Z Fold 4, I’ve always been a fan of more compact smartphones, but something’s foldable has had hot praise gushed all over them by almost every tech reviewer out there. So I slapped some inside the fresh Galaxy Z Fold 4 to see if I could get on with this Godzilla-sized blower, while also bearing in mind the decidedly hefty asking price, which starts at around 1700 quid here in the UK. So here’s my full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Design

So the Z Fold 4 is slightly slimmer and lighter than previous generations, with fractions shaved off of the bezels and some other bits.

This thing is 16 mm when folded up. It also weighs in it a decidedly beefy 263 grams, making it one of the heaviest smartphones ever. On the plus side, though, if some shady gangster-type criminal person approaches you in a dark alley and demands all of your goodies, well, just clock them on the head with this thing and that will be lights out straight away.

And unlike that filthy criminal, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will most likely survive intact, because the cover screen and the back end are made from Gorilla glass Victors Plus. This is a more scratch-resistant version of Victor, which is probably just as well because the original was far too prone to being dinked up and so far, touch wood.

The Gorilla glass Victors Plus seems to be doing its job because there aren’t any scratches or scuffs anywhere on the screen or the arsenic. The Z fold 4 frames are constructed from that tough new armor aluminum stuff, and this also is in pristine condition after plenty of being banged about the place. And unlike most other foldable, the Samsung Galaxy Z fold 4 is IPX 8 water resistant as well, so it can get completely submerged in water and survive fine.

One word of Warner maybe doesn’t take it to the beach, because I managed to get some grains of sand into this thing and every time you open it up now, you get that sort of horrible crunchy sound. Just a few grains are stuck in there somewhere, being absolute buggers.

The actual design is typical Samsung, smart and simple, with a choice of four colors. You’ve got gray, green, phantom black, and beige, as well as an exclusive burgundy color that is only available direct from Samsung. And I quite like the look of it and everything.

I just think that maybe something like the Z Flip Four would be better suited to me, as I do prefer more compact Bloors and this thing is just an absolute brick. I do get a lot of people coming up to me and asking me about it as well because foldable are still a pretty rare sight out and about despite all the very impressive numbers that Samsung’s chucking around.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 OneUI And Features

Android 12 is as always, boosted with Samsung’s One UI launcher and its many extra features. I won’t bang on too much about One UI 4 and the various features because I’ve done that in every other Samsung video pretty much I’ve ever made. But needless to say, all of the old favorites are back here. Of course, you’ve got the best bits like the Samsung NOK security suite to keep all of your privates private and that’s supplemented by a rather spiffingly good edge-mounted fingerprint sensor which does the job nicely.

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And on top of that, you’ve got some reliable face-to-unlock action as well if you want to use that instead. The software may sometimes have some errors when it is first released. But, you should just keep working through them and everything will be alright in the end.

Samsung has Tweaked one UI to make the most of the dual display design and so I really like the way that you can for instance set up a separate desktop arrangement for the cover screen and the main screen. This will make it easier for you to use them for different purposes. You can customize both displays to suit your needs better. with static or video wallpapers.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Cover Screen

Now, that 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED cover screen isn’t some basic piece of crap, it is perfectly sharp, serving up 402 pixel principal visuals complete with 120 Hz refresh support. So we are talking proper eye candy.

It is quite handy for replying to messages, especially if you’ve only got one hand free because you’re carrying bags full of shopping or munching on a supersized sausage roll. Seriously, try unfolding the Z fold 4 with only one hand, especially if you have Mitzvah greasy from Munching on one of those buggers. You’ve got no chance. Gorilla Glass victors plus or no Gorilla Glass victors plus.

Unfortunately, the cover screen is also very skinny so I found it quite tricky to type on the keyboard in portrait mode, while in landscape mode you will again need two hands really and the keyboard basically takes up the entire screen so you won’t be able to see much of what you’re actually typing.

So personally I find I mostly use that cover screen for quickly replying to messages, just a very short response or also my audio stuff, so playing a podcast, changing to a different album in Diesel, stuff like that. And then for most other apps. I ended up yanking it open.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Main Display

Unfilled the Samsung Galaxy Z fold 4, and it’s suddenly in full-on beadboard with a 7.6-inch interior screen that is once again dynamic AMOLED tech maxing out at 120 Hz, but this time with a supremely sharp quad HD plus resolution. HDR 10 plus streaming support and movies look properly lush, though if you’re not multitasking, then the square aspect ratio does make for some rather hefty letterboxing.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 main panel also sports a camouflaged under-display selfie cam. It’s not quite as well masters on the ZT Ax and 40, but it is a pretty solid effort. Of course, the whole point of having this massive square aspect ratio display is multitasking.

And that is where the Galaxy Z Folded Four absolutely smashes it out of the park. For instance, you can refer to a webpage while you’re writing a message, or you can watch some bald tech twat on YouTube while you compose a sonnet.

Whatever you fancy. My personal favorite arrangement was having Bit Skype up top, Skyping with the Farm, while on the bottom half of the screen you got the Match playing great stuff and you can save your favorite multitasking setups. The edge bar on the screen provides quick access to various features.

Unfortunately, the fold in this massive display is still painfully obvious. It’s clear to see and also to feel when you swipe your fingers over it. However, my major boggle with the mighty panel is the fact it’s covered with a screen protector, which Samsung recommends not removing.

And unfortunately, this picks up smudgy prints far too easily and needs to be wiped down pretty much every time you use it, otherwise, everything looks a bit poo. And also I did find quite often if I was clutching the Galaxy Z Fold 4, like so, rather than simply resting it in my palm, then quite often I would get frustrated if my finger got in the way of the screen couldn’t see what was happening.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Audio

And when you hold the Galaxy Z Fold 4 on its side, like so, it’s both a stereo speaker set up with those speakers actually housed up towards the top end of those edges, so you don’t accidentally muffle them when you are clutching the phone like so. The speakers are not of the best quality. The audio is quite tiny, but they’re reasonably loud and they work in a pinch for enjoying some YouTube or whatever. Of course, northern no Headphone Jack on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Did you even have to ask?

It’s pretty much the same case with every single premium smartphone out there, but Bluetooth 5.2 works perfectly, absolutely seamless streaming to the headphones, be they Samsung’s own buds or stuff produced by some other brand.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Performance And Gaming

And as for the performance, well, no issues there either, because the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Billy Big Bollock Snapdragon 8 plus Gen One chipset backed by 12 gigs of DDR 5 Ram. And yeah, I’ll admit I was a little bit skeptical beforehand, but the garment is perfectly possible on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Even enjoyable of course, titles like Call of Duty Mobile are much better suited to wide aspect ratio displays, you get a better view of the battlefield, but like a suggestion, impact appeared for hours at a time. Performance is perfectly smooth as you have expected.

And the back end of this Samsung blood didn’t get too toasty either. So even if you max out the graphics and want the best possible experience, this thing will definitely do the job. You got two SIM slots on this thing, plus E SIM support. On top of that, for 5G support, the connectivity was flawless, whether it was on the mobile networks or on WiFi as well. The download speed stayed very strong indeed.

And while there’s no support for Micro SD memory cards here, you can configure your Z fold 4 with up to 1 TB storage, plenty of space for Dandelion Shed loads Netflix and Disney plus when you play it on your holidays or whatever.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Battery Life

Of course, one serious compromise when it comes to foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the size of battery you can actually cram inside. So this thing may be the size of the Starship Enterprise, but it’s only got a 4400-milliamp hour dual cell battery stuffed inside of that shiny frame. And personally. I found I got pretty much bang on 5 hours of screen on time per day with the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

And that’s with mixed-use. As I mentioned before. Using the cover screen for quickly replying to messages and audio stuff. And then opening up for a bit of map for video streaming. A little bit of gaming occasionally.

Of course. Not forgetting that sweet sweet multitasking. So yeah, you don’t get as long as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 as I would have hoped. I would have preferred more towards the sort of 6 hours of screen on time just to comfortably make it through a full day without constantly checking that percentage meter.

And if you do need to quickly give a brief recharge during the day, well, it’s about 25-watt wide charging, it’s not exactly the nippiest around because you don’t get the adapter bundled in the box, you will have to provide your own. You do also have 15-watt wireless charging support, so at least you got that added flexibility.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Camera

So let’s end this review of Samsung’s foldable fantasy with a squint at that camera tech. And there on the offend you’ll find a triple lens set up captained by a 50-meg primary sensor with optical image stabilization. And I was perfectly happy with the pictures spat out by that main camera, even if Samsung phones do tend to boost colors to make things look warmer and more appealing. The detail in every picture came out well, as long as the lighting was good.

Otherwise, the colors may have been a bit too bright. But even strong contrast won’t make the Galaxy Z fold 4 Soiled pants, bright blue skies will look exactly that in your final pic, with plenty of finer detail found in the darker areas too. Any photos shot in more ambient conditions, like indoors, often come out even warmer with a soft finish.

That finer detail that you get from outdoor shots is definitely missing in action. And you will also get blurry photos if your subject is moving a bit, so make sure there is still as possible. And of course, Samsung sets up the usual complement of bonus camera modes here on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. All the same, stuff you’d find on the likes of the S 22 and all of their other blurs. This includes a Night mode which helps to keep things bright and balanced during the Wii hours.

And Samsung also impresses with its Portrait mode which can pump up some attractive snaps of your pets, offspring, and other things with a heartbeat. Even some stuff without a heartbeat, complete with a standard selection of different filters as well as adjustable bucky action.

And yes indeed, you’ve got that obligatory food more so you can reminisce about that edible stuff you’ve crammed into your face hole at some point in the past. And to be fair, yes, this does make everything look more appetizing. The Z Fold 4 12-megapixel ultra wide angle shooter comes in handy when you need to fit a lot more into the frame.

And while some ultrawide’s produce darker, less appealing picks, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 does a proper solid job in crammed on there. You’ve also got a ten-megapixel telephoto option with three times optical zoom, although this can snap picks it up to 30 times zoom using digital cropping.

And even at that maxed-out level, the optical image stabilization, and Samsung software smart help to keep things remarkably still. It’s also ideal for action shots just like the main lens, thanks to its swift shutter action. However, the zoom shooter doesn’t cope as well with stronger low lighting.

And beyond the 10x zoom level, things get pretty grainy even when you’re viewing the photos back on the Z Fold 4 display, so don’t get carried away. You can flick between all three of these lenses as you’re shooting video, as long as you’re not shooting above 4k resolution at 30 frames per second, although you can also boost the resolution to 8k if you’re happy to just stick with a 50 meg primary sensor at that ultra HD level.

I was more than happy with my home movies. The focus can generally be relied upon, the stabilization is good enough to move about while you’re shooting, so you don’t end up with puke-inducing results, and the audio capture is excellent even in breezy conditions. At night, Yet things do start to look quite grainy again, but that’s no different for more smartphones.

Meanwhile, selfie fans can snap away with a solitary 10-megapixel camera stuck in the cover display, or also with a 4-megapixel camera partially hidden underneath the main display, although this one is a bit crappy to be fair, and not really suited to Skype calls with the folks, etc.

You can also use the cover screen as a kind of viewfinder to shoot Selfies with the 50 meg main camera, although this is pretty awkward and probably best not bothered with, because the 10 meg shooter from the cover display is perfectly fine, producing good-looking detailed snaps even when you’re fighting against strong or poor lighting. You should have got a 4K resolution footage front-facing camera, which is on the cover screen if you want to either 30 or 60 frames per second. Pretty smooth stabilization, but the Selfie camera on the massive inside display can only shoot it up to full HD resolution at 30 or 60 frames per second.

Conclusion

So that right there is my full, final frank review of Samsung’s Galaxy Z fold 4 Foldable phones after using it as my full-time blower. I did feel rather conspicuous when wielding it out in public, and while I really enjoyed multitasking on that main display, I don’t think I quite used it enough in order to justify the sky-high asking price or just the mere fact that I was carrying a brick around inside of my shorts. Likewise, that cover display isn’t quite as good as just the standard display on most smartphones. It’s a little bit too skinny for my liking.

But you know what? If you do a lot of multitasking, if you can see yourself watching a lot of videos while doing a lot of web browser, messaging, all that kind of stuff, then you’re going to get more out of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 than I did. And I’ve preferred better battery life, but the performance is absolutely spot on. The media chops are pretty good. And you know what?

That camera tech. No real sacrifices were made here. This is a perfectly good everyday snapper that will satisfy most people. No worries. Anyway, that’s more than enough of me banging on about this massive thing clutched in my hand right here.

Let me know what you guys think down in the comments below. Cheers, everyone. Love you.