Although the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 was a good folding device, its ergonomics, battery life, cameras, and notably its high price prevented us from giving it our highest endorsement. With its new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung claims to have intensified its efforts to enhance these areas this year. Along with this, we have additional beneficial changes including a SoC and a display that uses less power.
It’s time to find out if all these minor adjustments result in a better user experience and if it’s finally time to give this foldable smartphone some serious thought as your main smartphone. It only took a few years for Samsung’s objectives for its flagship foldable smartphone to naturally progress from viability to refinement. The Galaxy Z Fold4 of 2022 keeps the primary idea of the productivity-driven phone-turns-tablet form factor while focusing on much-needed camera advancements and adding some slight physical refinement.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is currently on sale. Samsung’s most recent gadget has been praised as the greatest foldable launched to yet, even if it may be an incremental update over the Z Fold 3. Of course, the portable is quite pricey, and individuals who have never used a folding smartphone before may be concerned about spending so much money on a product they may up up disliking.
Design
It’s difficult to see much of a difference between the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the previous version at first sight. When unfurled, the Fold 4 is somewhat broader and slightly shorter in height. Compared to the Fold 3, its aluminum frame is flatter and has less bevelled edges. Additionally, the new Fold is lighter (263g) and somewhat thinner when folded (vs 271g). This may not seem like much, but employing this gadget makes the lighter weight feel a little more tolerable.
Additionally, the frame next to the outside display and the area around the USB connector have understated design modifications. As was already said, the design hasn’t altered much from the Galaxy Z Fold 3, although there have been a few modifications. Due to its 23.1:9 aspect ratio, Samsung has enlarged the external display’s width, making it a little bit easier to text on. Although the vertical placement of the keyboard still makes it seem a little crowded, it is far more comfortable than the previous model.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has all of the same connectors, buttons, antenna bands, and microphone locations as the Fold 3. Although the size of the outer cover screen remains the same at 6.2 inches, the HD+ resolution is slightly greater, increasing the pixel density to 402 ppi. Additionally, it incorporates Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ for scratch and break protection and has a 120Hz refresh rate (which may be reduced to 48Hz). On the Fold 4, there is no pre-applied screen protection like there was on the Fold 3.
Display
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 may be excused for seeming to be an exact replica of the Fold 3 at first glance. Samsung’s design aesthetic was set with the Z Fold 2 and hasn’t changed in the two following iterations. The Fold 4 slims down and somewhat squares off the sides, although the Fold 3 and Fold 2 were physically similar.
When compared to the Fold 3, Samsung was able to cut the height of the Z Fold 4 by a total of 3mm. In addition, compared to the Z Fold 3, the gadget is now 0.3mm thinner and 0.8mm broader. Additionally, it weighs 8 grams less, which is actually only apparent when immediately contrasting the two devices. It’s still a fairly hefty gadget at 242 grams.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4’s internal folding display, which measures 7.6 inches, is likewise the exact same size as the device from the previous year. Due to the somewhat larger aspect ratio, the resolution is a little different (2176×1812 pixels), but the pixel density is the same. Although Samsung claims to have toughened the thin glass, I have found that it still readily dents, even with mild pressure from a fingernail.
Software
The first Samsung smartphone to run Android 12L with One UI 4.1.1 on top is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. A large-screen device-optimized version of Android is called Android 12L. Samsung guarantees five years of security upgrades and four more Android versions. Samsung’s user interface is often uncluttered and devoid of bloat, and the foldable form factor can be both entertaining and difficult.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 does support the S Pen, however we weren’t provided with one, so it’s important to note that before we get into the complete software experience. Furthermore, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s S Pen is incompatible with the new Fold. The redesigned Taskbar on the bottom, which shows you all recently used applications, makes multitasking on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 pretty handy.
To select the applications you want to view on the taskbar, you may also rearrange the primary home row on the home screen. The taskbar allows you to quickly access any app on the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s internal screen from the main display. The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s Flex Mode, which enables you to use the phone in laptop mode, has also been improved by Samsung.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs One UI 4.1.1 and Android 12L. Actually, this is the first smartphone to come pre-installed with Android 12L, a unique version of Android designed by Google just for handsets with large screens. The taskbar is one of the most significant and beneficial modifications.
Hardware and Performance
Samsung has finally updated the outdated camera components used in the previous two Fold models. The 4th-generation model this year employs the same optics as Samsung’s standard Galaxy S22 flagship, which means this is a highly competent camera system with a decent 12MP ultra-wide camera, a great 3X zoom lens, and a pretty big primary camera image sensor. Although these cameras still fall short of Samsung’s ultra-best camera technology found in its Ultra range of phones, they are nonetheless quite impressive given that this is a foldable.
The latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU and 12GB of RAM power the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The available storage options are 256GB, 512GB, and now 1TB. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has so far shown to be quick and responsive during my testing, although there have been a few times where an app has stopped responding while running two applications simultaneously.
When moving pictures from the Gallery app to Google Drive, this incident occurred. Performance in games has been excellent. In the racing game Asphalt 7, I liked turbo boosting and doing 360-degree corners, and having a wide display made it easier for me to see minute details like when water splashed across my car.
Camera
On the Samsung Galaxy Z fold 4, two of the back cameras have received significant enhancements. A 50-megapixel sensor, which pixel bins images and stores 12-megapixel stills by default, is now used by the primary camera. It boasts an expansive f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization (OIS). Since the Fold 3 did not support 8K video recording, it now does.
Although the telephoto camera now has a 10-megapixel sensor (instead of a 12-megapixel one), its greater 3X and 30X digital zoom capabilities are still available. Although the ultra-wide camera still has a 12-megapixel sensor, it lacks focusing, making it unable to take closeup photos. The cover’s (10-megapixel) and folding screen’s (4-megapixel) selfie cameras are comparable to those on the Fold 3.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 caught somewhat more lifelike colors in daylight than the Fold 3 did. The improved sensor’s greater resolution allowed for crisper and easier-to-read details of distant objects in landscape photos. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 took some excellent close-up photos, but it’s important to keep in mind that the depth effect can be a little too harsh, so you’ll need enough distance from your subject to get everything in focus.
Battery Life
The battery size of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was increased, however the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s battery capacity is same to that of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The battery has a 4,400 mAh capacity, which is a respectable amount, but after using it for two weeks, I believe it need a little larger battery. Samsung is relying on software and chip refinements to increase battery life over last year, but these improvements are limited.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3’s battery life was excellent overall, with the one exception that you probably didn’t want to use the camera all that much. The battery life of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is similarly excellent, however I have found that frequent usage of the camera has a noticeable impact.
With a mix of usage on the Main Screen and the Cover Screen, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 lasts more than 24 hours on a full charge and around 5-7 hours with the screen on. While using only the Cover Screen yields the high end of our findings, prioritizing the Main Screen can lower the battery life to 4 hours screen on time.
Price and Availability
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available on all major U.S. carriers, unlocked, and worldwide starting on August 26, 2022, after preorders started on August 10, 2022. Samsung provides the customary array of trade-in incentives to help down the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the United States, where it is sold for $1,799 unlocked. Similar offers are being made by US airlines and shops like Best Buy. The finest Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals(opens in new tab) frequently result in a trade-in that cuts the cost in half. Three color options are available for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Graygreen (which doesn’t appear green at all), Phantom Black, and Beige.
Final Words
We hope you like this article on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review. The company that is still taking the foldable category seriously is Samsung, which created the first foldable phone-tablet. Samsung’s Z Fold 4 is the company’s fourth iteration of a folding phone, yet it still maintains its fascination. Although pricey, the smartphone is almost unmatched outside of China, where local OEMs are creating highly strong folding phones.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is perhaps the greatest folding device available because to its top-tier CPU, long battery life, enhanced cameras, and improved multitasking. Although the design has improved, this is still the biggest and heaviest phone available, and the $1,799 price tag continues to be a significant barrier to adoption.
To join the foldable revolution and obtain PC-like power in your pocket, you must be prepared to accept these two trade-offs. The greatest foldable phone currently available, I’d want to see Samsung try a more radical redesign the next time around, maybe doing away with the front screen entirely for an even smaller frame.
