Fold 2

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 - 30 Things You Didn't Know!

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 has now officially been unveiled by Samsung. This is by far the Phone that I’m most excited for this year so, without any further ado, here are 30 things you probably didn’t know about it! 

1) New Hinge Mechanism 

There is a brand new Hinge mechanism that now allows the Fold to stay open at pretty much any angle that you want, just like the Z Flip did. This means that you can actually prop it up and take a selfie or a group photo using the Front, or even the Back-Facing Camera Module. There are over 60 individual components in this new Hinge and Samsung said that they’ve tried over 100 different prototypes and approaches to make this possible. 

2) Video Controls 

Something else that you can do with this, is keep it semi-open and have certain video controls on the bottom screen while you’re watching a video on the top screen. This could easily be updated for Games as well so that you get the controls on the bottom and the Game itself on the top Display. 

3) Personalise the Hinge

Speaking of the Hinge, when you order your Galaxy Fold 2, you can now customise it. This isn’t live on 'samsung.com' just yet, but you will be able to change the colour of the Hinge when you order your Fold 2 through their website. 

4) Dust Protection

The technology in the Hinge has been massively updated in the Z Fold2 (Source: Samsung)

The technology in the Hinge has been massively updated in the Z Fold2 (Source: Samsung)

Something that I was hoping to be improved with the Fold 2, and it finally has, is Dust Protection. Samsung is calling this the most advanced Hinge design ever, even more so than the mechanism that the Z Flip introduced, with the whole structure of the Phone reinforced to make the Fold more durable to drops and dust.

In fact, they even showed ‘JerryRigEverything’s’ dust and dirt test for the original Fold to point out that they’re now using smaller sweepers in the Hinge, similar to the ones used by Dyson Vacuum Cleaners to keep the debris out. 

5) Water Resistance 

Water Resistance is here too, to some extent at least. Even-though Samsung has not confirmed this directly, Max Weinbach says that the Fold 2 has an Anti-Erosion Waterproof Coating on the main internal components of the Motherboard. It’s not waterproof per se, but it will help survive a quick drop in water or possibly even withstand rain, if you get caught in it.

6) No Wireless Earbuds

Unfortunately, if you were a fan of the free Galaxy Buds that came in the box of the Fold 1, Samsung would not be including any free Headphones inside the box of the Fold 2. Personally, I was hoping of some free Galaxy Buds Live this time, but it seems like this won’t be the case. 

7) Free Galaxy Buds Live 

Or is it? Speaking of the Buds Live, if you pre-order a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you do get a pair of Galaxy Buds Live for free. Samsung hasn’t said if they will be doing the same thing for the Fold 2, but I would expect them to do so.

If you do get your Fold after the pre-order window has closed, you would not be able to claim the free Galaxy Buds Live anymore. 

8) Premium Box

However, the box that the Fold 2 comes in is still as premium as before. It’s a gigantic box, which makes me think that Samsung has bundled a few things inside, possibly a free case again. The box itself opens in a unique way so the unboxing experience itself is indeed very premium.

9) Thinner 

Now, one of my main complaints with the Fold 1 was that it was quite thick, especially when closed down. Luckily, Samsung has made some massive improvements here.

First, the entire device is thinner when unfolded. It was still pretty thin before at just 6.9mm, but now it is just 6mm when unfolded.

When folded or closed down, Samsung has managed to make the Hinge close flatter, so the gap that was previously quite big is now noticeably smaller, making the device thinner when closed due to both of these improvements. 

10) Heavier 

Unfortunately, there is no way of making so many improvements to a device without increasing its weight. The Fold 2 is now heavier at 279g, compared to the 263g of the Fold 1. 

11) Camera System

This is very similar to what we saw on the S20’s, but it’s hard to complain at that.

This is very similar to what we saw on the S20’s, but it’s hard to complain at that.

Speaking of improvements, I’m a bit disappointed when it comes to the Camera Module. Rather than this being the Note 20 Ultra’s Camera System, it is actually the same Camera Module as on the Galaxy S20, for the most part. We have a Main 12MP, f/1.8 Aperture Module, which is the same exact one as on the S20’s, with larger Pixels and a larger Sensor overall. I’m very happy with this, as that was an incredible Camera.

The second Module is a 12MP, f/2.2 Aperture, Ultra-Wide Angle Module, the same as on the S20’s. However, the Telephoto Module is not quite as good. 

12) No 64MP

On the S20’s, we have a 64MP Telephoto Module with which you can have 30x Digital Zoom. Unfortunately, the Fold 2 only has a 12MP Module, which gives you a 2x Optical Zoom and 10x Digital. 

13) No 8K

Not only that, but because there is no 64MP Module, there is also no 8K Video Recording on the Fold 2. This is something that we’ve had on all the S20’s as well as both Galaxy Note 20’s. 

14) Why No S-Pen?

Now, one of the early rumors was that the Fold 2 will include an S-Pen, this was one of my main requests as well. I’m not a massive user of the S-Pen myself, but I do have to say that having it on a device as big as the Fold 2 would make a lot of sense.  Unfortunately, there is no S-Pen at all.

Samsung did actually make an official statement on this, saying that they engineered the Fold 2 to have its own special qualities that are suited for Foldables, which makes me think that they couldn’t do it as of yet. My initial guess was that they couldn’t do it, as they would need to make the tip of the S-Pen extremely soft in order for it not to damage the Display. But, if it is really soft, it would flex when you press harder and then the plastic body of the S-Pen itself could touch the Display, which would easily damage it. 

It could also be a case where Samsung wanted to make a thinner Fold 2 and they just couldn’t have done that if they had the S-Pen inside.

15) 120Hz 

Now, one of the big improvements that the Fold 2 gets is a 120Hz Refresh Rate Display, which is absolutely nuts on such a massive Display. 

This jump in Refresh Rate is definitely something you’ll notice.

This jump in Refresh Rate is definitely something you’ll notice.

We don’t yet know if the Display will be able to run at Native Resolution whilst also running at 120Hz.The S20’s can only run at 120Hz if you turn down the Resolution to 1080p and the exact same applies to the Note 20’s, including the Note 20 Ultra. Now, the Fold 2 has a much larger Display, it’s pretty much a compact Tablet really, so we definitely do need this Display to run in Native Resolution as even the text on the Galaxy S20 Ultra was a bit blurry when running the Display in 1080p. We don’t know if Samsung will allow us to do this, but the good news is that the Resolution on the Fold 1 was fixed, you couldn’t change it. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Native Resolution at 120Hz. 

16) One CPU Model

Now, what gives me hope in terms of this, is the fact that the Fold 2 would only come with one CPU model, as opposed to the Galaxy S20’s or even the Note 20’s. These come with either an Exynos 990 Processor, if you buy the International Version of those Phones, or the Snapdragon 865.

The Fold 2, same as the US Version of the Note 20 Ultra, will feature the Snapdragon 865+ Processor. Since there’s no Exynos at all, and the Snapdragon is around 20-30% more powerful, we could see 120Hz at Native Resolution. 

17) Inner 60Hz 

The Inner Display would still be a 60Hz Panel. 

18) Outer Display Improvements

However, this Display has received some massive improvements, with the biggest one being in terms of the size.The Fold 1 had a tiny 4.6” Display with gigantic Bezels that I was almost never using, but this time we have a 6.23” Bezel-less Display with just a single Punch-Hole Camera Cutout, making this Panel fully usable now. 

19) Inner Display Improvements

The Inner Display is now bigger, more fluid and has that Notch is now gone (Source: Samsung).

The Inner Display is now bigger, more fluid and has that Notch is now gone (Source: Samsung).

But, there are also big changes are on the Inner Display. 

Aside from the 120Hz Refresh Rate, this Display is also getting larger from 7.3”, to 7.6”. Not only that, but that massive Notch has been replaced by a single Camera Cutout, just like on the front, and Samsung has also made this Display way more durable. Just like on the Z Flip, Samsung is using UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass). 

So, the Display assembly is now: a Plastic Layer, then the UTG underneath that, then the Display Panel itself and then the UMC (Under-Metal Cushion). All of these make the Display much more durable than ever before. 

20) LTPO

Speaking of the Display, the Inner Display is also an LTPO Panel, meaning that it can dynamically adjust the Refresh Rate based on the content that you’re watching. It can go from 120Hz, all the way down to 60Hz, 30Hz or even 1Hz, in order to improve Battery Life.

21) Battery 

In terms of the Battery, this is now a larger 4500mAh Battery, compared to the 4235mAh that we had on the original Fold. 

22) Faster Charging

Speaking of the Battery, Fast Charging has also been improved with support of up to 25W Charging, compared to the 15W we had on the Fold One. 

23) Storage Dropped

The amount of Storage that you get has been dropped to 256GB from 512GB, which I think that’s fine. But there are rumors that this wasn’t made to decrease the price, but rather to be able to keep the price the same as before. The price itself is not known yet.

24) SD Support

Speaking of Storage, there is no SD Card Support on the Fold 2 and since 256GB is apparently the only capacity that Samsung will be offering, you will be stuck with that amount of Storage. 

25) Fingerprint Reader 

No In-Display Fingerprint Reader, but we do have the next best thing (Source: Samsung).

No In-Display Fingerprint Reader, but we do have the next best thing (Source: Samsung).

Now, in case you’re wondering if we’re getting an In-Display Fingerprint Reader this time, the answer is no. This is still a Side-Mounted Fingerprint Reader. But, Samsung have indeed mounted it onto the Power Button, as opposed to having a Power Button and then a separate Fingerprint Reader Sensor next to it, like they did with the Fold 1. 

26) Frosted Back

Source: Samsung

Source: Samsung

The back of the Fold does indeed have a Frosted Glass texture, but we don’t yet know if this is just on the Gold Model or the Black one as well. The press images seem to show the Black Model as being Frosted as well, while Samsung’s own 3D Viewer on their own website seems to show this as Regular Glass. 

27) New Leather Case

Apparently, there is a new Leather Case that is now made out of a single piece, rather than two pieces, and I believe it stretches over the Hinge rather than leaving it open, like we had with the Fold 1’s Leather Case. 

28) Thom Browne Edition

As with the Z Flip, the Z Fold2 is part of a Limited Edition ‘Thom Browne’ set (Credit: Samsung).

As with the Z Flip, the Z Fold2 is part of a Limited Edition ‘Thom Browne’ set (Credit: Samsung).

Just like the Z Flip, Samsung will be selling a more exclusive Thom Browne version of it, which will be more expensive. But, you also get a Thom Browne Edition Galaxy Watch 3, as well as Thom Browne Galaxy Buds Live, included in that gigantic box. 

29) 2011

Samsung has stated that work on their first Fold started in 2011, which is the same year that Samsung demoed their Flexible Displays at CES 2011 for the very first time. 

30) 5G and Foldables 

Moving forward, Samsung has confirmed that their main focus would be on Foldable devices, as well as 5G, with more more Foldables being released in the future. 

31) Updates for Three Generations

Finally, interestingly enough, Samsung has also confirmed that you would be getting software updates for the next three Generations moving forward, which is an incredible move.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 - The iPhone 12 Killer?

As some of you might know, the Samsung Galaxy Fold has been a true game-changer for me. It has finally re-ignited my excitement for new Smartphones because, ever since the first iPhone, Smartphones haven’t really changed that much, aside from just getting larger Displays, thinner Bezels and better Cameras. The Fold finally delivered something new. An innovative experience unlike anything I’ve seen since 2008, when I got my iPhone 3G.

You can watch our full Review video on the Galaxy Fold, where I talk about how much this has changed the way I use a Smartphone. The Galaxy Fold is now my main Smartphone that I use, so this why I am so excited for the Fold 2. The improvements that we’re getting are gigantic in every single way, so without any further ado, here are all the latest Leaks & Rumors and everything we know so far, in terms of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2!

Design

Design wise, Max Weinbach reports that Samsung could release three models of the Galaxy Fold 2. This is just a rumour and not 100% confirmed. According to Max, one Fold 2 model would have an Ultra Thin Glass Display, so just like the Galaxy Z Flip, while the other two would be lower-end and would have the same plastic Display as the original Fold.   Apparently, the code-names for these are ‘Winner2’ and ‘Champ’.

Now, just to make it clear, the Z Flip did not have a regular Glass Display, ‘JerryRigEverything’ showed us that the Z Flip did have a plastic layer on top of that ultra-thin Glass Display and that plastic layer, if it was damaged, would render the Display useless. At the end of the day, they both break as easily so it doesn’t really matter if one’s plastic or if one has glass underneath that plastic layer. 

Max also says that Samsung could release a Fold 2e, priced at just $1100. That would be insane as this would be a Foldable Tablet, which is the way Foldables should be. There’s no point in folding a regular Smartphone other than to look cool. But anyway, having a Foldable Tablet, for just $1100, when the Fold 1 was $2000, would finally bring Foldable Smartphones to the every-day consumer, that’s so awesome! According to Max, Samsung will be making some tradeoffs, in terms of the number of Cameras and the Outer Display, which will either be smaller or even removed entirely.

Industry insider Ross Young tells a similar story. Samsung will be selling a Galaxy Fold at just $1100 but rather than this being the Fold Lite that Max talked about, this would be a Fold Special Edition, which will literally just be a Galaxy Fold 1 at a lower price. This is so Samsung could get rid of the remaining inventory. Now, both Ross and Max are very reliable sources, so I believe that they’re both correct and in that case, we would essentially get two models of the Fold 2, with that Fold 1 Special Edition as well.

The design of the original Fold was a breath of fresh air, but can it be better?

The design of the original Fold was a breath of fresh air, but can it be better?

Max Weinbach has also now reported a few more details about the Fold Lite recently, saying that it would be 4G only and that it would come with 256GB of Storage, rather than 512GB. He also said that it would come in two colours, Mirror Black and Mirror Purple. The Display would be just plastic, like previously reported, and Max also says that it would be equipped with a mix of 2018, 2019 and 2020 parts. It would also have a smaller Outer Display, similar to the one on the Z Flip. It will be available internationally and come with the Snapdragon 865 Processor, an Aluminium & Glass Enclosure (rather than Stainless Steel and Glass) and the price is again said to be $1100. So, we have both the Fold Lite and the Fold 1 Special Edition at $1100, which is a bit odd. I don’t really see Samsung selling both at the same price, but we’ll see. What’s definitely looking to be certain for now is that Samsung will indeed have at least one affordable Galaxy Fold 2 model at around that $1100 price point.

Now, what about the actual high-end Galaxy Fold 2? The one that likely has that ‘Champ’ codename. Well, design wise, my main complaint with the Fold 1 was that it was extremely think when closed. At 17.1mm at its thickest point, the Fold was almost as thick as a Nokia 3310, when closed.

However, if you take a look at the Hinge, you can probably tell that the Fold doesn’t actually close flat. Instead, the Hinge itself has this wedge shape, meaning that if the Fold were to close perfectly flat, it would be much thinner, at 15.7mm thick. The Galaxy Z Flip for example, which was released after the Galaxy Fold, does indeed use a brand new Hinge design, which not only closes almost flat but it also has these fibres inside that help keep dust out. Overall, they would add to the durability of the Fold significantly.

Now, my second complaint with the Fold 1 was that the Outer Display being way too small. The Bezels on that Outer Display are also just way too big. Luckily, this will also be improved with the Fold 2. According to Max Weinbach, the Fold 2 will have an Infinity V Display on the front, meaning that the Bezels would now be removed pretty much entirely. We’ll have a Full-Screen Display, which would only be interrupted by that single ‘V’-shaped Front-Facing Camera Cutout. That would be such a big change in just a year. The Display is also reported to be getting wider. Ross Young reports that the Main Display would now be a 7.59” Panel, up from the 7.3” Panel that we had before. So, the whole device is getting a bit wider.

In terms of the colours, Max Weinbach claims that it would come in Blue, Silver, Gold, Pink as well as Black, with both Ceramic and Stainless Steel finishes.  So, Samsung is definitely planning on making the Fold 2 a bit more fun and even more premium at the same time. 

Display

Right, let’s get into some juicy Display specifics.

We’ll get that 7.59” Panel on the inside with a 2213x1689 Resolution, again according to Ross Young, a well known Display Analyst. The PPI would be 372 and the Refresh Rate would be 120Hz, which is amazing.

120Hz on a Foldable Smartphone would be insane and not something that we would have expected on the second generation.

120Hz on a Foldable Smartphone would be insane and not something that we would have expected on the second generation.

Not only that, but it will also be an LTPO Panel, which will consume significantly less power and also allow for a Variable Refresh Rate, which the S20 line didn’t get. Interestingly enough, Ross Young also claims that the iPhone 12 won’t have LTPO, meaning that Samsung will have a big advantage with the Fold 2 and the Note 20, over the upcoming iPhones. We would be able to have any refresh rate from 1 - 120Hz, whenever we want. 

Aside from the larger Display, the higher Resolution, the 120Hz adjustable Refresh Rate and the UTG Panel, another big Display improvement is that we no longer get that massive Notch on the top right. Instead, we would have a single Camera Cutout, just like on the Galaxy S20’s. We don’t really know if this would be centred or to the side, but if I were to guess, I would say that it would very likely be to the side. As you know, the Fold would fold in the middle, so you cannot really have a Camera there. This is why we’ve modelled ours with the Punch-Hole Camera to the right.

When it comes to the Outer Display’s specifics, according to Ross Young, this would be a 6.23” Display. A massive size increase from the 4.6” Panel that we had on the original Fold. The Resolution is said to be 2267x819, another massive upgrade. However, the Refresh Rate will be 60Hz. 

So, some pretty big improvements when it comes to the Display and honestly, I wasn’t even asking for 120Hz, just a larger Outer Display. It’s pretty amazing to see that Samsung will be bringing such a massive upgrade to the Fold 2.

Camera

Moving on to the Camera, the Fold 1 had some pretty good Cameras. It had six Cameras: one front Camera on the Outer Display, two front Cameras on the Inner Display and then three more on the back. Now, these Cameras were exactly the same ones as we got in the Galaxy S10+, which were outstanding, but now we’re in 2020 and those Cameras are indeed a bit outdated.

So, as expected, the Fold 2  will come with the same Cameras that the S20 came with. Luckily, it won’t come with the S20 Ultra’s Cameras but instead, the S20+’s Cameras.  The S20 Ultra did have a ton of issues with the Camera, ranging from very poor Low-Light performance, especially when recording video, to focusing issues including blown out highlights and crushed shadows. I covered all of that in the full S20 Ultra Review, so make sure you check it out in case you missed it. But the Fold 2, just like the S20+, won’t have any of those issues.This means that, on the front, we would have the same 10MP, f/2.2 Module that is capable of recording in 4K60, just like on the S20 & S20+.

Don’t worry, we won’t be getting the S20 Ultra’s Camera system.

Don’t worry, we won’t be getting the S20 Ultra’s Camera system.

The same goes for the Inner Display. It’ll just be one Camera and no Notch with multiple Modules or anything like that. Finally, on the back, the Main Module would be a 12MP, f/1.8 Module with Dual Pixel Autofocus. Then, according to Ross, it seems like we’ll have a 16MP Ultra-Wide Module, as opposed to the 12MP Ultra-Wide Module on the S20’s. That Ultra-Wide Module is usually pretty bad in Low-Light, so a lower Megapixel count is actually preferred here.

Finally, the third Module would be the 64MP Telephoto Module with an f/2.0 Aperture. This is the same one that the S20 and S20+ featured, which will allow you to zoom-in digitally, up to 30x. Not only that, but you can use this Module to take some very high Resolution 64MP photos as well as record 8K video. 

So, from the looks of it, aside from that Ultra-Wide Angle Module, which looks to be identical to the one from the S10 and Galaxy Fold 1, we are getting the exact same Camera system as on the S20 & S20+.

Performance

In terms of the specs, the Fold 2 is said to come with the Snapdragon 865. Now, we don’t know if Samsung will also release another variant, with the Exynos 990 Processor, but I really hope they don’t.

The Snapdragon 865 variants of the S20’s have all significantly outperformed the Exynos 990 variants in both performance as well as Battery Life. Even when it came to heat management, the Snapdragon models were always on top. The Fold 1 only came with a Snapdragon Processor, so I really do hope that this is the case again with the Fold 2. With the RAM, we don’t have a confirmation on this just yet, but it’s likely going to be the same 12GB that we had on the Fold 1, possibly even with 16GB on the high-end model. Storage is expected to remain the same at 512GB, but the Fold Lite is said to come in 256GB as well.

Special Features

Moving on to the special features, there are a few things that I would’ve loved to see in the Fold 1, such as Water Resistance, Dust Resistance and an S-Pen. Samsung is actually bringing one of those to the Fold 2 and that is…the S-Pen!

The original Fold had very few short-comings but the ones it had, made it quite fragile.

The original Fold had very few short-comings but the ones it had, made it quite fragile.

According to Max Weinbach, the Fold 2 will actually come with an S-Pen, a new form of S-Pen that is. This makes me think that Samsung has come up with a softer S-Pen that won’t damage that thin plastic foil on the screen that’s required for the Fold 2 to work. This could be another reason why the Fold 2 is getting larger, to make room. This was also reported by Ross Young, so S-Pen support is looking very likely now.

Aside from this, unfortunately, we wouldn’t be getting any other massive changes. In fact, we might even see some accessories removed from the box, such as the USB C to USB C adapter and possibly even the GalaxyBuds. If not on the high-end model, definitely on the Lite. There’s still no Water Resistance, still no dust protection and still no microSD card. But, the Ceramic Frame should now make the Fold 2 look and feel even more premium than before.

Battery

In terms of the Battery, the Fold 1 came with a fairly small 4380mAh Battery, considering that it had a massive 7.3” Display on the inside. But, thanks to that Snapdragon, and not Exynos, Processor, the Fold actually lasted for pretty much an entire day of use, for me. This is pretty much on par with my iPhone 11 Pro Max so I don’t really have anything to complain about, in terms of that.

The Battery will be getting larger with the Fold 2. However, we don’t yet know the exact specifics. Considering that we’re also getting an S-Pen inside, I would be surprised if the Battery ends up being any bigger than 4800mAh.

Fast Charging will be improved from 15W to 25W, just like on the S20’s. It could even be 45W like the S20 Ultra, however the Charger that you’ll get inside the box would likely still be a 25W Charger. Wireless Charging is still there at 15W and Reverse Wireless Charging will still be at 9W, just like on the S20’s. 

Release Date

So, what about the release date? When is the Fold 2 coming out?

Well, according to Ross Young, the Fold 2 will be announced alongside the Galaxy Note 20 in August, which would make a lot of sense since the Fold 2 will also have an S-Pen, just like the Note line. In terms of when it would ship, this is set to be in September 2020. This way it would also compete with the new iPhone 12’s.

Price 

And finally, you’re all probably wondering, how much will the Fold 2 cost? The Fold 1 was already an extremely expensive device, at $1980.

Well, according to Ross Young, the price will be between $1780 and $1980, making it possibly $200 cheaper than the original Fold. That’s pretty nuts. We’re getting a larger Outer Display, thinner Bezels, a larger Inner Display, no Notch, a 120Hz Refresh Rate, improved Cameras, a faster Processor, an S-Pen and it’s cheaper? We love seeing that.

Also, we should not forget about the other two Folds. The Fold Lite and the Fold 1 at a new, lower price. The Fold Lite looks likely that it will be at that $1100 price-point. So, there you go, the era of Foldables is about to hit on a pretty big scale.