Samsung are now arriving at their 4th generation of folding devices. The Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 have just been announced at Samsung’s usual Galaxy Unpacked affair, the previous part 2 event was the stage for Note series announcements, but of course that is a nomenclature we don’t speak about anymore. (Note series FTW). The latest folding devices from Samsung are here, albeit with a pretty decent lead of leaks in the run up to the announcement.

None the less it’s time to dive into the new devices and see what Samsung is bringing to the folding and flipping smartphone world. Starting of course with the Flipping Flip 4.

Flip 4

Design and Chipset

Starting with the smaller sibling. The Galaxy Flip 4 offers a near identical look externally at first glance, but has definitely gotten some TLC treatment in important areas. Samsung have decreased the size of the hinge and bezels to give the device a much cleaner look and feel. The device now sports Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back (not the foolable display obviously) The reduction in hinge size allowed Samsung to fit a larger 3700mAh battery inside, vs the 3,300mAh battery inside the Flip3 from last year.

All of that along with the latest and great offerings from Qualcomm (Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1; meaning we have a flagship chipset which should also aid in battery life due to the increased efficiency. The phone also comes with 8GB of RAM.

Display and Camera

The display is again 6.70-inches Super AMOLED and of course foldable right in the middle. The crease doesn’t appear to be any different this year around, but those that have used a Flip get accustomed to it fairly quickly as before. The flip4 offers 120Hz, HDR10+, 1000 nits of peak brightness. and a 1,080 x 2,640 resolution.

The cover display is the same size this year, but is getting more care through software. While still limited due to the size, Samsung are loading the device up with more widgets and customization than before. You can access quick settings, dial phone numbers, see and interact with notifications through and through.

The camera side of the business has also seen an upgrade, but doesn’t look so on paper. While we have the same resolutions on both Wide and Ultra wide (12MP). Samsung have stated an improved light gathering of up to 65-percent for the main camera. This is mostly due to the bump in sensor size from 1.4µm to 1.8µm compared to the Flip3.

Pricing and availability

The Flip 4 comes with multiple colour and storage options. There is Bora Purple, Graphite (Black), Pink Gold, and lastly Blue. Pricing starts at €1,139.00 for the 128GB model, stepping only an extra €60 for the 256GB version at €1,199.00. Lastly the 512GB at large €1,349.00. It’s worth nothing that some colour and storage options are limited to certain retailers, regions, and Color/storage choice I.E 1TB is graphite only.

Full Specifications

• Design: 165.2×71.9×6.9mm, 187g, Plastic front (opened), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Armour aluminium frame.
• Display: Internal: 6.70″ Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1000 nits (peak), 1080x2640px resolution, 22:9 aspect ratio, 426ppi, Cover display: Super AMOLED, 1.9 inches, 260 x 512 pixels (Gorilla Glass Victus+).
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510), Adreno 730.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, UFS 3.1
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 1.12µm.
• Front camera: 10 MP, f/2.4, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, Front camera: 4K@30fps.
• Battery: 3700mAh, Fast charging 25W, 50% in 30 min (advertised), Fast wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted), NFC, stereo speakers, Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified).

Fold 4

Design and chipset

The Galaxy Fold 4 gets some minor design changes, much like the Flip3. We have smaller hinge and bezels around the device. This bodes well for the front display which is now slightly wider, and at least attempts correction at one of the biggest issues faced with previous generation fold devices. The smaller hinge also adds to the overall image, with the small bezel and hinge giving it a larger screen-to-body ratio. The IPX8 resistance continues, but sadly that means no dust resistance for the Fold 4, but either way water resistance on a foldable is still impressive.

Samsung also shortened the device height, making it slightly less tall. This provides a different ratio for the cover and internal display, but nothing drastic overall. That is ultimately the only real difference the phone has this year in terms of design. Even the camera bump on the back is identical to last years Fold3. The glass on the cover display and back is made of Gorilla Glass Victus+, same as the Flip 4.

The Fold 4 has the same Snapdragon 8+ gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm with 12GB of RAM. This should offer a good jump in performance and more importantly efficiency over the fold3, and even the S22U from earlier this year. Samsung are putting some more thought into software this year, but mostly that stems from the included taskbar for quickly launching and switching between apps. A feature that was actually avaialble on the Fold 3, albeit hidden within Galaxy Labs and only available on the side of the device. Also worth noting, that being a software feature, it’s almost certain it will make its way to the Fold 3 as well.

Display and Camera

As mentioned before, the cover screen on the fold4 is now slightly shorter and wider with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display and 23.1:9 ratio. It has a resolution of 904 x 2,316 and supports 120hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and 1000 bits peak brightness. Sadly no S-pen support added to the cover display – which was one of the most requested features for S-Pen users.

The main internal display is the obvious attraction for the Fold. As we mentioned above, the bezels are slightly thinner on the internal frame as well, giving a larger screen-to-body ratio. The display has had some upgrade, now offering up to 1000-nits peak brightness, and variable refresh rate from 1hz up to 120ghz. This should aid in battery saving when used fully. The display is 7.6-inchs with

Samsung are finally giving the Fold a better set of cameras (mostly). The main shooter will be a large 50mp/1.0µm sensor with f/1.8, aperture and 24mm lens. This should provide better low light photos as well as higher quality overall, similar to Galaxy S22+.

The ultrawide is a 12MP with 1.12µm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 123˚ field of view, and 12mm lens. The telephoto gets bumped to 3x optical zoom with its 12MP sensors and 67mm lens. While the camera package as whole hasn’t changed as much, its good to see a better overall set of cameras on the fold4 – not to say the Fold3 had a bad set, just not inline with other flagships.

Pricing and availability

The Fold 4, much like its smaller sibling launches on August 26th. It comes in multiple colours sizes including Gray-green, Phantom Black. and Beige. Storage options and pricing start at €1,909.00 for the 256GB model, €2,029.00 for the 512GB model, and lastly €2,299.00 for the 1TB model. All ranges of the device are more expensive than last years Galaxy Fold 3. It’s worth nothing that some colour and storage options are limited to certain retailers, regions, and Color/storage itself. Again, similar to the Flip4, the 1TB is only available in Black Color option.

Full Specifications

• Design: 155.1×130.0x6.3mm, 263g, Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+) (folded), plastic front (unfolded), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+),, IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Armour aluminium S-Pen Stylus support support.
• Display: 7.60″ Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1000 nits (peak), 1812x2176px resolution, 10.81:9 aspect ratio, 373ppi, Cover display:, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, 6.2 inches, 904 x 2316 pixels, 23.1:9 ratio.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510), Adreno 670.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, UFS 3.1.
• Rear camera: Main (wide): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67mm, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom, Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm, 1.12µm.
• Front camera: Inner under-display camera: 4 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 2.0µm, Cover camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 24mm, 1/3″, 1.22µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+, Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4400mAh, Fast charging 25W, Fast wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted), NFC, stereo speakers, Bixby natural language commands and dictation, Samsung DeX (desktop experience support), Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

Wrap Up

The latest foldable devices from Samsung haven’t changed in their overall recipe. The phones don’t add or massively improve any one area to a huge degree and it’s mostly about refinement and slight changes here and there. We do have the expected performance uplift from newer chipsets. Ultimately these new devices do a lot more compared to their even older siblings; the Fold 2 and OG Flip. While Samsung did improve a lot of areas, it’s mostly single digit percentage improves throughout and there isn’t a single, definitive or must have feature that can differentiate these devices from last years models.

Samsung aren’t being hit with much competition in the folding market as of right now, and that may be a factor in them not taking too many leaps with their devices right now. It’s also worth nothing that smartphones in general have begun to struggle to massively uplift last years model, and while that has mostly always been the case; it’s now becoming more and more evident. The Fold 4 and Flip 4 are definitely the best version of their respective series, their not massive leaps from their predecessors, so nobody with a Fold3 or Flip3 should jump on any pre-orders unless new tech is a must have for them.