Foldables are the new in thing in the mobile space these days, and Samsung's been leading the pack ever since it launched its first foldable phone back in 2019. But that isn't to say that the foldable phones it is offering to customers — especially the Galaxy Z Fold series phones — have been perfect.
The Galaxy Fold, Samsung's first commercially launched device with a foldable screen, had many shortcomings. Its cover display, which is what you use if you don't want to unfold the device, was too small, and its camera setup left much to be desired. While the cover display got bigger in newer models, the camera setup remained the same until this year.
Battery life has also not been a particularly strong suit of these devices, with last year's Galaxy Z Fold 3 actually seeing a drop in battery capacity and, as a result, battery life compared to its predecessor from 2020. When taking all those factors into account along with the high price tags, it hasn't been easy to recommend Samsung's Z Fold smartphones to people who asked.
Samsung's been working hard to make its foldable phones as good as possible, though, and with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, I think the company's efforts have finally paid off. It is the first foldable from Samsung that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who asks.
Galaxy Z Fold user experience is excellent because of a number of factors
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the closest to a complete package that you can get if you're out to buy a foldable phone from Samsung. Perhaps the most important improvement is the upgrade from an extremely outdated 2x optical zoom camera on the first three models to a 3x zoom camera (which provides digital zoom up to 30x, up from 10x on previous models).
Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra lineup is still at the top of the food chain if you're looking for a Galaxy phone with the best photography chops, but the Galaxy Z Fold 4's camera setup is more than enough for most customers. In addition to a 3x zoom lens, the Z Fold 4 features a 50MP main camera, another upgrade over all the other phones in the series.
The cover display is still too thin to pass off as a proper smartphone display, but in my opinion it isn't too inconvenient to use, even for typing. Last but not least, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has long-lasting battery life, thanks in part to the highly power efficient Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor.
Naturally, many of the benefits of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the book-like foldable form factor have carried over as well. You get a near-tablet sized display upon unfolding the device, can use an S Pen with the inner screen, and get advanced features like water resistance, proper stereo speakers (i.e., there are two dedicated speakers), etc.
Samsung has also made some improvements to the software. One UI 4.1.1, which debuted on the Z Fold 4 and the Z Flip 4, comes with features such as a Windows-like taskbar for quicker access to apps and shortcuts and gestures for multitasking. These features can really elevate your user experience, which has also been the case for my colleague Mihai.
There are still some minor niggles, but nothing really deal-breaking
Now, I'm not saying the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is perfect. There are still some things Samsung needs to address. I would have loved to see a wider cover screen (without too much of an increase in weight), and certified dust protection along with water resistance would have been nice.
I would also love to see more Samsung apps get a dual-pane user interface, which splits the UI in half and lets you get things done quicker (for example, in the Gallery app, the right side of the main display can show you your albums while the right side lets you open and scroll through pictures and other media stored on your phone).
But these are minor niggles in the grand scheme of things. I found my overall Galaxy Z Fold 4 experience to be excellent, and I feel many other prospective customers would have the same opinion after using the Galaxy Z Fold 4. If you've been hesitant about jumping on the foldables bandwagon, I would say the Z Fold 4 is the device to get you started and you should go out and buy one right now.
Do you own a Galaxy Z Fold 4? Let me know what you like and what you don't like about it in the comments!
