Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 review: it folds, but what’s the point?

The fourth generation Galaxy Z Fold has left many teething troubles behind. Despite snappy hardware, good cameras and a sophisticated folding mechanism, the crease in the AMOLED display still bothers me. And the question of why I’d want to have a smartphone that unfolds into a larger display remains. I do, on the other hand, get why you’d include a folding mechanism to reduce the footprint of a smartphone, as in the Galaxy Z Flip4.

Folding works well, but what’s the point?

When folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a thick and elongated smartphone. With its 6.2-inch outer display, it can be used like any other smartphone. At first, I was bothered by its 23.1:9 aspect ratio, but as time went on, I became more and more fond of the 2316 × 904 pixels. It stands out from the crowd in terms of design, and I can fit more content on the screen, at least for apps in portrait mode.

For certain apps, it’s worth opening the Fold4, which requires both hands. I then have an almost square 7.6-inch screen with 2176 × 1812 pixels. This comes in handy for Google Maps, for example, where I can see a lot more map. Both the inside and outside feature Dynamic AMOLED displays with a maximum refresh rate of 120 hertz. Fancy. They provide vivid colours, dark blacks, high contrast and a brightness that fares well in sunlight.

While the outer display is covered and protected by sturdy Gorilla Glass Victus, the inner display only has a thin protective layer – sturdy protective glass isn’t foldable (yet). Don’t worry, conventional use won’t damage the folding display. But you should be careful around sand and other hard objects.

The aluminium frame makes the Galaxy Z Fold4 look sturdy and chic. The entire smartphone is even waterproof according to the IPX8 standard. In other words, it survived 30 minutes in 1.5 metres of (clean drinking) water without being damaged.

Regardless of its robustness, there is one thing about the large display that bothers me. Namely, the crease in the centre. I just can’t gloss over it – I feel it with my finger all the time. No number of people claiming they aren’t bothered by this or that the crease has got smaller changes how I feel about it. And I feel that it annoys me.

I might find it easier to accept the crease if I saw an added value in the large display. But, for the most part, I don’t. At best, the square format makes photos larger on Instagram. Movies and series, on the other hand, are barely any bigger than on a regular smartphone – the difference being they’re adorned with a black frame at the top and bottom. On the Pixel Pro’s 6.7-inch display, for instance, Youtube videos are actually larger by a few millimetres.

While you can use two apps next to each other, it’s rarely useful – especially when you add in the keyboard, which also takes up screen space. It almost seems like a better idea to simply fold the Galaxy Z Fold4 halfway and use it as a tripod when taking pictures.

Use the main camera for selfies

This folding smartphone has three cameras on the outside: a main camera with a 50-megapixel resolution, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with triple optical zoom, and an ultra-wide-angle camera with 12 megapixels and a 123-degree viewing angle. Converted to 35 mm focal length, the lenses have focal lengths of 23, 66 and 12 millimetres. In addition, there are two selfie cameras: one 10-megapixel camera on the outside and one 4-megapixel camera on the inside. Samsung calls it the «Under Display Camera», but you can still see the hole in the display. With the phone unfolded, the main camera is the more attractive choice for selfies.

The main camera delivers nice pictures with natural-looking colours. It offers a high level of detail, and strong contrasts don’t create any problems. The same goes for wide-angle shots. While it uses its full resolution, the main camera relies on pixel binning by default. It combines four pixels into one, which is supposed to make it more sensitive to light, for example. If you want to have the full 50 megapixels instead of 12 megapixels on the main camera, you have to set that in the camera app.

My positive impression carries over to the triple zoom; thanks to the telephoto camera, the level of detail is maintained. It decreases noticeably at 10x zoom, but the pictures remain presentable on the smartphone and for social media. At maximum zoom (i.e. 30x) this is no longer the case.

In a dark setting, auto mode is already enough to snap usable pictures. Night mode brightens things up even more – too much, for my taste. I prefer the nighttime atmosphere to remain visible on the shots.

The differences are even greater with the wide-angle camera. But in this case, auto mode is too dark, and night mode too bright for me.

Night mode is especially worthwhile for taking selfies using the front-facing camera. The image becomes not only brighter, but also sharper and more detailed. In contrast, on the main camera, auto mode already looks good, while night mode makes the streets look almost as bright as in daylight.

In daylight, the main camera offers a significantly more natural colour reproduction. For this reason alone, it’s worth opening up the Fold4 for selfies. That way, you can use the main camera and see yourself on screen.

Fast hardware, small battery and Android for large displays

With Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, having too little computing power isn’t something you’ll have to worry about. This holds true even when you connect the smartphone to an external monitor with Samsung DeX – the limitation on simultaneously running programs ensures things don’t get too slow.

Geekbench tests the CPU and the graphics unit with various tasks. The better or faster these are completed, the more points the app awards. And because it’s not only available for smartphones, you could theoretically even do cross-comparisons with notebooks. Although the Galaxy Z Fold4 doesn’t get the best score everywhere, it’s definitely in the group of top performers – at least until the next generation of processors arrives.

Samsung has integrated the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the Galaxy Z Fold4 into the power button. Thanks to its placement on the side of the phone, it’s easy to reach whether folded or unfolded and works reliably.

The stereo speakers also deliver decent sound for a smartphone whether the phone is open or closed. You’ll find them at the top and bottom edge of the Fold4.

With a capacity of 4,400 mAh, the battery is rather small. It can be a close call to get through the day if you rely on the big screen. The battery can be recharged with up to 25 watts. Compared to the fast-charging technologies of other manufacturers, that’s rather slow, but will still give you about a 50 per cent charge in 30 minutes. At 15 watts, wireless charging takes longer.

The Galaxy Z Fold4 runs on Android 12 L, which is the version of Android for larger screens, such as tablets and foldable smartphones. Samsung supplements it with its own user interface, One UI 4.1.1, and includes its proprietary apps and services such as the voice assistant Bixby. According to Samsung, the update to Android 13 and One UI 5 is ready, but it hasn’t yet made itself available on my test device.

Verdict: for people who know when to fold ‘em

The Galaxy Z Fold4 hasn’t convinced me of the concept of foldable smartphones. If at all, I’d want my phone to fold vertically, like the Flip4, as that reduces its size.

If you’re a die-hard fan of folding smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 is a top-notch device. The camera delivers decent pictures, and the hardware leaves hardly anything to be desired. Only the battery life could be better. And, while the crease in the middle of the display doesn’t seem to bother everyone as much as it bothers me, there are folding smartphones out there that do a better job.

The Huawei Mate Xs 2 is one possible alternative. It’s got virtually no crease – probably because it folds outwards instead of inwards. Just be advised that you’ll have to manage without Google services ex-factory.

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