Samsung has unpacked its third generation foldable device—the Galaxy Z Fold2, now with a new Hideaway Hinge, enhanced refinements and practical improvements to its hardware and software.
As you may remember, the South Korean tech giant’s first attempt at the foldable phone was far from smooth. But in a typical Samsung way, the company owned up, listened, went back to the drawing board to improve the original Galaxy Fold.
Then came the Galaxy Z Flip, which in my opinion, is the best execution of the foldable phone yet.
Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold2 screams the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor paired to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (512GB in select markets only). No microSD expansion is available.
Samsung has uprated the battery to 4,500mAh from 4,380mAh on the original. It fast charges via USB-C and also supports fast wireless charging as well reverse wireless charging (Wireless PowerShare).
And while you’ll benefit from the uprated hardware specs, perhaps what you’ll most enjoy is the re-engineered design and craftsmanship.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 adopts the improved Hideaway Hinge with CAM mechanism and sweeper technology from the Galaxy Z Flip. This means a couple of things. Firstly, the Galaxy Z Fold2 now has Flex mode—a versatile, free-standing mode first seen on the Galaxy Z Flip. The phone is able to stand on its own from 75 to 115 degrees. Also, sweeper technology integrated within the gap between the body and hinge housing helps repel dust and particles.
Samsung didn’t just improve the design and hardware, it made sure to optimise the software to take advantage of the foldable form factor too. The new Flex mode now pairs with App Continuity, which delivers seamless transitions from the Cover to the Main Screen, and vice versa.
Thanks to the Flex mode, you can do more. With Capture View Mode, you won’t need to leave the Camera up when you review the photo or video you took. You can frame your shot on the top half of the Main Screen, and the bottom will show you the latest captures at the bottom half. That aside, Auto framing ensures that the subject is always in focus whether in videos or stills.
Pushing things further, you can simultaneously shoot the subject and photographer, using the Main and Cover Screen at the same time with Dual Preview.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 also lets you take a high-res selfie with the rear cameras with the Cover Screen acting as the viewfinder.
Samsung has worked closely with Microsoft and Google to offer seamless optimised app interactions and seamless multitasking for enhanced productivity. Whether you’re watching YouTube, reading emails on Gmail, or using PowerPoint or Excel, the app experience is fully optimised for the Galaxy Z Fold2’s Main Screen.
The versatile Multi-Active Window lets you open multiple files from the same app simultaneously and view them side by side. The UI allows you to have three resizable windows at a time.
The improved Multi-Window Tray enables you to open multiple apps at once with the integration of App Pair and the Edge Panel.
In terms of craftsmanship and build, the Galaxy Z Fold2 is undeniably premium and refined. Samsung offers an online tool to customise your Galaxy Z Fold2 with four distinct Hideaway Hinge colours—Metallic Silver, Metallic Gold, Metallic Red, and Metallic Blue.
In terms of cameras, the device comes with a triple-camera setup on the rear consisting of a 12MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS and Dual Pixel AF, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto with OIS. The camera system offers 2x optical zoom, up to 10x digital zoom, HDR10+ recording and tracking AF.
As mentioned earlier, a 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera is housed on the Main Screen while an identical unit is integrated on the over.
Audio-wise, the device comes with stereo speakers optimised with Dolby Atmos technology.
The phone supports face authentication as well as fingerprint authentication via the side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
The 5G enabled device (NSA/SA/Sub6/mmWave) features a single nano-SIM slot complemented with eSIM.
Pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 retails for USD1,999 (~MYR8,291) and is available for pre-order starting 1 September in 40 countries. Orders will ship on 18 September, the same day as in-store availability.
Just like the original Galaxy Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold2 also comes in a special edition, in collaboration with Thom Browne. The exquisite Thom Browne Edition comes in a bundled set—Galaxy Z Fold2, Galaxy Watch 3, Galaxy Buds Live, and customised accessories. It retails for USD3,299 (~MYR13,683).
For more information about the Galaxy Z Fold2, visit Samsung.
Official photos
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