Samsung Electronics’ new ‘Galaxy Z Fold’ series, released over the past three years, has made great progress in the hardware (HW) sector every year. In the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the cover (external) display became larger compared to the previous model, and it was possible to use it properly like a normal phone even when folded.
On the other hand, the biggest advantage of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the software. Splitting the screen has become easier, and multitasking using apps at the same time has become more convenient. While supporting the S Pen, it is now possible to actively utilize the distinctive features of the Z Fold series, which becomes a 7.6-inch tablet PC when unfolded and a 6.2-inch general phone when folded. I rented a product from Samsung Electronics and tried it for a few days.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4, which can be divided into 3 parts, stands out the most with its powerful multitasking function. In the first setting, you can easily split the screen by swiping the screen with two fingers to run an app at the same time or convert it to full screen. While talking about shopping with acquaintances through KakaoTalk, I was able to open the Internet shopping mall window at the same time by sliding the screen with my finger to find related products.
The ‘task bar’ that runs at the bottom when the screen is unfolded was also useful. It acts like the taskbar of a Windows PC, and the favorite apps on the home screen of the smartphone are arranged, making it convenient to move apps. In addition to this, various multitasking functions have been added, such as the ability to change to a pop-up screen by swiping the corner of the app to the center. However, these functions can only be used if they are registered in advance through the settings.
Multitasking is important not only for the function itself, but also for performance so that you can use multiple apps without stuttering. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 was able to switch screens smoothly. This is because it is equipped with a dynamic AMOLED 2X display that supports a refresh rate of 120Hz. As an AP (application processor) that acts as the brain of a smartphone, Qualcomm’s latest 4-nano platform ‘Snapdragon 8 Plus 1st Generation’ is installed.
As a result of setting the device performance with Benchmark 5, the single-core score was in the range of 1260-1290, and the multi-core score was in the range of 3680-3880. It is natural to say that it is equipped with the latest AP, but it is the best performance among the existing Galaxy series. Qualcomm, the supplier of AP, said, “The first generation of Snapdragon 8 Plus has up to 10% higher CPU and GPU performance and 30% higher power efficiency compared to the first generation.”
Portability is also enhanced. Reflecting the consumer opinion (VOC) that ‘foldable phone is heavy’, it succeeded in ‘diet’ with 263g. Considering that the weight of the recently released general smartphone is in the mid-200g range, it still feels heavy, but compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which weighed more than 280g, it feels significantly lighter. A foldable phone is a product that connects two separate screens with a hinge, but Samsung Electronics reduced the hinge from two to one and changed the operating structure in the Galaxy Z Fold 4 to reduce weight and improve grip.
UDC, which was pointed out in the previous work, has been significantly improved. The UDC, which hides the front camera hole inside the display, still looks annoying on a bright screen, but it doesn’t feel unnatural like its predecessor. This is thanks to the introduction of a distributed structure in the pixels at the top of the camera. In addition, it is also noteworthy that the internal aspect ratio has been changed from ‘5 to 4’ to ‘6 to 5’, and the more immersive feeling of video viewing with a more square shape is also noteworthy.
In the case of cameras, it is equipped with a triple (three) camera, including a 50-megapixel main camera. It also supports 30x zoom. It is the most advanced camera performance among the Galaxy Z Fold series, but if you are using a premium smartphone such as the Galaxy S22 series, there is no merit. In the case of hinge wrinkles, Samsung Electronics explained that “wrinkles were minimized”, but it was not an improvement enough to be felt compared to the previous work. The price starts at 1,998,700 won.
Reporter Bae Seong-soo baebae@hankyung.com