Samsung's flip phones have always been more of an accessory than a real phone. The Galaxy Z Flip8 aims to remedy that. Still folds in half to fit in a small pocket and still fits in nice colours such as Pink and Mint.

This time Samsung has beefed up what matters more every day: the cover screen, the main display and the new Exynos 2600 chip. It's not cheap. So really, the question isn't what it looks like. Whether the folding phone is a normal thing to use.

An In-Depth Review on Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8

Featuring an exceptional design that doesn't compromise on usability, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 is designed to appeal to individuals who wish to have a device that makes a statement. It is powered by the 2nm Exynos 2600 chipset, features a 4300mAh battery, a 120Hz AMOLED main display, and a very functional 4.1" cover screen. This review will analyze its design, display, performance, cameras, battery life, price in Bangladesh and overall value for those who value style but also desire a solid day-to-day performer.

Box Content

This is what you get inside the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 box:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 Smartphone
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• User manual

Galaxy Z Flip8 is all about simplicity. The phone itself, a USB Type-C to USB Type-C charging cable, a SIM ejector tool are there, along with some basic documentation (quick start guide and warranty card. The box does not contain a charging adaptor or earphones so if you don't have a fast charging adaptor of your own, you must purchase a compatible fast charging adaptor.

Design & Build Quality

When it comes to the Galaxy Z Flip8, it's a phone designed to be viewed. Its compact size of 166.9 x 75.4 x 6.1mm and lightweight of 180g makes it easy to fit in your pocket or small bag. Unfold it and you'll see that the phone isn't as bulky or awkward to hold as it is on its own.

This balance of style and sturdiness has been maintained by Samsung's use of a combination of materials. The front (when unfolded) has a plastic sheet covering the flexible screen, which is a typical compromise for foldable phones because glass doesn't flex like plastic does. The back features Gorilla Glass Victus 2-type glass for a high-quality and shiny appearance, and it offers good scratch resistance. But, it is all held together by an aluminium frame, which makes the phone strong without being heavy.

One of the best features of the Flip8 is its colour options. Cream, Graphite and Pink and Mint are all options for a professional, soft and neutral appearance or a phone that really pops. This is another offering that's in keeping with the Flip's brand promise of a phone that looks as much as it does as it works.

The Flip8 has an IP48 rating for durability. That is the main reason why it is completely dustproof and can be fully immersed in water up to 1.5 metres deep for a few hours. They offer a fair amount of protection for the common spills or rainstorms, but it's not the same protection as you would find with some hard-body flagships.

Display

The Galaxy Z Flip8 doesn't back down on screen quality due to its foldable design. The primary screen is a 6.9 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a high 1080x2520 FHD+ resolution and has a tall 21:9 aspect ratio. So, you have 400 PPI pixel density, giving you crisp and clean text and images, whether you are reading, surfing or watching videos.

Bezels are thinned down, resulting in a staggering 87.1% screen-to-body ratio, and instead of a big notch, a small punch-hole cutout has been made for the selfie camera. Covers are protected by Gorilla Glass and offer full capacitive multi-touch, ensuring smooth and responsive use.

This display does shine with brightness, though. The content on the screen remains readable, and its visibility is enhanced outdoors even in bright sunlight, while HDR10+ support is also welcome, with a peak brightness of 2600 nits. With a 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling, swiping, and gaming are all smooth and fluid.

The more significant part, however, is the cover display. It has a resolution of 948 x 1048 pixels, resolution density of 342 ppi, refresh rate of 120Hz, and brightness of 2600 nits with the same Super AMOLED technology and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover. It's not just so it's larger and sharper to view notifications, it's big enough and sharp enough to reply with just a tap, use the viewfinder for quick eye-to-eye contact, or even use small apps without unrolling the phone.

Camera

Galaxy Z Flip8 retains the camera configuration of the smaller two, which is just two camera lenses instead of the three or four common to larger flagship phones. The primary sensor is a 50MP, f/1.8 wide sensor while the secondary sensor is a 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor. You won't find a dedicated zoom lens, but the 10x digital zoom is a plus when you want to get closer to a subject.

The main camera also has optical image stabilization (OIS) and autofocus to help maintain focus and stability when taking photos and videos, particularly on the go or when hand-holding. The low-light gear is completed with an LED flash. In the software department there are some helpful perks, such as exposure compensation, ISO control, HDR mode, continuous shooting, face detection, touch-to-focus and slow motion features—enough manual control for casual shooters who like to get in the nitty gritty of each shot.

Daylight Photo:

With the hardware here, an f/1.8 aperture, OIS and a 50MP sensor, the daylight should be sharp, well-exposed and detailed with accurate colours in good lighting. Most up-to-date phone cameras have this as their main strength and the Flip8's specifications indicate it won't let you down when taken outside or in an illuminated room.

Low-light Photo:

The low light performance is not as easy to gauge from specs, but the OIS and fairly wide f/1.8 aperture should help the main camera capture more light and reduce blur in low lighting. The f/2.2 aperture and the absence of OIS would hamper the ultra-wide camera's performance at night, which is common to other manufacturers' ultra-wides, not just Samsung.

At the front, there's no surprise here with the 10MP, f/2.2 selfie camera, which supports video up to 4K as well, so video calls and selfie videos will be clean and detailed.

Video can be recorded up to 4K (3840x2160), and can be recorded at up to 240fps for clean slow motion clips at lower resolutions. It's pretty solid for a phone in this price range, and the OIS helps to prevent wobbly footage.

Performance & Software

Samsung's own Exynos 2600 chipset powers the Galaxy Z Flip8 under the hood, and has been fabricated using a modern 2nm process. This is a significant improvement over the previous chips, as the smaller the fabrication, the more efficient the chip will be, and will generate less heat, which is crucial on a flexible device with limited space.

Its 10 core (deca-core) CPU is divided into three levels for smart power management: one 3.80GHz core for high-intensity tasks, three 3.25GHz cores for regular multitasking, and six 2.75GHz cores for lower level background processing. It will allow the phone to run at peak performance when necessary, such as while playing games or editing videos, and conserve battery during less demanding activities, such as browsing or using a messaging app. It is built on a 64-bit architecture, the standard for seamless app integration.

The graphics are powered by the Xclipse 960 GPU, Samsung's home-grown graphics solution. It should play all the major mobile games at good settings, be able to play media content at ease, and be able to be used on an everyday phone, even if it isn't a hardcore gaming phone.For the software, the Flip8 will come preloaded with Android 17 running Samsung's One UI 9. 

Over the years One UI is one of the better-looking Android skins and version 9 promises to deliver some trim and tuck, more efficient use of the cover screen and Samsung's ubiquitous promise of long term support for updates.

For a foldable phone, it is even more important for software to be optimized for use on both the cover screen and the main screen since this is the case with Samsung's Flip series and you need to make sure that the apps switch over correctly between the two screens.

AnTuTu Benchmark & Geekbench Score

The Galaxy Z Flip8 scores 3,113,347 points on AnTuTu benchmark 11, placing it 78th in their overall ranking. The breakdown shows 1,030,159 for CPU, 1,215,533 for GPU, 383,071 for Memory, and 484,584 for UX, a well-balanced score across the board.

The phone scored 3,235 on the single-core test and 10,904 on the multi-core test in Geekbench 6, indicating that the Exynos 2600 processor is capable of performing both normal day-to-day activities and more demanding multi-app workloads. It has a GPU compute score of 27,213.

In its simplest form, these numbers situate the Flip8 firmly in the “flagship” camp for everyday use and even moderate games, even though it is not top of the market.

Battery & Charger

The Galaxy Z Flip8's Li-Ion 4300mAh battery is a decent size for a flip phone where space is always at a premium inside the folded body. This should be more than enough for most people to go through an average day of use, calls, browsing, social media, some video etc.

However, the Flip8 does lag a little behind when it comes to charging. It provides wired charging support for 25W and QC2.0, reaching 55% charge in 30 minutes. While it is useful, it's not as fast, with many competitors in the same range charging at 45W to 100W. This may take some getting used to if you're accustomed to making fast deposits before you travel.

The bright side is that it does have 15W wireless charging, which is great for charging it at your desk or at night without having to connect with a cable. There's also 4.5W reverse wireless charging to juice up small accessories such as earbuds.

As is common with newer smartphones, the battery is not removable and it's charged via a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 connector. There is no guarantee of a charging brick in the box, so it might be necessary to purchase it separately.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 Price in Bangladesh

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 is on offer for ৳114,000 (Unofficial) in its 12GB RAM/256GB storage variant. This is an unofficial price which can be adjusted a bit according to the seller, origin of importation and terms of warranty. When you are considering purchasing one, it is important to shop around in the area and get some price quotations and make sure that the equipment has warranties before you decide.

Final Word

The Galaxy Z Flip8 is Samsung's first effort to take the flip phone beyond a fashion accessory, to a point where it is actually a worthwhile piece of technology. The larger-sized cover screen, razor-sharp main display and powerful Exynos 2600 chip ensure a pleasant user experience. Not perfect from a charging speed point of view, and the camera array is missing the zoom lens. The Flip8, however, is one of the more fully equipped flip phones that Samsung has produced, if you're looking for a phone that's compact, looks nice and performs well.