Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 overview: incremental innovation

I’ve a confession: I’m not likely into tablets. The final one I purchased was in 2012, and I feel my cat technically owns it now. They really feel an excessive amount of like a neither-here-nor-there gadget to me — too underpowered to do laptop stuff, too huge and cumbersome to do telephone stuff.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 tricked me into liking a pill.

There’s a seeing-is-believing facet to utilizing the Galaxy Z Fold 4. I get what it’s in idea: small when you’ll want to do telephone stuff and massive whenever you wish to do pill stuff. But it wasn’t till I used the Fold 4 to compile and submit an expense report that I actually understood the ability of this gadget. It’s the ability of not having to stand up off the sofa to go get my laptop computer. It’s superb.

How we price and overview units

This is all true of the Fold 3 (and the earlier variations, however these had extra vital issues). So what precisely does the Fold 4 deliver to the desk? As greatest as I can inform after every week dwelling with the telephone, not a lot. This isn’t a essentially completely different expertise, however it’s a tiny bit higher. Take the quilt display — it’s just a few millimeters wider, but it surely’s ever so barely nicer to make use of than the display on the earlier model, which felt extra like a distant management. The cowl display is the factor you have a look at and kind texts on 100 occasions per day, so these few millimeters make a distinction.

That’s the entire gist of this telephone. Lots of issues are just a little nicer; nothing is radically higher. In some features, meaning taking part in catch-up to what just about each different flagship telephone affords, like an honest telephoto digicam. In different methods, it’s a refinement of the distinctive options this foldable brings to the desk — it’s just a bit extra intuitive and cozy to make use of. The Fold 4 continues to be very costly, and it’s nonetheless a gadget particular person’s gadget. But in the event you’ve been within the Fold and looking ahead to Samsung to work the bugs out of the system, then that is the foldable telephone you’ve been ready for.

There is one minor catch: the worth. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 prices $1,799, just like the Fold 3 did when it was launched. Yes, it’s a outstanding innovation. Yes, it might exchange a telephone and a pill. But even so, that’s a heck of some huge cash. We additionally don’t know the way properly the design will maintain up 4 or 5 years from now. Sinking eighteen hundred {dollars} right into a telephone is simply not an possibility for most individuals earlier than we even take into account the long-term sturdiness considerations.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Let’s begin with screens. The hinge and bezels are just a little smaller than on the Fold 3, which provides the 6.2-inch cowl display a bit extra room. It has a decision of 2316 x 904 decision and a 23.1:9 facet ratio — just a little wider than the Fold 3’s 2268 x 832 show with 24.5:9 ratio. Coming from an ordinary, massive slab telephone, it felt just a little cramped at first, however after a couple of day, I used to be used to it. The keyboard nonetheless requires just a little extra focus than I’d choose to hit the best keys. But this expertise feels about 90 p.c of the best way to a traditional telephone with one thing nearer to a 19.5:9 display.

Likewise, the primary display nonetheless measures 7.6 inches like final yr’s, now with a 2176 x 1812 decision and 21.6:18 facet ratio in comparison with 2208 x 1768 and 22.5:18. The display is so huge to start with that the slight shift in facet ratio actually doesn’t make a distinction. It is, was, and (in all probability!) at all times might be a big-ass display for a telephone. The internal and outer screens all supply as much as 120Hz refresh charges, so scrolling is clean irrespective of the way you’re utilizing the telephone.

At 263 grams, the Z Fold 4 is a heavy, chunky telephone in comparison with even the most important slab-style telephones: the iPhone 13 Pro Max weighs 240 grams, whereas Samsung’s personal S22 Ultra is 229 grams. These are all greater than half a pound; Pop Sockets are having an actual second!

I can use it one-handed for a minute if I must, but it surely’s too heavy and unwieldy to attempt that for for much longer. It’s additionally liable to tumbling out of the pocket of my joggers once I sit down, and listening to this $1,800 telephone thud onto a hardwood flooring makes me sick to my abdomen.

Samsung didn’t present a case with my overview unit, and I’m not usually a case gal, however for the Fold, I’d make an exception. As it was, I ended up setting it on a counter moderately than holding it in my pocket all through the day. It’s technically smaller than the Fold 3, however simply barely: 8 grams lighter — roughly the load of 1 / 4 and a penny — and 0.2mm thinner.

When unfolded in pill mode, there’s nonetheless a outstanding crease on the internal display. Depending on the viewing angle and what’s on the display, although, it’s not very noticeable a variety of the time. It’s one thing I acquired used to simply, and even once I might see it, it didn’t trouble me — not even when my thumb ran over it whereas gaming.

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The under-display digicam (or UDC) on the primary display is just a little higher hidden than earlier fashions — Samsung rearranged the pixel layer on high of it to attempt to masks it higher. It has a bizarre form of blind spot impact. If I’m not trying proper at it, I don’t see it in any respect in my peripheral imaginative and prescient. But as quickly as one thing on the display attracts my eye to it, it’s obviously apparent.

This is unquestionably a me factor, but it surely seems much like the visible aura I see proper earlier than I’ve a migraine. I’m positive I’ve some low-level PTSD response to it, so possibly it’s not all that noticeable to most individuals. In any case, the picture high quality from the 4-megapixel UDC continues to be dangerous, however fortunately, there are many significantly better cameras you need to use on the Fold 4 for selfie functions. The UDC will do in a pinch for video calls, but it surely’s greatest regarded as a final resort.

Samsung has tweaked among the big-screen software program options on the Fold 4, beginning with relocating the taskbar from the aspect of the display to the underside. It’s on by default, too, which is a change from the sidebar conduct on the Fold 3. Tapping and holding the taskbar will cover it from view, and repeating the identical gesture will deliver it again. You may also flip it off completely in the event you don’t prefer it. Again, these are refined strikes, however they make the expertise proper out of the field extra like what you’d count on from a laptop computer or an iPad.

The Fold 4 additionally supplies extra methods to enter break up display mode to begin doing what this telephone was made for: multitasking like there’s no tomorrow. With an app open on the primary display, you possibly can nonetheless provoke break up display by dragging and dropping one other app to the show. This time round, it’s also possible to begin break up display view by swiping with two fingers from the underside or sides of the display.

This is off by default, so it’s a must to allow it in settings, and it really works properly sufficient, however personally, I didn’t discover it as helpful because the outdated drag-and-drop methodology. You may also have apps at all times present a button for multiscreen choices — that’s just a little deal with on the high of an app window that usually seems when you’re in a break up display view. With the deal with at all times seen, you possibly can simply faucet it for break up display or to open the present app in a pop-up window.

Samsung was non-committal after we requested whether or not these software program options can be ported to earlier Fold units, but it surely appears highly likely that the taskbar will no less than. I hope they do. They don’t transform how you employ the telephone, however they really feel intuitive to me, a first-time Fold person.

It didn’t take lengthy to determine the multiscreen interface, and as soon as I did, my complete understanding of the Fold modified. I’ve a psychological record of duties that I’d moderately full on my laptop computer moderately than on my telephone — issues that require cross-referencing an electronic mail and a browser window or leaping between apps steadily. While utilizing the Fold 4, that record acquired manner shorter. I put collectively a grocery order, comparison-shopped child gates, and even printed a weblog submit in regards to the Fold 4 whereas utilizing the Fold 4.

Take that expense report, for instance. That would usually go on the “must do on a laptop” record because it requires cross-referencing my Starbucks app order historical past, my bank card assertion, and Concur. I stored all three apps open on-screen without delay, and it was a reasonably nice expertise — I imply, as nice as compiling an expense report may be. Best of all — and this bears repeating — I didn’t should get off of the sofa to get my laptop computer. I additionally didn’t should set down my laptop computer and choose up my telephone when a two-factor authentication textual content arrived. It was all simply there in my hand.

Of course, the Fold 4 has to ship the efficiency to maintain up with all of these duties, and it does. It makes use of a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, like each different current Android flagship not made by Google, and all variations include 12GB of RAM. In my testing, it ran Genshin Impact with no drawback, and it dealt with a number of apps without delay with ease.

The $1,799 base mannequin comes with 256GB of storage — there’s no card slot for growth (not that you just’d want one with all that area), no headphone jack, and no charging brick within the field. All par for the course as of late. As on the Fold 3, the Fold 4 helps Samsung’s S Pen stylus — particularly, the foldable version of the S Pen designed for the fragile internal display on the Fold collection. The cowl display doesn’t help the stylus, which might be actually helpful for taking fast notes, and the S pen itself is $49 — offered individually, in fact.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The Fold 4, like its predecessor, has a 4,400mAh battery. There’s no change to wired charging speeds — nonetheless 25W — however wi-fi charging is just a little speeder at 15W versus 11W (offered that you just’re utilizing one in every of Samsung’s personal quick wi-fi chargers).

In my expertise, the battery acquired me by a day of heavy use, however I wouldn’t rely on greater than that. I acquired 5 hours of display time throughout a demanding day, together with half-hour of video streaming, some navigation, and most time spent on wi-fi knowledge moderately than Wi-Fi, and the telephone was proper down into the only digits by bedtime. If you’d just like the Fold 4 to switch a pill, then that is one factor to keep in mind — you’ll get good battery efficiency for a telephone, not the days-long battery lifetime of a pill.

There’s no change in IP score this yr — the Fold 4 is IPX8 rated, that means you possibly can submerge it in freshwater, but it surely’s not dustproof. Dust is one thing to fret about, too. Particles entering into the display by means of the hinge would wreak havoc on the display, as we discovered with the Fold’s first (doomed) iteration. The hinge now consists of sweeper brushes to attempt to preserve mud out, but it surely’s onerous to say how efficient they’ll be over the course of three or 4 years of day by day use. On the floor stage, there’s a pre-applied, non-user-replaceable display protector. Samsung says it’s utilizing stronger adhesive this yr to maintain it in place, possible as a response to reviews from prior Fold house owners of the protector coming unglued and creating “bubbles” between it and the display. Fingers crossed it really works higher.

Grid View

The Fold 3 could have marked a critical step in taking foldables mainstream, however its digicam system nonetheless fell in need of the mainline flagships. The query this yr is whether or not the Fold’s cameras are becoming for a flagship telephone, and I feel the Fold 4 will get a passing grade this time round. The principal digicam sensor will get a bump from 12 to 50 megapixels, however one of the best enchancment is perhaps the rise from 2x to a 3x telephoto. There’s no 10x zoom, however possibly Samsung’s saving that for an (inevitable?) Fold Ultra.

The portrait mode enhancements we noticed on the S22 collection are right here, too, and that’s an incredible factor. The 3x tele lens on the S22 produces among the greatest portrait mode photographs I’ve ever seen, and the Fold 4 is able to glorious portraits, too. Photos from the 3x zoom taken in the usual picture mode look good, too. And anyway, a 2x lens simply doesn’t get you a lot nearer to your topic, so I’m glad to see the bump as much as a extra helpful 3x right here.

Otherwise, there’s nothing outstanding in regards to the Fold 4’s rear cameras. The telephone’s picture processing goes for a punchy look with vivid colours and typically will get just a little overzealous with the HDR, identical to every other Samsung flagship. The cowl display’s 10-megapixel selfie digicam does simply advantageous, even in dim gentle. The 4-megapixel UDC nonetheless seems pretty smeary, and I’d solely use it as a final resort.

In my thoughts, there are some things holding the Fold 4 again from being an unbelievable gadget. The first is the worth — it’s simply too excessive. I hope the main focus of Samsung’s foldable innovation sooner or later might be on making this type of product accessible to extra individuals. And then there’s the Android pill app ecosystem. When I encountered issues utilizing the telephone in multiscreen mode, the Fold didn’t let me down — Android apps did. Most of them are nonetheless simply telephone apps stretched out over a much bigger canvas moderately than pill apps. This leaves a variety of unused clean area, and I discovered myself opening extra apps simply to make use of the empty area for one thing.

Even with the slight measurement changes this yr, there’s nonetheless a little bit of a Goldilocks scenario — some apps really feel just a little too cramped on the quilt display however don’t take up sufficient area to justify utilizing the primary display. Instagram feels just a little too small on the quilt display, but it surely opens up in the course of the primary display in a 16:9 window with letterbox bars on both aspect. You can change it in settings to open at 4:3 or throughout the total display, however then you definitely gained’t be capable of see the total content material of some posts without delay. Just construct a pill app already, Instagram.

Apps are additionally liable to the occasional bug I don’t have to fret about once I’m finishing the identical job on my laptop computer. I encountered a few these whereas making an attempt to push the bounds of what I’d comfortably do on a telephone. While placing in an Amazon Fresh order, each time I attempted to go looking Fresh for an merchandise and use the search bar autocomplete, it returned outcomes from Amazon, not Fresh. That can be advantageous if I wished 140 frozen breakfast sandwiches in two days, however I simply wished 4 of them the subsequent morning. I ended utilizing autocomplete and simply typed out entire phrases, and it labored advantageous. None of that is the Fold’s fault precisely, but it surely’s a technique that the pill expertise nonetheless falls in need of a very good ol’ private laptop.

The Fold 4 nonetheless feels too thick and cumbersome when folded (possibly Samsung can copy Xiaomi’s homework on the subsequent technology Fold). I can use it as my day by day telephone, but it surely’s simply heavy and chunky sufficient that I don’t wish to. I couldn’t fairly work out a cushty strategy to watch video hands-free both, which looks like one thing it is best to be capable of do. In its L-shaped Flex mode place, content material strikes to the highest half of the display with controls — together with a brand new touchpad — on the underside. It works properly sufficient, however the high half of the display is so slim it’s like trying by a letterbox. It’s advantageous for one YouTube video whereas I’m consuming lunch, however I positively wouldn’t wish to watch a complete film that manner.

More than as soon as throughout my time testing the Fold 4, I caught myself marveling that the gadget I used to be utilizing was additionally a telephone. Maybe I used to be cross-referencing an electronic mail from my mother-in-law with Amazon critiques of child gates. Or I used to be hitting “submit” on an expense report. I’m nothing in need of amazed at what this gadget can do, and I’m impressed at how mature it feels. Using it doesn’t really feel like utilizing a form of supercharged prototype. This appears like a product that has hit its stride.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The Fold 4 is an achievement, but it surely’s additionally a luxurious merchandise. The excessive value, the query mark round long-term sturdiness, and the occasional fussiness of the Android pill app ecosystem make it a tool it’s a must to actually wish to use. And personally, I’m too onerous on my telephone to comfortably make this my day by day driver. The backside of my purse is the dustiest atmosphere on this planet, and I don’t love the primary display’s probabilities towards my toddler if he ever acquired ahold of it.

This is the purpose in a overview once I’d usually steer you towards alternate options to the telephone I’m reviewing — units which have X function that this one doesn’t or do Y higher. Samsung has made my job very straightforward this time round: in the event you reside within the US, then I’ve no alternate options to counsel. For a critical multitasking folding telephone, that is the one sport on the town (sorry, Surface Duo 2, however you’re simply too awkward as a telephone). If you’re a Fold 3 proprietor, there’s no motive to improve — it’s a slightly higher expertise however not definitely worth the value of buying and selling it in, even with Samsung’s aggressive incentives.

If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines ready for the Fold collection to mature, then I feel now’s the time to get in. But earlier than you plunk down $1,800 of your hard-earned cash (or promote your soul to your wi-fi service), simply promise me that you just’ll go forth with open eyes, understanding its shortcomings. It’s heavy and chunky. It typically appears like overkill for primary duties, and it’s a must to reside throughout the boundaries of the Android pill app ecosystem. It’s not for the faint of coronary heart. But in the event you comply with these phrases, then the Fold 4 is simply the gadget-y gadget you’ve been on the lookout for.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge