I Rounded Up Hands-On Reviews of the Galaxy Z Fold8

Good morning, it’s まさきん.

I was browsing the Rakuten Mobile site when I noticed pre-orders had opened for the Galaxy Z Fold8, Samsung’s latest foldable in the Galaxy series. It’s set to launch on August 7, 2026. Since it caught my eye as a candidate for my next phone upgrade, I decided to read through hands-on reviews from a bunch of different outlets and compare notes.

Rather than going through the reviews one at a time, I wanted to pull together what multiple outlets had to say in one place this time, picking up both the good points and the not-so-good ones without playing favorites.

Let’s Start with the Basic Specs

Before getting into the reviews, let’s run through the basic specs listed on the Rakuten Mobile product page.

Just looking at the numbers, you can tell this is a phone where thinness and light weight really stand out.

Summing Up the Reviews from Different Outlets

Now for the main part. Going through the hands-on reviews, a few points kept coming up as things reviewers liked.

First, the weight. The Business Insider Japan review described it as the “world’s lightest book-style foldable.” At around 201g, that’s on par with flagship-class slab phones. A note article by Narita Noshin points out that it’s 57g lighter than the competing Pixel 10 Pro Fold (258g), and I’d imagine that difference really shows during long stretches of one-handed use.

The change in screen ratio also came up in several reviews. Now that the unfolded display is a 4:3 widescreen, Gizmodo Japan’s article rated it as “simply easier to watch videos on than the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra or Galaxy Z Flip8.” The Business Insider Japan review also noted that the black bars are reduced when watching videos or reading manga, making better use of the screen.

The barely noticeable crease is another point that got favorable coverage. A note review by Motchan mentioned that thanks to the Flex Titanium structure, “the crease is hardly noticeable when watching videos or looking at photos.” That’s something that’s tended to bother people with previous foldables, so I honestly think it’s a good improvement.

A Few Downsides Worth Mentioning

Only covering the good points wouldn’t be much use as a reference, so let’s also go over the concerns raised in the reviews.

The camera doesn’t have a telephoto lens. It’s a two-lens setup at around 50MP each, and zoom tops out at a 2x digital crop. Motchan’s review also had a comment along the lines of “you need to accept the lack of telephoto.” If you take a lot of photos, this is worth knowing about ahead of time.

It doesn’t support the S Pen either. Narita Noshin’s article described this as a deliberate “design by subtraction” to achieve the 4.5mm thinness — dropping S Pen support on purpose. If you like taking notes the way you would in a notebook, this might feel like it’s missing something.

Speaker placement was another thing pointed out in the Gizmodo Japan review. Because the speakers sit at the upper-left and lower-left when the phone is unfolded, the stereo effect apparently suffers a bit. If you enjoy watching videos or listening to music, this is probably worth keeping in mind.

When folded, it’s 82mm wide, wider than the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra’s 73mm. The Business Insider Japan review noted that this extra width can make one-handed operation harder in some cases. This seems like one of those things where how much it bothers you depends on your hand size.

Pricing and Campaigns at Rakuten Mobile

Let’s also look at the price, which is what really matters. The device price at Rakuten Mobile is 269,900 yen. A few payment options are available.

With the 48-installment plan, limited to Rakuten Card holders, payments 1 through 24 are 4,490 yen a month, 25 through 47 are 6,755 yen a month, and the 48th payment is 6,775 yen. Go with the 24-installment plan instead, and it’s a simpler 11,245 yen a month, with the first payment being 11,265 yen.

There’s also a trade-in program that waives your remaining payments if you return the device starting from month 25. Which payment method makes more sense probably depends on whether you plan to keep using the phone for a long time or switch again partway through.

Campaign points varied depending on the conditions too. Switching from another carrier gets you up to 16,000 points, while existing subscribers get 6,000 points. On top of that, there was mention of an extra 15,000 points through a campaign via the Samsung Wallet app. Combine the switching bonus with the app-based bonus, and it adds up to a decent chunk of points back.

As I covered in an earlier post walking through the MNP switching process, the actual process of switching carriers while keeping your number isn’t all that complicated. It might be worth considering a carrier switch at the same time as your phone upgrade — it could work out well on the points side too.

As a Candidate for Our Next Phone Upgrade

In our household, one of our lines is getting close to finishing its installment payments on the current phone. As I mentioned in an earlier post about paying off phone balances early, timing an upgrade around when the remaining balance clears feels like the least stressful way to go about it.

If you mostly watch videos or read manga, the 4:3 widescreen display seems like a great fit. On the other hand, if a telephoto camera or S Pen support matters to you, another model might suit you better.

Reading through all these reviews side by side, what struck me is how well thought out the Galaxy Z Fold8 is as an “everyday foldable.” My take is that, in going after the right balance of thinness, weight, and screen ratio, they made a conscious trade-off on features like the camera and S Pen.

Wrap-up

The Galaxy Z Fold8’s biggest highlights are its 201g weight and 4:3 widescreen display. The barely noticeable crease also earned favorable marks across multiple reviews.

That said, there are trade-offs too — no telephoto camera, no S Pen support, and that speaker placement. Whether those trade-offs bother you probably comes down to how you actually use your phone.

It’s scheduled to launch on August 7, 2026. Pricing and campaign details are subject to change, so if you’re interested, be sure to check the official site for the latest information before applying.

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