If you haven’t already read my review on the Flip4, here’s a short story about me, myself and I. Chapter 1: I have been converted to the dark side and just prefer the user experience I get when using an iPhone. Chapter 2: Out of the foldable range that Samsung has on offer, I prefer the Flip; it just suits my lifestyle better.
Chapter 3: You can probably already see that I had an opinion on the Fold4 before I even got it into my hands. Chapter 4: The End.
I was already confident I wouldn’t enjoy having the Fold4 hanging around my chargers. Not that I don’t think it’s an incredible piece of technology. I just… didn’t think it was an incredible piece of technology for me.
To start, I find the front screen too slim for a usable phone. And when I say phone, I mean texting device. Let’s be honest; none of us call anyone anymore for anything. We text. The keyboard felt tiny, and my average-sized appendages weren’t hitting where I wanted them to all the time. For general scrolling and the rest, though, it does the job. And not in a “just does the job” kind of way. It’s a stunning screen. 6.2 inches of Dynamic AMOLD Screen at up to 120hz. That’s nothing to scoff at. It just feels thin.
Now that I’ve complained about how thin it is let me complain about how chunky it is. (Can you tell I was already set on not having a good time with the Fold? Oops). When folded shut, the phone is essentially two phones thick, for obvious reasons, which again feels like it’s just not cut out for day-to-day use, or at least not cut out for being slipped quickly into a pocket if you’re on the move a lot of the day. I still find the Flip4 to be a much friendlier device for someone on the move.
Then, one Sunday afternoon, while Eskom was being Eskom and I was taking it easy with some electricity-free tasks, I thought I could use a little entertainment. Figuring that the Fold 4 has a massive screen with a slight bend that can hold itself up, I decided to pop on some YouTube and have something play in the background. Eventually, it even attracted my partner, and she too came and sat at the table to watch some guy do things with resin. From this moment, I realised how nice content was to absorb on the Fold. I now often found myself reaching for the Fold when I wanted to check something out on the web or a social media platform. I made sure that when I was doing something outside of my usual PC time, I had the Fold nearby to prop open onto something I could enjoy in the background.
To be quite honest, the Folds inside screen and how Samsung designed the software to help it act as a multi or single-screen is incredible. It’s fantastic to have apps function as if they were on a laptop or PC with separate scroll areas for different apps or even within the same app. For example, the email app opens up your inbox on one side and the email itself on the other, so you can read an email but then also scroll through your inbox to make sure you did send that email that you’re currently reading you didn’t.
Besides this, you can have multiple apps running in different sections of the screen, and you can apply as much space as you require for each one. Twitter, WhatsApp and maybe YouTube all open simultaneously in one pane of glass. It’s beautiful.
The other thing the Fold4 does super well is, well, gaming. Who would think having a massive screen to play your games on would be an incredible experience? Not me. The bigger screen allows for more to be seen, quicker. I jumped up multiple ranks on my COD profile, and I can guarantee it was because I could see enemies quicker than they saw me. 1. Because 120Hz doesn’t play games (or does it?), and 2. More real estate meant I had space for my thumbs to scroll and swipe to their heart’s content without getting in the way of the screen itself, where the enemies required headshots.
Besides the screen, the phone didn’t raise in temperature after hours of CODing around. One of the first phones I’ve had the pleasure of playing on that was always comfortable to hold and didn’t assist in sweating up my palms with all the extra heat. The game didn’t jitter, stutter or mutter; it was just butter. If you’re in the market for a gaming phone, I would definitely consider giving the Fold4 a look, I mean, yes, there were some games where I had to swipe through the middle of the screen, and then the fold did get in the way, but for 95% of games out there, there’s more than enough space for your thumbs to move, without getting close to the fold or getting in the way of your game.
The Fold4 very quickly changed my opinion, and I’m glad it did. I enjoyed having the device around. Although I wouldn’t choose one as my everyday phone, if I was looking for something a little tablet-like but with more swag, I’d be happy for that to be the Fold4.