Tech
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is bigger, faster, and will cost you $2,000
Samsung's second-gen foldable phone is better in every way, but it doesn't come cheap.
After making its official debut last month alongside the Galaxy Note 20 / Note 20 Ultra, Buds Live, Tab S7 / S7+, and Galaxy Watch 3, we now know everything about the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The hardware — on paper at least — looks like a substantial upgrade over the original Fold. Like we said: Samsung appears to have addressed all of the Fold’s flaws in a single generation. The cover screen is way larger; the foldable inside display is bigger, too; and the weird notch for the cameras on the inside screen has been replaced with a hole punch.
Built like a tank — All these improvements come with trade-offs. The Fold 2 is slightly shorter (159.2mm) than the original Fold (160.9mm); it’s also wider (129.2mm vs. 117.9mm when unfolded and 68mm vs. 62.9mm when folded); it’s thicker (16.8mm vs. 15.5mm); and it’s heavier (279g vs. 263g). Will any of this matter? Most likely not if you’ve already accepted the fact that Fold phones are thick. But that won’t stop us from wishing Samsung put the Fold on a diet.
Big money — The other important thing you should know about the Fold 2: it’s still expensive. The original released at $1,980. The new Fold 2 costs slightly more: $1,999.99. But what’s $19.99 more if you can afford a Fold 2 in the first place? On the plus side, the Fold 2 will be available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon; the original Fold only launched on AT&T.
Improved foldable modes — Hardware isn't the only thing that's new. Samsung says it's improved the software to make use of the two screens. There's a new Flex Mode cribbed from the Galaxy Z Flip; you click the foldable display in place to have it, show a YouTube video above the fold and comments below it. There's also a new way to group three apps so you can launch them together in their own customized spaces on the foldable screen.
All the 5G — The Fold 2 supports both kinds of 5G available in the U.S.: sub-6 and mmWave spectrum. One gives you wider coverage and the other gives you lightning-fast data with up to gigabit speeds.
Fast and dirty specs — You’re looking for the tech specs, so here you go:
- 6.2-inch Super AMOLED (2,260 x 816) cover display
- 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O foldable display (2,208 x 1,768) with 120Hz
- Snapdragon 865+ chip
- 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM
- 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage
- 4,500 mAh battery
- Fast wired and wireless charging
- Wireless PowerShare
- Fingerprint reader
And here are the camera specs. First up is the rear triple-camera system:
- 12-megapixel f/1.8 main
- 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide
- 12-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto
Both cameras on the cover and the foldable display have 10 megapixels with f/2.2 apertures.
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that the storage is a downgrade from the 512GB offered on the original foldable. The ultra-wide camera also has a resolution drop from 16 megapixels to 12 megapixels. The latter isn’t as big of a deal, but the storage drop hurts since there’s no microSD card expansion.
Greater durability — Samsung made a big deal of how it redesigned the Fold 2’s hinge and made it more durable and how the foldable display is bendable ultra-thin glass (same as the one in the Galaxy Z Flip) and no longer plastic. Of course, we’ll have to be the judge of that.
One thing we do know is that there’s no water resistance on the Fold 2. No using the Fold 2 by the pool.
Custom hinge colors — The Fold 2 comes in Mystic Bronze or Mystic Black. But! You can also pick from four different hinge colors in case you want to add a splash of color. No word on whether the accents cost extra or not.
Pre-order and release — Like the original, the Fold 2 is not for everyone. It’s more of a luxury product like a $2,000 LG OLED TV as opposed to a mass-market $400 TCL LED TV. Both display Netflix fine, but you pay for the bleeding edge tech.
If you’re the kind of person who lives dangerously and has money to burn, you can pre-order the Fold 2 on September 7 for a launch on September 18.
Decided? Good, there's one more thing you should know. Samsung says buying a Fold 2 comes with premium perks like membership to FoundersCard and meals at Michelin-rated restaurants. In case you needed more reasons to remind yourself you're fancy for buying a $2,000 phone.
