Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 takes the flip phone to its peak

It’s slimmer, lighter and more compact. Once you open it, Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip8 feels like a regular smartphone. We used the Flip8 for five days, and there are enough new features here to impress users.

A compact powerhouse

The design of the Flip remains practical. This is a compact powerhouse. Samsung has brought the weight down to 180g this year and slimmed the phone down to just 6.1mm when fully unfolded. That’s only a fraction thicker than last year’s Galaxy S25 Edge, which was widely praised for its slim profile. Factor in the fact that the Flip8 folds in half, and it becomes even more impressive.

That form factor, especially when closed, makes the phone incredibly compact to use and hold, while also making it easy to slip into a pocket.

It’s also a stunning phone to look at. The design, aesthetics and colours come together to create something that is both cute and striking. The most noticeable aspect, however, is the size and brightness of the cover screen. Samsung has transformed it from a simple notification panel into a genuinely useful smartphone experience.

Weighing eight grams less than Galaxy Z Flip7, Flip8 is more comfortable in your pocket. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

It almost feels like a complete user interface now. Samsung has created a bespoke UI for the cover screen, which means you get a great experience that is distinctly different from the one on the main display. At times, it feels as though you’re using two different phones.

At the same time, Samsung has made the cover-screen experience more consistent with the main display. There is now a fully functional app drawer, allowing you to swipe up, browse your apps and launch them directly from the cover screen. You can get a full mobile experience without even opening the phone.

There’s also a proper Quick Panel, which you can access by dragging down from the top. You can swipe between the Quick Panel and notifications rather than having everything separated as it was before.

If you need to quickly adjust the brightness or check your notifications, you can do it all from the cover. There’s also a more expansive selection of widgets. You can add widgets to the cover screen, browse them and use shortcuts to launch apps without opening the phone. Given how much you can now do from the cover screen, you may not even want to open it.

Optimised especially for Galaxy Z Flip8, One UI 9 allows you to access the apps tray as easily on FlexWindow as the main screen. Move, add or delete widgets such as Gallery, Weather, Health or Calendar directly on the cover screen for instant customizations. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

You get a genuinely useful one-handed experience that you can rely on for much of your day.

The cover screen also includes a camera experience that is largely unchanged from last year but still offers plenty of flexibility. One of the biggest advantages of the Flip is being able to use the rear cameras for selfies and video while the phone is closed. If you want higher-resolution video, you can switch to landscape mode and access 4K recording, which improves the quality and gives you a wider field of view.

But the flexibility of the Flip isn’t really about the final output. It’s about how you can capture content without needing additional equipment.

You get access to better-quality cameras with the Flip closed, which has been one of the advantages of the form factor from the outset. With the larger cover screen, you no longer have to open the phone every time you want to take a photo or record something. You can do it directly from the cover screen, with a large and convenient preview.

You can work on almost any app on the outer screen. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

Whether you’re recording video or capturing photos and selfies, the larger preview makes the experience much easier. Samsung has expanded on this with Camera Assistant, which lets you use the cover screen and cameras almost like a compact mirror.

The overall camera experience is fine, although it’s a little disappointing that Samsung hasn’t upgraded the ultra-wide camera. You still get a 50MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. The Flip8 also misses out on the 24-megapixel resolution option available through Camera Assistant. The main camera gets it, but the ultra-wide does not.

The Flip form factor has never been about pure camera output. It’s about versatility. You can prop the phone halfway open on a table, point the camera towards yourself for selfies, or flip it around to use the better rear cameras with the cover screen acting as a preview.

It’s a hands-free, tripod-free experience that effectively works like a tripod. It’s pretty great.

Then there’s FlexCam, which allows you to position the phone almost like a camcorder, with added features such as horizontal lock.

Taken together, you have a package that offers more than just pure camera output. It’s functional and practical, and it captures good-enough footage and photos to keep on your phone.

Galaxy Z Flip8 brings together next-gen CPU, GPU and NPU to support the way you explore and express yourself. The advanced NPU powers AI tools that help you shape ideas instantly, while the GPU keeps visuals smooth across everything you watch and create. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

Performance and the Flip experience

When it comes to performance, there are two ways of looking at it. You could be impressed that Samsung has retained a 4,300mAh battery while making the phone thinner and lighter than last year’s Flip7. Or you could quibble over the fact that those numbers have stayed the same and that the charging speed hasn’t improved. We didn’t have any issues with battery life, though.

This is a flagship smartphone, so you’re unlikely to encounter the performance problems you might see on a mid-range or entry-level device. Whether you’re using Flex Mode to watch content and consume media or doing something more intensive, such as gaming on the internal display, performance is unlikely to bother you. That remains true even with the Exynos 2600 variant customised for Galaxy.

If you're a vlogger who enjoys creating POV content, take advantage of the Super Steady Horizontal Lock. It automatically detects the horizon to keep your frame level, even if your camera rotates a full 360 degree. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

But the Flip offers something more. It isn’t necessarily about performance; it’s about what you can do with the form factor.

For example, you can browse YouTube on the cover screen, select a video and then unfold the phone and put it into Flex Mode to watch it. No other phone gives you quite the same compact experience. Not even Samsung’s Fold models.

The interesting thing about the Flip8 is that it feels finished. It feels as though we’ve reached the summit of what a Flip phone can achieve. There are, of course, areas Samsung could improve. It could add a third camera, for instance, while charging speeds could be faster. But neither of those changes the fundamental form or function of the Flip.

Enhanced colour and light representation from advanced mobile Digital Natural Image engine technology delivers richer tones. Plus, 2,600 nits peak brightness allows you to witness the full spectrum when you are on the go. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

The Flip8’s biggest advantage is a software one, and it all comes down to the cover screen. That advantage is complemented by the design. Being lighter and thinner means the phone is more compact when closed and easier to hold for longer periods. The software also lets you do more without opening it.

That is what drives the upgrades on the Flip8, and it’s what we think will drive buyers towards it. Once you start using it, the Flip8 remains, hands down, the best compact form factor and small smartphone experience you can get. Nothing else quite matches it.

The outer display is highly customisable. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8

Price: Upwards of Rs 124,999 (256GB+12GB and more)

High notes

** Slimmer and lighter design

** Compact form factor

** Improved cover-screen interface

** Expanded widget selection

** Useful one-handed experience

** Flexible camera experience

** Strong flagship performance

** Good battery life

** Excellent pocketability

Muffled notes

** Ultra-wide camera remains unchanged

** Charging speed remains unchanged