Samsung’s foldable devices have been industry leading ever since they first launched the world’s first foldable phone: The Galaxy Fold. Despite their initial issues with the display breaking after removing the screen protector, no other company has managed to pull off such well engineered foldable phones.
The premise for both the Z Fold and Z Flip are simple. The former takes an expansive tablet form factor and folds it into half for easy one handed use on the front display. The latter takes a regular smartphone’s form factor and folds it into half for portability, reminiscent of flip phones of the past.
Both the Fold and Flip have undergone 3 generations refinements, improving things such as a wider front display, larger front cover screen, and the introduction of an under display camera. It would be interesting to see what Samsung has in store for the 4th generation of these foldables.
So when Samsung reached out to me with an invitation to their early media event and hands on with the devices, I had to take it. After signing a non-disclosure agreement and confirming my attendance, I was on my way to a WeWork office at Raffles Place.
Among me were staff from large media groups like CNA, Straits Times and SGeek. Tech Composition was probably the smallest media outlet to be invited, but we’ll get there some day right?
The respective Samsung Heads took turns to introduce the various new products, so let me share my thoughts on everything new at Samsung Unpacked.
Z Flip 4
The first item announced was the Z Flip 4. It has a 12% larger battery (3300 mAh to 3700 mAh) than its predecessor despite having an overall slimmer footprint. The Cover Screen beside the camera also gained extra functions such as improved text replies and Animated Wallpapers.
In 2021, Samsung allowed consumers to customise the front and back panels with any of 5 colours, paired with either a black or silver frame, giving rise to 49 unique combinations.
This year, Samsung goes even further with the Z Flip 4: Offering the gold colour option to the frame, allowing for 75 unique combinations of colours. Samsung also dropped the Blue and Black colours offered last year for Khaki and Red. It must be noted that this service falls under Samsung Bespoke, so it will take extra time and cost S$50 more.
Samsung also improved the Cover Screen by adding more functionality, namely the improved ability to reply to messages, display your favourite AR emojis, and adding live wallpapers. We can even display a GIF of BTS members dancing on the cover display for instance.
This definitely brings more character to your Z Flip, and placing a live wallpaper of your loved ones would be really sweet.
The company also featured their signature Flex Cam mode that allows you to use half of the phone as a stand for self portraits. The other half can then be used to position the camera angle to your liking.
There are physically larger cameras on the Z Flip 4, providing up to 65% brighter shots and improved Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). I tried taking a few photos with the device and found them to be really punchy and clear, typical of Samsung Flagships.
A booth was also set up to demonstrate the low light prowess of the Z Flip. A Z Flip 4 was placed in front of an opaque box with an interior of the landscape of Clarke Quay with almost no light passing through. It was pretty impressive to see how the Flip 4 was able to capture the image in such detail.
New accessories for the Z Flip were also launched, including some bold designs. Seems like Samsung is continuing its push for the incorporation of the Z Flip into fashion.
Overall, nothing really stood out to me on the Z Flip 4 other than the improved low light photography. The improved widget support on the cover display was nice, but it didn’t exactly scream brand new. This year’s Flip is more of an iterative one than anything groundbreaking.
The prices for the Z Flip 4 start from S$1398 (128GB) for a standard colour option (Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold or Blue) and S$1548 (256GB) for a Bespoke Edition version. The Bespoke Edition is only available in the 256GB configuration, so thats’s something to take note of.
Preorders for the Z Flip 4 start 10 August 9pm SGT online and are ready for collection from 26 August.
Z Fold 4
Next up, it is the OG of the foldables: The Z Fold 4. Similar to the Flip 4, the Fold sports a much slimmer and lighter design. Weighing at 263g, it is 8g lighter than the previous generation.
The bezels around both the outer and inner display are also shrunken, allowing for a 2.7mm and 3mm increase in screen width respectively. The outer display comes with the newest Gorilla Glass Victus+ and goes up to 1000 Nits of peak brightness.
With the thinner bezels, the outer screen of the Z Fold offers a near edge-to-edge display like most modern smartphones. Both displays continue to have variable refresh rates capped at 120Hz, and feel as buttery smooth.
Unfolding the Z Fold 4 revealed the inner display which again, looks much better than the previous generation owing to its thinner bezels. The Under Display Camera on the front is improved, making it less visible at most angles, and providing a clearer image.
The crease can still be seen at an off axis angle, and is as perceptible as the Fold 3, so I don’t think Samsung had any improvements in this department.
What’s new in the software is the presence of a dock. Much like Windows and MacOS, the dock can be customised and anchored to the bottom of the screen. The dock will be visible whenever you open another app, but it can be turned off in the settings.
Bringing the fixed dock over from Samsung Dex helps with easy multi tasking and split screen. Prior to this, you had to swipe over from the side of the display to reveal the dock then drag apps across to create tiled windows. With this change, it is even more convenient.
The cameras on the Z Fold 4 are also improved. It offers a 30x Space Zoom with the Telephoto lens and has a 23% brighter sensor for low light shots. It’s not quite the 65% improvement in low light like the Z Flip 4, so I’m guessing they’re using different camera systems anyway.
Pictures taken are vibrant and crisp, what you would expect from a S$2300+ device. S Pen Support is also available this year albeit only with the S Pen Fold Edition with a retractable tip. Dust resistance is still not tested for, given that the Z Fold 4 is rated at IPX8.
But hey, having dust resistance on a foldable phone with lots of moving parts and gaps is no easy feat, so we’ll just have to wait until the day comes.
Overall, the Fold 4 looks much more modern with its displays that go all the way up to the edges. The improved glass on the outer screen also makes it much more durable. It’s basically addressing most of the common complaints of the Z Fold 4, and that’s a welcome change.
The Z Fold 4 comes in Graygreen, Beige and Phantom Black, as well as an online exclusive Burgundy. Prices for the base Z Fold 4 remain the same as last year, starting at S$2398 for a 256GB model and goes all the way up to S$2938 for a 1TB model. The price for the 512GB model is increased by S$30 to S$2578 this year.
Preorders for the Z Fold 4 start 10 August 9pm SGT online and are ready for collection from 26 August.
Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro
In addition to introducing improvements to the Galaxy Watch with the Watch 5, Samsung also unveiled a new product to the line up: Watch 5 Pro.
The former comes in 40 and 44mm while the latter comes only in 45mm. The Watch 5 Pro has a sapphire crystal coated screen as well as a titanium body and a massive 590 mAH battery. Contrary to rumours, the touch enabled rotating bezel is still here on both watches, allowing for easy navigation around the operating system.
On first impressions, the Watch 5 Pro feels really sturdy and premium on the wrist, though it looks a little chunky on mine. Around the watch are enhanced sensors that enable quicker body composition measurements and sleep tracking.
Fast charging is also available on the Watch 5 Pro, with Samsung claiming up to 8 hours of sleep tracking with just 8 minutes of charge.
Samsung is making a further push into the fitness tracking space this year. The Watch 5s offer a tailor made month-long one to one sleep coaching programme, sleep durations and timings based on your body metrics. There is also support for GPX tracks on the watch to record hiking routes and have turn by turn instructions when you are out and about,
There is even a Recovery Tracking feature that tells you exactly how long you need to take to cool down after a workout and offers tips on future recovery sessions.
I didn’t get to test these features out during the short hands-on time, but if it is as effective as Samsung claims, it would be miles ahead of what Apple and LumiHealth are trying to achieve (without the rewards).
Brand new watch bands were also introduced, including a D Buckle sports band that’s reminiscent of luxury watches while being extra secure. New colours and designs can be purchased separately to style your watch the way you want it.
The Watch 5 Pro was introduced to compete in the Apple Watch dominated space, so we shall see if it can hold its own against the incumbent in the full review.
The 40mm Watch 5 comes in Graphite, Sapphire, Silver, and costs S$448 and S$548 for bluetooth and LTE configurations respectively. The 44mm Watch 5 comes in Graphite, Pink Gold, Silver, and costs S$498 and S$598 for bluetooth and LTE configurations respectively.
The 45mm Watch 5 Pro comes in Black Titanium, Gray Titanium, and costs S$698 and S$798 for bluetooth and LTE configurations respectively.
All models of Galaxy Watch will be available from 2 September 10AM SGT.
Buds 2 Pro
The Buds 2 Pro is Samsung’s upgrade over the original Buds Pro. Coming in at a 15% smaller size, these nifty earbuds offer 24 bit Hi-Fi audio for audiophiles out there, as well as an improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): specifically 3 decibels stronger.
The vent hole is also improved to release pressure in the ear canal while maintaining decent passive noise cancellation from the rubberised tips. It also features a 2x larger Wind Cover to block out background noises for better microphone performance.
One of the unique features of the Galaxy Buds Pro was Voice Detect. Essentially what it does is, if the buds detect you speaking to someone, it will lower the volume, switch from ANC to Ambient Sound mode to allow you to listen to what that person has to say.
After a few seconds of silence is detected, the buds will switch back to ANC and the music will continue at its original volume. The Buds 2 Pro improves on this feature by increasing the sensitivity of the microphone to make it work more consistently.
The Buds 2 Pro come in Graphite, White, Bora Purple and costs S$328 and will be available from 2 September 10AM SGT.
Conclusion
Samsung’s foldables are clearly miles ahead of what other smartphone manufacturers are trying to do with folding Android smartphones. Take the Huawei Mate X2 for instance. It sports an extremely similar design to the Z Fold 4, but lacks water resistance, a 120 Hz screen, and has thicker bezels.
The Z Flip 4 offers multi angled folding while the Motorola Razr only supports only two angles: closed or open. The cameras are vastly better than any other foldables in its class, and the list goes on.
The Watch 5 Pro looks to represent the highest end of Android Smartwatches with its premium finish and luxury inspired D Buckle band, and they are still probably the only watches that can measure body composition and support GPX. Though there are little new flashy features on this generation of the foldables, they offer small but significant quality of life improvements that are always welcome.
To me, there is nothing much more I would ask out of Samsung’s foldables, other than the almost near unattainable dust resistance rating, since they addressed the most common gripes of consumers. What do you think about the devices released during Samsung Unpacked? Let me know in the comments below.
Derrick (Yip Hern) founded Tech Composition to provide valuable insights into the tech and finance world. He loves to scour the web for the best deals and embark on software projects during his free time, a typical geek, right?
