The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is here; it’s the newest large-form foldable phone from the Korean tech giant, replacing the Z Fold 3 from last year – though it’s certainly an iterative update in most departments.
Launched alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Z Fold is Samsung’s newest member of its legacy line of book-style folders, which first reared its head in 2019.
This line has proven the popular model for those who need big screens and lots of power, and the Fold models are great for work and multi-tasking – though the Flip historically has outsold the Fold by quite a margin.
Could that change with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4? We’ll have to see for our full review, which we’re currently working on. But in the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the device.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,799.99 / £1,649 / AU$2,499, which matches the Z Fold 3’s starting cost of $1,799 / £1,599 / AU$2,499 in most regions… unless you’re in the UK. Sorry, Brits.
That’s for 256GB – there’s also a 512GB version for $1,919.99 / £1,769 / AU$2,699 and a 1TB model for $2,159.99 / £2,019 / AU$2,999. So it’s certainly an expensive phone – not one to buy if you’re not committed to the foldable future.
The phone goes on sale on August 26, alongside the Z Flip 4, though you can pre-order it from August 10 in most places (but a day later in Australia).
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 retains the ‘book-style’ folding format of its predecessor – that means it starts like a normal ‘chocolate-bar’ phone, but you can unfold it to create a larger display.
According to Samsung, this is its most svelte Fold to date, with a weight of 263g and some millimeters lost in the height and width of the device. That’s partially thanks to the use of Ultra-Thin Glass, which is strong but, as the name suggests, slender.
This outer screen is 6.2 inches diagonally, with a 2316 x 904 resolution, so it’s quite long and thin. The inner screen is much bigger at 7.6 inches, and its 2176 x 1812 resolution shows that it’s much more squarish than the other display.
Those dimensions mirror the Z Fold 3’s, and in general, this new phone doesn’t bring a redesign over the older model – just tweaks. On the back it has a sleek sheen broken up by a camera bump (we’ll get onto that in a moment).
The Fold comes in green, beige and black colors, but the S22 Ultra’s range of vibrant shades is a no-show, apparently.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Cameras and battery life
It’s in the camera department where we see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 bring most upgrades over its predecessor.
For starters, there’s a 50MP main camera, up from 12MP on the older model, and while we don’t know the sensor here, we rarely see bad 50MP snappers in phones. There’s also a 3x zoom optical lens, up from 2x on the Fold 3, though the sensor is actually a downgrade at 10MP instead of 12MP.
Plus, there’s a 12MP ultra-wide, but that’s the same as last year. The front-facing cameras are the same as before too: 10MP for the outer display, and 4MP for the inner one. That latter is an UDC, or Under-Display Camera, and it sits under the screen so you can’t see it… however the snapper wasn’t great in the Z Fold 3, and Samsung hasn’t mentioned any improvements here.
These cameras will be improved with all the regular Samsung software accouterments – modes like Single Take, Food and others are useful as they utilize AI to help you take the best possible snap.
The battery might not be as impressive though, as at 4,400mAh, it’s quite small. In comparison, the S22 Ultra has a bigger power pack despite only having one screen. Perhaps some optimizations could make the phone last longer than we’re expecting, though, and we’ll have to see.
Charging isn’t quick either, at 25W, and at that speed, it’ll likely take you well over an hour to power the device to full. Samsung says that the phone will power up to 50% in 30 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Performance and software
With a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a supremely powerful phone, lapping all other Android mobiles (except others that use the same chip, of course).
However we’ve found Snapdragon’s 8-series chipsets do have an overheating problem, so be warned if you’re a big mobile gamer.
The chip is paired with 12GB RAM, which should make the tablet quick for multi-tasking purposes (as you’d hope, for a big-form phone).
Samsung uses Android for its phones, but layers its One UI skin on top – it does the same for the Fold, but uses Android 12L.
Android 12L is a version of Android 12 that’s designed for larger screens, with a redesigned notification shade, new lock screen, easier multitasking and tweaked app designs to better work on tablets and foldables.
One UI then gives this a design makeover, and also brings lots of Samsung apps like the App Gallery, Samsung Pay and more.