While Samsung’s foldable devices are hard to recommend, they are a clear blueprint for the future. But how soon will that future come? Judging by early leaks and rumors, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 could be the first foldable worth buying – well, maybe.
It looks like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will offer iterative improvements over its predecessors. That means a sturdier screen, a newer processor and, if you cross your fingers, an integrated S Pen. Here’s everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Broad details: release date and prices
We expect Samsung to debut the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in August or September 2022. It will launch alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 4, plus an unnamed phone that we don’t know about. Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are likely to ship two weeks after launch.
While we don’t have any leaks to support an August or September release date, the previous three “Fold” phones have all launched in August or September. (Although the original Galaxy Fold was the first) revealed in February 2019)
The price of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is still a mystery. Samsung may be sticking to the $1,799 price tag it has stuck to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, though some sources suggest a more competitive price.
Also, don’t be surprised if Samsung drops the “Z” from Fold 4’s name. Some people now associate “Z” with the invasion of Ukraine as Russians use the letter to show their support for the war in real life and on social media. (I should note that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is already called the Galaxy Fold 3 in some European countries. Samsung started playing with this idea before Russia invaded Ukraine.)
Design: small but important improvements
Some of the design changes of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are very predictable. As with previous releases, the phone will likely have a more durable screen (possibly named Super ultra-strong glass) and improved dust or water protection. An update to the phone’s outer ‘cover’ display is also: a strong possibilityas with every Galaxy Z Fold release, Samsung has found small ways to improve this display.
And despite rumors of a new fingerprint reader under the screen, patents have been discovered by Business Korea suggest that Samsung stick with a side-mounted sensor.
No other changes to the phone’s design are known. A leak from @TheGalox_ suggests that Samsung could use a single-hinge design to make the Galaxy Z Fold 4 a bit thinner. And as reported by android police, the phone may have an integrated S Pen – its predecessor worked with the S Pen, but that required a bulky add-on. (It’s worth noting that the Galaxy S22 Ultra got an S Pen slot after its predecessor went through the add-on case.)
That said, we’ve also seen rumors that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will have a bigger battery (up to 4400 mAh, which is already quite big). Not sure how Samsung could fit a bigger battery if the phone gets thinner and get an S Pen slot, so at least one of these rumors is probably not true. But to be fair, Samsung could definitely improve the power efficiency of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 by adopting a new chipset.
Spec Talk: a more energy-efficient chip
Samsung had a lot of trouble with the thermals of the Galaxy S22. The phone has a lot of over-the-top hardware to prevent throttling, as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset is a lot less power efficient than people first expected. Of course, when a chip isn’t very efficient, battery life is also a major concern. And it sounds like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn’t have much room for a bigger battery.
A new chip may therefore be the solution. Ice Universe leaks reveal that Samsung may be using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chip in the Galaxy Z Fold 4. This processor could be may be more powerful than what’s in the Galaxy S22, but Samsung is probably more interested in the chip’s improved efficiency.
Samsung Galaxy Fold4，Flip4，Snapdragon 8 Gen1 Plus，TSMC 4nm
100% sure— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) March 24, 2022
Customers in Europe and India could get an Exynos chip in their Galaxy Z Fold 4 release. But we’re not sure if Samsung will design a new chip or reuse the Exynos 2200 launched earlier this year.
Other specs of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are unknown, possibly because people don’t care much about the phone’s storage or memory. For what it’s worth, the base model of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, which is more than enough for an Android phone (and more than what you get with the base model Galaxy S22 Ultra).
Cameras: Déjà Vu from the Galaxy S22
Several leakers, including: Dohyun Kim, claim that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will have a 108MP main camera. That puts it on par with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which uses the same lens. In addition, it seems that the phone will use the 10MP 3x telephoto lens which debuted in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and S22+.
While we haven’t heard anything about the phone’s ultra-wide camera, these changes are quite substantial. All other models of Galaxy Z Fold use a 12MP main camera and while the 10MP is a telephoto lens technically a downgrade from the old 12MP telephoto, it supports 3x optical zoom, which is an improvement over 2x zoom.
Oh, and if you want Samsung to throw the selfie camera under the display, I’ve got some bad news. Korean leaker Yeux1122 says the phone will use two lenses under the screen. That said, the cameras below the display will be a little less visible this time around, and the dual-camera design could improve image quality (or open the door to 3D selfies, I think).
Again, we expect the Galaxy Z Fold 4 to launch in August or September, along with the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and a third, unnamed phone. Price is not yet known.
We’ll update this article as we learn more about the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Sign up for our free newsletter for future updates, news, and reviews!