Samsung’s Latest Suite Of Premium Foldables Launches Today

Games Samsung’s Latest Suite Of Premium Foldables Launches Today Mitch Wallace Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about gaming hardware, software and news. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 26, 2022, 02:58pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Galaxy Z Fold4 Credit: Samsung Happy Galaxy Z launch day for those who celebrate, because Samsung is now shipping its latest lineup of foldable tech. This includes the flagship phablet Fold4, the modern throwback Flip4, as well as accompanying hardware refreshes like the Watch5, the Watch5 Pro and the Buds2 Pro. I’ve actually been gaming early on the new Galaxy Z Fold4 this past week, and let me tell you, it’s rather something.

Up until this point, I hadn’t gotten my hands on any sort of foldable phone hardware, but the Fold4 is proving to be an insanely good gaming device. Before hands-on testing, I was really under the impression that the whole folding feature was a prohibitively expensive gimmick. Well, starting at an eye-watering $1,800 (yes, you read that right), the Fold4 is wildly expensive, though for that insane chunk of change, you’re getting what amounts to a covert tablet designed exclusively for your pocket.

Xbox Game Pass streaming looks excellent on the enormous 120Hz 7. 6-inch unfolded OLED inner display, even if there are black bars flanking the image and the screen crease is rather visible. I figured the crease would bother me when I was gaming, but honestly, I stopped noticing the imperfection after a while.

I’m sure Samsung is working feverishly on eliminating the crease for future Folds, but as of right now, I don’t find it offensive, only there . Microsoft Flight Simulator Credit: Xbox Recommended For You 1 ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date More stories like this Fewer stories like this 2 Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director More stories like this Fewer stories like this 3 ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry More stories like this Fewer stories like this The inner screen does have a strange aspect ratio (21. 6:18), which takes some getting used to, but games like Genshin Impact, which fill up the entire inner real estate, look breathtaking.

Unfolded, and with its notably thin bezels, the Fold4 simply feels better to me than a typical smartphone, especially when it comes to gaming. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor does get a bit toasty when playing at high graphics settings, though. What I don’t care for so far is the thin outer display.

If you’re at all used to something like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, this measly screen will come across as. . .

less than? Definitely not something you’ll want to game on after using the folded out inner display. Then I again, I suppose if you’re buying this phone with gaming and media in mind, you’ll be utilizing the outer area mostly for notifications and texting rather than mainline entertainment and productivity. I have a lot more to say about the Fold4, in addition to the Flip4, Watch5 Pro and Buds2 Pro, but I’ll save that for future articles that dive deeper into each of these individual devices.

For now, Samsung has some pretty decent trade-in deals and promos going on , as per usual with these product launches. However, even if you take advantage of the sales, you’ll still be paying something like $900 out-of-pocket for the Fold4. Yikes.

But hey, if you want the latest and greatest, you’re absolutely going to pay for it. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves and say that the Fold4 is a smartphone for the general masses. Still, from what I’ve tested so far, it might just be worth the plunge, though the price tag would be easier to swallow if Samsung had totally eliminated that pesky crease.

I guess we’re simply not there yet. C’est la vie. Mitch Wallace Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.