A Better Foldable Still Carrying a Terrible Bill

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the most convincing version of its foldable idea yet. It is also a reminder that progress can arrive wearing a ₹1,74,999 price tag and still ask you to compromise like a budget purchase.

The big change is the new, shorter and wider “passport” design. The 5.5-inch cover display feels more like a normal phone than the tall, narrow outer screens of older Folds, while the 7.6-inch inner panel remains genuinely useful for reading, documents, video and split-screen multitasking. At around 201 grams, it is slimmer and easier to carry too. Samsung has finally made the Fold less like a prototype escaped from a laboratory.

The productivity pitch survives contact with reality. DeX is useful within Samsung’s ecosystem, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 provides more than enough power, and the software is polished. If you regularly work across multiple apps or want a tablet-sized screen without carrying a second device, the Fold 8 has a proper reason to exist beyond making launch-event presenters look busy.

Then the invoice arrives. Depending on the listing, the base model is reported at ₹1,74,999 or ₹1,79,999, which is an astonishing amount to spend on a device whose camera system still lacks a telephoto lens. A conventional flagship will generally offer better camera hardware, fewer durability anxieties and none of the ritual inspection required every time the screen bends, creases or decides to display an unexpected green mood.

The crease is reduced, not erased. Samsung’s explanation that the visible bend at the corners is intentional and helps reduce damage is technically plausible, but it is also spectacularly on-brand: the flaw is not a flaw, it is a feature you should respect while paying nearly two lakh rupees. Owners and reviewers broadly praise the performance and battery life, but concerns about long-term durability, launch camera glitches and value refuse to leave the room.

That leaves the Fold 8 with a very specific audience. If the inner display will be used every day for work, reading or serious multitasking, this is arguably the best foldable available in India and a meaningful improvement over its predecessors. If your routine is messaging, scrolling, photography and streaming, the Fold is an elaborate and expensive way to do what a regular flagship already manages without a hinge, a crease or a future service-centre appointment.

Samsung has built a better passport, but it still charges like it contains diplomatic immunity. Skip it unless you will use the inner screen daily.