This is the major compromise with the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s silicon-carbon battery

Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at $1,200 off

$899 ⁹⁹

$2099 ⁹⁹

$1200 off (57%)

Trade in an eligible device and save up to $1,200 on the new foldable phone from Samsung. With its refined design and large cover screen, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a top pick for foldable phone fans. You also get a $30 reservation gift and a $200 Samsung credit if you don't trade in a device.

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Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at $1,200

$699 ⁹⁹

$1899 ⁹⁹

$1200 off (63%)

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is Samsung's first foldable phone with a passport design. Right now, you can pre-order it with a $1,200 maximum trade-in discount. Alternatively, you get $200 Samsung credit without a trade-in.

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This is a stark difference from last year's Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy Z Fold 7, which were both rated at 2,000 cycles. The change is almost certainly related to the use of silicon anode batteries on the new models, instead of the graphite anode cells on the 2025 foldables.

Still beating Apple and Google

While representing a 40% drop from last year, the 1,200 cycles figure is still higher than Samsung’s main competitors. All iPhone 17 and Pixel 10 models are rated at only 1,000 cycles, while the Galaxy S26 phones also get to 1,200 cycles.

None of these numbers means that the corresponding devices will suddenly stop working after 1,000 or 1,200 charging cycles. Instead, the figure is an estimate of the charge cycles after which the battery will be capable of charging to 80% of its initial charging capacity.

If they’re charged daily, Samsung’s latest phones will need over three years and three months to reach the 1,200 charging cycles limit, compared to well over five years for the 2,000 cycles of last year’s foldables. Apple's and Google’s phones would reach their 1,000-cycle limit after two years and nine months of daily charging.

My colleague Victor has already shared his first impressions of how the battery of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 holds up, and he seemed impressed. His estimate is that the passport-style foldable should keep up with about 6 hours of screen time, which is a great result.

The biggest downside of silicon-carbon batteries

It is far from surprising that Samsung’s new batteries won’t have the same longevity as its earlier models. This has been one of the main issues with silicon-carbon batteries and probably a significant reason it took Samsung so long to implement the technology in its devices.

Apple and Google are now the only major smartphone manufacturers that don’t use silicon-carbon batteries. That’s unlikely to change with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, foldable iPhone Ultra, and Pixel 11 phones.

This should come with high repairability

I don’t think many people keep the same phone for over three years, but if they do, they should have the option to easily swap its battery. This way, the three years of adequate battery life would make sense, but everyone who uses hand-me-down phones won’t need to suffer.