The Galaxy Z Fold 8 cured my battery anxiety in ways the Pixel 10 Pro never could

I’ve spent about a month with my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, and while it’s still early days for a true long-term smartphone review, I think it’s fair to say I have a good idea of how it handles.

I have experience with foldables, thanks to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 — but even then it seemed the Z Fold 8 had some surprises for me. Because my word, the battery on this thing is great.

It’s rare to find a phone that doesn’t spark my battery anxiety

Over the decades, I’ve only really found one

My battery anxiety has ebbed and flowed over the decades I’ve been using smartphones. It was at its worst in the early days of smartphones, when a full battery charge could take an entire night’s sleep, but even with the advent of fast charging, it’s never really gone away.

Some phones, like my beloved Google Pixel 3a XL, had such a solid battery life that I would largely get over my dread of watching the battery drain — only for it to come roaring back with a subsequent phone. Thanks for nothing, Galaxy Note 20.

The Pixel 10 Pro was … well, it was alright. Middle of the pack. Not great, but far from the worst. It often needed a little pick-me-up toward the end of a busy day, but I’ve dealt with worse. Battery anxiety was still there, but it was at a normal level.

Before getting the Z Fold 8, I was a little disappointed. The 4,800mAh cell was about the same size as the one in my Pixel 10 Pro, and I’d been hoping for something closer to the Z Fold 8 Ultra’s 5,000mAh cell.

Oh sure, it’s a silicon-carbon battery instead of the traditional lithium-ion. But that wouldn’t make much of a difference, right?

Right?

I haven’t worried about my battery at all

Despite my worries, the Z Fold 8’s battery beats the Pixel 10 Pro’s handily

It’s made a huge difference.

I’m not reviewing this phone, so I’ve never sat down and noted exactly how long my battery lasts or how much screen time I get out of it. But I don’t have to, because Samsung’s battery stats do it for me.

I’ve grown used to popping my Pixel on for a charge around 3 pm on days of heavy use. When we go out, I tend to pop a portable charger in my bag or pocket, just in case.

I still pop the charger into my bag, but I haven’t needed it in a while.

The Z Fold 8 may have a similar battery capacity to my Pixel 10 Pro, but through some sort of black magic, the performance is far and away above my Pixel.

On a work day, my phone doesn’t get much action. Usually some time in the morning, some Reddit browsing while children fall asleep, and some minor video watching throughout the day. Yesterday, I went to bed with 57% battery left, after two hours and 40 minutes of screen time.

On more challenging days, the battery runs dry faster. But it still performs extremely well.

This past Sunday, my phone had a good chance to stretch its legs, with a grand total of 4 hours and 58 minutes of screen time. My Pixel would have been gasping and would have needed a top-up before the day was up.

Not my Z Fold 8. It went to bed with 29% still remaining. That’s more than a quarter of the battery left. My math isn’t great, but by my calculations, it might have had another hour and a half left in the tank. That’s six and a half hours; a very respectable battery life for any smartphone.

I used to need power-saving mode to reach numbers like that. The Z Fold 8 absolutely doesn’t.

My battery anxiety might be cured again.

The Z Fold 8 is a better everyday phone than I’d imagined

This phone might end up as one of my favorite phones of all time

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a perfect phone.

The camera isn’t bad by any metric, but it’s a big disappointment coming from the Pixel 10 Pro. And I miss some of the Pixel-only features, like Now Playing.

But those downsides matter less than I thought. So far, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been one of those phones that reminds me why I love smartphones and why I do this job.

Could the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 end up on my list of the best phones ever made? It’s starting to feel that way. It’s a true everyday companion, and I love it so far.