When Samsung launched its first Galaxy Fold in 2019, the folding phone received a lot of praise for innovation, but it still wasn't quite the device you'd recommend to buyers. The first-gen model was awkwardly tall and heavy, and third-party apps still needed work to function on this folding form factor smoothly. Its second iteration introduced a bigger cover display and an in-display camera, making it more normal and usable, at least physically. Things changed significantly with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with support for a stylus (S Pen) and water-resistant build (IPX8) - putting it on the same page as most flagship smartphones.
Now, we have its fourth iteration -- the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and the latest foldable phone is all about refinements. Physically, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a slimmer hinge, narrower bezels, and wider cover screen area when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 from last year. It is also 8 grams lighter than its predecessor, which may not seem substantial, but every drop counts. But the big changes are on the software side. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the first folding smartphone to ship with Android 12L, which is Google's newest brainchild for tablets and foldables. It can even run more apps optimised for this distinct form factor.
In a nutshell, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is more practical than its siblings, but it still carries an insanely high price tag. Its base 12GB RAM and 256GB variant starts at Rs 1,54,999, while the top model with 1TB storage costs Rs 1,84,999. Of course, Samsung isn't impervious to the global economic situation and the market, and it is targeting the Galaxy Z Fold 4 at a niche audience looking for the ultimate productivity-focused smartphone. Does it hit the mark? Let's find out.
As I highlighted in my first impressions, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 looks more or less similar to its predecessor in terms of build. The cover display still offers a 6.2-inch viewing area (diagonally), and the main display offers a 7.6-inch viewing area. It retains the IPX8 rating for water resistance, and there's no word on how effectively the hinge repels dust particles.
However, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 makes big leaps in terms of weight distribution, and the phone now feels much more well-balanced. It is lighter than its older siblings, but Samsung has not compromised on the build quality. The screens get Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection, and the sides have a metal finish. I received the Phantom Black edition, though customers can choose between a grey or beige colour option. Personally, I have never been a fan of black-coloured smartphones, as I typically enjoy more upbeat shades. Rest assured; the black edition does not look bad by any metric.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains heavy to carry, but it did not take me long enough to get used to the weight. Samsung has launched a custom cover for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which I couldn't test. Although the cover will make the phone heavier, I'd advise users to buy it for that extra layer of protection.
Overall, I am sure the design will get sleeker with the coming generations, but the Galaxy Z Fold 4 does not disappoint in terms of build.
Thanks to a thoughtful design, the display experience here is more or less, if not equally, pleasing. There's not much to complain about the display quality of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, since Samsung is one of the pioneers in this segment. The company has adjusted the variable refresh rates to go as low as 1Hz, which theoretically improves the battery life.
Samsung has partnered with tech giants like Meta, TikTok, and Netflix so that their apps are well optimised for the 7.6-inch main display. It is still a long road ahead for Samsung as popular apps like Disney+ Plus Hotstar do not work at their full potential in this form factor. YouTube also plays videos in a 16:9 aspect ratio by default, but it can be adjusted by pinching in for an edge-to-edge viewing experience. On a lighter note, do subscribe to our Fiiber YouTube channels for the latest in the tech world.
Speaking of the crease, it is still visible, though it does not hamper your experience substantially. After nearly two weeks of usage, I am used to the subtle crease on the main display, though Samsung must take lessons from Oppo, which did a commendable job of hiding the partition line on the Find N folding smartphone.
I also hope that Samsung increases the resolution on the outer AMOLED display (currently (904x2316 pixels) of its future foldables, so that watching videos at the highest resolution on YouTube and OTT platforms becomes possible on this side of the phone. Another feedback for the company is to start working on a 'Reading mode', which we find on Xiaomi and Realme phones. This mode is perfect for reading books and e-papers as it dims the light and offers a paper-like finish -- making it much more pleasing to the eye.
Samsung always uses the latest-generation Qualcomm chipsets for each Galaxy Z Fold phone, and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is no exception. Under the hood, it gets the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, which does offer a mild performance boost over Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It is an interesting choice as Samsung manufactures its in-house Exynos chipsets, which we don't find here.
But despite the performance boost, the Snapdragon 8+ 1 chipset is not immune to heating problems, similar to its sibling. The phone throttles under pressure, and the latter becomes more prominent while recording videos at 8K resolution. However, I did not spot any lag while opening or switching between apps, which is the most important part. Even pictures get clicked almost instantly (if night mode is disabled). Games like Asphalt 9 and Odyssey also ran smoothly without heating much. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is fast and snappy, but it has its limitations with wet or dirty fingers.
In terms of performance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains true to its essence by offering the best multitasking experience. The cover and main display support the split screen feature. It works seamlessly with most mainstream apps, and the main display lets users split the screen into up to three halves. There is also an option to forcefully open certain apps in a split-screen window, but they don't necessarily look nice. On top, the floating window feature with a split screen opens the door to run more apps simultaneously.
This experience gets enhanced with the taskbar introduced on the Android 12L. It can be a bit tacky to look at, but there's an option to disable it. It houses a few apps that can be opened directly, without having to close the already running app.
Another advantage of the Android 12L OS is Activity Embedding, which enables you to display activities in a variety of ways. For instance, if we use the Settings app, the main content is visible on the left, and the sub-options appear on the right. It saves the hassle of going back and forth, and the feature works well with email apps like Outlook and Gmail.
The takeaway for Samsung here would be to start offering more privacy features. The Android 13 OS does bring several nifty features, but Apple does a far better job at assuring data protection. Lastly, Samsung hasn't fully disclosed the list of 5G bands for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it’s safe to assume it supports all popular bands.
The camera performance of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 mostly exceeded my expectations, even though it is not the biggest focus of this multitasking-oriented foldable smartphone. It now features an upgraded 50-megapixel sensor, and the 10-megapixel telephoto camera supports up to 3X optical zoom. The two rear camera sensors are accompanied by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera.
Samsung phones are known for offering images and videos that are high in saturation and contrast. In some cases, the shadows are prominent, which hides the surrounding details. Mind you, this does not mean the photos aren't pleasing to the eyes, which remains the case here as well.
Photos and videos with rear cameras are sharp, but the colours are a bit boosted. The portrait camera mostly offered consistent performance and accurately detected the subject and the background. In terms of videos, the stabilisation got shaky on modes beyond 1080p/30fps.
The 10-megapixel front camera on the cover display offers similar results, but the saturation levels of the images are on the warmer side. Naturally, the phone makes you look fairer than usual, which some customers may like.
However, the under-display 4-megapixel main camera is average at best, and it failed to reduce the noise from images. Samsung seems to have focussed more on improving the display tech to hide the camera when it is not in use. When it comes to taking a selfie or using the under-display camera for video calls in Flex Mode, the result is noisy and lacks colours.
To sum up, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 offers great camera performance, if not the best. If you want to experience a similar performance without spending over a lakh, go for the Galaxy S22+.
The battery unit on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains unchanged at 4,440mAh, though Samsung claims a longer battery life due to upgraded variable refresh rate and other tweaks. During my test, the phone lasted almost a day, though the charging speed was painfully slow. The phone supports 25W charging, which seems much less than rival flagships promising 80W to 120W fast charging support. Samsung continues to ditch chargers in the box, which is a part of its environmental goals.
I used a 33W charger to charge the device, which took well over an hour. 10 minutes of charging fetched only 15 per cent battery, which ran out in no time. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 also supports wireless charging, but I couldn't test that feature.
Despite an okayish battery backup with mild gaming and 120Hz refresh rate enabled, the phone performed much better than its Android rivals in my time-lapse loop test. It captured a roughly 8-minute-long time-lapse clip (with 45X speed), which took over seven hours to record. The battery level came down to 38 per cent at the end of the test, which is far better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Xiaomi 12 Pro that only lasted a few minutes over an hour.
Overall, the battery life on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is satisfactory, but not extraordinary. If a well-performing phone with great battery backup on this budget is your priority, I’d recommend you to check out the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The Galaxy Fold smartphone series has come a long way since its introduction in 2019. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is more usable and practical than its predecessors. Of course, there’s scope for improvements, but I won’t hesitate from recommending this smartphone if only your priority is multitasking.
That being said, its budget is a big factor, since customers have options to buy a host of phones in this range. Currently, Samsung gets an upper hand in the foldable segment since its rivals like Xiaomi and Oppo are yet to expand their foldables outside China. More competition could mean more aggressive pricing.
If you have the budget for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, I won't shy away from recommending it. In my heart, I hope its price drops to the 1 lakh mark, then more users will get to experience the marvel Samsung is creating.
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