Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 Review – High On Productivity

At first look, it felt there was nothing new or significant introduced on the Fold4. But things start to unveil as you start using it as your daily driver. With the latest Fold, I can simply do more in less time since it multitasks like no other smartphone can.

There’s something about using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 that tends to make me feel more efficient and productive. Perhaps it’s the new taskbar, which makes multitasking easier, or the ability to drag and drop items between apps in split screen mode.

The phone as a whole seems like a powerhouse and can do anything from heavy multitasking to editing your 4K videos. So what all improvements does it brings over its predecessor? Is shedding 1,54,999 for this foldable phone a good idea? I’ll answer that and more of your questions in this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 review.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 comes available in three storage variants in India. The base variant starts at Rs. 1,54,999 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage while the other variant costs Rs. 1,64,999 for 12GB RAM with 512GB storage. The top variant goes for Rs. 1,84,999 for 12GB RAM with 1TB storage.

The phone is available in three different colour options: Beige, Graygreen and Phantom Black. You can pre-order the phone from Samsung’s official website or on Amazon.

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For as big as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 is, it packs relatively fewer items inside the box, which are:

• Device
• USB Type-C Cable
• SIM Tray Ejector
• Documents

Before we talk in detail about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 7.6 inches AMOLED
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
• RAM & ROM: 12GB RAM 256GB Storage, 12GB RAM 512GB Storage, 12GB RAM 1TB Storage
• Software: Android v12L
• Rear camera: 50MP + 12MP + 10MP
• Selfie camera: 10MP + 4MP
• Battery: 4400 mAh
• Weight: 263 grams
• Dimensions: 155.1 x 67.1 x 15.8 mm

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn’t look all that distinct from its predecessor because Samsung stuck to its well-known design language. It feels very elegant and premium in the hand, and it looks much better than ever now that Samsung has been able to reduce the hinge bulge as well as the outer display bezels.

The phone features a metal build with a nice and smooth glass back which has a matte finish. It also helps in repelling fingerprints and smudges.

The Galaxy Z Fold4 is slightly less large and bulky this time around, but only marginally. This is because Samsung has gone with a slimmer hinge. It’s also the lightest Z Fold till now, weighing only 263 grams.

Moreover, I could still feel the weight of the Z Fold4 in my jeans pocket. When closed, this device is about twice thicker than a standard smartphone. The hinge is an essential component of any foldable smartphone, and Samsung has used a new hinge for the latest Galaxy Z Fold. It’s 6mm slimmer than its predecessor. The new hinge also makes opening and closing the phone easier. This improves the device’s ability to fold and unfold.

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The bezels on the main display are now thinner than before. However, this is not the most notable change here. It’s the under-display camera, which has almost camouflaged under the screen. This makes the display more immersive and good for content.

This new sub-pixel design, in addition to just being better hidden, delivers cleaner, sharper images that appear to be much better quality than last year’s. Samsung also claims that the main display is now 45% stronger in terms of durability.

Talking about buttons and ports, the left side has a SIM card slot. The right side holds the power button along with volume rockers. The bottom side has a Type-C port, mic, and primary speaker, whereas the top has the secondary speakers with sec microphones.

The flatter frame contrasts nicely with the lovely matte finish on the back glass panel, which is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+. It’s also nice to see that the phone has an IPX8 rating for water resistance.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 features a total of five cameras. There’s a triple camera setup on the back. This includes a 50MP primary camera which is the same as on Galaxy S22, a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 10MP telephoto sensor. Then you see a 10MP camera on the cover display and a 4MP under display camera when you unfold the phone.

These cameras are all quite good, but the triple array stands out. The main camera’s 50MP sensor is still far superior to the Z Fold 3’s 12MP sensor. It has four times the resolution of the Z Fold3, and the OIS support results in a better image.

The primary camera on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 captures impressive images in bright sunlight. The images have that typical Samsung color-rich and saturated approach, giving them a more vibrant look.

The ultrawide lens maintains that good impression and takes excellent photos. It isn’t the finest ultrawide lens on a flagship smartphone, but it’s also not bad. It delivers high-quality photos that you’ll love to share on social media.

My favourite sensor is the 10MP telephoto lens, which has up to 3X optical zoom and supports up to 30X Space Zoom. Although the 30X Space Zoom takes a couple of seconds to stabilise, the 3X optical zoom is suitable for most scenarios.

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You’ll be able to use Nightography options for superior low-light shots, just like you see on the Galaxy S22. With Flex mode enabled, you can take hands-free shots or use the Back Cam selfie mode to capture selfies with the excellent back cameras while previewing them on the cover display.

Talking about selfies, the selfie camera on the cover display performs very well. It does an excellent job of capturing details. The under-display camera, on the other hand, captures a softer image due to its low 4MP resolution. And my skin tone appears to be artificially brightened.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 can record up to 8K videos at 24fps from its rear camera or you can simply go with 4K at 60fps. The selfie camera on the cover screen can also record 4K videos at 60fps, whereas the inner camera can only go up to 1080p at 60fps. You get to see good video stabilisation from the main camera and nice quality, packed with details.

The Galaxy Z Fold4 packs the same 4,400 mAh battery as its predecessor, Fold3. This battery is split between two cells and placed on the right and left sides of the phone. The battery performance is better than the Fold3, but it still has a long way to go.

The phone can easily last a day of casual use but nothing more. I got about 7 hours of screen on time which is not so bad, but I wish there was a bigger battery cell provided.

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Talking about charging, the phone supports 25W of fast charging. Even this charging speed is a bit of a disappointment to see at this price point. On top of that, you don’t get to see a charger in the box, as usual.

The 25W charger takes a little more than an hour to fully charge the phone from 0 to 100 per cent. You can also juice the battery to about 50 per cent in 30 minutes. The Fold4 also supports fast wireless charging along with Wireless PowerShare, so you can charge your Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 features a huge 7.6-inch AMOLED display on the inside with a resolution of 2176 x 1812 pixels. It is a great panel with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. This means the display can vary between 1Hz to 120Hz, which saves you some battery.

Since it is an AMOLED panel, it has deep blacks, vivid colours, and a largely beautiful experience when used while being silky smooth. This display is fantastic for watching FHD+ YouTube videos and 4K movies, playing heavy games, scrolling through Instagram and other social media platforms, and web browsing.

The crease, on the other hand, is still visible and I could feel it while using the phone. You can see it when the display is dark and feel it when you slide your fingers across the screen. You won’t usually notice it while watching a video, but occasionally you’ll notice a faintly darker band running across your binge-watching sessions.

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Now let’s talk about the cover display. It features a 6.2-inch AMOLED display which is basically the same size as its predecessor. It also features a 120Hz refresh rate, although it ranges from 48Hz to 120Hz.

And what can you do with the cover display? Practically anything you would do without having to unfold the phone, including answering calls, responding to texts, and browsing social media apps. Yes, it’s still a somewhat tall and narrow display, but I don’t mind.

You will see a punch-hole selfie camera, as this one is not magically put under the display. However, you won’t be able to multitask like you can with the foldable display.

Samsung has also reduced the bezels surrounding this display, making it not only look great but also much more convenient to use.

Both displays are, on the whole, a little bit brighter and more colourful.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 houses the latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset under the hood, which is paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage. Now just this, you can further add up to 8GB of RAM using the RAM Plus feature for a total of 20GB of RAM.

The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 is a real beast, and we’ve already seen it in various smartphones already, and Z Fold4 is no different. There is nothing that this phone can’t do. The phone runs super smooth and without any shutters.

With no need to say, this phone is made for multitasking and is heaven for all the people who want to be more productive. It runs multiple apps as well as resource-hungry apps without breaking a sweat. The 120Hz refresh rate makes everything extra smooth.

Talking about numbers, we ran some benchmarks and here are the results. The phone scored 965760 in Antutu benchmark. On Geekbench 5, the phone scored 1316 in single score performance and 3800 in multi-core performance.

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The gaming performance on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 was also great. I tried a couple of graphics-intensive titles like Apex Legends Mobile, Asphalt 9 and Call of Duty Mobile. All the games ran smoothly in their highest settings, as expected. Playing Asphalt 9 was a great experience and very immersive.

Apex Legends ran on Ultra HD graphics at Extreme frame rates. The gameplay was smooth, with no noticeable lags. Call of Duty Mobile was maxed out to Very High graphics at MAX frame rates. The gameplay was again smooth and flawless.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 runs on One UI 4 skin which is based on Android 12L. Yes you read it right, Android 12L. It’s specially designed for phones with larger screens like Fold4. There are a bunch of features and changes you get to see here.

Let’s start with the new Taskbar, which can be located at the bottom of the display. This taskbar is similar to what you see on your laptop which shows all the recent apps that you can access with a single tap.

Similar to before, you can use three apps simultaneously on the huge 7.6-inch display. Not just this, you can even put more apps over those three apps as popup windows. I really liked how I could just drag an app from the taskbar and open it on the left/right side of the screen.

The multitasking experience on the Z Fold4 is just the next level. Apart from being cool, this increases productivity as well. I could just open the gallery on one side and email on the other and simply drag the image into my mail.

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You can also use Flex Mode, which puts the app on the upper half while the controls are shifted to the bottom half of the screen. The Fold4 is not just a phone or tablet, it can also act as your full-fledged desktop using the Samsung DeX feature.

Not to forget, you also get stylus support on the Fold4 with either S Pen or the S Pen Fold edition. The sad part is that it does not come with the phone, and you would need a separate case to carry that stylus.

In the end, you get a flagship Android experience from the Galaxy Fold4, which is unparalleled. It packs loads of customisation options and features that no other Android phone can match.

Talking about the audio department, the Fold4 comes with stereo speakers, one located at the bottom while the other is on the top. These stereo speakers comes with Dolby Atmos support and deliver great audio with clear and crisp sound. The audio gets pretty loud and doesn’t distort even at max volume.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 comes with 5G connectivity and supports 16 5G bands. These include N1, N2, N3, N5, N7, N8, N12, N20, N25, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77, and N78. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS as well as NFC.

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Biometrics is handled by the side-mounted fingerprint scanner, no in-display sensor here. The fingerprint scanner works absolutely fine and quickly unlocks the phone. You can also use the face unlock feature, but it’s not as secure as the fingerprint lock.