Samsung Opens Galaxy Z Flip 8’s 4-Inch Cover Screen to Full Apps at $1,199.99

3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Aug 29

Samsung has made the Galaxy Z Flip 8 far more usable when closed, adding an app drawer and easier access to run virtually any Android app on its 4-inch cover screen.
The shift answers years of user pressure and Motorola competition, with Samsung now surfacing the MultiStar tool that was previously buried in settings for power users.
Not every app fits the tiny square display well—camera cutouts and cramped layouts hinder apps like Withings and Google Maps—though messaging, to-do and food-logging apps work smoothly.
Hardware changes are modest: the phone is 0.6mm thinner, 8g lighter and keeps a 4,300mAh battery, while retaining IP48 dust limitations and largely unchanged cameras and screens.
At $1,199.99—$100 above the Z Flip 7—the main upgrade is software, raising the prospect that last year’s model could gain much of the same cover-screen functionality through One UI 9.