Samsung’s follow-up to the Galaxy Fold, the new Galaxy Z Fold 2 is now available to buy. The Fold 2 brings a lot more than an extra letter and number to the table.
The company revamped the foldable phone’s design to deliver larger displays both inside and out, along with new punch-hole selfie cameras, new colours, and tweaks across the rest of the specs to boot.
The ‘Z’ which now forms part of the name, is borrowed from the company’s Galaxy Z Flip (which itself now comes in a new 5G variant), sporting a smaller form factor than the tablet-style Fold.
When is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 coming out?
Samsung kicked off pre-orders on the Z Fold 2 from 1 September in advance of the 18 September release date, which has now passed. We’re tracking where to buy the Fold 2 here.
The Z Fold 2 was announced alongside the Galaxy Note 20 line, which has been available to buy since 21 August.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 cost?
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 starts at £1,799 in the UK (US$1999) and comes with 256GB of internal storage.
As with the Galaxy Z Flip, a limited-edition Thom Browne package is also being made available for £2999/US$3299. There are only 5000 units globally and it includes a Thom Browne-styled Galaxy Watch 3 and Buds Live, too. The special edition package will be available from 25 September, directly from Samsung and from Harrods.
Samsung leaks is late August, spotted by Max Weinback, revealed the Fold 2’s £100 lower starting price compared to its predecessor.
Galaxy Z Fold 2 will cost £1,799.00 in the UK. Samsung’s pre-order page is already live. Confirms September 17th shipping date and September 18th release. https://t.co/HpkErtigWJ
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) August 27, 2020
What design and specs does the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 have?
The biggest changes are to the displays. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 boasts bigger screens – despite the whole phone actually being thinner than the original – at just 6mm, when open.
The front screen is a 6.2in panel that covers the whole front of the phone while it’s closed, interrupted only by a small pinhole selfie camera – a big upgrade from the small screen found on the first Fold.
Inside things are different too. The 7.6in folding AMOLED panel uses the same ultra-thin glass finish as the Z Flip, is slightly bigger than before and has also ditched the ugly corner notch. Instead, it boasts a small hole punch camera, positioned at the centre of the right-hand side of the display – sitting off-centre when the Fold 2 is fully opened.
The hinge has also been upgraded to match the Z Flip’s, allowing the Z Fold 2 to sit open at multiple angles, rather than only two fixed points.
The Z Fold 2 is available in two finishes – Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black – but now comes with a unique twist. If you order from Samsung’s own website you’ll also be able to customise the colour of the hinge to contrast with the rest of the body.
Here’s what the phone’s internals look like:
- Internal (primary) display: 7.6in, 5:4, 2208×1766, 120Hz, QXGA+ ‘Dynamic AMOLED 2x
- External (secondary) display: 6.2in, 25:9, 2260×816, 60Hz, HD+ Super AMOLED
- Primary camera setup:
- 12Mp Sony IMX555 main w/ OIS
- 12Mp Samsung ISOCELL S5K3L6 telephoto
- 12Mp Samsung ISOCELL S5K3M5 ultrawide
- Both front-facing cameras: 10Mp (each)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB storage (UFS 3.0)
- Single SIM
- No microSD expandability
- USB 3.1, USB-C
- WiFi 6
- Bluetooth 5.2
- 5G
- 4,500mAh battery
- 25W fast charging, 11W fast wireless charging, 11W reverse wireless charging
- Stereo speakers
- No headphone jack
- 6mm thin when open
- Colours: Mystic Bronze (frosted AG glass), Mystic Black (reflective glass)
- 282g
Highlights include Qualcomm’s most powerful Snapdragon 865+ processor. 25W fast charging is a little slower than the competition, but wireless charging helps.
The rear camera specs look similar to the previous Fold on paper – albeit with a Note 20-esq bump – lacking the 64Mp and 108Mp telephoto lenses that Samsung has pushed on the S20 and Note 20 phones. Still, with a main lens, ultrawide and telephoto you should be able to get some great shots out of the new Fold.
We had initially expected S-Pen stylus support on the Z Fold 2, similar to that found on the Galaxy Note phones, but Samsung has decided to omit the S-Pen this year.
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Author: Dominic Preston, Deputy Editor
Tech Advisor's Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he's a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.