Presented on August 10, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 succeeds the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung’s famous folding smartphone, retaining its strengths and improving certain points. A smooth evolution, without revolution.
During its big online conference on August 10, Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung presented my new products from its Galaxy range as planned. In particular, its new foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, which succeed the third generation models. Without much surprise insofar as a lot of information had leaked on the web before. And, as expected, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 – which folds out like a book with a vertical hinge – doesn’t fundamentally contrast with its already pretty successful predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 3. But it brings its welcome share of various improvements. It must be said that only Samsung truly occupies the foldable smartphone market, which allows it to quietly improve its devices from year to year. The Z Fold 4 is part of this policy and does not bring any real revolution, far from it. It is satisfied with a better camera – which was somewhat behind compared to the last Galaxy S – as well as some very nice improvements which bring it ever closer to a mini computer.
Galaxy Z Fold 4: a proven design in a little thinner
No surprises on the design side of the Z Fold 4! Still as elegant with its foldable screen in half, the smartphone looks like the Z Fold 3, which already looked like the Z Fold 2. We can however note that its screen borders are a little smaller, and the format is a little more square , less stretched in length. Available in three colors – black, anthracite, ivory, and a Bordeaux option only available on the Samsung site – the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a more discreet fold than its predecessor thanks to a new central hinge, which makes it lighter, with 263 grams against 271 previously.
It is equipped with a very large 7.56-inch Full HD + 120 Hz (2,176 x 1,812 px) AMOLED screen and a 6.7-inch HD + touch screen on its back. Its secondary screen and back have Gorilla Glass Victus + glass protection, more resistant than the protection of the Z Fold 3 and already present on the Galaxy S22. Its frame and hinge are in Aluminum Armor and it is covered by Ultra Thin Glass, very resistant. Guaranteed to withstand at least 200,000 openings, it is also IPX8 certified, which allows it to withstand immersion in 1.5 meters of fresh water for 30 minutes.
Galaxy Z Fold 4: a powerful latest generation processor
In the field of pure performance, the Z Fold 4 does not fear the competition and always wants to be more powerful. It is equipped with the latest chip from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 – the most powerful SoC on the Android market –, 12 GB of RAM, and storage space of 256 GB, 512 GB or even 1 TB depending on the model chosen. A nice set that promises excellent performance in demanding applications and very good daily responsiveness – perfect for running several software or playing a good video game. Its battery remains the same as its predecessor, limited to 4,400 mAh, and is compatible with 25W fast charging – the charger is not included – and up to 15 W with wireless charging. Reverse charging to charge compatible accessories is limited to 4.5 W. The fingerprint reader is located on the right edge of the power button, while the photo sensor for selfies is again camouflaged below the main screen – it’s still a 4-megapixel sensor. Samsung promises to have increased the pixel density of the screen that covers it, in order to hide it better. On the audio side, this phone supports Dolby Atmos. Equipped with a stereo loudspeaker, it does not however have a jack socket, which only allows the use of a Bluetooth headset or wireless earphones.
A PC-style taskbar at the bottom of the screen makes a grand entrance. Moreover, the Multitasking function allows you to add applications to allow navigation and quick passages between them. And thanks to App Pair, it is possible to launch up to three applications at the same time, in split screen, which offers better productivity. Finally, like last year, the smartphone is accompanied by an S-Pen stylus – to be purchased separately – but does not have a storage drawer for it – it must be stored via a special cover. Note that you still cannot use the S Pen with the cover screen. In short, all its improvements bring the Z Fold 4 even closer to a miniature computer and are aimed in particular at hard workers.
Galaxy Z Fold 4: a better camera
The Z Fold 4 is improving and finally has a photo system worthy of the name. While the front photo sensor is more discreet, Samsung has equipped the device with a 50 megapixel main lens with a Space Zoom x30 – a better definition than the 12 megapixels of the Z Fold 3 – capable of filming in 8K, d a second 12-megapixel Ultra Wide Angle sensor and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and 30x Space Zoom – a configuration inspired by the Galaxy S22 with which it can finally compete on this point. It is accompanied by an optical stabilization as well as a dual-pixel autofocus. Beneath its folding screen is a 16-megapixel selfie sensor. Finally, the hole located on the external screen houses a 10-megapixel lens.
The Z Fold 4 comes with One UI 4.1.1 based on Android 12L, a version of Android created by Google specifically for large screens, including foldables, all with some software tweaks aimed at improving the multitasking experience.
Galaxy Z Fold 4: release date and price
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be marketed from August 26 but is already available pre-order on Samsung’s website. A formula allows you to obtain bonuses, such as a shell with S-Pen, a charger, one year of Samsung Care+ insurance and two months of Samsung Rent+ offered, as well as a €200 trade-in bonus for an old smartphone. Its price, increased compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, varies according to the storage capacity chosen: 1,799 euros for 256 GB, 1,919 euros for 512 GB and 2,159 euros for 1 TB. Not really within reach of all scholarships…