After ten years, I've switched back to Android from iOS and I'm honestly surprised by how far the Android world has come in that time. In some respects, compared to iOS, I even feel like I've landed in a different century. The Gemini integration is something that continues to fascinate me.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is exactly the device I've been missing for a long time. It's not too small, nor is it unnecessarily large, and I finally find the format of the inner display to be absolutely ideal for everyday use. As long as you use the phone with both hands, you'll be happy. The challenge comes when you need to type one-handed. Unfortunately, the Samsung keyboard doesn't offer a simple gesture to shrink and move the keyboard to the left or right side, which for me is quite a significant drawback. I solved this by switching to Gboard, which does offer this option.
The camera certainly isn't bad and the phone takes very decent photos. However, coming from an iPhone 15 Pro, I can't shake the feeling that I have to intervene more often to get the final result – for example, adjusting the exposure compensation to make the photo look the way I want. With the iPhone, I was more used to just pulling out the phone, taking a picture, and not having to worry about anything else.
The speakers are the phone's weak point, in my opinion. When unfolded, the sound only comes from one half of the device, and even when folded, it's not exactly a breathtaking experience. I think Apple does this better.
On the other hand, the flexible construction and the hinge feel very robust and you can tell a really solid piece of work has gone into them. The crease where the display folds is minimal. Immediately after unfolding, you can see and feel it for a short while, but after a few minutes, the display flattens out nicely and I practically stop noticing it during use.
Given the phone's design, I'm naturally a little wary of dust and potential damage to the hinge, but so far it definitely doesn't feel flimsy or fragile. Of course, its actual long-term durability can only be judged after a longer period of use.
Overall, the Fold 8 has very pleasantly surprised me. After ten years with iPhones, I expected that returning to Android would mainly involve a lot of getting used to things and making compromises. So far, I have more of the opposite feeling – I'm discovering features and possibilities that I've actually been missing on iOS for a long time.