Samsung has succeeded Makes foldable phones feel old — in a good way. It feels like just yesterday, the company showed off its first folding phone. But it’s actually 2019, and we’re already in the fourth generation of foldables.
in today’s second Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung unboxed the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4, bringing more improvements than ever to the still-nascent category. Joining the pair are the Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro, two new smartwatches powered by Google Wear OS, and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro wireless earbuds.
Here, we break down what’s new for all of these devices, which will officially go on sale on August 26th. If you’ve been tempted, you can pre-order them today.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4
If you’re expecting a new style of folding phone today, or even a new look, you’ll be disappointed: Samsung is sticking with the tried-and-true design of previous Galaxy Flip and Galaxy Fold phones, though that’s far from a bad thing.
Like its predecessor, the Z Flip 4 ($1,000) is Samsung’s most popular foldable.It’s like a regular phone, but you can fold it in half like a clamshell – a boon for anyone who hates that Lots of Over the years, cell phones have become. The book-shaped Z Fold 4 ($1,800), on the other hand, has a screen on the outside, but you can open it up to expand the screen real estate for a more tablet experience.
For the fourth-generation foldable design, Samsung has shrunk the hinges and bezels around the screen, making these devices more compact than their predecessors. Both feature Gorilla Glass Victus+, the most durable glass used in a phone today. Samsung also says that its home screen is a further 45 percent more durable than the previous generation. (They still have an IPX8 water resistance rating.)
Both are powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, so you should experience some of the smoothest performance, especially paired with the smooth 120-Hz screen refresh rate on all AMOLED display panels. There’s support for fast charging, which can bring the charge up to 50% in 30 minutes (a far cry from the super-fast charging we’ve seen from OnePlus), but that requires a 25-watt charging brick, which isn’t included in the box.
