If you ask me, Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the most exciting thing that's happened to foldables in the last seven years since the very first one launched.
The Galaxy Fold 8 has an aspect ratio that makes sense for the web: it unfolds in a 4:3 size, much better than the boxier, almost square size of the Fold 8 Ultra. Whether it's social media, videos or photos, the modern web is meant to be shown in rectangles, not in squares.
And boy, did I use that modern web in the past few days.
So while the Galaxy Fold 8 is light and thin by design, the big question for me was all about the battery life.
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After three days of use, I still don't have the full picture, but I do have a ballpark based on my real-world use.
One important disclaimer: Samsung will probably push some updates to the phone before the official launch, so some changes are possible. With this in mind, here is what I saw in my usage:
With my more intense usage, I typically ended the day with about 20% of juice left. Considering the amount of use, I find this to be actually quite good for such a thin device.
For example, on Thursday, I had a screen time of 4 hours and 53 minutes which used up 82% of the battery.
And, as you can see in the screenshots above, my usage was mostly social media (Instagram), catching up on emails in Gmail and browsing in Chrome.
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Image by PhoneArena
Then, on Friday, my screen time was 2 hours and 56 minutes, which used up 63% of the battery, so on that day, if we calculate 100% use, this would work out to 4 hours and 39 minutes of screen time.
Image by PhoneArena
Then, on Saturday, I used the phone a lot, with 7 hours and 5 minutes of screen time for 107% of battery usage (I had to top it up befeore the end of the day). So a full charge on that day works out to 6 hours and 37 minutes.
As you can see, battery life in real-life use varies a lot. The average from these three days of use, however, gives us a good average: the Fold 8 lasted me an average of 5 hours and 44 minutes, just a bit below 6 hours of screen time.
So the Fold 8 slots right in between the battery life of a small phone and a large flagship.
As a reminder, Samsung's official estimates are that the Fold 8 lasts for 26 hours of video playback, compared to 31 hours on the S26 Ultra (so Samsung also admits the Fold 8 lasts less than the S26 Ultra).
Image by PhoneArena
It's also really nice that the Fold 8 supports faster, 45-watt charging now, so topping it up takes just a bit more than an hour.
I will be updating this article with more real-world impressions, but let me know if you find these numbers good enough.
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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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