Samsung delivered plenty of upgrades with the Galaxy Z Fold 7; the foldable has a thinner and lighter design than its predecessor, and it holds its own against its Chinese rivals in this regard. That’s no small feat considering brands like Vivo and Honor have pushed the boundaries in this area in recent years.
That said, Samsung continues to lag behind when it comes to the battery and cameras, and it misses out on other extras that are standard on the likes of the Vivo X Fold 5. I’m just getting started with my Z Fold 7, and this is what I want to see in next year’s Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Design
Coming in at just 4.2mm when unfolded, the Z Fold 7 is one of the thinnest foldables around. That makes a clear difference when using the device next to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Samsung did the right thing by increasing the cover panel to 6.5 inches. This was a major point of contention in the past, and it’s thankfully not an issue on the Z Fold 7.
It’s unlikely Samsung will alter the design next year — it has shown that it wants to retain a similar aesthetic year after year — but what I want to see is a slight tweak that makes the device easier to hold. The flat sides are a smidgen uncomfortable, and the addition of bevels like on the Magic V5 and Vivo X Fold 5 should make the Z Fold 8 that much easier to hold and use.
While Samsung pioneered water resistance on foldables, the Z Fold 8 is limited to IP48 ingress protection, with the Magic V5 and X Fold 5 featuring IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance as standard. With Google set to deliver IP68 on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Samsung needs to deliver better durability next year if it wants to maintain its position in this area.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Battery
As much as I like that the Z Fold 7 is considerably thinner, the foldable has the smallest battery of any device I used in 2025. The 4,400mAh battery is just pitiful when even smaller phones like the Vivo X200 FE have a 5,300mAh cell, and I don’t really know what Samsung was thinking by putting such a small battery in its latest foldable.
Clearly, that needs to change in 2026. The Z Fold 8 needs to have at least a 5,000mAh battery, considering this year’s Magic V5 has a 5,850mAh battery and the X Fold 5 comes with an even bigger 6,000mAh battery. Switching from the X Fold 5 to the Z Fold 7, there’s a clear difference in battery longevity, and this is something Samsung has to rectify with the Z Fold 8.
On that note, 25W charging just isn’t enough any longer on a device that’s pushing $2,000. All other foldables I used this year at least have 66W charging, and Samsung is lagging behind by quite a big amount in this area. The biggest advantage of a foldable is the increased real estate made possible by the inner panel, but that’s meaningless if the device doesn’t even manage to last all day.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Cameras
Samsung did the right thing by upgrading the main camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to a 200MP unit. This allows the foldable to hold its own against Honor and Vivo, and while it is undoubtedly a positive move, Samsung didn’t lavish the same level of attention on the auxiliary cameras.
The 12MP wide-angle lens is decent enough, but the 10MP tele lens leaves much to be desired, and it just isn’t as good as what you get on the X Fold 5 and Magic V5. Samsung clearly needs to address this shortcoming with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, because it’s not just the main camera that differentiates a foldable, but the overall package.
With the Galaxy Z Fold 7 just now starting to become available, we’ll have to wait until July 2026 to see what the Z Fold 8 has in store. Thankfully, we should get plenty of details of Samsung’s 2026 foldable before that time, and I’ll update this post as and when new information becomes available.
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