Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8: Release Date, Price & Specs Rumours

A slimmer build

One of the very first rumours to appear regarding the Z Flip 8 was that Samsung is hoping to go all in on mimicking the slim build of the Z Fold 7, which went a long way towards minimising the bulk that a lot of foldable phones have typically suffered from.

Smartphone tipster Jukan was the first to get this ball rolling, suggesting that Samsung was looking to make the Z Flip 8 at least 10% slimmer than its predecessor.

That rumour was then corroborated by more information suggesting that the phone might weigh as little as 150g. For context, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 clocks in at 188g so it would require some fairly impressive feats of engineering to lighten the Flip 8 by 38g, which is why it’s worth taking this particular rumour with a grain of salt.

In the time since those earlier rumours, we’ve had quite a few sets of renders appear online to give us a better look at the phone, but the most recent leak includes supposed official renders for the phone which show us exactly what’s in store.

Credit: Android Headlines, OnLeaks

As expected, there’s very little to distinguish the Z Flip 8 from its predecessor outside of the new available colours: Cream, Graphite and Pink. The Mint colourway is set to return but that will seemingly be made available as an online-only exclusive.

The new phone does look slightly slimmer than before, with a supposed 13.2mm thickness when closed (down from 13.7mm), but you’d really have to hold the Flip 7 and the Flip 8 side by side to see the difference for yourself. 

Sources: Ice Universe | My Mobiles | Android Headlines (2)

A beefed-up Snapdragon processor

Samsung’s chipset strategy has always felt tied to a pendulum. With the company’s mainline Galaxy S range, the phones have moved from Snapdragon to Exynos chips and back again so many times that we’ve lost count.

By comparison, the Z Flip series was surprisingly consistent in sticking with Snapdragon CPUs for almost its entire run, that is, until the Z Flip 7 came along and moved over to the Exynos 2500.

While the 2500 chipset wasn’t bad by any means, and we found that it held up quite well in everyday use, it seems as though Samsung is taking a step backwards by siding with Qualcomm once more, but this time there’s a twist.

Chris Martin / Foundry

According to a South Korean news outlet, Samsung has had a hand in the manufacturing of a specific Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset based on its super-efficient 2nm process.

What this means is that the phone could end up having a version of Snapdragon’s latest chip that’s actually better than the one found in recent phones like the OnePlus 15, which could mean a serious leap in power for Samsung’s flip phone.

Our hope is that this also leads to a boost in software wherein the outer display is more capable and can be used to interact with a greater selection of apps from the jump, without the need for additional configuration.

Source: New Daily

Almost identical cameras

In what is sure to be a blow to hopeful Z Flip 8 adopters (but not too surprising given Samsung’s recent habits in this area), it now seems as if the phone will feature almost identical cameras to what we’ve seen before.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The latest rumour on the block is that Samsung has no major upgrades planned for the Galaxy Z Flip 8’s cameras, meaning that from a hardware perspective, it’s likely to continue using the same 50Mp wide-angle and 12Mp ultrawide from the Flip 7.

There’s always a chance that Samsung might try to better optimise its software to enhance the phone’s cameras in some way, but it’s a disappointing idea nonetheless, particularly as those sensors are already stagnant.

The last time we got a major camera update on these phones was when the Z Flip 6 moved on from a 12Mp wide-angle lens to a superior (and larger) 50Mp 1/1.57-inch sensor.

Otherwise, the ultrawide camera has remained practically unchanged for the entirety of the Z Flip line’s existence, which isn’t a great look when you consider that they are supposed to be part of Samsung’s premium range.

Source: Galaxy Club

A big battery disappointment

Given that the Z Flip 8 appears to be using identical cameras to what we’ve had before, our hope was that Samsung might be looking to focus its efforts elsewhere, with battery life being one such factor that could do with a serious upgrade.

While we understand that the form factor prevents flip phones in general from having massive batteries, the 4,300mAh cell of the Z Flip 7 still felt a bit stingy and it could be drained fairly quickly under intense use. Unfortunately, it now seems as though the battery will also be unchanged.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The most recent word on the street now claims that the Z Flip 8 will have the same 4,300mAh capacity.

The rumour also suggests that the battery itself will has a slightly different configuration under the hood, as it’ll be split across two cells (the standard practice for the Z Flip range), 1,150mAh and 3,024mAh. By comparison, the Z Flip 7 used 1,189mAh and 2,985mAh batteries instead.

It’ll be interesting to see if the slightly altered configuration does allow Samsung to better optimise battery performance, but it’s unlikely that such a change will lead to any massive uptick in longevity.

What would have been nice to see is an uptick in the charging speeds, at least as an interim fix for the Z Flip’s battery woes until Samsung actually sees fit to give it a proper upgrade, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be any change there either.

As it stands, the Z Flip 7 charges at 25W over a wired connection, something which has remained ever since the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which in itself is outrageous given just how many strides have been made by other brands in the foldable space. For example, the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra is able to top up at 68W, making for a very speedy charge that doesn’t leave you waiting around. Even the cheaper Razr 60 is still able to best Samsung flip phones at 30W.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The apparent lack of attention to both the battery and its charging speeds feels like the clearest example yet of Samsung resting on its laurels, and it’ll only make the existing Z Flip 7 feel like the better buy once its price inevitably drops to make way for the Flip 8.

We can only hope that Samsung might look to improve the speed of wireless charging for the Z Flip 8, which currently stands at 15W, but it seems doubtful at this point in time.

For a bit of wider context on how far behind the Z Flip 8 could be in the battery department, not only is the Flip 7 already outdone by mid-range phones like the Pixel 10a, which has 30W wired and 15W wireless charging, but even the Samsung’s other phones are superior. The Galaxy A57, which is just a fraction of the Z Flip 7’s asking price, boasts a 45W speed over a wired connection.

Sources: Galaxy Club | Naver Blogs