Every now and then I just mutter to myself, “I want my flying car!”
As far back as I can remember, we were promised that one day we’d have flying cars.
Another technology we were promised a decade ago was folding phone screens. The idea was you would have a phone with a large screen, then fold it up and tuck it into your pocket for easy carrying.
Samsung is leading the charge to bring folding phones to market.
I must give Samsung credit. They seem committed to making and improving the folding phone.
I’ve been reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 and Galaxy Flip 4, as well as the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. It thrills me to see Samsung stick with these designs and release new models each year.
These phones look largely like last year’s models, but they are quite improved.
Galaxy Z Fold 4
If you are looking for the phone with the largest screen, the Fold 4 will scratch your itch.
The Fold 4 has a 7.6” Dynamic AMOLED main screen with a resolution of 2,176 x 1,812 pixels and a 120 Hertz adaptive refresh rate.
Adaptive refresh means the phone will automatically adjust its screen refresh according to the situation.
When the phone is folded, it has a 6.2” Dynamic AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2,316 x 904 pixels and the same 120Hz refresh rate.
The Fold 4 is capable of using the SPen stylus (sold separately), but only a special SPen designed for the softer folding screen. Also, the SPen is limited to use on the inside screen only.
The cover camera has a 10-megapixel sensor with an 85-degree wide-angle field of view.
The inside selfie camera is under the screen (no notch or hole is visible). It has a 4MP sensor with an 80-degree field of view.
There are three main cameras around back.
The 12MP ultra-wide has a 123-degree field-of-view, the 50MP wide-angle has an 85-degree view and the 10MP telephoto camera has a 3x optical zoom with a 36-degree view.
The main cameras have dual optical image stabilization. They can also capture 8K video at 24 frames-per-second.
The Fold 4 runs the latest, high end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU with Android 12.
There is 12 gigabytes of RAM and internal storage starts at 256GB.
Connectivity includes 5G (sub6 and mmWave), LTE, 802.11ax Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2.
The 4,400 milliamp-hour battery has super fastcharging, which can charge the phone from zero to 50% in around 30 minutes with a 25-watt or higher charger.
It also has fast wireless charging 2.0 and reverse wireless charging.
Amazingly the Fold 4 is waterproof for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.
It has a side-mounted fingerprint reader in the sleep/wake button and can use fingerprint or face recognition to unlock.
The phone ships with a USB-C cable to charge, but there is no USB charger in the box.
The Fold 4 starts at $1,799.
Galaxy Z Flip 4
The Flip 4 folds out to what I’d consider to be a normal-size phone.
It has a Dynamic AMOLED screen measuring 6.7” with a resolution of 2,460 x 1,080 pixels.
The screen is HDR10+ certified, and it has up to a 120Hz refresh rate.
It also has a cover screen, but it only measures 1.9” with a resolution of 512 x 260 pixels. You can picture it about the size of a watch screen.
The front screen only works when the phone is closed. It is handy for seeing the time, caller ID information, calendar and many other widgets. I found it much handier than I thought it would be.
The selfie camera has a 10MP sensor with an 80-degree view.
The main cameras include a 12MP ultra-wide with a 123-degree view and a 12MP wide-angle with an 83-degree view. There is no telephoto.
Only the wide-angle has optical image stabilization.
It can shoot 4K video at 30 and 60 fps.
The battery has a capacity of 3,700 mAh with the same super fast-charging, fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging as the Fold 4.
For the best results, you’ll need to provide your own 25W or better USB charger.
It also has the same networking and radios as the Fold 4.
The Flip 4 comes with 4GB of RAM and internal storage starting at 128GB running Android 12.
It also has the IPX8 water resistance and the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 super speedy CPU as the Fold 4.
The Flip 4 starts at $999.
Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
The 45-millimeter Watch 5 Pro has a sapphire crystal face with a titanium body with a round screen and it is water resistant.
It has sensors on the back to read your blood oxygen level, pulse and blood pressure and skin temperature. It can also read your electrical heart signal to take an electrocardiogram and it can give you a body fat vs. muscle analysis.
There’s GPS route tracking with the ability to navigate back to your starting point.
It can track more than 90 exercises to help you keep up with your workouts.
It also has advanced sleep tracking to give you a nightly report on your sleep duration and sleep quality.
It has a 590mAh battery which can run for up to 80 hours before needing a recharge, depending on use.
The Watch Pro 5 starts at $449 for a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi model. Adding 4G LTE brings the cost up to $499.
Phone impressions
I continue to be impressed with the design of the folding phones, but my gripe from previous years is the same: When folded, these phones are really thick.
When I get up from my desk, my phone lives in the back pocket of my pants. I carry an iPhone 13 Pro Max, which is big, but its thinness does allow for comfortable pocket carry.
The Fold 4 is very noticeable in my pocket. I don’t mind the Flip 4 as much, as it can ride comfortably in my front or back pocket.
My main issue with the Flip 4 is having to open it every time I want to look at my email or send a text.
I understand that along with the convenience of folding comes the inconvenience of unfolding.
I look at my phone dozens of times per day, and while the hinges of the Flip and Fold are rated at more than 200,000 open/close cycles, it will take most people two hands to open these phones. Sometimes I only have one hand free.
These phones are very advanced, with the absolute fastest processors and huge amount of RAM and storage, and they are as capable as any flagship phone from any manufacturer.
I’m thrilled they are now water resistant.
I have yet to see very many of these among my friends or coworkers. I hope Samsung sticks with these models. I love what they’ve done so far and I’m looking forward to where folding phones will take us in the future.
