Samsung has unveiled its latest foldable smartphones – the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 – which expand the Galaxy family of devices in an exciting new direction.
The company also announced the new Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro along with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earphones.
Pre-orders for all the new Samsung devices kick off today before going on sale on September 2.
Pricing for the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are the same as last year’s models.
The new 4th generation of Samsung’s foldable devices comes at a time when the market acceptance of these products is at an all-time high.
“The new Galaxy Z Series range is the generation of foldables that will see the category become mainstream,” said Garry McGregor, Vice President, Mobile Experience Division, Samsung Electronics Australia.
“Adoption is steadily growing from the volume of foldable devices ‘in the wild’, increasing consumer online search trends, indication of purchase intent, app optimisation and more.”
Interestingly, the fastest growth in the foldables market is coming from Gen Z with this age group increasing adoption by 273 per cent in the last year.
The foldable form factor has sparked plenty of interest in the market with 28 per cent of Galaxy Z Flip customers migrating from another brand.
And while the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 are both foldable smartphones, they appeal to two distinctly different customers.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 6.2-inch front screen which unfolds to reveal a larger 7.6-inch display.
This device attracts the high-end users who see their device as a productivity tool for multitasking, working on the go and creating and consuming content.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 appeals to the design-conscious customer with a sense of style who wants a large 6.7-inch display but can fold it in half so they are not burdened with carrying a larger device.
The Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are both made from sturdy yet lightweight aluminium and have an IPX8 water resistance rating.
The Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 4nm octa-core SM8475 processor.
The cameras on both devices have also been upgraded with improved sensors to enable Nightography – the same lowlight photography capability introduced with the Galaxy S22 series.
The new foldable Galaxy devices are made from repurposed abandoned fishing nets (640,000 tons of fishing nets are abandoned and pollute the world’s oceans every year) that were transformed into a high-performance material for Galaxy technology while helping minimise the effects of plastic pollution.
SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 4
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is slightly thinner and 8g lighter than the Fold 3, but it offers a larger 6.2- inch front Dynamic AMOLED screen – that’s 2.7mm wider than the last model’s cover screen.
That space was reclaimed by making the bezels thinner rather than widening the device.
On the inside is the larger 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display – a huge canvas for users to run up to three apps simultaneously or enjoy their content on a much grander scale.
Both front and inside screens have adaptive screen refresh rates up to 120Hz.
A new feature with the Z Fold 4 is the Task Bar.
Once an app is selected, the Task Bar appears along the bottom of the screen to allow users to easily drag a second or third app on to the main screen to run simultaneously.
The S Pen can also be used once again with the Z Fold 4 and it too comes with new features including a text extraction tool which allows users to highlight passages of text to easily paste into other documents.
But the S Pen still can’t be stored inside the device like the Galaxy S22 Ultra or previous Note devices – it needs to be carried separately or stored using a special Z Fold 4 case.
On the camera side, Z Fold 4 has three lenses on the rear panel – a 12 megapixel ultra-wide, 10-megapixel telephoto with up t0 30x Space Zoom and 3x optical zoom and a 50-megapixel wide camera.
There’s also a front 10-megapixel camera and a 4-megapixel under-screen camera on the main display.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available in three colours – Phantom Black, GrayGreen and Beige.
SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP 4
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a slimmer hinge and narrower bezels with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz that can literally be folded in half to a smaller compact size.
There is a 1.9-inch front display which now offers a lot more functionality including making and answering calls, connecting to wi-fi and Bluetooth and controlling smart home devices.
The smaller screen can also be used to access Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet.
The Z Flip 4 has been designed to also improve your social media game with Flex Cam which means you can post images to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube from within these apps using the onboard cameras.
And the foldable formfactor means the Z Flip 4 can be unfolded and rested on a surface so you can take photos, shoot videos and make video calls handsfree.
Users can also frame their images from the front display and access portrait mode and shoot video.
The Z Flip 4’s main cameras are 12-megapixel wide angle and 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle with a 10-megapixel inside camera.
SAMSUNG WATCH 5 AND WATCH 5 PRO
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is available in two sizes 40mm and 44mm while the Watch 5 Pro, aimed at the more serious athlete and lover of the outdoors, has a 45mm display.
On the health side, the watches have a heart rate monitor, ECG, blood pressure monitor, blood oxygen and fall detection.
The new watches also have advanced health metrics to enable comprehensive sleep monitoring and sleep coaching to improve your sleep habits.
The Samsung Watch Pro 5 has route workout GPS navigation, turn by turn navigation and Track Back so you can return safely to your starting point if you are in unfamiliar territory.
Watch 5 Pro is 60 per cent stronger than Watch 4 thanks to enhanced sapphire crystal glass and a titanium body.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is priced at $499 (40mm, Bluetooth) and $599 (40mm LTE), $549 (44mm, Bluetooth) and $649 (44mm, LTE).
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro is priced at $799 (Bluetooth) and $849 (LTE).
SAMSUNG GALAXY BUDS 2 PRO
The new Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer a sleeker design and are 15 per cent smaller than the previous version.
The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have 24-bit support to support Hi-Res audio and have intelligent Active Noise Cancellation to block out ambient sounds.
The Ambient Mode, so you can hear your surroundings, can be activated by Voice Detect which turns off the ANC when you start talking.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also have 360-Audio so you can hear your music like never before.
Connectivity also goes to the next level with auto switch so the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can be paired to a TV as easily as they can be paired to a smartphone, tablet or computer.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will be available in Graphite, White and Bora Purple and are priced at $349.
SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 4 PRICING
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be priced at $2,499 (256GB), $2,699 (512GB) and $2,999 (1TB – Samsung Store exclusive).
BONUS OFFERS
Samsung
– Memory Upgrade (up to $300 worth of value)
– An additional trade-up bonus of $500 for Fold 4
-50 per cent off Samsung Care+
Optus
– Bonus Tab A8 (Grey 64GB), valued at $529RRP
– 3-month free 5GB connected devices data plan for the Tab A8 pre-order cohort
– 6-month free Upgrade & Protect
Vodafone
– Bonus $700 trade-in credit
– Bonus Samsung Trio Wireless Charger
Telstra
– Receive a free Galaxy Watch5, valued at up to $649
SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP 4 PRICING
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be priced at $1,499 (256GB), $1,649 (256GB), $1,849 (512GB) $1,729 (Bespoke – 256GB).
BONUS OFFERS
Samsung
– Memory Upgrade (up to $200 worth of value)
– An additional trade-up bonus of $300 for Flip 4
– 50 per cent off Samsung Care+
Optus
– Bonus Tab A8 (Grey 64GB), valued at $529RRP
– 3-month free 5GB connected devices data plan for the Tab A8 pre-order cohort
– 6-month free Upgrade & Protect
Vodafone
– Bonus $500 trade-in credit
– Bonus Samsung Trio Wireless Charger
Telstra
– Receive a free Galaxy Watch5, valued at up to $649
* Stephen Fenech travelled to New York as a guest of Samsung