Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review: The Wow Factor

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 catches the majority of the hype in the company's second half flagship releases. It's a device that's of a different league and of different product category. In fact, the Z Fold4 is a showcase of what Samsung can do when we talk about innovation - cutting edge display technology, powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chipset, a compelling set of cameras, and more.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

Of course, the Galaxy Z Fold4 is not for everyone, we are talking about the ultra-premium league here; and if you're someone who has deep pockets and is toying with the idea of having one, you're in the right page. Join us in this review and let's find out what are the points that'll make you decide to buy this foldable device.

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Design

The Galaxy Z Fold4 takes the same design and construction as the models before it. It's a tablet that folds in half for it to be a handy phone...or a phone which unfolds to have a bigger screen real estate as a tablet. Either way, you still have one of the most unique devices this year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

You can take it in whichever you like; in simple terms, you'll have a two-in-one device in your pockets. Samsung implements this by reinforcing a hinge in the middle of two LED panels which make up the 7.6-inch inner screen. Additionally, there's also a 6.2-inch outer screen which you can use when the device is folded.

Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

For a phone - even in its 4th iteration - the Galaxy Z Fold4 is on the heavy side with its 263-gram weight. It is simply a chunky phone; you can use it with one hand but you'd be instantly obliged to reinforce that with your other hand. For what it's worth, the Z Fold4 is lighter than the Z Fold3 by 8 grams. And just like the Fold3, the crease is still there but it's something that I'd get used to. There are certain times that it persists to be noticed especially when looking at the device in oblique angles.

Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

The placement of ports and buttons is where you should expect them. The right side houses the volume rocker and the power button. The latter doubles as the fingerprint sensor, by the way, since the display does not support an in-display fingerprint sensor. Speaker grilles and microphones can be found at the top and bottom; while the USB-C port is also situated in the bottom part. Before you ask, there's no 3.5-mm audio jack here. The device is also treated with IPX8 water resistance rating.

Display

Being the leading display maker, Samsung used the most advanced - or should I say bleeding edge - display technology in this device. The outer display is packed with 2316 x 904p (HD+) resolution with 23.1:9 aspect ratio. This is a bigger outer screen compared to the model it replaces. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

The 7.6-inch main display comes with 2176 x 1812p (QXGA+) resolution and now has a 21.6:18 aspect ratio. Both screens offer adaptive refresh rate of up 120Hz which gives smoother scrolling in any way you're using the Fold4.

Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

Both Dynamic AMOLED displays are excellent. Samsung flagship displays never disappoint; it's still one of the best in the flagship category; I mean, there's a reason why Samsung's competitors buy displays from them. 

Furthermore, the Galaxy Z Fold4 has an under display camera which is very discreet than ever. Samsung has successfully made an effective implementation of this type of camera which literally hides it from the user's peripheral vision. This is done by placing a pixel layer on top of the camera to mask the module. Of course, you can still see the camera if you are keen to spot it in certain angles and with dark wallpaper background.

Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

Camera

The Z Fold4 is now getting a proper flagship camera treatment with the bumped 50MP sensor. It's a common notion that its predecessor, the Z Fold3, has a camera that's quite underwhelming in the flagship category. The telephoto lens also had an upgrade with 3x physical zoom which produces stunning portrait shots. Furthermore, the standard mode photos also offer excellent quality. 

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Review

Other than that, you'll be treated with Samsung's trademark color treatment. The images are punchy with accurate colors and great detail. However, the HDR could be overwhelming in most times but you'll expect that for a Samsung flagship camera. 

When it comes to the selfie cameras, the cover screen's 10MP camera captures fun and interesting selfies; it is with Samsung's trademark filter which technically brightens skin tone without altering most of your facial features. Photos taken by the said camera also captures good amount of detail, color accuracy, and dynamic range. On the other hand, the under-display camera comes with a 4MP sensor which utterly disappoints with smudgy photos and video calling quality.

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photos

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photos

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photos

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Galaxy Z Fold4 Camera Sample Photo

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review: Sample Selfie

Video recording is also on point. It can shoot up to 8K resolution at 24fps. We tried recording 4K videos at 30fps and the clips are of high quality, you can check it out here: youtu.be/QygYStluAAE.

Performance and Multitasking

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 is powered by the latest and greatest Android chipset - Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus. Unlike the Gen 1, the Plus version of the chipset does not have heating issues. 

The Fold4 or Z Fold devices in general are made with multitasking in mind. With that, there are many ways that you can multitask with the Galaxy Z Fold4. You can invoke a split screen thru drag-and-drop actions of two and more apps. You can position them in portrait or landscape in up and down or side by side positions. Alternately, you can swipe two fingers from the bottom or sides of the display to invoke multitasking. You can also add an app pair that you can pin on the task bar, home screen or apps edge panel. Likewise, you can easily swap apps' position and orientation using the multitasking tool (three dots icon on the boarder of the apps).

Samsung Galaxy Fold4 Review

There are many possible app combination you can make with this multitasking mode. It was very useful in my recent travel wherein I kept track of the flight schedules, opened my flight details, and booked my Grab Car on the way to the airport. And when I was boarded on the plane, I wrote down a few notes on Samsung's Note app while cross referencing to an excel spreadsheet.

Samsung Galaxy Fold4 Review

Samsung also added the taskbar which places your most used and recently used apps. I find this very essential since it captures the purpose of the device - designed for multitaskers which are mostly mobile.

The device can handle anything thrown at it with ease. I enjoyed playing Genshin Impact with the handset; though I may not have an issue running the graphic-heavy app, I think the form factor crams the game that is intended for a longer aspect ratio. In turn, I have multiple accidental taps especially on virtual buttons located near the bottom boarder of the screen. 

Samsung Galaxy Fold4 Review

Other popular games like Mobile Legends, Call of Duty Mobile, and Asphalt 9 run smoothly with considerably less heat buildup compared to devices which run the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Samsung Galaxy Fold4 Gaming Review

You'll have a 256GB storage configuration for the base unit which is fairly competitive with other flagship phones that are only offering 128GB for the base unit. Unfortunately, there's no slot for storage expansion. The Z Fold4 supports the company's proprietary S Pen stylus (sold separately) which is specially designed for the delicate inner screen. Other items left in the cutting room are the 3.5-mm audio jack and charging brick.

I mentioned that the device comes with IPX8 rating, this means that it is submergible in freshwater (not sea water). However, there's an absence of dustproofing here. The device gathering dust is quite a concern in earlier iterations of the Z Fold with dust settling on the screen by way of hinge. In the current design, it has built-in brushes to keep the dust out of the hinge. The screen also comes with a pre-installed non-replaceable screen protector and stronger adhesives to keep the parts intact.

Samsung Galaxy Fold4 Review

The Z Fold4 is made for consuming content. With its flexible screen, you'd enjoy watching your favorite shows in this device. You can take advantage of the display's full potential if you're using apps that are optimized for this screen size; sadly, there's just a few of them at the moment. However, Microsoft apps run almost seamlessly in this device. You can even mirror your device on your Windows laptop using a Samsung-developed app. Plus, one thing I like very much about this phone is that the loudspeaker quality is quite exceptional.

Software and Battery

The Z Fold4 is upgradeable to OneUI 5 based on the latest Android 13, which is the current build that I'm using in this review. I have to say that it's definitely one of the best skins in the Android universe. The PlayStore has considerably great apps for phones. However, it is also the same weakness when we talk about tablets; the app ecosystem still needs to have better selection of tablet-optimized apps. Some popular apps like Instagram still leaves a lot of unused space.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

Fortunately, there's a lot of gems the software can offer in terms of optimizing the phone's flexibility. There's the Flex Mode which activates whenever the Fold4 is in L-shape position. This allows the software to push the main screen on the vertical side (or top half) while adding functions and controls on the bottom side. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

The controls include a virtual trackpad, brightness slider, screenshot, volume slider, and a button to access the notification shade; though the presence of these controls depends on the apps that you use but I could see the controls in most productivity apps. Other streaming apps do not have these which makes sense since you're just consuming content with these apps. However, I find myself wanting more screen real estate while in Flex mode since bigger screen is one of the reasons why users need a Fold device in the first place. Anyways, you have to activate the feature in the settings since it does not show by default.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

The Fold4 has a 4,400 mAh battery - same capacity as its predecessor. It still has the 25-watt wired fast charging and slightly better 15-watt wireless charging. The battery could easily last full day of moderate use - 6 hours of screen time, 20 minutes video streaming, occasional emails, browser surfing - over WiFi.

You can also use the phone to charge other phones and accessories like the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. This feature is quite very useful especially if you need to charge accessories on the go. Using it as a phone, the battery life is quite okay. However, if you're planning to use it as a tablet, you may need to carry a powerbank.

Verdict: Should You Buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4?

There's so much you can do with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. Being a two-in-one device that can easily transform from a flagship smartphone to a tablet, it is definitely a dream tool for productivity users and enthusiasts. In the whole month of using this foldable, it refuses to be tagged as a boring device. It is very powerful and offers a variety of form factors that would keep you from putting it down. It deserves attention; and above all, I think the "Wow Factor" is the thing that keeps the Fold4 in someone's buying list.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review

One thing's for sure, this price point is not for most people. I would love for Samsung to democratize the Z Fold line by improving the jarring aspects of it while making it accessible for more consumers by trimming down the price in future iterations. However, if you're certain that you want a foldable device, the Z Fold4 feels like a mature product and definitely the best in this segment.

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