Samsung has persisted with its range of the Galaxy Z Series of foldables and despite an initial failure, it is now a fourth-generation product. The new Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 were unveiled last week globally, which will make its way to South Africa on 1 September.
The folding tablet and flip phone look very similar to last year’s models, but feature a redesigned, slimmer hinge mechanism and other incremental updates.
Aimed at different audiences, the foldables feature Samsung’s signature Flex Mode that lets the screen sit between 75º and 115º angles.
Also new to the Z Series is a feature called FlexCam that allows the user more flexibility to create hands-free content. Samsung’s partnership with Meta will allow FlexCam to work inside platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as hands-free calling on Whatsapp and Messenger.
Z Fold 4
Regarded as Samsung’s most powerful smartphone, it comes with a special Android 12L version that Google made for large-screen devices.
Multi-tasking is at the forefront, with a redesigned taskbar like a PC, new swipe gestures, and various split screen- or pop-up window modes. Supported apps for multitasking include Google apps like Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, and Microsoft’s full Office suite, including Outlook.
The Fold 4 runs on a 4nm octa-core Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, 12GB of RAM at minimum, and either 256/512GB of storage or 1TB.
It is characterised by its main 7.6-inch OLED display and a slimmer 6.2-inch cover display with both featuring a 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rate. Because of the rounded corners, the viewable screen area is 7.4-inches and 6.1-inches respectively.
The tablet is 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm when opened, and 67.1 x 155.1 x 15.8mm when folded, weighing 263g.
It features a 4MP under display camera; a triple rear camera consisting of 12MP ultra-wide, 50MP wide angle and 10MP telephoto lenses; and a 10MP selfie-cam. The rear lens supports 3x optical zoom, while the larger sensor supports Samsung’s “nightography” feature that debuted earlier this year on the S22 line-up.
It has a 4400mAh battery that supports super-fast charging, fast wireless charging and wireless power-share.
The tablet is IPX8 rated for submersion in up to 1.5m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes, this does not include beach or pool water; and it is not dust resistant.
The Z Fold 4 supports two nano SIM cards, one eSIM, features a side fingerprint sensor, 5G support, WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Z Flip 4
Regarded as a “tool for self-expression”, the pocketable clamshell flip now has narrower bezels. It comes in various colours and offers hands-free capturing. When closed, the front cover screen supports actions like calls, texts, notifications, unlocking a car and using Samsung Pay.
Flex Mode turns the handset into a tiny laptop with the bottom half of the screen supporting controls that let you shoot videos, watch multimedia content and video calling, etc.
The Flip 4 features a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, and a 1.9-inch cover screen, with both supporting 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rates. Without its rounded corners, the screens are 6.6-inches and 1.8-inches respectively.
It is powered by the same 4nm octa-core Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip as the Fold 4 but has 8GB or RAM and 256GB of storage.
When opened, its dimensions are 165.2 x 71.9 x 6.9mm, and when folded, it is 84.9 x 71.9 x 6.9mm. It weighs 187g.
The Flip 4 has a different camera to the Fold, featuring a rear dual camera that is a 12MP ultra-wide and 12MP wide-angle, with a 10MP selfie-cam. It also supports Nightography mode, and its larger sensors enable more stable and crisp images and videos.
It also has an IPX8 rating, 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, and a smaller 3 700mAh battery that supports super-fast charging and wireless charging. It has one nano SIM slot and supports an eSIM.
Pricing and availability
The Z Fold 4 is available in green, beige, and black and will set you back a staggering R37 999. Separate accessories include a new S Pen Fold edition and covers.
The Z Flip 4 is available in purple, blue, pink gold, and graphite, and will cost R21 999. A range of covers are also available separately.
Both foldables are on pre-order and will be available on 1 September.
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