Samsung announces Galaxy Z Flip4 and Fold4

Electronics maker Samsung has presented its folding smartphones Galaxy Z Flip4 and Fold4. Compared to its predecessor, the Flip4 has a larger camera and a higher capacity battery in a housing that is slightly less long and less wide.

The battery goes from 3300mAh in the Flip3 to 3700mAh in the Flip4, Samsung says. That is an increase of more than 10 percent. It is far below the average of smartphones today, which is around 4500mAh. The new phone can charge with 25W, which means that it must be half full within half an hour. At 165.2×71.9mm, the housing is slightly shorter and less wide than its predecessor, although it is slightly thicker. The device has a 6.7″ OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The resolution is unchanged at 2640×1080 pixels compared to the Flip3.

The primary camera is larger than the predecessor. It is a 12-megapixel sensor with pixels of 1.8 microns. This can be, for example, a Sony IMX555, which is also in the Galaxy S20 series. The sensor is 39 square millimeters in size, compared to 23 square millimeters of the primary camera of the Flip3. The optical size is 1/1.8″. The aperture of the lens remains at f/1.8. There is also a 12-megapixel camera with ultra-wide angle lens and a 10-megapixel front camera.

Flex Mode

Samsung has also expanded Flex mode in the software. Flex mode works if users bend the screen slightly and place the phone upright. In video calling apps, the video screen can then be at the top and controls or chat at the bottom. In other apps, the lower part of the screen can now act as a touchpad. It is also possible to use two apps side by side. To do this, users have to swipe two fingers up on the screen.

The small Cover-screen on the front also contains some new options, such as being able to call contacts and more answer options for notifications. In addition, previews of photos are easier to see on the screen. The Flip4 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-soc and has 8GB of RAM on board.

Galaxy Z Fold4

The Fold4 has many of those software changes as well, such as the revamped Flex mode. The Fold4 also runs on a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The biggest change is in the screen proportions. The phone is shorter and slightly wider, so that the screen on the outside comes out at 23.1:9, instead of 24.5:9. Presumably, twenty pixels will be added in width, making the screen 2262×882 pixels. The screen on the inside is also slightly wider; it comes out 0.3cm wider and thus becomes slightly less square. The diagonal remains rounded to 7.6″. In both cases, these are 120Hz OLED screens.

The software now has an always visible taskbar, as on desktop operating systems. There is also still support for an S-Pen, which does not have its own place in the housing. At 263g, the housing is slightly lighter than the Fold3, although it is still heavier than a regular smartphone. The battery has a capacity of 4400mAh and can charge with 25W.

The phone has a primary 12-megapixel camera with a resolution of 50 megapixels. There is also a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 10-megapixel camera with 3x optical magnification over the primary camera. There is a 10-megapixel camera on the front and a 4-megapixel camera underneath the screen on the inside. According to Samsung, it has improved compared to its predecessor, which performed moderately in our review.

The Fold4 will be released on Thursday for a suggested retail price of 1799 euros for the 256GB version. The 512GB variant costs 1919 euros and the 1TB version will cost 2159 euros. The Flip4 will also be released on Thursday and costs 1099 euros for the 128GB version.