Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: What we want to see

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 arguably represents the market leader in foldable phones at the moment, with a more durable folding screen, water-resistant design and compatibility with the S Pen. Another feather in the cap of the device is that it is available in a ton market, which cannot be said for the rival foldable.

As good as Samsung’s large foldable is, the device is not without its flaws and potential improvements. So here’s what we want to see from the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Better camera setup

One of the main complaints we had with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 was that the camera experience and image quality lagged behind that of Samsung’s flagship phones. That triple 12MP rear camera setup was flexible on paper, but it was inherited from the Z Fold 2 and simply delivered good but great shots.

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So we’d like to see an upgraded rear camera system in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4), but the S22 Ultra’s dual telephoto setup would be more beautiful for maximum flexibility – especially in terms of price.

A more conventional smartphone display

The Z Fold 3’s smartphone screen has a ridiculous 25: 9 aspect ratio, which makes for a very long and slender display. It was designed for an ergonomic design and was suitable for Twitter and Reddit, but it also had some major flaws, such as extremely awkward typing. So here’s to expecting Samsung to go with the new foldable for a more conventional screen size and shape ratio.

Improve the under-display selfie camera

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung’s first phone with an under-display selfie camera, used on the inner screen and a conventional front-facing camera on the outer display. Perhaps surprisingly, we thought the under-display shooter took gentle, noisy shots even in ideal conditions.

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In addition to the actual image quality, the smoke produced by this camera was also very noticeable on the foldable screen. So we want to see if Samsung solves the discomfort and / or image quality when stuck with an under-display selfie camera this year.

Shorten the display crease

One aspect that surprised many people when the first foldable phones were released was the display crease in the folding line. Samsung has worked hard to reduce the crease of the three-generation foldable, but it’s still something you’ll notice today.

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We hope that the display crease of Galaxy Z Fold 4 has been further reduced, as rival foldables like Oppo Find N and Honor Magic V seem to have made progress in this regard. We still don’t expect the crease to disappear completely, but of course there is a chance to reduce it.

Options for per-screen display

Simply put, I’d like to see display options on a per-screen basis. For example, I rarely use auto-rotate on the external screen, but I use it much more on the main display. This would also be great if the refresh rate options vary by screen, so that your smartphone’s screen can be at 60Hz and the foldable display can run as fast (or vice versa).

Some measure of dust resistance

One of the best things about Samsung’s 2021 foldable is that they are water-resistant. This is a remarkable achievement due to the challenges associated with designing a foldable phone in the first place. Don’t believe it? Well, the rival foldables are still not water-resistant.

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Unfortunately, Z Fold 3 lacks any kind of dust resistance. This means you still need to treat some situations with care. We would like to see this solution from Samsung offering a kind of dust resistance in Galaxy Z Fold 4. We’re not expecting a top-level IP6x rating, but an IP5x rating would still be great for being foldable.

Dex mode on foldable screen

Samsung’s Dex is one of the best experiences around, giving you a complete desktop-like user interface when connecting a flagship device with an external monitor. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 actually has Dex, but we want to see Dex on the device. Thus, you get a full-fledged desktop UI on the foldable screen, which allows you to treat the device like a netbook.

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This will not be unprecedented though, as Samsung already lets its high-end tablets run in dex mode on the tablet screen. So this is another feature that we are adding to our Galaxy Z Fold 4 favorites list, even if the foldable screen is not as wide as the flagship tablet display.