The Galaxy Z Fold 8 just passed a bend test, but old weaknesses remain

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Samsung launched its new foldable phones last month, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has attracted most of the attention due to its wide yet compact form factor. The phone also offers an extremely thin design, but what does this form factor mean for durability?

Popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything posted a Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown and durability test . For starters, Samsung says it uses a so-called Flex Titanium structure on the new foldable. This tech also includes replacing a layer of the folding screen’s plastic film with a titanium alloy film. However, host Zack Nelson bemoaned the “titanium wide screen” for scratching at level two on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves caused by his fingernail.

This level of scratch resistance wouldn’t be a surprise, as Samsung’s foldables still ship with a pre-applied plastic screen protector that shouldn’t be removed. In fact, Nelson’s own videos confirm the screen protector while also showing him peeling off another plastic-looking layer. Furthermore, Samsung’s fine print notes that two layers of titanium are applied to the shock-absorbing layer beneath the folding screen. The company previously said this tech enabled a thinner and stronger display with improved impact resistance — it didn’t mention better scratch resistance at all.

Samsung’s new foldable phone is also equipped with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 on the cover display. Ceramic-based cover glass is supposed to offer improved scratch resistance compared to typical protective glass solutions. Nelson shows that the screen scratches at level six on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves at level seven. That’s in line with other conventional phones.

We also get a look at a couple of other durability tests. For one, Nelson sprinkled plenty of sand and gravel on the device and in the hinge, resulting in a “crunch” sound when folding the phone. Just more evidence of the ho-hum IP48 rating .

The Z Fold 8 also has an extremely thin design, and the channel’s bend test reveals a rigid device when folded. The unfurled phone does bend backward quite a bit (albeit without breaking), but the inner display remains intact. Not bad at all.

Want to repair your own device? Then the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s inner screen and back cover both have plenty of adhesive. So you’ll need a heat gun and a pry tool to remove them. Once you’ve opened up the phone, the good news is that the dual silicon-carbon batteries are relatively easy to remove via integrated pull tabs.