Samsung has finally announced the successor of the most popular foldable flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, at the Galaxy Unpacked event. The new foldable comes with a lot of improvements, including the latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. At the Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung also revealed the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro wireless earbuds.

Price & Availability

Samsung has officially confirmed that pre-orders go live on August 10. Customers who pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 between August 10 and August 25 will receive a memory upgrade to double the storage, and up to $1,000 off with eligible trade-in. Customers will also receive a Standing Cover with Pen case, and a $100 Samsung Credit. Samsung will also throw in Samsung Care+, which allows customers to repair their devices in case of an accident.

Despite the rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will cost $1,799.99 – the same price at which the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 launched last year. The device will be available with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options, although the latter will be exclusive, and only available on Samsung’s website.

Colors

Source: Pocketnow

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be available in a total of four colors, including Gragreen, Beige, and Phantom Black. An additional Burgundy color will also be available exclusively on Samsung’s website in all storage options.

Specifications

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a slimmer hinge mechanism, a lighter weight, and a wider and shorter aspect ratio. The new changes make it easier to hold and operate the device in one hand, making the entire phone feel more like a traditional smartphone – although, it’s still large and bulky, compared to general devices.

The device looks very similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and it’s nearly identical. The camera bump on the back has become more prominent, and while the bezel is smaller on the cover screen and the phone is wider, we wouldn’t judge you if you didn’t notice any differences at a glance.

Display

The most apparent change on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the larger cover display, which is not only larger, but also has much smaller bezels on the front, cover display. The phone also features a slimmer hinge, narrower bezels and a lighter weight that makes the phone more comfortable when using the cover display.

The display crease on the main crease has become less prominent, and less noticeable, but it’s still there. Samsung has improved the hinge mechanism to improve the artifact, but the phone still doesn’t fold shut when closed. On the upside, the main screen now supports 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, while the cover screen on the front supports 48-120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

Software

Samsung says that most of the same features remain on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 that we’ve seen on last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, but there are brand new functionalities that will let users take better advantage of the new aspect ratio. For starters, the Samsung Flex mode is still here, and users will be able to adjust and enable the feature for applications. It lets users fold the display to a certain angle, displaying a Netflix show on the top, while presenting the video controls on the lower half of the display.

Microsoft applications are still integrated, and the S Pen will allow users to multitask, draw, and take notes wherever they go. Fortunately, the new Standing Cover case looks a lot better than last year’s cover, and it will let users safely store the stylus.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs One UI 4.1.1, based on Android 12L, which means that more applications can take better advantage of the larger folding displays. Samsung mentions that Google apps, including Chrome and Gmail, now support drag-and-drop, allowing users to quickly copy and paste links, photos, and more content from one app to another. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be the first foldable smartphone to ship with Android 12L on board, better enhancing the experience for users using foldable devices.

Android 12L will also include a new taskbar, providing a similar layout to what we’re used to seeing on PC. The taskbar will offer access to favourite and recent apps, and multitasking will also be possible by using the new swipe gestures.

Camera

Source: Pocketnow

Samsung says that it has improved the rear camera on the back of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which has a new sensor allowing for a larger pixel size, and letting in 23% more light for brighter images. Due to the new chipset, processing is also more efficient and faster, and images should look even better at night and low light.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 houses five camera sensors. There’s a single 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera on the cover display, and a 4MP f/1.8 under-display sensor on larger screen. There are three sensors on the back of the device, a 50MP f/1.8 primary sensor with OIS and Dual Pixel AF, a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, and a 10MP f/2.4 Telephoto with OIS and PDAF. It’s capable of 3x optical zoom, and up to 30x Space Zoom (using AI to improve the zooming capabilities)

Source: Pocketnow

We’ll have to take the new phone for a spin to see the results for ourselves, since we don’t yet know what sensor Samsung is using. Still, based on the specifications alone, it looks like it’s a similar camera array to the one that can be found on the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus smartphones.

Battery

Source: Pocketnow

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 packs a 4,400 mAh battery, which is the same exact capacity that can be found in the Galaxy Z Fold 3 – which was everything but a battery champion. We’ll have to see if the new chipset and performance optimizations can yield better results, but it’s worth pointing out that Samsung is still only supporting a 25W wired charging speeds.

Samsung does note that the phone can go from 0 to 50% charge in around 30 minutes using a supported 25W adapter, but that’s still a long way off from what we should be seeing from a device that costs this much, packing the latest and the greatest. The good news is that fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging are still here.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Galaxy Z Fold 4 support the S Pen?

Yes, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 support the fold version of the Galaxy S Pen. It lets you draw, take notes, and interact with the smartphone when multitasking, playing games, and in general, when using the device to navigate around.

Does the Galaxy Z Fold 4 support wireless charging?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and reverse wireless charging, also known as Wireless PowerShare.

Does it have an under-display fingerprint sensor?

No, the fingerprint sensor is still embedded in the power button on the right side. It uses a capacitive fingerprint sensor to authenticate and make purchases using Samsung Pay or Google Pay.

Does it come with Android 13?

Samsung will ship all devices with One UI 4.1.1, based on Android 12L. Our best guess is that Android 13 will likely be released by the end of the year, or sometime in the first half of 2023.

Does the Galaxy Z Fold 4 support fast wired charging?

Technically, yes. The Fold 4 still only supports 25W fast wired charging, but Samsung says that it has improved the charging speeds, which now results in 0-50% charge in just 30 minutes when using a compatible 25W wall adapter.

Is it water and dust-resistant?

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with an IPX8 certification, which means that it can withstand submersion up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Beach and pool water is still not recommended, and the device isn’t dust resistant.