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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
12 GB RAM Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 review: so good it should be your next phone
It’s very easy to think this after a quick glance at the design or a side-by-side check of the stats, but don’t judge this book by its cover (screen), as Samsung’s many small alterations add up to something far greater. The aspect ratio change doesn’t squash everything into that odd vertical-letterbox look anywhere nearly as much, and that means reading text, looking at Instagram, and just doing regular phone things isn’t as compromised as before. My Z Fold 3 is a year old, and the hinge has settled into a very pleasant, dampened motion after starting off pretty stiff. If Samsung hadn’t explained what’s different about the hinge, I don’t think I’d have known it had changed based on feel alone, and that’s a good thing.
In all aspects of its physical shape and size, the Z Fold 4 is a considerable step forward over its predecessor. I’ll live with the increased thickness and weight because opening the phone up and using the large screen to browse the web, watch videos, read books, edit photos, and scroll through Twitter is a fantastic experience because the same device then folds down to fit in my pocket.
It’s hugely freeing, and I find it more convenient than carrying other non-folding, but still massive phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra or iPhone 14 Pro Max around. I love the little things about it, too, like the way you can fold it so it becomes its own stand for watching videos and how wonderfully sharp the screen is for reading magazines and ebooks.
The inside screen is where you go to watch videos, play games, read books, view and edit photos, and multitask.
I find the combination of a strong main camera, a good wide-angle, and 3x optical zoom to be just right, and the Z Fold 4 takes excellent photos with all three. It’s vibrant and colorful without being overly saturated, the wide-angle remains mostly consistent with a slightly stronger HDR effect, and the 3x telephoto pictures contain a lot of detail and no obvious digital enhancements. It can’t match the S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom, but it’s an otherwise strong competitor as a fantastic all-rounder for both casual photographers and those who want a little more ability.
Unless you want to take pixelated, obviously digitally enhanced photos of poor quality, you won’t want to bother. It’s really helpful to immediately see the photos you’ve taken in busy, action-packed situations, or even to check the quality of your selfie. The cover screen can be called into action when using the phone open like this, allowing your subject to see themselves when you’re taking a photo, or for you to use the rear camera for selfies. I’ve been able to rely on it, and think the natural-but-color-filled photos will satisfy those who don’t like extreme saturation levels, while still looking good enough to share online without drastic editing.
The software is fast and packed with features, and the app makes good use of the multiple screens and layouts. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 started out with Google’s Android 12L software, which has been made with larger screens in mind, and Samsung’s own OneUI 4.1.1 interface. Powering the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor with 12GB of RAM and your choice of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of internal storage space. The layout mirrors the main Android dock, so it’s easy to put important apps there and always be alerted if there are notifications waiting.
It’s really well implemented and genuinely makes the unfolded Z Fold 4 a phone that gets a lot of things done quickly and without fuss. With a multiperson Teams call running and Twitter on the other side of the screen, all while connected to a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the phone didn’t get hot at all. It doesn’t seem to get as hot in general, and that helps it cope with the demands put on it by the phone’s sheer ability. There’s a dual-cell 4,400 mAh battery inside the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and at the moment, it is the weakest part of this otherwise superb package.
Early on, hard use saw the battery run out of power before the end of a full day, after a combination of apps, video calls, GPS, and camera use, with a total of just under four hours of screen time. Since then it has settled down, and changes to the software have made it more efficient, but don’t expect much more than a full day if you push it hard.
You don’t get a charger in the box with the phone (but you do get a USB Type-C cable), and the Z Fold 4 supports 25-watt charging.
It was interesting to use the Oppo Find N2, which has a shorter, wider design than the Z Fold 4, offering a different perspective on big-screen foldables.
Samsung only needs to work on refining the winning formula for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and it’ll still likely be streets ahead of the others. I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 4 since its release, and the good news is it continues to be a reliable, capable, and exciting everyday phone.
It received an update to the One UI 5 software early on and is currently running the latest OneUI 5.1 version, complete with the May 2023 security patch. The Z Fold 4 is not only fully up to date but feels fresh too, and the strong software support from Samsung (it will receive four years of major updates from the time of its launch) is a reason to buy — and something that far surpasses the competition. There are often strong discounts at carriers and retailers out there, so it’s absolutely worth doing your research before buying, as it’s possible to reduce the initially high price quite considerably. The small changes to the shape, weight, and specifications have made it a far more realistic everyday device for a lot more people, provided you can get past the high price. There are fewer compromises here than with its predecessors, the work that has gone into making the phone’s design more compliant and usable is really impressive, and fears over durability have largely been removed. And because of the long-term support updates that come from Samsung and Google’s ongoing partnership, the Z Fold 4 will keep feeling fresh for years to come.
Even with the shorter-than-desired battery life, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the most complete, does-everything-will-last-for-years mobile device you can buy today.
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Refurbed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 work like new devices and therefore have no functional limitations. The product has no dents, scratches or signs of wear visible from a distance of 30cm – neither on the body nor on the display.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
The Z Fold 4’s outer display and back panel use Gorilla Glass Victus+, whilst the foldable inner display is made of Samsung’s proprietary “Ultra-Thin Glass”, with two protective plastic layers covering it. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available in four colors: Phantom Black, Beige, Graygreen and Burgundy.
Color Name Phantom Black Beige Graygreen Burgundy
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has two screens: its 6.2-inch cover display, and its foldable inner 7.6-inch display, featuring support for the S Pen Pro and the S Pen Fold Edition.
Compared to the Z Fold 3, the inner display now has a more square aspect ratio (~6:5 vs ~5:4), while the cover display is slightly wider by about +3mm while also being ever so slightly shorter; both of which end up combining for a notably closer to a “traditional phone” ~23.1:9 aspect ratio as compared to the Fold 3’s notably narrower ~24.5:9. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 ships with Android 12L based One UI 4.1.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
The Z Fold 4’s outer display and back panel use Gorilla Glass Victus+, whilst the foldable inner display is made of Samsung’s proprietary “Ultra-Thin Glass”, with two protective plastic layers covering it. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available in four colors: Phantom Black, Beige, Graygreen and Burgundy. Color Name Phantom Black Beige Graygreen Burgundy
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has two screens: its 6.2-inch cover display, and its foldable inner 7.6-inch display, featuring support for the S Pen Pro and the S Pen Fold Edition.
Compared to the Z Fold 3, the inner display now has a more square aspect ratio (~6:5 vs ~5:4), while the cover display is slightly wider by about +3mm while also being ever so slightly shorter; both of which end up combining for a notably closer to a “traditional phone” ~23.1:9 aspect ratio as compared to the Fold 3’s notably narrower ~24.5:9. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 ships with Android 12L based One UI 4.1.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs. Fold 4: How the two foldables compare
Last year, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 impressed us with an eminently useful tablet-like form factor. The fifth iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold line is just around the corner, launching on Aug. 11 for $1,800.
That hefty price tag gets you a device that’s shaped like a regular smartphone, until you unfold it and it turns into a miniature tablet. Obviously, Samsung isn’t changing the form factor of the Z Fold 5.
It still works like its predecessors, but there are still a couple of exterior and interior changes worth noting. For starters, a newer processor in the Z Fold 5 could theoretically bring all kinds of performance enhancements.
Apps could load faster and battery usage could be more efficient. On the hardware end, there is one other change worth noting: the hinge.
Purely in terms of megapixel numbers, both phones sport identical camera arrays.
Until we get our hands on the Z Fold 5 and can play with the new processor and hinge, we can’t concretely say it’s worth an upgrade over last year’s model. But if you never used a Z Fold phone before and want to get in on the foldable craze now, maybe give Samsung’s flagship a look.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review: A smarter foldable
Samsung also delivers better cameras, a wider front display and a brighter main screen in a sleeker package. Why you can trust Tom’s Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what’s best for you. I also appreciate the huge 7.6-inch main display, which is now brighter with slimmer bezels — and there’s more apps optimized for the Z Fold 4’s large canvas. It’s pretty awesome that I can use a split screen setup and drag pics from the camera roll directly into Google drive.
You don’t notice the crease on the Z Fold 4 all the time, but it becomes an eyesore when you’re using an app like Google Maps, especially in direct sunlight. Portraits and flower shots are particularly compelling, though the Z Fold 4 fell a bit behind Apple in some cases.
Portraits and flower shots are particularly compelling, though the Z Fold 4 fell a bit behind Apple in some cases. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is now available in stores, with a price that starts at a very high $1,799 for 256GB of storage, but you can also upgrade to 512GB or 1TB.
Though the phone is now on sale, many of the best Galaxy Z Fold 4 pre-order deals remain in place as of this writing. One plus is that the bezels on both the cover and main display have been trimmed down, which makes for a more immersive viewing experience.
The main display on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains a beast at 7.6 inches, but Samsung has boosted the brightness while maintaining the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Thor’s blue and gold armor popped off the screen, and the picture was nice and crisp.
When watching Night Shift on Netflix with the Z Fold 4, I appreciated that I could have the move fill the whole screen despite the phone’s odd aspect ratio. The 6.2-inch cover display also features a smooth 120Hz refresh rate (scaling down to 48Hz) but it’s now 3mm wider, which means you don’t have to feel as claustrophobic using this device with the screen closed. I had no problem typing on the front panel, which when you think about it could save you battery life if you don’t use the larger screen as much.
To make multitasking easier, there’s a new Taskbar that appears at the bottom of the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s display that automatically shows your recent apps. In addition, Chrome now supports drag and drop functionality for things like photos and links. Samsung is working with several developers to take better advantage of the foldable display, including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
It fixes the one thing I hate about foldables and has a camera that can compare with the likes of iPhone 13 Pro Max. Based on our photo comparisons with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 definitely holds its own.
In this close-up of a hibiscus flower, the coloring is more natural in the Galaxy Z Fold 4 shot, while there’s a more yellow tinge to the iPhone 13 Pro Max photo. But I give an edge to the iPhone here because you can make out more details in the petals and the flower stands out more versus the background. I normally prefer iPhones for portrait photos but in this case I give the nod to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. In this shot of a statue Samsung’s camera brings out more details in the shadows, especially as you look towards the top of the structure.
This fruit tart shot looks pretty delicious through both the Z Fold 4 and iPhone 13 Pro Max. I give an edge to the iPhone for nailing the details in the blackberries, while the focus is a bit softer through the Samsung.
With night mode engaged on both phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 manages a brighter overall shot with this coffee mug.
As you’ll see in the above gallery, the Z Fold 4’s front 10MP cover camera does a very good job capturing the detail in blue shirt and even the pillows in the background.
If you want the best possible results — and a wider field of view — you can engage rear camera selfie mode. You just go to take a selfie with the cover closed and press a button in the top left corner, then flip open the display to use the rear 50MP camera. I enjoyed turbo boosting and performing 360-degree turns in the Asphalt 7 racing game, and having a large display helped me appreciate finer details like splashes of water hit my car. On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 scored 1,328 on the single-core test and 3,831 on multi-core. Turning to graphics, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 notched 52.83 frames per second on the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited benchmark. The good news is that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 lasted longer on a charge in our testing, but the results were not consistent. It can multitask like no other phone, and I can simply get more done in less time on the latest Fold versus my iPhone. Samsung deserves credit (along with Google) for evolving the software experience with things like the taskbar, better drag and drop support and more optimized apps for Flex mode and larger screens in general.
However, the $1,799 price remains a huge hurdle for adoption, and while the design has improved this is still the largest and heaviest phone around. Next time around I’d like to see Samsung experiment with a more radical redesign, such as maybe getting rid of the front screen altogether for an even slimmer body, but for now this is the best foldable phone around.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Review
Now, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 ($1,799.99) takes the portable productivity concept even further with new software that simplifies multitasking. But the company’s latest large-screen foldable also boasts a slightly wider screen, a more durable design, better camera hardware, and stronger 5G support than its predecessor, the Z Fold 3. Any foldable devices from Apple or Google are still just rumors, and Motorola’s new Razr competes more with the smaller Galaxy Z Flip 4 instead. At 6.11 by 2.64 by 0.62 inches (HWD) and 9.28 ounces, the Z Fold 4 is bulkier than other flagship phones, but that’s just the price you pay for power right now and it still fits comfortably into my hand in the closed position.
The Z Fold 4’s matte back resists fingerprints well, but keys in my bag scarred up my gray model’s finish a bit after just a few days. The phone also has a particularly hard-edged camera bump, so Samsung’s $49.99 Slim Standing Cover (which includes a kickstand) might be a smart addition. The power button on the side features a quick, accurate physical fingerprint sensor. There is also a volume rocker, a USB-C port, and a single SIM card slot; there is no microSD tray or headphone jack.
One design improvement over the Fold 3 is a flatter hinge, though this does nothing to reduce the notorious crease on the folded-open screen.
To help with visibility in bright environments, the phone kicks into an ultrabright outdoor mode that washes out the colors a bit in favor of making the screen easier to read. Samsung didn’t make the screen brighter or erase the crease from the previous model, but the company says the protector here is 45% tougher. In short, the handset delivers top-of-the-line performance, and the 12GB of RAM means you can smoothly multitask without apps restarting or lagging.
With the phone closed, the speakerphone primarily ports from the bottom, though a little bit of sound emits from the earpiece. New owners won’t have to wait long for Android 13, which Google should start rolling out widely in the winter of 2022.
But now, you can pop up a dock from the bottom of the screen (like on your PC) and quickly drag any app into one of three possible split-screen window positions.
This effect is particularly noticeable with open-world or big-map games like Genshin Impact, Don’t Starve, and Stardew Valley. And, unlike the Galaxy Flip 4, the Fold 4 can handle a decent Genshin gaming session without severe throttling. Shots taken with the Fold 4 main camera (center) are better than those from the Flip 4 (left) and indistinguishable from the Galaxy S22+ (right) (Credit: Sascha Segan)
Telephoto images aren’t nearly as clean as those from the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom, but you can still get usable results. Microsoft’s $1,499.99 Surface Duo 2 is the closest alternative, but it’s not nearly as competent as a primary phone, and it lacks a one-handed mode.
And compared with the previous Galaxy Fold model, refinements here include an easier-to-use front screen, better cameras, and a more svelte build. Though the Fold 4 is pricey at $1,799, its large screen makes it ideal for gamers, cinephiles, multitaskers, and frequent video callers.
Samsung likes to point out that the price hasn’t risen since last year, even with inflation, but $1,799 is still a lot for a phone, no matter how impressive. Trade-in discounts, carrier specials, and other deals might help you get the cost down, but the extent of the savings depends on individual circumstances.
If you aren’t a fan of the folding design, meanwhile, Samsung’s $1,199 Galaxy S22 Ultra is a good option for power users seeking the S Pen stylus experience, and the S22+ remains our mainstream Editors’ Choice winner among Android devices. It earns a PCMag Editors’ Choice award because no other device pushes the boundaries of smartphone productivity quite the same way.
Some applications are buggy The Bottom Line The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4’s flexible screen and strong multitasking support make it the best productivity phone available today by far.
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