What Samsung may (and should) do with its next foldable smartphone
There are a lot of expectations for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 if it is to succeed where the Galaxy Z Fold 3 left off. Nonetheless, the foldable phone recipe hasn’t yet been finalised.
There are just a few speculations floating around regarding the Galaxy Z Fold 4 right now, and nothing is known for certain about its specifications or capabilities. However, there are a slew of features we’re hoping Samsung will include, like better cameras and, perhaps, a more seamless S Pen pen integration.
You can see what’s been speculated, as well as what we hope to see in Samsung’s next Galaxy Z Fold 4, below. In addition, here is a look at what the Korean corporation has in store for us in 2015.
A possible release date for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
In terms of a release date for the Z Fold 4, leaks and expert estimations are in agreement. After releasing in August, this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the third generation to emerge in late summer/early fall, following on the heels of previous year’s Galaxy Z Fold 2. As a result, we may expect the Z Fold 4 to be released by the end of August or the beginning of September.
It’s probable that Samsung would want to avoid a debut date in mid-September for the iPhone 14.
The next Fold may have a new name when it debuts. Galaxy Fold 3 is being sold by Samsung in various European nations as a response to Russian officials’ use of the letter Z as a symbol to encourage their invasion of Ukraine. Speculation is rife that Samsung may delete the Z from the name of the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
As the Galaxy Z Fold 3 costs $1,799, it would be great news if the Z Fold 4 was going to be less expensive, according to a report from Korean leaker yeux1122 on Naver.
In 2020, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 was priced at $1,999, which may indicate that the Z Fold 4 will be priced at $1,599 in two years. Foldable phones are currently prohibitively costly, but as the price gap narrows, more and more people will be enticed to buy one.
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
When it comes to the Z Fold 4, we’re still expecting Samsung to keep with the same basic design as the Z Fold 3. One leaker, though, has already hinted at a few alterations.
Reworking the hinge and strengthening the phone’s waterproofing and dustproofing are among the ideas being considered by Samsung, according to a post on the Korean blogging site Naver. We’d like a phone that’s less prone to water and dust harm.
A leaker named Anthony, known as @TheGalox on Twitter, claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will have a single hinge instead of the two that were employed in its predecessor. The Z Fold 4 might be made smaller and lighter while also being more robust as a result.
If this rumour is true, it’s a little sad that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn’t feature a place for the S Pen. That’s a surprising move by Samsung, given that this was one of our major gripes with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and one that we believe the company could easily fix.
Another report indicates that Samsung has been experimenting with its aspect ratio in the Z Fold 4 prototypes, which might mean that the front display of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will change. According to Chunv8888, a Twitter user who claims to be an insider for Samsung, the company is considering a variety of potential designs for the next Z Fold 3.
Leakster yeux1122 claims that a new Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) material may be used for the phone’s interior display. In order to make usage of the reported integrated S Pen stylus more comfortable, this new material is said to be stronger and of greater quality.
Of course, if Samsung decides to abandon the existing book-style fold structure, there are alternative options. Handheld foldables are among Samsung Display’s CES 2022 proposals, which include three designs. S-fold design is used to generate three panels instead of two, while “slidable” is used to expand the screen width on demand. It is possible that Samsung may only use these ideas for future Z Fold phones, but the s-fold design for the Z Fold 4 appears to be a feasible possibility.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency For the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Elec says that Samsung is working on a built-in S Pen. Since the Galaxy S22 Ultra has one, this makes perfect sense (like the Galaxy Notes of old). This would imply that the stylus would be housed in a separate compartment on the Fold 4. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a storage problem for the S Pen, thus this would make S Pen use on the move a breeze.
The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 are among the most impressive yet.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 is expected to use the same camera arrangement as Samsung’s Galaxy S22, according to a rumour (opens in new tab). The Galaxy Z Fold 3’s telephoto lens now has a 3x optical zoom, up from the previous model’s 2x.
We’ll have to wait and see if the Z Fold 4 has the same 50MP and 12MP ultra-wide cameras as the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus when it launches in the second half of 2019.
For the first time, Samsung has put an under-display camera on the primary display of its Galaxy Z Fold 3 smartphone. According to a source from Korea, the Z Fold 4 might improve on this by including a second camera behind the display cover.
Having said that, the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s under-display camera was one of its weakest qualities, so adding a second one isn’t ideal until Samsung improves the existing one. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is expected to feature a suite of under-screen camera enhancements, and that’s precisely what’s been anticipated.
The battery of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
We just have one rumour to go on regarding the Z Fold 4’s power source: it’s bad. According to this, Samsung will maintain the battery size of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 around the same.
As a downside of foldable phones, they have a larger screen to power, even though the battery is smaller or equal to that of a comparable phone. In order to make the Z Fold 3 survive a whole day without recharging, Samsung will need to improve other aspects of the phone’s design, including as its battery capacity.
Galaxy Z Fold: What we would want to see from Samsung
To quench your Z Fold 4 material thirst, we’ve compiled a short wish list for the forthcoming foldable.
The “Galaxy Flex Note” is based on a Samsung patent and was created by Technizo Design and LetsGoDigital. Samsung could do much worse than replicate this tempting concept. The Z Fold series would be the natural successor to the Galaxy Note line, which may have come to an end with the cancellation of the Galaxy Note 21 earlier this year. We appreciate how this design has only one display and yet has place for the S Pen pen.
The Z Fold 4 might get some of the same or even more features that we’ve seen on previous Samsung phones and are expected to see in the future. While the Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition from Samsung has a variety of colour options, the Z Fold 4 has a distinct level of customizability due to the fact that one side of the folded phone is still full screen.
Similarly, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 may have new components like the Snapdragon 898/895 or Samsung’s latest LPDDR5X RAM. If they do make it to phones this year, they’ll most likely debut on the Samsung Galaxy S22.
This is our wish list for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in a nutshell
Improved cameras
This year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 boasts a similar combination of cameras to last year’s model, with the exception of the internal selfie camera being replaced with one hidden behind the display.
A better overall camera on the Z Fold 4 would be fantastic, provided by Samsung. Samsung’s foldables won’t have the same emphasis on photography as its Galaxy S phones, but the inclusion of higher-resolution sensors would be a nice touch. It would also be wonderful to have a more powerful Space Zoom.
Build in onboard S Pen storage
Samsung’s Z Fold 3 was the first foldable to have the S Pen pen, so it seems natural that the firm will expand on that success with the Z Fold 4. Instead of having to keep the S Pen in a separate case or carrying it about with you all the time, Samsung should be able to integrate it into the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s body, as seen in the concept design above.
For the Galaxy Z Fold 4, a S Pen slot is a logical progression from the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s speculated S-Pen slot.
Yet another decrease in the selling price
Foldable smartphones should be priced like standard flagship phones if Samsung is serious about making foldables widespread, as demonstrated by its own Galaxy Z Flip 3. According to yeux1122, this was said, but it doesn’t imply anything right now. Between now and the phone’s launch, a lot may happen.
Display wrinkles are better concealed.
The primary drawback of watching video on foldable displays is that the evident creases in the screen might detract from the experience. But it would be wonderful if it faded into the background a bit more.
A leaner body type
It will be difficult to make a foldable phone to be very thin because of the nature of folding the primary display in half. There is one common criticism about the Z Fold 3: it is excessively heavy and cumbersome to take along. We’d like to see the Z Fold 4 lose a few more millimetres of thickness.
Battery life that lasts longer.
Due to the Z Fold 3’s dual screens, including one that is the size of a small tablet, it has a disadvantage from the get-go. Our tests showed a battery life of less than eight hours, and we’d want to see that number rise to closer to ten hours by making use of a bigger battery and other efficiency improvements.