Horizon
The best new tech heading your way
1 SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 4
From £1,649, samsung.com
Time and Samsung’s determined engineering has made a big difference to the way we feel about the Galaxy Fold. So many of its initial wrinkles have been (all too literally) ironed out: now, here in its fourth iteration, the seam in the middle of its internal screen is both barely noticeable and entirely forgivable. Our expectations of a folding phone have settled down, and this might meet every one of them.
Newly trimmed down to be even slimmer than before, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 hasn’t been radically redesigned, just gently pared back. It’s also been toughened with a new stronger ultra-thin glass covering both the internal and external screens, making it look and feel premium. That said, it does lack any kind of vibrant colour, with its aluminium frame coming in a muted green, a safe black and a frankly dull beige.
The camera package marks the strongest improvement in the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The main sensor (the precise model of which is as yet unannounced) jumps from 12MP to 50MP, while the zoom camera bumps its optical magnification from 2x to 3x. You also get access to the really rather good 12MP ultrawide camera from last time, as well as 10MP frontfacing shots on the outer selfie cam and 4MP on the under-display sensor inside.
The point here is that going foldable no longer feels like a sacrifice: Samsung is squeezing stronger and stronger hardware into this svelte, complex form, and it might just be making the ultimate phone in the process.
TECH-O-METER
Samsung already nailed the screen in the last model, so we’re happy that the same bendy AMOLED panel returns here: a 2176 x 1812 inner panel that unfolds to 7.6 inches corner to corner. It can run at 120Hz and supports HDR10+ – it’s a treat.