I don’t review products, I live with them. So when I took Samsung’s all new Galaxy Z Fold 8 to China recently, it got the full workout: flights, hotels, family dinners and one forgotten charging of the device. My tip after all that? This is going to be one of the hottest smartphone launches of the year.

The numbers back the gut feel.

In Samsung’s home market of South Korea, the Galaxy Z8 series pulled in 1.44 million preorders, a record for a Galaxy smartphone and 38% up on the previous generation.

Tellingly, 70% of those buyers chose the base Fold 8 over the flagship Fold 8 Ultra.

Samsung Australia won’t talk local sales numbers, but sources say they’ve exceeded expectations, with foldable pre-orders delivering solid double-digit year-on-year growth, Samsung’s highest-ever number of switchers from rival brands, and the Fold 8 leading sales across the range.

The Dinner Table Test

Forget lab benchmarks, here’s a real-world one. At a recent family occasion I pulled the Fold 8 out in front of 14 people and the response was overwhelming.

The 17-year-oldbirthday girl  fell in love instantly. The 40-year-old real estate agent called it “incredibly practical”, it fits in a pocket, he could run house and apartment videos on the 7.6-inch OLED main display while the 5.5-inch cover screen handled notifications and messages. The women at the table loved how easily it could be concealed in a small bag or pocket.

Then came Shenzhen. Over dinner at the Marriott, two well-heeled older ladies approached me with one question: “What phone is that?” One look and they wanted to buy it on the spot. “All we get is Chinese phones and Apple,” one said.

That’s the pattern everywhere this device goes.

Why do you need a telephoto when you can shoot excellent pictures from the 47th floor of a Hotel.

It causes a stir across every age group, and Samsung’s own data shows female Fold buyers in their teens through 30s more than doubled on Samsung.com over the past 12 months versus the previous generation.

Why The Base Model Is The Star

This time round Samsung clearly did its homework on the foldable market, splitting the line in two: the Z Fold 8 Ultra at the top, and a shorter, wider base Fold 8. It’s the latter that grabs people. The passport-sized form factor “opened new borders” with everyone I showed it to, and it may well render the flip format old news. I’d also tip it to strip sales from buyers who previously went flip purely for the compact footprint.

The naming was no accident either. “Samsung could have called it Fold 8 Wide, FE or something else,” a Samsung source told me. “Instead, it moved the traditional Fold successor up to Ultra and gave the new shape the basic Fold name.”

That confidence is showing up on the production line. Samsung initially allocated 2.8 million Fold 8 units for the year, more than any other Z8 model, then added a million more to the schedule after preorders surged.

Engineering: The Crease Finally Behaves

Samsung has done a great job re-engineering the hinge. Opening and closing is lighter and easier, and the crease on the 7.6-inch main screen is far less noticeable thanks to Flex Titanium technology, a titanium alloy film paired with a micro-perforated titanium base plate.

Inside the wafer-thin housing sits a Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and the device is seriously powerful for its size. Connectivity covers Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, UWB and DeX support.

The Battery: A Genuine Standout

Here’s my favourite accidental test. Leaving Shanghai, I realised I’d forgotten to charge the phone. Next day, it still had 52% left. Despite heavy use I got two days out of it, and Samsung’s claim of up to 26 hours of continuous playback checks out in my book.

The 4,800mAh Si/C battery is only 200mAh smaller than the Ultra’s, with 45W wired charging that gets you to 63% in 30 minutes, the fastest of any Samsung foldable to date, plus 20W wireless charging.

Audio held up too. On the flight home I plugged in my JBL noise-cancelling headphones, another Samsung-owned product, and streamed Tidal happily, even better once I was off satellite delivery.

Pricing, Colours And Availability

Pricing starts at $1,949 for 256GB and $2,249 for 512GB. All models are available via JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys, and on plans through carriers, the Devices went on sale August 14.

Colours run Cream, Graphite, Violet Shadow and Green Shadow, with Pistachio a Samsung.com online exclusive. Locally, Graphite and Lavender have been the most popular Fold 8 colours, with Violet Shadow and Graphite leading on the Ultra.

What Comes Next

The success has Samsung already developing the successor after what’s being described as unprecedented sales, with talk of as many as five Galaxy foldables ahead. Timing-wise, the Fold 8 is positioned squarely against Apple’s first foldable, rumoured as the iPhone Ultra. On this showing, Cupertino has a fight on its hands.

Comment:
On a negative note I would have liked rounded edges because after a while this device can cut into your hand when you are not using buds.

For: This is a trend setter that will be remembered for it’s cutting edge design, functionality and the fact it delivers a whole new prospective for a compact device.