At the Galaxy Unpacked event today, Samsung unveiled six products, and only one of them was a flip phone. Unlike previous years, the Galaxy Z Flip 8 is launching without an FE model this year. It's got a bigger battery and similar design upgrades as the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, but misses out on things like an anti-reflective coating and faster charging.

I went hands-on with the new Samsung flip phone. While it seems like an incremental upgrade, there are a few key improvements over the Flip 7. Let's break it down.

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It weighs 180 grams (vs. 188g Flip 7) and measures 13.1mm when closed and 6.1mm when unfolded. That's not a major difference from Flip 7's 13.7mm and 6.5mm thickness when folded and unfolded, respectively. The in-hand feel is similar to the Flip 7, but it is comparatively easier to flip open.

Like last year, Samsung is pushing its Flip 8 for the "expressive crowd": users who seek fun in their phones. It has an all-new coverscreen experience, thanks to One UI 9, which allows more apps to run directly on the cover screen.

Till now, you had to jump through several hoops in settings to enable this feature in Labs, but FlexWindow will now allow more insights, actions and apps to run on the 4.1-inch AMOLED front screen (with 120Hz refresh rate).

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage (the same processor as its Fold siblings). However, it'll come equipped with Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600 chip in some markets.

The biggest upgrade comes in the form of battery capacity. Samsung is using silicon-carbon anode cells for the first time, and it has allowed the phonemaker to add a 4,300mAh battery on its new Galaxy Z Flip 8. However, there's no 45W fast charging. It is still limited to 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging speeds.

When unfolded, you get a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen with the same 120Hz variable refresh rate. It has minimal crease but there's no anti-reflective coating. I'm disappointed because it is one of the biggest experiential upgrades on the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra, but the feature isn't coming on the same generation flip phone. It'd have helped with better legibility in direct light and harsh lighting conditions.

The new Samsung flip phone has the same camera system as the Flip 7, which had the same optics as the Flip 6. You get a 50MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide-angle sensor. This seems like yet another missed upgrade, but Samsung says there are new features on offer. It gets the same Horizontal Lock as the Galaxy S26 series for smoother stabilization and a FlipShot feature that will give you a mirror view. It's for instances when you need a small mirror but don't want to take a selfie to adjust your look.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is the least exciting foldable out of the three models launched today. While it is polished in places that needed upgrades, I wish it had the same anti-reflective coating like the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra on its inner screen. You can buy the new Samsung flip phone in Graphite, Cream, Pink and an online-exclusive Mint color for $1,200.