Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 Pricier Than Flip 7 as Oscal Pilot 8 Review Finds Rugged Trade-Offs

TechRadar reported that Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip 8 in July 2026 and put it on sale Aug. 7. The 256GB model starts at $1,199.99 / £1,149 / AU$1,949, and the 512GB model at $1,399.99 / £1,319 / AU$2,249. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched in 2025 at $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,799 for 256GB and $1,219 / £1,149 / AU$1,999 for 512GB, meaning Samsung is asking $100 more for the entry-level Flip 8 with the same storage. TechRadar said the older phone is likely to become more tempting as retailers clear stock and discounts appear, especially around sales events such as Black Friday.

The Flip 8 weighs 180g, 8g less than the Flip 7, and its unfolded body is 6.1mm thick versus 6.5mm. Folded, it measures 13.1mm compared with 13.7mm. TechRadar said the revised Armor FlexHinge reduces friction inside the mechanism and widens the inner edges, making the phone noticeably easier to open and close in early hands-on testing. Both phones keep the same flat-sided clamshell shape, with a large cover screen wrapping around the two rear cameras.

On displays, Samsung carried the Flip 7's panels over to the Flip 8: a 6.9-inch 1080 x 2520 AMOLED main screen with a 1–120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a 4.1-inch 948 x 1048 FlexWindow cover screen, both with 2,600 nits peak brightness. TechRadar gave the Flip 7 a 5/5 score for its displays and said the Flip 8 receives some cover-screen improvements, though the main changes concern how Samsung's software uses the FlexWindow. The Flip 8 uses an Exynos 2600 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy depending on region, while the Flip 7 uses an Exynos 2500. Both have 12GB RAM, a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP front camera, 4,300mAh battery, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and 256GB or 512GB storage. TechRadar said it had fully reviewed the Flip 7 but not the Flip 8, and based the comparison on hands-on experience and on-paper specs.

In its review of the Oscal Pilot 8, TechRadar called it one of the more interesting rugged phones of 2026 on paper, citing its new Qualcomm Dragonwing QCM6690 chip instead of a MediaTek SoC, Wi-Fi 7, dual 5G, a 120Hz AMOLED display and a 10,000mAh battery with 55W wired charging. The phone measures 17.9mm thick and weighs 389g, which TechRadar described as slim and light for a rugged device. It has a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM6 main camera, a 20MP night-vision camera with infrared lights, a 50MP front camera and 4K video at up to 60fps. Its storage is 256GB UFS 2.2, expandable via microSD up to 2TB, and it runs DokeOS 5.0 based on Android 16.

TechRadar listed a 1.2-metre drop rating, virtual RAM claims, no charger in the box, older UFS 2.2 storage and no stated update policy among the downsides. The review said the Pilot 8 was announced July 17, 2026, and was available on AliExpress with a launch price of $356.99 from Aug. 17 to 26. Since then, TechRadar said it had seen a $329 list price for the only SKU, a 12GB and 256GB model, but at the time of writing the only retailer it could get the phone from was AliExpress, at $356.99 in the USA, £343.39 for UK delivery and €402.39 for European buyers. TechRadar said the phone is not available on official Oscal regional sites or Amazon, and it did not know why Blackview (Oscal) is not selling it through those channels, suggesting it may initially be made in smaller batches.

TechRadar compared the Pilot 8 with the Oukitel WP500 Ultra and Oukitel WP210, which use MediaTek Dimensity 8300 and Dimensity 8200 chips. It said the WP500 Ultra has 1TB of storage and a thermal camera but costs more than double the Pilot 8, while the WP210 costs around $450 for 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. TechRadar believes Oscal has planned Pilot 8 versions with a thermal camera and a satellite phone function, but neither has a price yet. It called the WP210 a closer alternative on spec and price for buyers who want more storage, though it has a slightly smaller 8,800mAh battery.