s the battery.
Yes, according to leaks, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will finally leave the 4,400 mAh battery behind. Unfortunately, the upgrade isn’t as big as I had hoped.
Samsung is going to use its trusty 5,000 mAh battery for the Fold 8 instead. The same battery capacity that has been haunting the Galaxy S-series flagships for generations as the rest of the world progressed further around them.
If the reports of the foldable iPhone Ultra featuring a 5,800 mAh battery are accurate, then Samsung’s stubbornness to stick with a 5,000 mAh battery yet again is very frustrating.
Fortunately, there is at least one bright side.
Smaller camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 8
The front camera is much smaller on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. | Image by Android Headlines
This will apply to the Galaxy Z Wide Fold as well: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will feature a much smaller front camera. Reports talking about this change mention that this is a new hardware innovation by Samsung.
This is something that will probably make its way to the Galaxy S27 series next year as well. As someone who severely dislikes cutouts on smartphone displays, this will be a nice change of pace.
I might have jumped the gun when I said a few weeks back that Samsung was bringing the same level of excellence to the Fold 8 as it did to the Fold 7. This isn’t nearly the generational leap that the Fold 7 was, but I suppose that’s okay.
Not every year can see as big of an upgrade. Sure, I’m disappointed that the crease-free display is not coming this year or that the increase in battery capacity is barely of note, but at least there’s something new on the table.
Now, whether the wide-folding form factor for the iPhone Ultra and the Galaxy Z Wide Fold catches on or not, I hope we can see more impressive upgrades next year with the Fold 9. Oh, and, Samsung? Don’t cancel the Flip series.
