As Apple is strongly rumored to be preparing to enter the foldable market, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Series shows what years of refinement the form factor can deliver.
There was a time when “foldable smartphone” felt more at home in a sci-fi movie than in someone’s pocket. Today, with more brands entering the category, simply having a phone that folds is no longer enough. People want a foldable that can hold up to everyday use, feels natural in the hand, performs like a proper flagship, and makes the most of its unique form.
Samsung has had years to figure out what that looks like. As the pioneer that helped establish the modern foldable category, the company has refined the idea generation after generation, gradually turning the fold from a novelty into something people can actually see themselves using every day.
That progress comes to life in the latest Galaxy Z Series, where Samsung once again pushes the boundaries of what a foldable can be. The Galaxy Z Flip8 brings a sharper, more expressive take on the iconic clamshell, pairing a refined silhouette with a compact form that opens into a full-sized smartphone experience. The Galaxy Z Fold8, meanwhile, represents a bold step forward in the evolution of the foldable form factor. Its new, distinctive passport-style design gives it a striking new presence, while its wider canvas opens up more room for immersive content, multitasking, and everything in between. More than simply refining the foldable formula, the Fold8 demonstrates how far the category has come — and how much further it can go. At the top of the lineup, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra takes that evolution even further, bringing a larger display, 200MP camera system, and a powerful, workstation-like design to a form factor built for those who expect more from their smartphone. Together, the latest Galaxy Z Series shows that foldables are no longer simply an alternative to the traditional smartphone—they are redefining what a smartphone can be.
That practicality starts before you even unfold the phone. After all, a device can be impressive on paper, but switching to it should not feel like a chore. This is where Samsung Smart Switch comes in.
The Fold Starts With the Switch
Switching phones sounds simple until you remember everything stored on the old one. Photos, messages, contacts, apps, settings, and the little details built up over the years can make starting over feel like more work than it’s worth. Samsung Smart Switch is designed to make that transition easier, letting users move their data to Galaxy from compatible Android, iOS, Windows, and BlackBerry devices through wired or wireless connections, as well as supported cloud and desktop backups.
And it goes beyond the basics. Smart Switch can transfer messages, documents, settings, home screen layouts, wallpapers, Wi-Fi networks, notes, calendars, compatible apps, accounts, and supported passkeys. Users can also choose what they want to bring along. The result is getting a new phone without feeling like you have to rebuild your digital life from scratch.
Eight Generations of Turning User Habits Into Better Design
The earliest foldables proved that a smartphone could bend, expand, and offer more screen when you needed it. But making the form factor work in everyday life required more than simply adding a hinge. Across eight generations, Samsung has refined the design by paying attention to how people actually hold, open, carry, and interact with their foldables.
That learning is evident in the Galaxy Z Fold8. At just 4.5mm when unfolded and 201g, it is slimmer and lighter without losing the expansive experience that defines the Fold series. Its redesigned proportions also make the cover screen feel more natural for everyday tasks, while unfolding reveals a 7.6-inch display designed for immersive content, multitasking, and larger-screen work.
Even the details reflect years of learning. The hinge remains essential to the foldable experience, but it no longer demands attention every time the phone is opened. Instead, the engineering works quietly in the background. That may be one of the clearest signs of maturity: when technology becomes so refined that users stop thinking about how it works and simply enjoy what it lets them do.
More Than Just A Fold
The latest Galaxy Z Series shows how Samsung has moved foldables beyond their form factor to deliver a more complete flagship experience. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra leads this approach with a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide, 8K video recording, and advanced imaging and editing tools, while its expansive display and workstation-like design are built for productivity and demanding everyday use. The Galaxy Z Fold8 builds on the same foundation with a thinner, more natural design and a wider inner display, making the larger-screen experience easier and more intuitive to embrace.
Beyond hardware, Samsung has continued to make the foldable experience more useful through One UI and Galaxy AI. Features such as multi-window, floating apps, Flex Mode, Now Bar, Now Nudge, and Now Brief make better use of the larger display by bringing information, suggested actions, and multiple tasks together in one experience. On the Galaxy Z Flip8, the expanded 4.1-inch FlexWindow takes a different approach, keeping notifications, messaging, apps, and camera controls accessible without having to open the phone. Together, these innovations show that the value of a foldable isn’t simply having more screen—it is having more ways to interact, create, and get things done.
Setting the Standard for Foldables
Apple’s potential entry into the category will bring more attention to foldables and give more people a reason to consider a form factor that once felt experimental.
But entering the category and defining it are two different things. A mature foldable should feel easy to live with. It should be durable, comfortable to use, powerful enough to stand alongside other flagships, and supported by software and AI that make the fold genuinely useful. Most of all, it should give users more without asking them to settle for less.
The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is the clearest example of how far Samsung has taken that idea. It brings together years of work across design, cameras, performance, productivity, software, and everyday usability.
The Galaxy Z Fold8 shows where things could go next, with a thinner and more natural design that builds on the larger-screen experience that has made the Fold series so popular.
The industry may be catching up to the Fold. Samsung has already spent eight generations figuring out what makes it work.
Words by Aljhelyn Piador
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE Volume 27 Issue No. 3