Alongside the compact Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s the fourth generation of Samsung’s first folding phone and the true flagship of the Galaxy Z line. Boiling it down, the Z Fold is a smartphone that folds open into a 7.6-inch tablet. It aims to be the ultimate mobile 2-in-1 or productivity powerhouse.
And year over year, it’s really a story of incremental innovation with slimmer bezels, software enhancements, and a fancy new processor. Of course with folding phones as well, the hinge is a bit stronger and it feels more substantial. In fact, I spent about an hour with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 so let’s quickly unpack it.
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How to Preorder The Galaxy Z Fold 4Preorders are open now for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the foldable flagship starts at $1,799 for a 256GB model. The Z Fold 4 also comes in 512GB or 1TB models. All of these are available in Graygreen, Phantom Black, Beige, or Burgundy.
If you preorder the Z Fold 4 by Aug, 26 you’ll score a free memory upgrade — so the 256GB model becomes a 512GB model —, a Standing Cover with Pen Case, and a $100 Credit to Samsung. Additionally, you can save up to $1,000 off the Z Fold 4 with eligible trade-in.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in Graygreen, Beige, Burgundy, or Phantom Black (starting at $1,799; samsung.com)Check Out Our Other Galaxy Unpacked storiesSamsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 Looks Nostalgic, but Improves Where it MattersSamsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Are Up For Preorder and Boast a Refreshed BuildSamsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro Double Down on DurabilityGalaxy Z Fold 4: Similar Build, New TricksDesign and DisplaysHolding a Z Fold 3 and a Z Fold 4 side-by-side will have you playing a game of Where’s Waldo, but trying to find the differences. Both are pretty substantial devices that aren’t shy about their thickness. Greeting the user immediately is still a cover screen on the front of the Z Fold 4 — it measures in at 6.2-inches and is ultimately about the size of a standard smartphone. It’s tall with a 23:9 ratio and is a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate. During my initial hands-on it got plenty vibrant and the content looked great.
The biggest improvement though is slimmer bezels and basically a large miniaturization of the left side bezel. Basically, the Cover Screen no longer looks pushed off to the right hand side and it’s easier to type on. You also get a 10-megapixel selfie camera baked into the top via a centered pinhole notch.
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Opening up the Z Fold 4, displays the 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex display which fills up a lot more of the inside. Like the cover screen, the bezels are reduced and it’s a bit more noticeable here. Opening and closing it a couple dozen times felt plenty secure as well. I’ll be reviewing the Z Fold 4 and will of course be testing the durability further. The internal main screen is about the size of a tablet and it’s great to multitask on.
Samsung’s also continuing to tuck a 4-megapixel camera under the display, and while it’s still not ideal for the sharpest selfies, they’re priming it to blend better into the content on screen now.
Software and PerformancePowering the Z Fold 4 is the latest 4nm chip from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with a healthy 12GB of RAM across all the storage sizes. It’s running Android 12L (the first device to ship with this special version of Android for large screens) with a customized Samsung One user interface and it ran very smoothly in my testing. You might recall that Z Fold 3 was no slouch either.
And it’s a pretty similar experience — you’ll still be able to use the edge hover-bar on the right hand side for easily accessing applications, the S-Pen is supported here (though there isn’t a permanent slot for it like on the S22 Ultra), and you can multitask to your heart’s content. New though is a taskbar on the bottom which makes this feel more like a true mobile productivity machine. You can easily open single apps or pair two (or three, or four) together to have them open in pairs. I’m really eager to put this to the test further and it should be a significant improvement for multitasking. Sweetening this interface is the fact that Microsoft’s optimized the entire Office suite and Outlook to take advantage of this.
Main CamerasIn terms of the main cameras, the rear of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 features three lenses. The main camera is now a 50-megapixel wide lens next to a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel telephoto. For the price I would have loved to see a 100x Space Zoom capability, though it’s still limited to just 30x Space Zoom here. You’ll also only be able to zoom up to 3x Optically. Still not a slouch of a camera system. All three of these feature larger sensors which should lead to more detailed filled images and better low light performance.
Battery and ChargingThe Galaxy Z Fold 4 gets its energy from a 4,400mAh dual battery (aka split between either half of the phone) and that should translate to all-day use. You can charge it through a USB-C port, and if it’s plugged into a 25-watt or higher brick it can hit 50% in about 30 minutes from zero. The Z Fold 4 also works on any Qi-enabled wireless charging pad.
Let’s Recap The Galaxy Z Fold 4The Galaxy Z Fold 4 isn’t a full redesign or a wild new feature, but rather some meaningful updates that should enhance the Fold experience. It’s not for everyone at $1,799, but if you want a catchall device that can be used for work or play with plenty of power, the Z Fold 4 certainly fits the bill.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 SpecificationsDisplay
1.9-inch Super AMOLED Cover Screen and a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display at 120Hz
Cameras
10-megapixel selfie Camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 12-megapixel wide camera
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with 8GB of RAM
Storage
128GB, 256GB, or 512GB
Battery
3,700mAh
Software
Android 12 with Samsung One UI
5G Support
Yes, mmWave and Sub-6
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.