CHENNAI: It’s been six years since Samsung’s first Flip smartphone debuted in 2020. The brand’s flip phones have typically arrived along with Samsung’s Z Fold smartphones ever since. The flip smartphone space in India has been dominated by Samsung with Motorola (Razr Ultra series) being the other strong contender. The debut of the Z Fold 8 and the rumoured iPhone fold has created a whole new foldable experience in a world where premium consumers typically make a choice between a flip-type foldable and a larger book-type foldable like the Samsung Z Fold 8 Ultra.
If there’s one reason we like the Z Flip line, it’s the pocketable form. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 weighs just 180 gm, it’s marginally thinner and lighter than its predecessor (the Z Flip 7 that debuted in 2025). This year’s Z Flip is crafted in Armor aluminium for extra durability.
It comes in a cool palette of colours, including our favourite – Mint. Samsung has perfected the folding mechanism that has got better with each iteration. The Z Flip 8 combines two displays - a 4.1-inch Super AMOLED cover display (948 x 1048 pixels) and a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X main display (2520 x 1080 pixels). Both displays hit a peak brightness of 2600 nits offering excellent visibility under all lighting conditions.
At the heart of the Z Flip 8 is an Exynos 2600 chipset; the device comes in a choice of 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB storage variants. It’s enough firepower for heavy duty and casual users. It aced our benchmark and multi-tasking tests without breaking a sweat. Samsung’s One UI 9 has been fine-tuned for its foldable line, the 2026 iteration comes with a host of convenient features including Now Brief. You get a whole bunch of AI tools and seven years of Android OS updates that’s in line with Samsung’s other premium flagships. The 4300 mAh battery should last a day for most users. The charging speeds (25W wired and 15W for wireless) are below par compared to most of its rivals.
More than the camera specs, it’s the form factor and utility value of the camera that made flip smartphones a favourite with selfie fiends. The rear camera set up includes a 50MP primary lens (f/1.8 aperture) and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. Lowlight performance is impressive, the device also benefits from Samsung’s enhanced FlexCam Portraits.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 8 may not be perfect, there’s no telephoto lens and we wish Samsung had improved the charging speed. And yet it’s the best flip-type smartphone out there. You get the best of a flip experience with cool selfies, a compact smartphone and most of all a cover display that minimises your screen time. (Rs 1,24,999 onwards)
(Ashwin Rajagopalan is a lifestyle writer and consumer technology expert. Catch the latest digital and tech updates in this weekly column.)