Many improvements have made the Galaxy Z Fold 2 the best folding phone ever and a productivity powerhouse.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is leaps and bounds better than the original fold. And for the high price, it should be. The front display is much larger, 5G is standard, and the unsightly notch on the inside is gone. Additionally, this fold is more durable than the first Fold.
Galaxy Z Fold 2: Display
In addition to its larger size, the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s7.6 “main display boasts a120Hz refresh rate, which should allow for smoother scrolling and overall performance compared to the Galaxy Fold’s 60Hz. Additionally, the panel uses an adaptive method, which allows the refresh rate to be lowered or increased depending on the content on the screen.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s cover display does not offer a 120Hz refresh rate, but it is still much better than what the original Fold had. At 6.2 inches in size, this OLED screen is large enough to handle any task, and you can instantly resume whatever you were doing on the main display when you unfold the device.
Just keep in mind that the aspect ratio of the Z Fold 2’s cover display is narrower than that of a typical cell phone, so typing may feel a bit cramped.
Galaxy Z Fold 2: Design and Durability
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 immediately looks better than the Galaxy Fold because of the larger outer display. It no longer feels like you’re operating an Android through a peephole, because the cover screen has grown from 4.6 inches to 6.2 inches.
The internal display is also larger, at 7.6 inches on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from7.3 inches on the previous model. Even better, the ugly notch on the main screen is gone, replaced by a small notch for the selfie camera.
Samsung also made several enhancements to make the Galaxy Z Fold 2 more durable and easier to use. These include a new, sturdier Ultra Thin Glass display designed to give the touch screen a better feel than the plastic screen Fold, and Hideaway hinges with Sweeper Technology to prevent dust and dirt from entering.
Like the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s hinge uses a CAM mechanism that allows the screen to be positioned in multiple positions. It is also narrower than before, although there is still a gap between the two sides when the phone is closed.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 comes in two colors: mystic bronze and mystic black. However, if you order from Samsung.com, you can choose from four hinge colors. They are Metallic Silver, Metallic Gold, Metallic Red, and Metallic Blue.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 measures 6.2 x 2.6 x 0.66 inches closed and 6.2 x 5 x 0.27 inches open, making its lightly shorter but wider than the previous model. The Z Fold2 is also heavier, weighing 9.9 ounces compared to the original model’s 9.48 ounces. Using the phone for a few minutes to type a message certainly felt a bit taxing.
Another disappointment: the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is not waterproof, so you can’t get it wet like other flagship models.
Galaxy Z Fold 2: Performance
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is powered by a Snapdragon 865 Plus processor along with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage (UFS3.1). As such, we can expect similar performance to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
In Geek bench 5, which measures overall performance, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 scored 3,193 in the multi-core portion. The Note 20 Ultra with the same chip was slightly higher at 3,294 and the Asus ROG Phone 3 recorded 3,393. iPhone 11 Pro was the fastest at 3,500.
In the GFX Bench graphics test, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 recorded 1,461 frames in the Aztec Ruins (High Tier) off-screen benchmark, while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra recorded 1,455 frames and the iPhone 11 Pro recorded 1, The iPhone 11 Pro had 1, 657 frames.
Overall, the Z Fold 2 offered smooth performance, but we did notice the occasional minor software glitch; the YouTube app sometimes didn’t change after switching screen modes, but restarting the app fixed the problem.
As for 5G, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 supports both mm Wave and sub-6GHz, so there should be no problems connecting to 5G networks where coverage is available. Central New Jersey did not offer the best results; on AT&T’s network, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 download speed was only 22 Mbps, but on T-Mobile it was much faster at 122 Mbps at the same location.
The Z Fold 2 also supports Ultra Wide band Technology, so it can take advantage of Samsung’s Nearby Share feature to quickly share files with other compatible devices (only the Note 20 Ultra so far).
Galaxy Z Fold 2 Cameras
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a 12MP main wide-angle camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of view, and a 12MP telephoto lens with2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom.
The shooting begins to be really fun with the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s unique camera features. For example, Dual Preview allows the user to see how the subject looks on the front display while shooting. You can also use the rear camera to take higher quality selfies.
Simply activate the camera on the cover display, press the top right button, and the Z Fold 2 invites you to unfold the device and see a live preview.
Another perk is that you can stand the Galaxy Z Fold 2 in a laptop-like mode and use a feature called auto framing to keep the subject in focus when shooting video. Flex mode also allows users to view recent photos on the bottom half of the screen while keeping the live preview on the top half.
Software and Flex Mode
One of the complaints we had with the Galaxy Fold was that many apps felt like nothing more than an enlarged phone app in tablet mode. However, Samsung has addressed this shortcoming with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
For example, in Gmail, users could see messages on the left and the body of the email on the right. Also, in Slack, contacts were displayed on the left and messages on the right. To see these changes, the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s display had to be oriented in landscape mode, but it made a big difference in productivity. It also makes the Galaxy Z Fold 2 feel more like a laptop. Samsung also promises an optimized viewing experience with Microsoft Office and YouTube.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s flex mode gives this fold able phone versatility. Operations and settings can be displayed on one side of the display and content on the other to maximize productivity.
Using Google Duo in flex mode is a lot of fun because I can put my phone in a laptop-like position and make a video call with the other person without having to hold the device. This is something I immediately wished I could do on my iPhone.
Even cooler, you can drag and drop content from one window to another. Dropping photos from the Gallery app to an outgoing message was no problem. However, it did not work with the Google Photos app. Several Samsung apps support drag and drop, as do Microsoft 365, Gmail, Chrome, and Google Maps. Samsung’s app continuation feature has also been available since the original Galaxy Fold. This allows users to launch an app on the cover display, open the main display, and resume where they left off. This worked for most apps, but the Sky force2 game forced me to restart the app when moving to the larger canvas.
Battery life and Charging
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a 4,500mAh battery that will last most of the day. This is a step up from the Galaxy Fold’s slightly smaller 4,380mAh battery.
In our battery test, which involved continuous web surfing at a screen brightness of 150nits, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 lasted 10 hours and 10 minutes at the 60Hz display setting. However, given the Z Fold2’s size, few devices last longer than 11 hours. However, given the size of the Z Fold 2’s display, this is pretty good endurance.
As expected, the battery life of the Z Fold 2 with the display set to120Hz (adaptive) was shorter, at 9 hours and 5 minutes.
According to Itsumi, the battery life of the Z Fold 2 is quite solid. We started using it at 10:00a.m.and after a full day of heavy use, at 10:00 p.m.it had about 18%remaining.
The Z Fold 2 supports 25W fast charging, as well as fast wireless charging and Power Share reverse charging. However, the test did not yield the best results: after 30 minutes, the Z Fold 2 had 46% remaining, and we were expecting 50%.By comparison, the Note 20 Ultra recorded 56% in the same amount of time.
Verdict
Overall, however, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a classic example of a company listening to its customers and offering the wide range of improvements they asked for. At the very least, the Z Fold 2 looks less like a prototype and more like a realistic product.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2’sfront display alone is a major upgrade. I also really like the flex mode and the versatility provided by this phone. The ability to stand the device at different angles makes the Z Fold 2 feel like a whole new type of device. Also, the Mult-Active window multitasking takes a bit of learning, but it maximizes productivity.
If you want a more powerful phone and a better camera, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a better option, but Apple doesn’t have a line up innovative enough to compete with the Z Fold 2. The iPhone Flip may eventually appear, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.
Overall, I am really impressed with what Samsung has accomplished with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. This is clearly the best foldable phone ever and a sign of great things to come in this category.