No, Samsung's New Foldables Don't Have a Major Battery Downgrade

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Gizmodo may earn an affiliate commission. There’s drama going around about the batteries in Samsung’s latest foldables, including the squattest Galaxy Z Fold 8. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 family of devices is Samsung’s first lineup with some—not full—silicon carbon added to its batteries. This type of battery chemistry is more heat resistant and therefore more resilient and efficient. The battery type also normally holds more of a charge than the same-sized lithium ion battery. One tradeoff, according to EU regulatory documents (via 9to5Google), is that Samsung’s new foldables won’t maintain their full charge after 1,200 charging cycles. After those 1,200 charging cycles, the batteries could reportedly lose up to 20% capacity. The drama? It’s a drop from the 2,000 charging cycles that the previous Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rated for, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and the Z Flip 8 all have this lower charging cycle rating. It sounds like a dramatic drop in battery longevity, but that may not actually be the case. Previously, Samsung used its own test