About a year after releasing its first smartphone with a foldable OLED display, Samsung is ready for round two. As expected, the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 has the same basic design as the original Galaxy Fold… but more so.
There’s still a 7+ tablet-like display that folds in half to let you slide the phone into your pocket. But the new model has a slightly larger, higher-resolution screen with a higher refresh rate and a smaller camera cut-out.
Samsung’s new model also still has a smaller screen on the cover that lets you use the phone without unfolding it first. But that screen is significantly large, it’s surrounded by smaller bezels, and it makes the Galaxy Z Fold2 feel more like, well… a phone.
Under the hood, Samsung has also brought a faster processor, faster storage, and support for 5G.
Samsung says the new phone also features an updated hinge that’s designed to “repel dust and undesirable particles,” a problem that plagued early versions of the original Galaxy Fold and which led the company to delay the release of that phone.
One thing that hasn’t changed much? Foldable phones are still expensive. The original Samsung Galaxy Fold sold for $1980 at launch. The Galaxy Z Fold2 goes up for pre-order September 2nd for $2,000 and it should begin shipping September 18th.
Here are some key specs showing the differences between the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 and last year’s Galaxy Fold:
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 | Samsung Galaxy Fold | |
Primary display | 7.6 inches 2208 x 1768 pixels AMOLED 120 Hz Flexible glass | 7.3 inches 2152 x 1536 pixels AMOLED 60 Hz |
Cover display | 6.2 inches 2260 x 816 pixels AMOLED 60 Hz | 4.6 inches 1680 x 720 pixels AMOLED 60 Hz |
Rear Cameras | 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8, 1.8μm) 12MP telephoto (f/2.4, 1.0μm) 12MP ultra-wide angle (f/2.2, 1.12μm) | 16MP ultra-wide angle (f/2.2, 1.0μm) 12MP wide-angle (f/1.5 to f/2.4, 1.4μm) 12MP telephoto (f/2.4, 1.0μm) |
Cover camera | 10MP (f/2.2, 1.22μm) | 10MP (f/2.2, 1.22μm) |
Selfie camera | single camera (specs N/A) | 10MP (f/2.2, 1.22μm) 8MP RGB depth (f/1.9, 1.12μm) |
Battery | 4,500 mAh | 4,380 mAh (LTE) 4,235 mAh (5G) |
Charging | 25W (wired) 11W (wireless) Wireless PowerShare | 15W (wired) 15W (wireless) Wireless powershare |
Processor | Snapdragon 865+ | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
RAM | 12GB LPDDR5 | 12GB LPDDR4X |
Storage | 256GB UFS 3.1 | 512GB UFS 3.0 |
Security | Fingerprint reader (side) | Fingerprint reader (side) |
Dimensions | 159.2mm x 128.2mm x 6.9mm | 160.9mm x 117.9mm x 7.6mm |
Weight | 279 grams | 276 grams |
These dual screen and foldable phones are nice. Too bad they’re still outside my price range. I wonder if/when these will go for < $1000 USD and be a lot more durable/robust.
Now the price of the Surface Duo does not look so bad.