What you need to know
- A new report suggests Samsung may upgrade the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s battery to 5,000mAh, up from the 4,400mAh used since 2021.
- Samsung hasn’t meaningfully changed battery capacity since the Galaxy Z Fold 3, despite larger screens and higher performance demands.
- Rumors point to 2,369mAh and 2,485mAh cells, combining for a rated 4,845mAh, which Samsung would market as 5,000mAh typical capacity.
Samsung hasn’t changed the Galaxy Z Fold’s battery much in recent years, but that could be about to change. Since 2021, the company has kept using a 4,400mAh battery, while competitors like Honor and OPPO have managed to fit bigger batteries into slimmer foldable phones.
According to new data spotted by GalaxyClub, the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 could pack a 5,000mAh battery, a noticeable jump from the 4,400mAh cell used in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and several generations before it.
This might not seem like a huge change, but it would be the largest battery Samsung has ever put in a regular Fold model. The company has used about the same battery size for years. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 had 4,500mAh, and since the Fold 3, the battery has stayed around 4,400mAh, even as screens and performance needs have increased.
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Why foldables use two batteries
Like earlier Fold models, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely use a dual-battery setup. This design is needed for foldable phones. Each half of the device has its own battery, and they work together as one system.
The leaked specs show one battery rated around 2,369mAh and the other about 2,485mAh, giving a combined rated capacity of roughly 4,845mAh. Samsung would likely market that as a typical 5,000mAh capacity, which is standard practice for smartphone batteries.
If these numbers are correct, that’s about a 13 to 14 percent increase over the Fold 7. It’s not a huge jump, but it should help the phone last longer each day. At the same time, some Chinese brands are already offering foldables with much bigger batteries, sometimes 6,000mAh or more, in phones just as thin.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 might not get a battery upgrade this year. That could be disappointing for people who like clamshell foldables.
The battery isn’t the only thing expected to change in Samsung’s next foldable. Early leaks say the Galaxy Z Fold 8 could have a 6.5-inch cover screen, a bigger 8-inch foldable OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, and at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Software might also help the battery last longer. The phone is expected to run Android 17 with One UI 9, which could make it one of the first Samsung devices to launch with that version right away.
One thing the leaks haven’t answered is charging speed. Samsung’s Fold phones have used 25W wired charging for years, while other top phones, including Samsung’s own Galaxy S26 Ultra, now charge much faster.
Samsung is expected to reveal its next foldable phones around mid-2026, likely along with the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and maybe some other new foldable designs.
Android Central’s Take
I’m happy to see Samsung finally improving the Fold’s battery. For a phone made for multitasking and big-screen use, battery life shouldn’t be an afterthought. A 5,000mAh battery should mean fewer mid-day charges for people who use the inner display as Samsung intends. Still, it’s clear that other brands already offer foldables with much bigger batteries, so this upgrade feels like Samsung is just keeping up. I appreciate the change, but honestly, this should have happened a few years ago.
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