What do you want from a flip phone when it is closed? Some people want a simple interface, a few notifications, and a couple of widgets for handling the basics. Others want a full Android experience shrunk down to fit the flip form factor. For years, Samsung insisted on the first approach, even as fans and rival Motorola pushed for the second. With the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Samsung has finally given in.

The Z Flip 8's hardware is almost unchanged year over year, but Samsung has rethought how the phone is meant to be used when shut. The cover screen feels more like a regular Android phone, with easier access to full versions of apps. You can browse social media, watch movies, and play games without opening the phone. Not every app works well on a tiny square screen with two cameras in the middle. But even when they do not, the friction between you and the distractions of your phone still feels as much a feature as a bug.

Key facts at a glance

• Price: $1,199.99, up $100 from the Z Flip 7
• Cover screen: 4-inch display with redesigned homescreen, app drawer, and easier access to any app
• Hardware: 0.6mm thinner and 8g lighter than the previous model
• Battery: 4,300mAh silicon-carbon cell, reliable all-day life
• Processors: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US, Exynos 2600 in other regions
• Durability: IP48 rating means water resistance but limited dust protection
• Cameras: Unchanged 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP inner camera
• Rating: 8/10

The evolution of the Flip cover screen

Samsung's cover screen strategy has changed a lot over the years. The original Galaxy Z Flip had a tiny 1.1-inch display for little more than checking the time and notifications. Later models grew the screen to 3.4 inches and started to add widgets and limited app support. The Z Flip 7 introduced the larger 4-inch cover screen that wraps around the camera array. The Z Flip 8 takes that same physical screen and finally lets it breathe.

Previously, if you wanted to run an app that was not on the approved list, you had to dig through settings and install a third-party module. The process was doable but hidden. The Z Flip 8 changes this by making the app drawer prominent and by putting a MultiStar prompt right in the default view. MultiStar is part of Samsung's Good Lock suite, and it unlocks the ability to launch any app on the cover screen. That may sound like a small convenience, but it changes the personality of the whole device.

A cover screen that does more

The new homescreen on the cover screen mimics the layout of the main phone. Swiping down from the top left brings up notifications. Swiping down from the top right reveals a cover-screen-optimized version of the Quick Settings panel. Immediately, the phone feels more like a conventional device than a glorified feature phone.

Swipe up from the bottom and you get an app drawer. By default, the drawer is populated with Samsung's own apps that are optimized for the square screen. A Labs section offers third-party options like Netflix and WhatsApp. Directly below that, Samsung includes a prompt to install MultiStar. This is a major shift from previous software, which buried the option deep inside settings. Having MultiStar in the open makes the cover screen far more flexible from day one.

Once MultiStar is active, the cover screen can run apps in three display modes. Full screen mode lets the app extend behind the cameras, which can cover parts of the interface. Square mode stops the app just above the cameras, creating a more natural canvas for many apps. Portrait mode letterboxes the sides and gives an aspect ratio that is familiar from a regular phone. A small virtual button at the bottom of the screen cycles between them.

The apps that work and the ones that don't

Not every app is a good fit for the cover screen. Some are nearly unusable. The Withings health tracker app, for example, scales so badly that the graph takes up too much space to show both axes, and it becomes impossible to scroll past it. Google Maps is only a bit better. The idea of quickly checking a walking route without opening the phone is appealing, but floating interface elements make it unwieldy. Zooming is particularly frustrating.

Other apps run smoothly but are pointless

Source:The Verge News