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It’s almost time for Samsung to unveil its fourth generation of foldable smartphones, and we’re more excited than ever about this pathbreaking form factor. Here’s what we know about it so far.

One of the most exciting developments of recent years in the smartphone market has been the emergence of folding phones, which offer greater possibilities than standard devices thanks to

Release Date

Going by the launch pattern set by the other Galaxy Fold models, it seems like we’re not far away from the next one. Here are the release dates of previous entries in the series:

• Samsung Galaxy Fold: September 2019
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: September 2020
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: August 2021

If we’re to judge by this established trend, we can expect the Galaxy Z Fold 4 to arrive in August or September of this year, along with the sequel to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Price

Once again, we can expect the new Galaxy Z Fold to be prohibitively expensive. After all, it’s likely to boast top-end specifications all wrapped up in that daring and still somewhat experimental form factor.

Last year’s model cost $1,799 (£1,599) so it’s fair to say that you’ve got to have deep pockets to afford one of these folding phablets. We expect the Fold 4 to cost a similar amount of money, but we’ve not yet received reliable information as to a price increase or decrease this year.

Design

Ever since the very first iteration of the Galaxy Fold, there’s been a fairly similar design language. Essentially these devices have had book-like designs, with a small outer screen and a larger inner one that is revealed when it’s opened up along a vertical seam in the middle. That seems unlikely to be drastically changed, but there could be some refinements along the way.

According to the renowned internet leaker Ice Universe, who is a specialist on all things Samsung, the new Fold will apparently have a smaller bezel next to the outer screen, and the redesigned hinge seems sleeker too, going by the picture provided above.

What impressed us most about last year’s Fold was its more robust design, with this having been a point of concern among previous models in the series. Regardless of what the new one looks like, we hope it can once again be hardwearing enough to survive regular usage.

Specifications

We’ve got an extensive list of detailed information about the specification from the same source, who claims it to be “100% accurate”.

If accurate, and we have no reason to doubt its veracity, then the spec sheet has a mix of familiar holdovers from the previous model, along with a couple of noteworthy upgrades too.

The size and resolution of both the inner and outer screens are apparently the same as those of the Fold 3, while the RAM and storage options also remain unchanged. However, the camera system has clearly undergone a major rethink.

This time around, the main sensor will apparently have a 50-megapixel resolution and the telephoto camera 1 0-megapixel resolution, whereas previously all of the rear cameras offered 12-megapixels. The telephoto is also said to have 3.5x optical zoom, whereas its predecessor just stretched to 2x. The selfie camera has also seen a shake-up, now having a 10-megapixel resolution rather than last year’s 4-megapixels.

Unsurprisingly, the chipset is also in line for an upgrade. This device could be among the first to run on the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 platform, which was only recently unveiled by Qualcomm. The new silicon is reportedly 10% faster and 30% more efficient across both the CPU and GPU when compared to its forerunner, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which we’ve already seen on action on Android flagships such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro, Oppo Find X5 Pro, and the OnePlus 10 Pro.

However, you’ll not that the battery capacity (4400mAh) and the maximum charging power (25W) also seem unchanged from the Fold 3, and this is one area where we feel an upgrade could have been very welcome. That large inner screen is rather power-hungry, so you might not be able to get a full day’s heavy usage from this handset.

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