Galaxy Z Fold 2 brings 5G and improved design; check all specs

Samsung confirmed all expectations and took advantage of the Galaxy Unpacked 2020, the company's most important annual event, to launch its new foldable smartphone, the Galaxy z fold 2. In addition to the device with a flexible screen, the company's new wireless headphones, the new generations of the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Tab S, now in two sizes, and the long-awaited Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held entirely online, without an audience.

Despite this, and although it is not the model with the highest sales volume on this list, which will certainly be in charge of the Note line, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 represents an important step for Samsung. Just over a year after the troubled launch of the first Galaxy Fold, the company has shown that it still believes in the future of foldables and has learned from the past. O Galaxy z fold 2 arrives with a tougher screen, much thinner bezels, updated hardware and a more polished look, complete with new colors.

Robust hardware in a flexible body

Of the novelties presented in the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the biggest are the screens: with 7,6 inches and resolution of 2208 x 1768 pixels, the internal screen will bring HDR 10+ technologies and 120Hz refresh rate, offering more fluid animations. The external screen has 6,2 inches, a resolution of 2260 x 816 pixels, HDR 10+ and considerably smaller edges than those of the Galaxy Fold. Another welcome novelty in the displays were the new front cameras, which now occupy a discreet hole in the screens, just like what we saw on the S20 line.

See our chat with Jun-yong Song, Head of Design at Samsung South Korea, about designing foldable phones

Promising to be as productive as a tablet and as portable as a smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 also comes with a powerful processor. Although Samsung has not exactly stated, the version announced at the event should receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, as this chip is in the Note 20 line announced today. The processor is a turbocharged version of the Snapdragon 865, which offers an increase of up to 10% in GPU and CPU performance, improving performance in games and heavy tasks.

Also thanks to the processor, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will be fully prepared for 5G, even being compatible with the so-called millimeter waves (5G mmWave) - responsible for the most considerable speed gain of the new technology in relation to 4G.

In storage, the Z Fold 2 will allow you to choose between 256 and 512GB (UFS 3.1). Compared to the first Fold, offered only in the 512GB version, the novelty makes the launch more accessible and shows that, this time, Samsung is targeting a wider audience than just technology enthusiasts. Despite continuing not to support expansion via microSD cards, the Z Fold 2 still brings 12GB of RAM in both versions, 4500mAh and support for fast charging up to 25W, the same as the S20.

The set chosen for the rear cameras is also the same as what we see in this year's S20 line. The main wide camera has 12 megapixels and opening f / 1.8. The ultrawide camera brings the same resolution, but is capable of capturing a larger scene. The last of the package is the telephoto lens, which does not have the 50x optical zoom of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but manages to zoom in up to 3x with the so-called “hybrid zoom” – which adds an optical zoom to an enhanced digital zoom. The maximum digital zoom capability is 30x.

As front cameras, internal and external, are also the same, with both having 10 megapixels, aperture f / 2.2 and 26mm lenses. They are expected to produce a result very similar to that of the front cameras of the S20 and S20+, as the specifications are the same and, most likely, the sensors are the same.

More prepared for everyday life

Despite all the welcome updates to the hardware, the Galaxy Z Fold 2's biggest leap forward was in the Design: Thinner, lighter and with the promise of being more robust than its predecessor, the launch features a reinforced hinge and, in general, eliminates the “experimental device” aspect that was quite characteristic of the first Fold. Proof of this is that the folding format no longer imposes so many limitations – the external screen has edges almost as thin as any smartphone and the device is much leaner.

According to Samsung, the screen layers have been reinforced on the Z Fold 2 and the entire structure of the device has been reimagined to be more resistant. In addition to fixing the bugs seen on the Galaxy Fold, the company improved what was right about the Galaxy Z Flip: the so-called Ultra Thin Glass (Ultrathin Glass, in Portuguese) is thinner than a hair and has been mixed between glass and plastic elements to ensure a firmer touch on the screen – without preventing the display from being folded, of course.

Also according to Samsung, which did not skimp when talking about the device's engineering, the hinge mechanism was also renewed, with the right to be inspired by the company's vacuum cleaners. Now the foldable is capable of being partially folded, just like the Galaxy Z Flip, and promises to keep out dust and other debris more efficiently.

In short, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 promises to be more prepared to the market than the first Fold was. If we consider that Samsung exudes confidence when launching its third folding smartphone, in addition to being proud to be one of the pioneers in this segment, it is very likely that devices with flexible screens - in the most different formats - lose their futuristic aspect and become something of the day to day in less time than we imagined.

Pre-sale starts September 1st

Despite today's launch, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will only be officially unveiled in September 1st, in Mystic Black (Black) and Mystic Bronze (Copper) colors. On the date, Samsung promises to reveal more about the device and start pre-sales, which should take place first in North America, Europe and Asia. Although there is no forecast for the device to arrive in Brazil, it is very likely that this will occur, as the current foldables of the brand, Fold and Z Flip, are already here.

In the US, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 can now be reserved No. Samsung website, but did not have any pricing information released. It is also important to note that the reservation only guarantees that, on the pre-sale date, users who made the reservation will be able to pre-purchase the first units before the stock runs out.

Galaxy Z Fold 2: technical specifications

And then, did you like the Galaxy z fold 2? Remember that here at Showmetech you will find everything about what Samsung has presented today, including the news of the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+, in addition to the new Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Buds Live.