At its July 2026 Unpacked event, Samsung announced its latest smartphones and devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8. All of these devices feature the company’s new silicon-carbon batteries, which overall bring faster charging and higher capacity to smartphones without adding extra bulk. While the arrival of silicon-carbon in Samsung’s new foldable devices is undoubtedly exciting, the news unfortunately also comes with a downside – something that has now been confirmed by the European Product Register for Energy Labeling (EPREL) database, which helps provide consumers with more energy-related information about the devices they use every day.
Based on the new labels provided by EPREL, it appears that the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8 are all expected to follow in the footsteps of the Galaxy S26 by only offering a rating of 1,200 battery cycles (via Android Authority). That’s significantly less than the 2,000 cycles the Galaxy S25 series was rated for, and with new phones switching to silicon-carbon batteries – something the S26 didn’t take advantage of – it wouldn’t be surprising if people wondered why Samsung degraded the batteries in this way. For additional context, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 have been rated for 2,000 cycles.
Understanding downgrading
To fully understand the ramifications of this downgrade, you first need to understand how smartphone batteries work. The endurance rating is essentially the number of charge cycles — each representing cumulative use and recharging equal to 100% of the battery’s capacity — that a battery can endure. In this case, it is the number of cycles the phone can withstand before its usable capacity drops to 80% of its rated capacity.
As has been noted in other reports, this particular downgrade isn’t entirely unexpected, especially after the S26 lineup underwent something similar. In fact, one could argue that downgrading makes even more sense in the Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8, as silicon-carbon batteries are expected to degrade faster than traditional lithium-ion batteries. This is one of the downsides of new battery technology, as it can be more unstable, especially compared to other options currently available. However, considering the price of Samsung’s latest foldable devices, it seems odd that the newer devices are being downgraded in a way that might actually make the older Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 more appealing to some.
Still one step ahead of the competition
While this news may seem discouraging from one perspective, it’s also worth noting that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 will still offer more charge cycles over their lifespan than the latest iPhone 17 or the latest Google Pixel 10. Both of these devices are only rated to offer 1,000 endurance charge cycles before you have to worry about their capacity dwindling. There’s also the fact that the standards for how these energy labels are decided can change – although it’s not clear whether that has happened here. If changes have occurred, this could result in changes to the number of cycles each battery is rated to endure.
Ultimately, it’s up to the users themselves to decide whether this is truly a downgrade. Given that the Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 would still have to see more than three years of 0% to 100% daily charges before any of this becomes a factor, it’s entirely possible that many users won’t even notice a difference. But it’s important to be aware of how your smartphone is evolving, especially as prices continue to rise as manufacturers battle ongoing RAM shortages, as well as other supply chain changes that could affect manufacturing.
