Tech
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a first-class camera system
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 is more of the same, but there are also some small, but significant upgrades to almost every feature from the cameras to the displays.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 has quite a few improvements, but you really have to go deep to appreciate them. It’s best to view the Galaxy Z Fold 4 as another pass at refining the basic Galaxy Z Fold design Samsung’s been using since the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is an iterative update with displays that are ever so slightly wider and shorter (read: ergonomic), but not smaller, stuffed into a lighter body (263 grams versus 271 grams on the Galaxy Z Fold 3). The phone-tablet also has myriad software changes that might improve the overall experience of using Samsung’s foldables. And thankfully, the price isn’t getting any higher than the already eye-watering starting price of the $1,799 Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Hardware upgrades — First, Samsung is making the cover screen and inside screen wider, with the cover increasing by 2.8mm and the inside going up by 3mm, thanks to smaller bezels. The cover screen measures 6.2 inches (2,316 x 904) and the inside foldable display measures 7.6 inches (2,176 x 1,812). Both displays support adaptive refresh rates; the cover screen adapts between 48Hz to 120Hz and the foldable screen can dial from 1Hz to 120Hz depending on the content.
Second, the slimmer hinge design in the new Galaxy Z Flip 4 is also coming to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, along with sturdier and more durable Gorilla Glass Victus+ and “Armor Aluminum” components. The same goes for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the new Qualcomm system-on-a-chip that’s already made its way into phones like the OnePlus 10T.
And third, a camera system that isn’t second-best. For the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s triple-lens camera system, the new design mirrors much of what was on the Galaxy S 22 lineup earlier this year. There’s a 50-megapixel wide with a larger sensor for brighter photos, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 30x zoom.
The in-display camera, one of the more controversial features on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, is also improved on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Thanks to a new “scatter-type sub-pixel arrangement” Samsung says it should blend in better with the display. Hopefully, image quality improvements come with that change, too, though the camera is only 4 megapixels.
One downside might be the battery. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 4,400 mAh, which is the same size as the one in the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Of course, battery size isn’t everything; the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 improves power efficiency, which could mean less energy draw from the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Oh! And S Pen support is still here. And there’s still no way to keep attached to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 without spending money on a case. Come on, Samsung.
The taskbar is the new dock — Like the Galaxy Z Flip 4, you can use One UI’s new touchpad feature to navigate content like a laptop when the Z Fold 4’s screen is partially folded. But what’s even more interesting from what Samsung showed off is the new macOS dock-like taskbar that you can use to launch and switch between apps. One UI will even intuitively pair up apps that make sense together so you can hop directly into split-screen mode.
Availability — The Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be available in “Phantom Black,” “Graygreen,” and “Beige” with several other color combinations available through Samsung’s Bespoke program, when it goes on sale August 26 starting at $1,799.
There are three models of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, all with 12GB of RAM. The only difference is storage capacity, which is available in 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB. It runs Android 12L with Samsung’s One UI 4.1.1 interface.
Read our hands-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 for even more.