Every way the Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels first-gen

So far, I haven’t talked much about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 even though it quickly became my all-time favorite mobile device. Or, at the very least, I feel like I haven’t highlighted enough how good the Fold 8 is, at least for certain types of users. There is a lot to like about this phone and its unique interpretation of the tablet concept.

However, despite its qualities, certain aspects of the Fold 8 feel very much “first-gen,” either because they need more development time or because they seem like obvious areas for improvement in its eventual 2027 sequel, the Fold 9.

Let’s take a brief step back from enjoying the Fold 8 experience for what it is today and look at those aspects that give the phone a first-gen, “this could be better” type of feel.

NOTE: It’s important to keep in mind that some of these issues pertain to all Galaxy foldable phones. But because the Fold 8 is the first in its line, these problems feel a little more “first-gen” than usual.

The good news if you’re looking to buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is that it doesn’t have that many things that feel first-gen. The list is surprisingly short.

Speaker quality

It’s been said before. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 doesn’t have the best stereo speakers, but quality isn’t the only issue. Their orientation is an issue, too.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has two speakers. When you use it unfolded as a tablet in landscape orientation, both land on the left side. This virtually eliminates the stereo effect.

So, not only do the speakers sound a little tinny, but they’re also going to hit one ear louder when you use the Fold 8 as a tablet. And that’s far from ideal, especially for a tablet that’s meant to deliver better audio and visuals than a phone.

We’re not sure if Samsung can fix the speaker orientation, given how little wiggle room there is inside these foldable devices. But at least the speaker quality, if not the orientation, could be improved for the second-generation Fold 9.

Plastic camera housing

Despite the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,900, and even though it uses high-quality and even exotic materials in its build, there’s one design element that cheapens an otherwise premium device: the camera housing.

For whatever reason, Samsung made the Fold 8’s camera housing out of plastic, and it does look and feel kind of cheap once you pay any attention to it. It certainly doesn’t seem fitting for a $1,900 device.

The housing also looks a little like it’s tacked onto the phone rather than being a natural part of it. So, if I were to pick a Fold 8 design cue that looks first-gen, the plastic camera island would certainly be at the top of my list.

Camera housing orientation

Build quality aside, the vertical camera orientation itself feels wrong on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and very much like a first-generation design oversight.

Granted, Samsung has been using vertically aligned cameras for years now. So why is that an issue all of a sudden?

Well, the Fold 8 is unlike those other regular phones. It’s shorter. And if you’ve used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for a day or two, you know how often your hand or fingers end up covering the cameras.

A vertical camera orientation isn’t a major issue on other phones, but this one is so short that even two cameras — rather than three — can get in the way.

Of course, all this can be avoided, but it takes more getting used to than necessary, and every Fold 8 owner I asked would have preferred a horizontal camera layout to having to readjust their grip.

It’s almost as if Samsung squished the device but didn’t pay the camera housing any mind until it was too late in the design process. That’s probably not what happened per se, but it feels like it, and we’re really hoping for a drastic design change in this area next year.

Side button was an unexpected letdown

Let’s conclude this fairly short list with a surprise entry: the side key. Yep, I’m serious. But how can a simple side button feel first-gen anyway, you ask?

Well, this issue is more subjective than the others, but I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for weeks, and I just can’t seem to get along with the side key. I have a couple of issues with it:

Given that the fingerprint sensor is embedded in the side key rather than the phone’s display, these issues become daily annoyances.

Again, it’s not a huge issue. It certainly isn’t a deal breaker. In fact, none of the issues described above are. But they do feel first-gen, and so does the side key, oddly enough.

I just didn’t expect it. And I can say that transitioning from an in-display sensor to this feels like a noticeable downgrade to me.

These are the main things I believe and hope will change for the better next year, when the Galaxy Z Fold 9 replaces the current model: speaker quality and/or orientation, camera housing and orientation, and the side key.

It may not be fair to call the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a true first-gen device, considering that it’s merely a new form factor.

And again, at least one of these issues is not exclusive to the Fold 8. Speakers, for one, suffer because foldable phones are too thin to make room for decent speakers and acoustic chambers. Fold-series speakers were better before the Fold 7, but thinness became a higher priority than sound last year, and even the Fold 8 Ultra is suffering from lesser sound quality.

All in all, the Fold 8 does feel satisfyingly complete for a new entry in the lineup, yet oddly marred by minor issues. It almost seems like Samsung could have easily avoided these mistakes but ran out of time, which is why I believe the company may address them first next year. We’ll wait and see.