Facepalm: Remember all the problems the original Galaxy Fold had with its folding display back in 2019? Seven years later, and with the device now in its eighth generation, debris getting inside through the hinge remains a problem – as iFixit has demonstrated.
iFixit's teardown video notes that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has an IP48 rating, confirming it is protected against foreign objects 1mm in diameter and larger, and can withstand immersion in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for 30 minutes.
The problem comes when the handset encounters objects smaller than 1mm, such as fine dust and sand. iFixit showed what can happen when they make their way into the hinge mechanism – and it's not good for owners of the $1,900 handset.
iFixit applied UV-reactive powder, some clumps of which measured around 0.04mm across, before repeatedly opening and closing the Fold 8. The hinge soon began making crunching and grinding noises, and the handset stopped opening normally.
The subsequent teardown revealed that the sealed parts of the phone had performed surprisingly well. The batteries, cameras, circuit boards, and other main electronics were remarkably clean. The exposed hinge, however, was caked in glowing powder, with debris packed throughout its many moving surfaces.
Samsung has previously treated the hinge and inner display as a single replacement assembly, meaning damage to either can require gutting the phone and replacing both.
Accessing one of the two batteries also requires removing the strongly glued outer display. The plastic bezel surrounding the folding screen broke into pieces during iFixit's teardown, and the delicate OLED did not survive.
There were some positives, including a modular USB-C port and pull pouches that made battery removal easier. However, iFixit could not find a genuine Fold 8 cover display sold directly to US repairers, while official Fold 7 parts remain scarce. iFixit gave the handset a provisional repairability score of 4 out of 10.
The findings bring to ming the original Fold disaster. Debris beneath one review unit's display created a bulge before the screen broke. A later teardown identified a 7mm bezel gap and openings around the spine that could let dirt enter.
Samsung has improved the Fold 8, including silicon-carbon batteries and titanium layers beneath the inner display. But until its hinge can keep out ordinary pocket debris, the phone's most important moving part remains a liability.
Samsung's $1,900 Galaxy Z Fold 8 still has a serious problem with dust getting into its hinge
