What’s going on
Samsung’s newest large-format folding phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 4, has been unveiled.
What’s at stake
Samsung believes that foldable phones are essential to the success of its line of mobile devices. Samsung has an impact on the larger market as one of the major smartphone makers in the world.
Next steps
On August 26, Samsung will offer the Galaxy Z Fold 4 for $1,800.
With the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which goes on sale on August 26 and has a starting price of $1,800 (£1,649, AU$2,499), Samsung continues to refine its folding phone design.
The new book-style foldable phone, which was unveiled at the Unpacked event on Wednesday, features a tweaked design that ought to make using it as a phone easier. Additionally, it is receiving routine CPU and camera improvements as well as new software that makes use of the screen’s ability to fold.
Samsung entered the market first, releasing its first Galaxy Fold product in 2019. In terms of shipments, estimations from Display Supply Chain Consultants and Omdia show that it dominates the market for foldable phones by a significant margin. But the market for mobile phones as a whole still only includes a tiny portion of foldable phones. By addressing some of the most common complaints about earlier versions, Samsung’s new Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are an attempt to change that, maybe making foldable more appealing to a wider audience.
For instance, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 features a bigger cover screen that, when folded, more closely resembles a conventional, non-folding phone. Since the screen of the Z Fold 4 is wider thanks to the modification, apps appear more naturally. The display is still not nearly as large as a normal phone like the Galaxy S22 or iPhone 13, but the difference is undeniably evident compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Additionally, Samsung has increased the functionality of the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s display when it is folded in half. When the Z Fold is propped open, Flex mode, which divides an app between the top and bottom sides of the screen, is receiving a new function. Similar to a laptop’s touchpad, the bottom half of the screen can be used as a trackpad to control the content on the upper half.
Since you won’t have to cover the top of the screen with your finger as you scroll, using apps in Flex mode should be easier as a result. This capability will also be available on the recently unveiled Galaxy Z Flip 4, and Samsung says it may consider introducing it to earlier Galaxy Z Fold and Flip devices. The Z Fold 4 is the first gadget to arrive with Android 12L, the tablet-optimized version of Android, according to Samsung. The Z Fold 4’s new taskbar, which should make toggling between apps more straightforward, is one of the most obvious enhancements to Android 12.
Continue reading Samsung Unpacked
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Although the Z Fold 4 has a fairly similar overall design, Samsung asserts that it is constructed more robustly. Gorilla Glass Victus Plus shields the outside, and a 45% more robust tablet-sized interior display is claimed. Additionally, Samsung claims that the interior under-display camera is less obvious and that the Z Fold 4’s inner screen is brighter than that of its predecessor. The S Pen works with the Z Fold 4 just like it did with the prior model.
Other than that, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will receive the normal camera and CPU updates that come with yearly phone updates. The Z Fold 4’s triple-lens camera system has been upgraded by Samsung to a 50-megapixel main sensor, 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and 10-megapixel telephoto lens. Both optical and digital zoom up to 30x are supported by that telephoto lens. Additionally, Samsung is bringing the Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 the enhanced low-light photography of the Galaxy S22.
The Galaxy Z Fold’s enormous internal screen is undoubtedly more important to most people than its camera. The Z Fold 4 should, however, have a camera that at least matches or outperforms that of Samsung’s non-folding phones given its high pricing. The 12-megapixel wide, telephoto and ultrawide lenses on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 have been replaced by 21-megapixel wide, telephoto, and ultrawide lenses on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The best camera phone from Samsung is still the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU from Qualcomm, which is a newer and marginally improved version of the chip present inside the Galaxy S22 range, will likewise power the Z Fold 4. It’s unfortunate that the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s battery life let CNET’s Patrick Holland down because the battery capacity stays the same at 4,400 mAh.
Overall, compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a more polished and sophisticated device. Now that these gadgets have been around for around three years, Samsung seems to be knowing more about what these devices are used for. Samsung is pitching the Z Fold 4 as a productivity tablet, similar to the now-extinct Galaxy Note, with its huge screen and support for the S Pen. By deciding on that course, Samsung can concentrate on developing new features that are exclusive to the Z Fold rather than merely making sure apps run well on all of the Fold’s many screen sizes.
The Z Fold 4 is still difficult to sell at $1,800. Although these new features are an indication of advancement, they might not be sufficient to persuade owners of non-foldable phones. But it’s a step closer to understanding whether foldable will have any impact on our lives.
See everything else Samsung unveiled, including the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, and more, for more information.
first released at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time on August 10, 2022.
