Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Long Term Review - If it ain't broke, don't fix it?
We share our thoughts and experiences with Samsung's flagship foldable after using it as our daily driver for two months.
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| Tent mode? |
For the fourth generation of its flagship foldable, Samsung has decided to polish the experience by changing the two display's aspect ratio while retaining the real estate of the panel.
At first glance, it retains most of what made the Z Fold3 great but with minor changes here and there. Spec-wise, the main upgrades for the Z Fold4 are the new 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core processor, 50MP + 12MP + 10MP triple-rear cameras, wider aspect ratio and1200 nits peak brightness on the inner folding display, and it runs on Android 12 out of the box. These minor changes also allowed Samsung to lower the weight to 263 grams.
In the Philippines, the Z Fold4 starts at PHP 98,990 for the 12GB/128GB model. This is an increase from the PHP 87,990 starting price of the previous Z Fold3; However, it is still lower than the Z Fold2's starting price of PHP 109,990.
Let's dive into the full review.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Inclusions |
We received a review unit without the retail packaging hence we received only the phone, the USB-C cable, and the SIM ejector tool. The screen protector is pre-installed on the inner screen only.
The retail box usually will come with documentation.
Build Quality/Design
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| Outer side |
The phone is made of a combination of metal and glass. Samsung claims that they used a tougher version of the Amor Aluminum that came from the previous generation. While the glass is protected by the new Gorilla Glass Victus+ which is said to be more resilient than last year's iteration.
This combination of materials makes the phone look exquisite and premium. It's so beautiful up close that it reminds us of jewelry.
Both the hinge and the frame are now polished and shiny but are surprisingly grippy which makes it less likely to slip from our hands. However, we still recommend wearing a case as we found that these textures tend to slip when on top of glass or metal.
Like the previous two generations, the Z Fold4 is a lot tougher than it looks. In fact, during our month with the phone, we've dropped it accidentally several times and it survived without a scratch. This is probably because the floor in our house is lined with tiles. We suspect that it would be a different experience had the phone hit asphalt or rocky terrain.
The foldable is IPX8 water resistance rated which means it can survive water but will struggle with dust and particles. We recommend covering it up when at the beach.
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| Inner side |
On the inner side, Samsung has managed to shrink the bezels around the inner screen while also reducing the gap created when folding the phone.
However, unlike most recent Chinese foldables, the crease is still very much noticeable.
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| Top and bottom sides |
On top are the antenna lines, speaker grill, and three microphone ports while at the bottom are more antenna lines, another set of speaker grills, a USB-C port, and a microphone port.
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| The hinge and the sides of the foldable |
In between is the metal hinge with the Samsung branding while on the sides are more antenna lines, a metal volume rocker, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and the SIM tray.
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| Dual-nano SIM tray |
The SIM tray can carry up to two nano-SIM cards and it features a rubber gasket for water resistance.
The phone measures 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3 mm and weighs 263 grams. It comes in either Graygreen or Phantom Black in the Philippines.
Multimedia Experience
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| Cover screen |
The Fold4 has two displays. The first is the outer 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 2316 x 904 resolution, and with Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection.
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| Larger inner folding screen |
While the inner folding screen is a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 2176 x 1812 resolution, HDR10+, and a 120Hz refresh rate. It supports the Z Fold3 compatible S-Pen and the new S-Pen Pro.
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| The under-display camera is less noticeable |
Under the inner display is the under-screen camera. It now has a denser matrix which makes it less noticeable unless looked for.
Both panels support 10-point multi-touch and in our experience, both are quick, responsive, and accurate in detecting our taps and our gestures.
Around the panel are slimmer bezels compared to last year's model.
For audio, it has two dedicated speakers that produce sound with a high maximum volume. At 95 percent, the sound remains clear, full, and pleasing. The sound stage is also very audible. This is one of the best and most immersive stereo speaker experiences we've had on a phone when consuming video, music or when playing video games.
There is no 3.5mm audio jack and there is no USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack dongle included.
The microphones pick up sounds from a meter away. It does a great job at picking-up sound while the noise-cancellation for calls is effective.
Cameras
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| Rear cameras |
As mentioned earlier, the rear camera array features the new 50MP f/1.8 primary camera with Super Speed Dual Pixel AF and OIS, 12MP f/2.2 123-degree ultra-wide angle camera, and 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto camera with OIS and LED flash.
The stock camera app has the following modes: Photo, Video, Pro, Portrait, Night, Pro Video, Single Take, Food, Panorama, Super Slow-Mo, Slow Motion, Hyperlapse, Portrait Video, and Director's view.
The Pro and Pro Video mode allows for controls of white balance, exposure compensation (+-2), ISO (50-3200), and shutter speed (30 seconds to 1/12000s). Both Pro and Pro Video also allow users to switch between the 1x, 3x, and Ultra-wide cameras while recording. Only the Pro Video allows users to change the audio pickup pattern of the microphone (Omni, Front, Rear, USB, BT, BT mix).
Rear Camera Samples
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| Rear daylight 1x |
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| Rear daylight 3x |
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The camera app lets the user shoot with the main, telephoto, and ultra-wide cameras. The images from all three cameras are sharp and detailed with vibrant colors and good contrast. Samsung did a great job improving the image quality from the previous Z Fold3 but the images are slightly lesser than the S22 Ultra.
Our main concern is the 30X zoom image is softer than we would like but the colors are good.
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| Rear camera close-up |
The same can be said for close-ups. It is worth noting that the depth of field is wider even when close-up so getting most of the subject in focus is easier. There is also plenty of detail and contrast which gives the subject incredible fidelity.
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| Rear portrait mode |
The rear camera's portrait mode is impressive. It managed to detect the statue's edges and then separate it from the background. The faux bokeh is natural looking with the bokeh balls being pleasing to look at.
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| Rear indoor 1x |
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| Rear indoor 3x |
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| Rear indoor 30x |
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Indoors, the images retain the quality of daylight images. The colors and contrast are great while being sharp and detailed. Again, these images are not as impressive as the Galaxy S22 Ultra but it is a lot better than the previous generation.
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| Rear lowlight 1x |
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| Rear lowlight 3x |
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| Rear lowlight ultra-wide |
The main camera, 3x telephoto, and ultra-wide cameras are able to produce good low-light images. The image is decently sharp and detailed with acceptable contrast and vibrant color; however, there is noticeable grain in the dark areas.
The main camera obviously captures the most details and colors among its cameras.
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| Rear nightmode 1x |
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| Rear nightmode 3x |
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| Rear night mode ultra-wide |
With the Night mode significantly improves the sharpness, color, and contrast of the lowlight images while significantly reducing the noise levels.
If the subject is not moving, we recommend using the night mode in low light situations.
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| Selfie camera |
On the punch hole in the front is the 10MP f/2.2 while under the folding display is the 4MP f/1.8 under-display camera.
The stock camera mode comes with Photo, Video, Portrait, and Night.
Selfie Camera Samples
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| Selfie daylight |
The cover screen selfie camera takes very good selfies. The image is sharp with vibrant color and good contrast. The image clarity is superb.
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| Daylight portrait |
The selfie Portrait mode is great too. The artificial bokeh is pleasing and near natural. What impressed us is that it detected the silhouette of the subject along with the individual hair fibers. It is one of the better edge detections out there.
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| Selfie indoors |
Indoors, the image quality is the same as in daylight. It is vibrant and contrasty with good color.
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| Selfie low light |
In low light, the camera takes selfies with some noticeable noise. It manages exposure well, especially the bright areas with light sources.
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| Selfie night mode |
The Night mode significantly improves the low light selfies by improving sharpness, clarity, contrast, and detail while significantly reducing noise levels.
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| Under-display camera selfie |
While the under-display camera is less visible, the image quality remains softer and not on the level of clarity that we would like.
The rear camera can capture up to 8K at 24fps while the front-facing camera can capture up to 4K at 60 fps. The rear camera has a super steady mode that is locked at 1080p. It would have been better if the selfie cam has a 4K option, especially in this content creation/reels era.
The footage from both the front-facing camera and the rear-facing camera captures sharp, detailed, and vibrantly colored footage. It is mostly stable and free of micro jitters but it is still not on par with the S22 Ultra and the vivo X80 Pro.
Performance
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| AnTuTu and GeekBench |
To recap, Galaxy Z Fold4 comes with the new 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core processor, next-generation Adreno GPU, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1, and a 4,400mAh battery with 25W fast charging.
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| 3DMark and CPDT |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 benchmarks:
- AnTuTu - 1,013,543
- Geekbench 5 - 1,264 (single-core), 3,712 (multi-core)
- 3D Mark WildLife Extreme - 2,722 at 16.3 average fps
- CPDT - 923.33 MB/s sequential read speeds and 253.00 sequential write speeds
The scores are consistent with smartphones equipped with the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. What's noteworthy is the multi-core performance in GeekBench and the sequential read speeds of the internal storage. It is one of the fastest read speeds we've seen so far.
Monster speed!
During the benchmark run, the phone did warm up but by 8 to 10 degrees only. What surprised us is that during the AnTuTu run, the phone lost 5 percent battery. Due to the 4,400mAh battery, it may be substantial.
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| Genshin Impact Graphics settings |
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| Genshin Impact gameplay |
In Genshin Impact, the Z Fold4 managed to unlock the medium graphics settings which are common for flagship smartphones and gaming phones.
During the game, we would get an average of 26 to 30 fps when there are a ton of animations on screen.
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| ToF graphics settings |
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| ToF gameplay (74fps) |
While in Tower of Fantasy, the Z Fold4 managed to unlock the extreme graphics settings. In gameplay with more animations than normal, the game managed to have an average of 64 to 74 fps.
For security, the Z Fold4 has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and face unlock (with the cover screen and under-display camera. Initial set-up and subsequent uses are almost instantaneous. Either Face Unlock or the fingerprint sensors almost never failed. The sensor only struggled when our fingers were filled with dirt.
In terms of connectivity, we have the following: WiFi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, OTG, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, and dual SIM.
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| Battery benchmark and Battery usage |
Inside the phone is a large 4,400mAh battery. It managed to last for 14 hours and 28 minutes with our usual PCMark battery benchmark.
In our daily use, it managed to last for nearly 6 hours and 16 minutes of on-screen time whereas we watched YouTube continuously for 4 hours and 30 minutes.
The battery charges via USB-C with the Samsung 25W charger which is not included in the box. It takes under 60 minutes to charge from 0 to 100 percent.
In short, the battery life is only good but it may come short when the user is heavily using the multi-tasking or video-consuming/recording features.
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| One UI 4.1.1 |
It is running on One UI 4.1.1 which is based on Android 12. It provides further refinements to the earlier One UI 4.0. One small but impactful new feature is the new taskbar that appears when an app is open. This makes use of the empty space at the bottom while making it easier to switch between recent apps or commonly used apps. The new version of the One UI also takes advantage of the screen real estate with more apps supporting flex-mode and full-screen mode with the larger screen.
Like the previous generation, we appreciate the ability to use the S Pen and the S Pen Pro, especially for power users. Unfortunately, the pen is a separate purchase.
Otherwise, we enjoyed One UI 4.1.1 even more because of its efficient and functional features.
Pros - Solid and tough body and build materials, IPX8 water resistance, improved rear cameras, More practical size and screen aspect ratio, flexible screen size depending on needs, Flex mode reduces the need for kick-stand
Cons - Pricey, heavy, crease, battery life could be lacking for power users, the under-display camera is better but still unappealing to use
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Specs
Display: 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+, QXGA+ 2176 x 1812 at 373 ppi, 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen w/ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate HD+ 2316 x 904 resolution at 386 ppi
CPU: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core processor
GPU: Next-gen Adreno GPU
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5
ROM: 256GB/512GB/1TB UFS 3.1
Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 w/ Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, OIS + 12MP f/2.2 w/ 123-degree ultra-wide-angle + 10MP f/2.4 telephoto w/ PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 10MP f/2.2 (Cover camera), 4MP f/1.8 (Under Display Camera)
Battery: 4,400mAh w/ 25W wired w/ Super Fast Charging, 15W Fast wireless charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
OS: Android 12L w/ One UI 4.1.1
Connectivity: WiFi 6E a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, OTG, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, dual SIM (nano + eSIM)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic, pressure
Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, stereo speakers, UHQ 32-bit/DSD audio, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Phantom Black, Graygreen, Beige (Samsung.com Exclusive)
Dimensions: 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3 mm (unfolded), 155.1 x 67.1 x 15.8 mm (folded)
Weight: 263g
Price: PHP 98,990 (128GB), PHP 105,990 (256GB), PHP 119,990 (1TB)
Verdict
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| With the new taskbar |
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 at first glance looks no different from its predecessor. Upon closer look, the Korean firm has refined the foldable with a wider screen aspect ratio while reducing the weight of the phone. This makes it more practical to use and easier to hold.
Samsung also upgraded the rear cameras with new 50MP + 12MP + 10MP triple-rear cameras while making the under-display camera less visible during daily use. The results from the rear cameras are images that are noticeably better than the previous generations but are slightly lesser than the current S22 Ultra.
Over the past four generations, Samsung has offered refinements in software that has made the foldable more practical to use than separately carrying a tablet and a phone. However, there are still a number of third-party app developers that do not fully support the changing screen sizes of the Z Fold4 which leads to varying results. This is one of our biggest concerns four years later.
Otherwise, we love the screen, the form factor, the build, and the design of the phone.
Until the competition releases their foldable for the global market, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 is still the best foldable in the market.
What do you think guys?
Build/Design - 4.25
Multimedia Experience - 4.25
Cameras - 4.25
Performance - 4.25
Average - 4.25/5
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