Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 hinge crunches with sand, earns 4/10 in iFixit teardown

iFixit specialists have given the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 a preliminary repairability score of 4 out of 10. The low rating stems largely from the device's hinge mechanism, which is difficult to service or replace and offers weak protection against fine particles.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 carries an IP48 dust and water resistance rating, meaning it offers no protection against particles smaller than 1 mm. As a result, dust and grains of sand can work their way into the hinge assembly, which is both hard to repair and expensive to swap out. Over time, the ingress of fine particles can cause the smartphone to emit unusual noises when it is folded and unfolded.

"After we folded and unfolded the Fold 8 several times, the hinge started making truly awful crunching and grinding sounds, and the phone stopped opening properly. Samsung has previously treated the hinge and inner display as a single replaceable unit, and for the purposes of this assessment we assumed the Fold 8 would follow the same scheme. Thus, damage to either component would require nearly a full disassembly of the phone to replace the entire assembly," iFixit said in its report.

The industry's failure to shield foldable smartphones from pocket lint has dogged Samsung and other manufacturers for years. Still, some foldables already on the market, such as the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and Honor Magic V6, feature full dust protection under the IP6X standard. It appears Samsung may need to catch up with its rivals and pay closer attention to hinge protection in its foldable lineup.