Samsung Launches New Galaxy Z Fold2 at $1999
by Andrei Frumusanu on September 1, 2020 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Samsung
- Smartphones
- Foldable
- Galaxy Z Fold 2
Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold2 had been originally announced several weeks ago alongside the Note20 series, however the company had been delaying the official launch of the phone until September. Well, September has now come and Samsung is now ready to fully unveil the specifications of the new flagship foldable phone and finally starting to take pre-orders.
The new iteration is an important generational evolution over last year’s problem-ridden Galaxy Fold, promising to notably improve some of the key weaknesses of the first design.
| Samsung Galaxy Folds | ||
| Galaxy Z Fold2 | Galaxy Fold | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ 1x Cortex A77 @ 3.1GHz 3x Cortex A77 @ 2.42GHz 4x Cortex A55 @ 1.80GHz Adreno 650 @ 670MHz |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 1x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.42GHz 4x Kryo 485 (CA55) @ 1.80GHz Adreno 640 |
| Display | Main Display: 7.6" 2208 x 1768 Foldable Dynamic AMOLED (11.25:9) Cover display: 6.2" 2260 x 816 AMOLED (25:9) |
Main Display: 7.3" 2048 x 1536 Foldable Dynamic AMOLED (4.2:3) Cover display: 4.6" 1680 x 720 Super AMOLED (21:9) |
| Dimensions | Folded: 159.2 x 68.0 x 13.8 - 16.8mm Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.0 - 6.9mm 282g |
Folded: 160.9 x 62.8 x 15.7 - 17.1mm Unfolded: 160.9 x 117.9 x 6.9mm 276g |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR5 | 12GB LPDDR4X |
| NAND | 256GB UFS3.1 | 512GB UFS3.0 |
| Battery | 4500mAh (17.41Wh) typ. | 4380mAh (16.86Wh) |
| Front Camera | Cover & Front Cameras (2x identical) 10MP 1.22μm F2.2 FOV: 80˚ |
Cover Camera: 10MP f/2.2 "Selfie camera" Front camera: 10MP f/1.9 4K video recording Front camera: 8MP, f/2.2 Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Primary Rear Camera | 83° Wide Angle 12MP 1.8µm Dual Pixel PDAF f/1.8 w/ OIS |
77° Wide Angle 12MP 1.4µm Dual Pixel PDAF Adjustable aperture f/1.5 or f/2.4 |
| Secondary Rear Camera | 123° Ultra-Wide Angle 12MP 1.12µm f/2.2 |
123° Ultra-Wide Angle 16MP 1.0µm f/2.2 |
| Tertiary Rear Camera | 45° / Telephoto lens 2x zoom 12MP 1.0µm f/2.4 w/OIS |
|
| SIM Size | ??? | NanoSIM |
| Wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| Features | They both fold | |
| Launch OS | Android 10 | Android 9.0 |
| Launch Price | $1999 | $1980 / 2000€ |
From a specification standpoint, the new Z Fold2 updates its hardware to the newest Snapdragon 865+ from Qualcomm which we’ve seen in a lot of the recent smartphone releases this summer.
Samsung opted to keep the RAM steady at 12GB, and oddly enough we’ve seen a reduction in the storage department as the Z Fold2 comes with 256GB of UFS3.1 storage, half of the 512GB of the first Galaxy Fold.
Big upgrades include a new redesigned screen with a more robust and better functioning hinge mechanism. The new display grows to 6.7” diagonal when unfolded, reaching a new 2208 x 1768 resolution.
Samsung here did away with the big corner notch with the multiple front cameras, instead opting for a hole-punch camera in the right half of the internal screen. The camera module here is a 10MP unit with 1.22µm pixels and f/2.2 optics.
A bigger display upgrade has been made on the cover display side of the phone, as the new screen grows from 4.6” to 6.2”, with much less bezel surrounding it. It’s a big change in the looks of the phone and makes the cover display significantly more usable. Samsung here also opted for a hole-punch camera at the top centre of the panel, with an identical 10MP module as the internal front camera.
In terms of the primary rear-facing cameras, the main unit has seen an upgrade to an identical module as found in the Galaxy S20 with a 12MP f/1.76” sensor with 1.8µm pixels and an f/1.8 optics with OIS.
The ultra-wide is a bit different than the original Fold in that it reduces its resolution from 16Mp to 12MP, but retains the same sensor size – it’s not the same unit as on the S20 and Note20 series. We still see a super-wide 123° field-of-view with an f/2.2 aperture.
The telephoto unit has 2x optical magnification and seems to be a continuation of the unit we’ve seen on the original Fold, with a 12MP 1.0µm sensor and f/2.4 optics with OIS.
Samsung promises various new software improvements this generation, making for a more seamless experience between the different displays, as well as having extensive optimisations for simultaneous multi-tasking with multiple open apps at once.
The new Galaxy Z Fold2 is now open for pre-orders starting September 2nd at a launch price of $1999, with general availability starting September 25th.
Related Reading:
-
Samsung Announces Galaxy Z Fold 2: Second-Generation Foldable
- Samsung Announces The Galaxy Fold: The First Folding Display Smartphone
- Samsung: Galaxy Fold Is Tested to Fold/Unfold 200,000 Times
- Samsung Delays Launch of Galaxy Fold Smartphone
- Samsung Resolves Galaxy Fold Issues: New Launch In September
- Samsung Unveils Galaxy Fold Availability, Sort Of
- Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Hits the US on September 27th
- Update: Sales of Samsung Galaxy Fold Are Nowhere Near 1 Million Units
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Quantumz0d - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Massive pile of disposable junk.No 3.5mm jack
No SD card slot
No IP rating
Wear and tear prone display (mechanical bearings), Li-Ion sealed shut 2 cell design, already a disposable trash now even more hard, looking at Note 20 on how Samsung sealed it too hard now this one gets 2 cells once it's capacity is depleted it's dead, repair cost is significant and there's no store like Apple which can do it with an appointment same day service.
Copying Apple everywhere possible, even Huawei garbage has a proprietary expansion slot unlike this. But all of that doesn't matter really, since this phone is like those expensive cars not many would buy except people with deep pockets who can afford such high cost of replacing a $1000-2000 phone every year and do not care about the feature set, except for the bling factor and high class appearance that these devices give in social interactions.
Aside from that, this technology with even worse aspect ratios than 18:9 it's getting out of hand, 21:9 was peak by Sony, now this is preposterous the use of outer display is only for notifications and the inner display use is always a must, meaning wear and tear always. And then you have the inside 4:3 garbage ratio. Display mutilation 2.0 first was notch and holes now this.
YB1064 - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
I agree. Clunky at best. $2000 for a cellphone???GTFO....
flyingpants265 - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
People will buy anything on a monthly plan.flyingpants265 - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
Agreed, but it's obviously a luxury item. There's also some fun and utility in having a foldable tablet.s.yu - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
It could be good for people with deteriorating eyesight that don't want to take out reading glasses every time they use their phone, a similar crowd takes photos with their tablets.SirDragonClaw - Tuesday, September 1, 2020 - link
I hugely disagree. I have a Note 9 right now and have never once used the headphone jack, I don't see why anyone would if they have a decent pair of bluetooth buds or bluetooth headphones. Maybe audiophiles, but they don't make up a large part of the market.I also have taken at least 30 photos every day for over two years and have never had any capacity issues, and there is always cloud storage anyway...
I agree with the lack of IP rating, although I havn't dropped a phone in water in about 10 years, I know some people do. But at least some basic ingress protection would be nice...
I have a mate with the original fold, and it looks and feels like it did on day one, even the hinge is still solid, so I don't think wear and tear is an issue.
Calin - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
I've used the headphone jack for headphones less than once a year for my current 5-year old phone. However, I've used it for audio in car, so it's still useful.flyingpants265 - Sunday, September 6, 2020 - link
Damn... Dumb comment of the year.StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
The 4:3 aspect ratio isn't that bad for everyone, for me being a firefighter it would be beneficial in managing the fire stations various databases and personnel availability.Not great for 16:9 content though obviously.
Sadly the cameras are garbage.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
A surface Duo might be perfect for that!