Just wanted to post a quick review for the Samsung Z fold 4.
All in all, I am very happy with it and very impressed.
Build:
The phone is now even more polished and solid than before. It is very comfortable to hold. The hinge is even sturdier. I've actually had a hard time trying to open the phone in the beginning without a case. But once you get used to it, you're good. The very slight wider front screen makes it even easier to use than before. It is a little on the heavy side of a phone though but you get used to it. The crease is still visible but again, only if you're looking at the phone from the side. You can't see it at all when the screen is on and it never interfered with any of my uses. This beige color is just lovely. It's like a golden-ish color.
Software:
The phone has now even more customization than before to take advantage of the big screen. To make sure you get the best use out of it, of course you'll have to download good lock. You can force almost all apps now into flex mode. If you guys watched videos online, there's a new Taskbar at the bottom of the big screen to switch apps or use split screen easily when you are in any app. What most of those videos don't say is that you can easily remove it if you don't want to use it. Just press and hold in the empty spaces at the bottom and it'll disappear. Press and hold again at the bottom and it'll pop back up.
Case:
I've bought the official S pen case and the strap case. There's nothing much to say about the strap case, it is like the ones for the S22 Ultra. There's an elastic at the back that you can use to easily hold the phone. It's a good case if you are afraid to drop the phone when it is unfolded in your hands. The S pen case on the other hand is awesome! If you use the S pen a lot, you have it handy. But if you don't, you can actually switch that part out and slide in the included folding stand. It is awesome to have the option to switch it in and out depending on your use. It is basically a 2 in 1 case. You can also use the S pen that is sticking out at the back to help holding your phone when it is unfolded.
Camera:
The specs of the camera is exactly like a S22 plus. So you know that it is a solid camera array. It may not be the top of the line but it is still very good. I used to have the S22 Ultra and it is very comparable. One major missing feature is the 100x space zoom. Other than taking moon pictures for fun, when do you actually need that 100x zoom? Unless you're a creep... 🤣 all jokes aside, 30x zoom is more than enough for most use cases. My biggest complaint for the camera is the missing feature of being able to use the ultra wide camera for video in 60fps. It is awesome having the ability to use the back cameras as the selfie with the dedicated mode in the camera app. Another complaint is that the under display camera is still bad. But you only ever really use it for video calls. I don't know who will actually open the phone to hold it up and take a selfie like that lol. Unless you want to use the selfie mode to use the back camera I suppose but if not, the front camera on the outer screen is plenty good. Also it is true that they made the under display camera less visible. You'll only see it if you reeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy look for it on a bright screen.
Battery life:
Surprisingly, it beat my S22 Ultra. Not by much but I've always had more battery at the end of the day than I used to have on my S22 Ultra. The new chip is really good at optimizing this device. Especially considering that the battery on the Z fold 4 is smaller than the S22 Ultra.
Gaming:
Having this big screen is just so awesome for gaming. Of course not all games are optimized for this ratio but I haven't found myself facing any parts of the screen missing. If you really don't like the ratio, you can adjust whatever game or app that you want into the 16:9 aspect ratio but of course, you'll have **bleep** bars at the top and bottom. What has impressed me is that the Z fold 4 has not really gotten hot while I was playing some power intensive games but my S22 Ultra used to get really hot.
Everyday use:
Most of the time, I'm using the small outer screen. Checking emails, responding to texts, quickly checking social medias and etc. I haven't had one occasion that I felt I needed to switch to the bigger inner screen cause it was too small on the outer screen. Only when I'm really sitting or laying down and want to watch a video or play a game that I switch to the inner screen. A lot of people complain about the form of the fold. But how I see it, having the small outer screen is an advantage. It's easy for one hand use, quickly check something and you put it back into your pocket. Oh, and I haven't fell any discomfort from having the phone in my pockets either. I know that was a concern for some. I've never felt the phone stutter or lag for anything and I use my phones pretty intensively. But honestly, any flagship device nowadays is like that.
Conclusion:
The fold is not for everyone. There are many points that are a deal breaker for some. But there are many things that you just get used to very easily as well. There's a device for everyone out there. It all depends on what you're looking for and how you use your device. I'm just giving my personal point of view as a foldable fan. Hope this post can help anyone looking into maybe trying out a foldable for the first time or maybe thinking of upgrading from a previous fold. I've tested the folds since the very first one and this is the first time that I'm actually thinking of keeping this phone for a longtime.
Who am I kidding... I'll probably just switch again to the next phone when it comes out cause I like tech so much 🤣
If anyone has any question, feel free to ask and if you want more pics of the phone and/or case, I'll try to take them when I have the time 🙃
See some pictures below (I've added a description on the bottom of some pics).
