The Guardian's review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 examines Samsung's decision to break from its usual foldable design, giving the phone a squat, "passport-like" shape rather than the narrow candy bar profile of previous models. When closed, it resembles a small notepad rather than a conventional phone, and it unfolds into a tablet screen more akin to an iPad mini than the taller, squarer displays of earlier Fold models or the accompanying Fold 8 Ultra.

The Fold 8 is 9.7mm thick when closed and starts at £1,699, while the more traditionally shaped Fold 8 Ultra costs from £1,899, with the reviewer noting that memory chip shortages ("RAMageddon") have pushed up prices across the board. The outer screen is praised as bright and sharp, though the on-screen keyboard eats up over half the display, leaving little room to view messages while typing. The inner 7.6in OLED screen has a 4:3 ratio matching Apple's iPads, which suits video playback and gives more usable space in portrait mode, though the phone's width makes one-handed use difficult.