14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung was, is, and will probably remain the world’s number one smartphone company, and if you’re wondering why, just check out the photo gallery in this review and you’ll certainly get it.
The South Korean company has long been an innovator, no matter what others say, with Samsung often the first big name to invest in new tech that eventually became mainstream.
Back in the days when we imagined 2020, this was the year when flying cars were supposed to be more common, with robots in every household to do all the work for us, while people had nothing else to do than just sit on their sofas and watch Netflix all day long.
We’re not quite there yet, and if it’s not already clear, 2020 certainly had different plans for us. But in terms of the tech revolution, the giants out there are certainly looking into it. And Samsung is one of the companies ready to change the way we use a smartphone.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 is the company’s new foldable smartphone for the 2020 lineup, and it comes with a ton of refinements versus its predecessor. It also adds new capabilities and improves the existing ones in a way that gives hope this form factor is here in the long term.
In fact, there’s no other way to go now, as Samsung’s investments in foldable phones have caught the attention of other large tech companies out there. Everybody wants to build foldable phones now, and Apple itself is believed to be working on such an iPhone, with the ETA reportedly set for 2022.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 is impressive in almost regard (there’s a reason I actually highlighted almost, and you’ll figure out why later in this review), from the moment you turn it on to the one you connect it to a charger. It’s not only a new Samsung phone, it’s a new-generation product altogether, and simply holding it in hand proves the future is here.
The display of the phone is the one getting all the attention, and it’s no surprise why. It’s a foldable screen with a refined Hideaway Hinge and a small crest that’s harder to notice but is still there.
When folded, the Galaxy Z Fold2 is fully usable thanks to the mode Samsung calls “Cover Screen.” It has a 6.2-inch display that you can use just like you do with any other smartphone, though its aspect ratio might make you think you’re actually holding the TV remote rather than a mobile phone. It gets a while to get used to it, especially given it’s rather chunky, but Samsung is working heavily on making the device thinner and thus improving the experience with the device overall.
This Cover Screen mode lets you use the device like a typical smartphone, so you can text, play games, make phone calls, pretty much the usual stuff. Unfold it and the magic begins.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 features a 7.6-inch Samsung Ultra Thin Glass display that uses the first-ever foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X. This is another way of saying you’re getting an insane display on an insane device, and if you still didn’t believe Samsung makes the best screens in the world, there you go.
One of the best things about the “unfolded” experience is the so-called Flex mode Viewing, which allows you to set up the screens at any angle you want. In other words, you can even convert the Galaxy Z Fold2 into a small portable laptop, and even though it’s really odd to use this way, at least at first, you’ll get used to it eventually.
The tablet mode is the one showing just how awesome the Samsung display actually is. Vivid colors, good saturation, and strong brightness, all are details you’d normally expect from a Samsung screen, and the Galaxy Z Fold2 has them all.
The device features a plastic screen protector that should really stay in place, and despite Samsung insisting on the Ultra Thin Glass moniker, this doesn’t feel like glass by any means. Instead, it has a somewhat soft plastic-like feedback to the touch, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the device overall gets a cheap feeling or anything like that.
No, it’s just the approach Samsung has used to make sure the Galaxy Z Fold2 is more durable, and given foldable phones are still in their early days, this is perfectly fine.
Using the Galaxy Z Fold2 is a totally unique experience from one end to another, especially when the screens are unfolded. Apps can span across the entire screen estate, be displayed separately on each part of the display, or you can even run multiple apps side by side because why shouldn’t you since there’s such a large panel in front of you.
Loading websites in the Samsung Internet browser is a delight on the Fold2, though watching YouTube videos still requires additional polishing given the aspect ratio when unfolded. But the best of all is that you can actually load a YouTube video on one part of the screen and do something else on the other.
Remember Microsoft’s obsession to be productive on the go? This is the device that allows you to do everything anytime, anywhere, though as I said earlier, it takes a while until you get used to everything it does.
Let’s be honest about it: the Galaxy Z Fold2 is not a perfect device. It’s not even close to this important milestone, but right now, it’s the best most innovative smartphone, period.
But it has its own shortcomings too, and one of them is weight. Tipping the scales at 282 grams, the Fold2 is almost twice as heavy as the Galaxy S20, and carrying it in a pocket is quite a challenge given in chunky appearance. Again, this is something that you must get used to in the long term, and if you think the Galaxy Z Fold2 isn’t the right device for you just because of this, well, I’m sorry to tell you this is the future and sooner or later all of us might have to embrace it.
The Fold2 isn’t IP68-rated, which means it’s not waterproof, something that has become rather common on new-generation phones. But really know, taking a shower with a smartphone is something almost nobody does anyway, not even those owning an iP68-rated phone, so this isn’t such a big problem. On the other hand, it might be if you accidentally spill some liquid on the Fold2, so you’d better be careful not to do it.
Leaving the 120Hz display aside, there’s something else that needs to be mentioned in the camera department. The Fold2 comes with five different cameras, three of them on the back, namely standard, ultrawide, and telephoto, each with 12 megapixels. There are also two 10-megapixel cameras on the front – one of them is embedded in the Cover Screen, while the other one is available in the tablet mode.
Needless to say, this isn’t the camera setup you find on the Galaxy Note20, which right now has the best camera setup in Samsung’s lineup, but it’s not far either. However, it’s important to keep in mind the Galaxy Z Fold2 is not about camera performance, so you won’t be disappointed if you know exactly what to expect.
On the other hand, these cameras can still take good photos, though you obviously won’t get the top-notch performance you’d otherwise be spoiled with by the Note20 Ultra.
Colors aren’t as accurate as they are on the Note, and taking pictures in motion is quite a challenge. But I must admit I rarely took photos with the Galaxy Z Fold2, most likely because of its form factor that makes it rather strange to hold in hand and take a photo. Using a standard phone for the whole thing feels more natural, but again, this is most likely the future and everything would become the new normal rather sooner than later.
Because of the screen protector we discussed earlier, you’re not getting an S Pen, and you won’t even be able to use it should you buy a stylus separately. That’s a shame though, as given the fantastic screen estate, the experience with the S Pen would have been great.
There are all kinds of gimmicks that you get on the Galaxy Z Fold2, and one of them is called Dual Preview. What this feature does is enable both screens when taking a picture, so the person in front of you would basically see where you’re focusing and adjust accordingly. In other words, you can easily adjust your pose correctly before the shutter button is pressed.
Power on the Fold2 comes from the Snapdragon 865 Plus, regardless of the market where it’s being sold. In other words, international markets are finally getting the Qualcomm chip, so we’re no longer being stuck with Exynos, the processor that has proven to be inferior on so many occasions.
The processor is paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is quite surprising especially given a microSD card slot is missing. And since we’re talking about a device that can do all sorts of stuff, it’s kind of unexpected not to be able to get more storage in one way or another. Cloud storage is pretty much the only way to go if you need more space for your files.
Like all the new Samsung phones, the Galaxy Z Fold2 supports 5G speeds, and it also comes with the typical feature arsenal like Samsung DeX and support for Android Auto when connected to a head unit inside a vehicle.
The battery life of the Galaxy Z Fold2 isn’t fantastic, that’s for sure. But it’s pretty hard to be anyway. The device comes with a 4,500 mAh unit, and given the large screen, the powerful processor, and all the other gimmicks that we already talked about, it’s pretty clear that providing enough power for more than a day is quite a challenge.
In theory, the Galaxy Z Fold2 should be able to get you through the day, but I found myself plugging it after some 16 hours of heavy usage – this is something that’s not really surprising since I used it like a maniac, mostly with the screen unfolded.
While a 25W charger is shipped with the phone, a 45W adapter is also available from Samsung, so in theory, you should be ready to go in a little over one hour.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Galaxy Z Fold2 is the living proof the smartphone market hasn’t reached the point where innovation is no longer possible, and fortunately, Samsung’s investments in this form factor have caught the attention of other tech giants that are now joining the foldable device frenzy with their own models.
The Fold2 shouldn’t by any means be judged from a specs perspective, and this is the reason I didn’t focus too much on the hardware inside the phone. The magic here is the foldable experience and how it sets a new standard for the entire mobile industry, and the more you use it, the more obvious it becomes this is the future of the smartphone.
It’s hard to imagine everyone using a foldable smartphone, and while I expect the adoption of this form factor to improve at a slower pace, especially given the hefty price tag, each generation should make these devices more appealing for more and more buyers.
At this point, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is pretty much the best option if you want to see what the future is like. It’s a $2,000 experience, but it’s totally worth it.
