Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: The foldable we all want but don't need... yet

The Galaxy Z Fold2 is sleek and powerful, but at US$2,000, it's more elite toy than must-buy.

Sept. 12, 2020

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: The foldable we all want but don't need... yet

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 2 represents one very crucial thing for the company: redemption. With an upgraded, durable screen and lower price point, it appears as if the South Korean tech giant is trying to make up for its prior foldable missteps and lost time.

Rather than completely overhauling the original Fold's design, Samsung instead fixed what was broken by incorporating elements it already knew would work: an Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) display and a free-standing hinge.

But in addition to providing a solid build, the company's now also pivoted its messaging: The Fold 2 is more than just a smartphone. It's fully optimized as an on-the-go productivity workhorse with a variety of multitasking features.

Now that Samsung's given the cover display a full feature set, you can use the Fold 2 much like you would any other "normal" smartphone. That means you can quickly answer texts, make calls, scroll through social media, or even answer emails without unfolding it. And for those moments when you need a bigger display or to pull up a few apps to multitask, simply fold back that front cover, and you have a tablet at your disposable.

This concept isn't at all different from the original Fold, and it's no longer even novel to consumers. It's now been a year since Samsung's first foldable was introduced to general buzz and then immediate disappointment. And, as a result, the Fold 2 doesn't feel ahead of its time or futuristic.

The good news is that, unlike Microsoft's distantly related Surface Duo foldable, there's no steep learning curve to be found here. By offering the familiarity of a standard smartphone coupled with the option to switch to tablet mode when necessary, Samsung has made the the Z Fold 2 more approachable, allowing users to adapt to it in baby steps.

While I could go on about why I believe the Z Fold 2 is truly an excellent piece of hardware, it's important to not stray far from reality here. This device is nothing more than proof that Samsung can make a Fold that works. More importantly, the Z Fold 2 also allows the company to maintain its position as the go-to brand for smartphone innovation.

At US$2,000, the Fold 2 certainly isn't a device Samsung is relying on to boost its sales; it's for those with disposable income to drop (during a pandemic marked by massive unemployment, nonetheless). Case in point: With the purchase of a Fold 2, Samsung promises its users access to "VIP benefits and experiences" through its Galaxy Z Premier program, in addition to an optional membership for something called a "Founders Card."

You know, very elite stuff.

Finally, a design that's anxiety-free

If the first-generation Z Fold hadn't been such a spectacular hardware fail, with its frail and fragile display, I wouldn't be focusing on the Z Fold 2's design all that much. Thankfully, durability isn't a cause for concern this time around.

At 2.7-inches thick when folded, the Z Fold 2 is a chunky device. And while I can't comfortably slip it into my pockets, its thickness does make it more comfortable to hold with one-hand. I found I could firmly grasp onto it without worrying about accidental drops. It felt vaguely similar to holding a candy bar phone, which is actually a feeling I didn't know I missed.

This balanced design means that navigating the 6.2-inch HD+ Super AMOLED cover display was a lot easier, too. That's particularly important seeing as how Samsung not only increased the size from 4.6-inches on the last Fold, but also added a ton more functionality to it. But more on that, later.

The Fold 2 opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch AMOLED display that's made of Ultra Thin Glass, which in layman's terms basically translates to flexible glass with a layer of plastic over it. It also comes with a screen protector pre-installed for that extra peace of mind. Much like my experience with the Galaxy Z Flip, I encountered no issues with the screen during my time with the Fold 2.

Samsung recommends leaving the screen protector on and any removal should be done by its own repair service or third-party technicians. This is likely due to last year's debacle when some tech reviewers peeled what they thought was the screen protector on the Fold, but turned out to be the display — which ultimately destroyed the phones.

The 6.2-inch cover display gives you access to all your apps.

It opens up to a 7.6-inch main display on the inside.

With a 1080 x 2636 pixel resolution, colors on the Fold 2 appear bright and vibrant even when in direct sunlight. And with a 120Hz refresh rate, it's also super responsive when tapping, scrolling, or typing. It also helps that Samsung's incorporated its signature Infinity-O technology into the Fold 2's design, giving it a nearly bezel-free viewing experience.

It's also worth mentioning that there is a crease visible in the middle of the screen, which is inevitable for foldable displays in the present day. And while I would typically complain about something like this, it's really not that noticeable. It's also a fair compromise given that the Fold 2's display is actually, ya know, functional.

When you flip the Fold 2 over to its back, you might notice that it looks super similar to the Note 20 Ultra with its brushed aluminum frame and rectangular triple-camera module. The camera bump isn't nearly as thick here, though. So you don't have worry about the device rocking back and forth while using it when placed on a flat surface.

In terms of buttons and ports, the Z Fold 2 features the standards: a power button (which doubles as a fingerprint sensor), volume rocker, and SIM card tray, as well as two speakers (one at the top and one at the bottom).

The free-standing hinge allows you to position it at multiple angles.

Holding this entire phone together is the free-standing hinge which gives you the option to position it at different angles, as opposed to just fully open or fully closed. When taking selfies or watching YouTube videos at my desk, I'd often prop the Fold 2 up halfway. This position also proves useful for hands-free video calls, as well.

In addition to providing versatility, the free-standing hinge also makes the device feel more durable when folding and unfolding it multiple times throughout the day. While I can't say for sure whether that impression will wear off over time, it does feel promising at this very moment.

To really drive home its emphasis on the new hinge, Samsung is offering users the option to choose from an array of hinge colors (i.e., gold, red, metallic silver, and blue) to complement the Z Fold 2 in either Mystic Bronze (the color of my review unit) or Mystic Black.

Performance that offers the best of both worlds

Before we dive into what it's like to use the Fold 2 on a daily basis, let's gets some specs out of the way first.

As far as its chipset goes, the device features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865+ processor with support for both flavors of 5G. That means you'll be able to use either sub-6 5G or mmWave (for faster speeds), depending on what's available in your area.

That screen protector is a fingerprint magnet, though.

Then, there's the 4,500mAh dual battery which is bigger than the 4,380mAh battery found in the original Fold.

With standard usage (i.e., scrolling through social media, taking some photos, answering emails and Slack messages), I was easily able to get through a full day with some power left over for the morning. If you plan on using it for some heavy all-day multitasking, then I'd say you'll be able to push it until the evening.

As for storage configurations, the Fold 2 is only offered with 12GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage.

Now, let's move on to my experience using this device as a daily driver. For starters, it's worth noting the Fold 2 is a lot more versatile than the first-generation version, thanks to that enhanced (and fully functional) cover display. As I mentioned earlier, you can now do pretty much everything from the front screen without ever having to unfold the device.

With compatible apps, you can launch three simultaneously.

Seeing as how large the main screen is, especially for my tiny hands, the ability to have access to all my apps right from the front display proved crucial for one-handed use. This meant that whenever I was out, whether grabbing a coffee or walking my dog, I didn't have to worry about having both my hands free to check Twitter or reply to a Slack message.

The unfolded main screen has been optimized for multitasking and Samsung has made that very clear. Using its App Pair feature, you can now launch three apps at once and position them in "multi-active window mode." So, that means all three apps will be open and running on your display simultaneously.

As of right now, you're mainly limited to multitasking using Samsung's native apps and Google apps, with the addition of Slack, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Office, and a few others. You can also do things like drag and drop images or text from one app to another.

You can adjust the size of each app when multitasking.

Now, in a non-pandemic world, these features would be really exciting to me. Seeing as how I would often commute from my apartment to the office, having the ability to multitask would have been super useful. But given that I'm constantly in front of my laptop nowadays, I really never had a need or want to simultaneously use a bunch of apps at once.

But those of you whose companies have already sent you back out into the world might be looking for a device just like this. And you can rest assured that it'll be able to handle all of your multitasking needs.

When I originally received the Fold 2, I couldn't help but think how I would only want this large of a screen if I were constantly on the go. In a pre-Covid-19 world, I'd normally use my iPhone 11 Pro to download shows from Netflix or books from the Kindle app during my subway commute.

Instead, I constantly found myself wanting to use all of that screen real estate for one app at a time. This included anything from reading a book, to watching a show on Netflix, or simply scrolling through my Twitter feed. Even Google Maps was far more enjoyable to use, because seeing the map on such a large screen was a lot easier to follow.

Reading books on the Z Fold 2 was definitely an enjoyable experience.

The free-standing hinge made it easy to comfortably prop the phone up when watching YouTube videos.

The only gripe I have with the main, unfolded screen's size is that you need both hands to hold it. So, I would typically only use it unfolded when I was sitting at my desk or on the couch and had both hands free to hold it securely.

Over time, however, I realized just how much I loved always having access to a tablet without having to carry an extra device on me. While I know foldable phones still have a ways to go, I didn't realize how quickly I'd become attached to their versatility. Let's just say I now look at my iPhone 11 Pro a lot differently.

Solid cameras that are more than enough

If three cameras weren't enough, there are two more on this thing.

Samsung's trajectory with smartphone cameras this year alone has gone above and beyond. Both the Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Note 20 Ultra (remember those?) feature 108-megapixel camera sensors, over-the-top zoom capabilities, and 8K video recording. But the Fold 2 isn't as intense as those flagships and honestly, that's fine.

As far as rear sensors go, the Fold 2 consists of:

12-megapixel ultra-wide lens with f/1.8 aperture
12-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture and a 123-degree field of view
12-megapixel telephoto lens

Meanwhile, both the cover display and the main display feature 10-megapixel selfie cameras. So, that's five cameras in total on the entire device.

Seeing as how the Fold 2 is more of a multimedia device, it's highly likely that whoever uses this thing as their daily driver will be more focused on consuming content than capturing it. Regardless, you can rest assured the cameras on the Fold 2 are highly capable of shooting high-resolution images that are suitable for social media or your own camera roll.

Below are some examples of photos I took with the Fold 2 and the iPhone 11 Pro as a comparison.

In true Samsung fashion, oversaturation is heavily noticeable on the above photo taken with the Fold 2.

It's not as intense as what I've seen on the S20 Ultra or Note 20 Ultra, but the greens, yellows, pinks, and even browns are super punchy and bright.

I personally prefer dialing up the vibrancy on the colors, so I was really pleased with the image as is.

But the photo taken with the iPhone 11 Pro is definitely more true to exactly what you'd see in real life. For some, it might be lot less straining on the eyes than the Z Fold photo.

The saturation isn't as overwhelming with this shot above. Both shots actually look fairly similar to one another in color for the most part. The only differences being that the greens are a bit brighter in the shot taken by the Fold 2, and the wood is lighter.

The iPhone 11 Pro also does a better job capturing texture here. Both the mural and wood look a lot smoother on the Fold 2 than on the iPhone.

Moving on to ultra-wide angle shots, I found that the Fold 2 has a tendency to sometimes produce distorted images.

The iPhone 11 Pro below managed to pick up the corners of the image a bit better, whereas the Fold 2 is a little more blurry.

Regardless, ultra-wide angle images still looked fairly crisp in overall. And, it's also always nice to have a lens that gives you the opportunity to capture more in the shot.

I also tested Live Focus Mode, which is where you can adjust blur in the background of the image either before or after taking the photos. On the iPhone 11 Pro, this feature is known as Portrait Mode.

Between the Fold 2 and iPhone 11 Pro, I prefer the shot taken with Samsung's phone. It does a better job at focusing in on the subject and recognizing which parts to blur.

As is usual with the iPhone, Portrait Mode photos struggle to properly blur all the right spots and appear to have a yellow-ish tint to them. You can see in the image above that parts of the plant are practically invisible.

But my favorite thing to do on the Fold 2 was take selfies — yes, I am aware of how narcissistic that sounds. However, this was more so because of the experience of it all.

For starters, the free-standing hinge allows you to prop the phone up for hands-free shots. Angle the camera as far back as you'd like and wave your palm in front of the sensor to trigger the shutter button. On the top, you'll see the viewfinder. The bottom shows you a preview of the last photo you took and camera controls.

But if you want to up the ante on those selfies, you can also take advantage of the cover display to take photos with the rear cameras. In the camera app, turn on Dual Preview Mode and flip the phone around unfolded so the front display is facing you, and snap the shot.

This mode also comes in handy when someone else is taking a photo of you because you can see exactly where the camera is pointed. That way, you can avoid those moments when you get your phone back and are left with unusable shots.

Here's a comparison of selfies taken with the front-facing and rear-cameras:

You can tell the rear-facing camera washed out my skin tone in comparison to the front-facing sensor. But I will say, that's definitely truer to what I look like in person because I am as white as a ghost.

Selfie with the front-facing camera on the cover display

With that being said, I do prefer the front-facing camera as far as colors go since it makes me look far more alive. But the ability to take advantage of the cover display and rear cameras is definitely a great feature.

Samsung has finally made up for lost time

A successful foldable phone that isn't worth the investment quite yet.

My experience with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 2 was, dare I say, enjoyable. It's a beautiful piece of hardware that was simple to adapt to and use. And that's great for Samsung — the company can rest easy knowing it has officially redeemed itself from the fallout of the first Galaxy Fold.

But it's still not a phone you should invest in unless you're one of those tech enthusiasts who marvels over products like this. As of right now, the Fold 2 is nothing more than the actual proof of concept the first Fold should have been. While it is technically a second-generation phone, it's the only iteration of the device that counts. And with that, Samsung still has a very long way to go before the Fold lineup can be recommended as a daily driver.

So, congratulations Samsung. Following the unproblematic launch of the Z Flip, you successfully manufactured another foldable phone that works super well and also makes me genuinely excited for what's to come. I won't be buying it. But I'm sure those wealthy country club folks will enjoy flaunting it on the golf course.