The Galaxy Z Fold 8 delivers the most satisfying tablet experience I've ever had. It doesn't have the largest screen or the best speakers, but its size, weight, and aspect ratio are darn near perfect. I've always said the best tablet is the one you actually spend time using, and the Fold 8 certainly is that for me.

Still, as close to perfect as the Fold 8 might be, flagship Galaxy tablets vastly outperform it in battery life. Don't get me wrong, the Fold 8 offers good autonomy compared to a regular phone, but tablets are a different kettle of fish.

If battery life weren't a concern, I believe Samsung's passport-style Galaxy Z Fold could replace tablets altogether and become the ultimate device for commuters and travelers who enjoy gaming and watching content on the go.

However, that may not be possible yet. Samsung may have reached a physical limit. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is essentially a phone that unfolds into an ultra-thin tablet, leaving little to no internal space for a considerably larger battery.

Samsung's latest Galaxy Z8 models are also the first to use silicon-carbon batteries, so there's little room for immediate improvements in battery technology.

Can Samsung do anything to make its Galaxy Z Folds last longer? Long enough to forget you're using a phone? Maybe the answer lies outside the box, literally and figuratively.

I spent last Sunday playing games on my Galaxy Z Fold 8, namely League of Legends: Wild Rift and GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. Both games are moderately demanding on battery life.

I wanted to keep the phone's battery above 50% throughout the day, but I was feeling in the zone and didn't want to leave the couch or put the phone down for an hour or two. So I did the next best thing: I plugged the Fold 8 into my 20,000mAh Samsung battery pack to extend my gaming session without interruptions.

That worked fine, even though the USB-C cable hanging out of the top of my Fold 8 was a little annoying at times. And yes, the USB-C cable is usually hanging out of the top of my phone because I always rotate my Fold upside down when gaming to avoid the camera cutout. I never said the Fold 8 wasn't quirky.

In any case, the 20,000mAh battery pack's hefty weight didn't bother me. But that's only because it was resting on the couch next to me. It didn't weigh me down per se, but I kept imagining how cumbersome it would have been on a long commute. I couldn't shake the feeling that the experience Samsung laid out for me was somewhat lacking.

However, if physical constraints prevent Samsung from significantly increasing the Galaxy Z Fold 9's battery capacity, what else can it do?

How about putting a battery on the outside? Apple did that with the iPhone Air, and although the phone itself was seemingly a dud, I think the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery attachment is worth studying. Maybe the solution is less suited for a regular phone and more fitting of a foldable.

For anyone unfamiliar with the tech, MagSafe is a proprietary Apple technology that consists of a series of magnets built into iPhones. They are perfectly aligned to allow MagSafe accessories to be magnetically attached to the back of the phones.

Samsung doesn't have anything like MagSafe. At least, not built into its phones. Its equivalent of MagSafe consists of a phone case with an embedded magnetic ring that meets the Qi2 standard. It's not as elegant as MagSafe but fulfills the same core purpose.

Samsung even sells an external battery pack that can be attached to the magnetic case. Okay, so, why not buy and use that on my Fold 8?

Well, the problem is that Samsung's battery pack was never designed for the Galaxy Z Fold 8. It's too tall and doesn't fit the phone properly. Besides, I'm not a huge fan of cases. I know it's risky to keep your phone case-free, but I've been doing it for years and I certainly don't want to go back for the gorgeous Fold 8.

My only hope is that Samsung will design a new magnetic wireless battery for Galaxy Z Fold 8 cases or fit MagSafe-like magnets into the next-gen Galaxy Z Fold 9 before releasing a new battery pack that fits.

Samsung's dedicated magnetic battery pack for the Fold 8/9 wouldn't have to be particularly large or heavy, just big enough to extend the phone's battery life into true tablet territory without breaking the bank. Maybe a couple of thousand extra mAh would do the trick.

Although the solution seems obvious — built magnets into the Fold 9 — it's not as easy as it sounds.

One obvious issue is that MagSafe is proprietary to Apple. If Samsung were to ditch magnetic cases and go straight to built-in magnets, it would have to develop everything from the ground up or take Google's example and embed Qi2 magnets directly into its phones rather than phone cases. Samsung might think that could take too many resources without much return.

Another issue is that the Galaxy Z Fold 8's camera housing would probably get in the way of something like MagSafe. Then again, the Fold's camera housing is already in dire need of a redesign, so it almost feels like a new magnetic system is meant to be.

However, we can't ignore the third and most critical issue: weight. Lightness is Samsung's secret weapon for the Fold 8, and it's not to be underestimated. The Galaxy Z Fold 8's lightness is one of its best qualities compared to the iPhone Duo, the latter of which is roughly 26% heavier. Magnets are dense and could weight the Fold 9 down too much.

For a phone series that prides itself on lightness, tipping the scales too much only to serve an external battery pack accessory might go against Samsung's design philosophy and defeat the purpose. After all, a magnetic battery pack can be occasionally helpful, but extra weight is something you feel all the time.

Still, Samsung is resourceful, so at the very least, I wish the company could design and sell a Fold 8/9 magnetic battery pack and case for anyone who finds that combo more convenient than a traditional wired battery bank. No built-in magnets, just accessories.

It's the least Samsung can do. I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out why Samsung hasn't done it yet, but that's a topic for another day.