Samsung's latest foldable packs a punch.
Looking back at smartphones of the past decade, it's safe to say that the Galaxy Fold stands out as one of the most impressive and important. It was the first folding phone to launch in the United States, and now, Samsung is making it even better with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 has the same idea and design of the Fold, but it improves just about every aspect of it. There's a new processor, more premium design, and vastly upgraded displays. Simply put, the Fold 2 has a lot going for it.
Whether you're looking for full specs, pricing info, or details on when you can buy it, here's everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2!
Fold again
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
The iconic foldable returns
Samsung is revolutionizing the folding space yet again with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It retains the form factor of the original Fold, but comes with a few key upgrades. The cover display is much larger, the design is thinner, and the inner screen has a 120Hz refresh rate.
Jump to:
Folding phones are still a very new type of technology, meaning they're expensive and complicated to build. That's fully evident in the price tag of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which costs a whopping $2,000.
That's $20 more expensive than the first gen Galaxy Fold, and considering all of the improvements you get with the Fold 2, it could have been a lot worse. Samsung is not including a free case or wireless earbuds this time around, though, which does cut back on the overall value for your money. Samsung tries to make up for this with "VIP perks" for things like Michelin meal delivery and access to private clubs, though the actual usefulness of these things will vary from person to person.
Tl;dr — only buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2 if you have a lot of extra cash to burn through .
When can I buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2?
As of September 18, you can now go out and buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from Samsung's website and other third-party retailers like Best Buy.
While there's no getting around the high price of the Z Fold 2, Samsung is offering to help offset the cost just a little bit. For example, if you have the original Galaxy Fold, you can get up to $800 in instant credits and effectively make the Z Fold 2 just $1,199 — still expensive, but a lot more manageable.
Have we reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 2?
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is an exciting and tantalizing phone, but what is it like to actually use the thing? Well, it turns out that . We've spent a good amount of quality time with the Z Fold 2, and while it isn't a phone we recommend everyone go out and buy this very second, it is a remarkable entry into the foldable space.
The year-over-year improvements Samsung made between the original Galaxy Fold and the Z Fold 2 are kind of mind-blowing. The Z Fold 2 is better in just about every single way, touting a much larger cover display, a more impressive inner display, upgraded specs across the board, and a much sturdier hinge.
All of those improvements come together to create a device that's much more enjoyable to use than the first Fold ever was. There are still some quirks you need to put up with given how early we are in the folding phone niche, but everything about the Z Fold 2 feels just about as good as we could ask for right now.
$2,000 is certainly a lot of money to spend on a single piece of tech, but if you're interested in the foldable market and are ready to dip your toes in it, the Z Fold 2 is the best one you can get.
What specs does the Galaxy Z Fold 2 have?
Samsung did a great job of equipping the Galaxy Fold with flagship specs across the board, and once again, the company has done just that. There's a lot going on with the Z Fold 2, with the key specs including the following:
We could spend all day talking about the Galaxy Z Fold 2's specs, but there are a couple things we want to talk about just a little bit more — namely, the inner display and its 120Hz refresh rate.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the first folding phone to ship with a 120Hz screen, and given how great the tech looks on the , we can't wait to see what it looks like on the Fold 2's larger canvas. Samsung also packed the Fold 2 with some of the best internals you can get in a phone right now, including the Snapdragon 865+ processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
Going back and forth between 60Hz and 120Hz between the cover and inner display could be offputting for some users, though, so that's something we'll be sure to keep an eye on during our testing.
Does the Galaxy Z Fold 2 have a larger cover display?
The Galaxy Fold was a seriously impressive piece of tech, but the fact remains that its small cover display was a pain to use. It was fine for answering quick phone calls and texts, but anything beyond that was a chore given the tiny 4.6-inch canvas.
Thankfully, Samsung addressed that head-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
On this latest iteration of the foldable, you're now treated to a substantially larger 6.23-inch display with a 2260 x 816 HD+ resolution. It's a lot more similar to what you'd find on a traditional smartphone, and it should allow you to do more than ever before without having to open up the Fold 2.
When you do open the phone, however, you'll also be treated to some nice upgrades. The inner screen is upgraded from 7.2-inches to 7.6-inches, and even better, that massive notch has been replaced by a smaller hole-punch cutout.
Are both screens of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 made out of glass?
In order to achieve the folding design of the first Fold, Samsung had to make the inner display out of plastic. Just a few months later, however, the Galaxy Z Flip debuted with Samsung's "Ultra Thin Glass" for added protection and a more premium feel.
That same glass material is used for the inner screen of the Fold 2, meaning it feels better than ever for everything you do on it. There are two layers of plastic on top of the actual glass, though one of these is a generic screen protector that you can remove (Samsung recommends one of its specialists does this for you).
As we found on the Z Flip 2, Samsung's Ultra Thin Glass does still have a tendency to scratch and dent more easily than regular glass. Even so, it's still a really nice upgrade and one we're excited to see on the Fold 2.
How does the Galaxy Z Fold 2's hinge work?
With the original Galaxy Fold, its hinge mechanism only had two positions: open and closed. With the Z Fold 2, it takes a page from the Galaxy Z Flip and learns a new trick.
You can still open and close the Galaxy Z Fold 2 just as you would expect, but thanks to a new feature Samsung is calling "Flex Mode," you can also open the Fold 2 halfway and use it as a miniature laptop (as shown in the picture above).
There are a lot of possible use cases for Flex Mode, such as propping it up to take a group photo or record a video, watching a YouTube video while making dinner, doing a hands-free Google Duo call, etc. It's ultimately up to app developers to support the feature in order for it to reach its full potential, so we'll have to wait and see what the dev response to this is.
Fold again
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
The iconic foldable returns
Samsung is revolutionizing the folding space yet again with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It retains the form factor of the original Fold, but comes with a few key upgrades. The cover display is much larger, the design is thinner, and the inner screen has a 120Hz refresh rate.
Looking back at smartphones of the past decade, it's safe to say that the Galaxy Fold stands out as one of the most impressive and important. It was the first folding phone to launch in the United States, and now, Samsung is making it even better with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 has the same idea and design of the Fold, but it improves just about every aspect of it. There's a new processor, more premium design, and vastly upgraded displays. Simply put, the Fold 2 has a lot going for it.
Whether you're looking for full specs, pricing info, or details on when you can buy it, here's everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2!
Fold again
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
The iconic foldable returns
Samsung is revolutionizing the folding space yet again with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It retains the form factor of the original Fold, but comes with a few key upgrades. The cover display is much larger, the design is thinner, and the inner screen has a 120Hz refresh rate.
Jump to:
Folding phones are still a very new type of technology, meaning they're expensive and complicated to build. That's fully evident in the price tag of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which costs a whopping $2,000.
That's $20 more expensive than the first gen Galaxy Fold, and considering all of the improvements you get with the Fold 2, it could have been a lot worse. Samsung is not including a free case or wireless earbuds this time around, though, which does cut back on the overall value for your money. Samsung tries to make up for this with "VIP perks" for things like Michelin meal delivery and access to private clubs, though the actual usefulness of these things will vary from person to person.
Tl;dr — only buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2 if you have a lot of extra cash to burn through .
When can I buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2?
As of September 18, you can now go out and buy the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from Samsung's website and other third-party retailers like Best Buy.
While there's no getting around the high price of the Z Fold 2, Samsung is offering to help offset the cost just a little bit. For example, if you have the original Galaxy Fold, you can get up to $800 in instant credits and effectively make the Z Fold 2 just $1,199 — still expensive, but a lot more manageable.
Have we reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 2?
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is an exciting and tantalizing phone, but what is it like to actually use the thing? Well, it turns out that . We've spent a good amount of quality time with the Z Fold 2, and while it isn't a phone we recommend everyone go out and buy this very second, it is a remarkable entry into the foldable space.
The year-over-year improvements Samsung made between the original Galaxy Fold and the Z Fold 2 are kind of mind-blowing. The Z Fold 2 is better in just about every single way, touting a much larger cover display, a more impressive inner display, upgraded specs across the board, and a much sturdier hinge.
All of those improvements come together to create a device that's much more enjoyable to use than the first Fold ever was. There are still some quirks you need to put up with given how early we are in the folding phone niche, but everything about the Z Fold 2 feels just about as good as we could ask for right now.
$2,000 is certainly a lot of money to spend on a single piece of tech, but if you're interested in the foldable market and are ready to dip your toes in it, the Z Fold 2 is the best one you can get.
What specs does the Galaxy Z Fold 2 have?
Samsung did a great job of equipping the Galaxy Fold with flagship specs across the board, and once again, the company has done just that. There's a lot going on with the Z Fold 2, with the key specs including the following:
| Category | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 10 One UI |
| Cover Display | 6.2-inch Super AMOLED 2260 x 816 60Hz refresh rate |
| Inner Display | 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 2208 x 1768 120Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ |
| Memory | 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 256GB |
| Rear Camera 1 | 12MP primary f/1.8 OIS |
| Rear Camera 2 | 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2 |
| Rear Camera 3 | 12MP telephoto f/2.4 |
| Cover Camera | 10MP f/2.2 |
| Inner Camera | 10MP f/2.2 |
| Security | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor |
| Battery | 4,500 mAh |
| Charging | 25W wired charging 11W wireless charging 4.5W reverse wireless charging |
| Dimensions (Folded) | 159.2 x 68 x 16.8mm |
| Dimensions (Unfolded) | 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9mm |
| Weight | 282g |
| Colors | Mystic Bronze Mystic Black |
We could spend all day talking about the Galaxy Z Fold 2's specs, but there are a couple things we want to talk about just a little bit more — namely, the inner display and its 120Hz refresh rate.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the first folding phone to ship with a 120Hz screen, and given how great the tech looks on the , we can't wait to see what it looks like on the Fold 2's larger canvas. Samsung also packed the Fold 2 with some of the best internals you can get in a phone right now, including the Snapdragon 865+ processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
Going back and forth between 60Hz and 120Hz between the cover and inner display could be offputting for some users, though, so that's something we'll be sure to keep an eye on during our testing.
Does the Galaxy Z Fold 2 have a larger cover display?
The Galaxy Fold was a seriously impressive piece of tech, but the fact remains that its small cover display was a pain to use. It was fine for answering quick phone calls and texts, but anything beyond that was a chore given the tiny 4.6-inch canvas.
Thankfully, Samsung addressed that head-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
On this latest iteration of the foldable, you're now treated to a substantially larger 6.23-inch display with a 2260 x 816 HD+ resolution. It's a lot more similar to what you'd find on a traditional smartphone, and it should allow you to do more than ever before without having to open up the Fold 2.
When you do open the phone, however, you'll also be treated to some nice upgrades. The inner screen is upgraded from 7.2-inches to 7.6-inches, and even better, that massive notch has been replaced by a smaller hole-punch cutout.
Are both screens of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 made out of glass?
In order to achieve the folding design of the first Fold, Samsung had to make the inner display out of plastic. Just a few months later, however, the Galaxy Z Flip debuted with Samsung's "Ultra Thin Glass" for added protection and a more premium feel.
That same glass material is used for the inner screen of the Fold 2, meaning it feels better than ever for everything you do on it. There are two layers of plastic on top of the actual glass, though one of these is a generic screen protector that you can remove (Samsung recommends one of its specialists does this for you).
As we found on the Z Flip 2, Samsung's Ultra Thin Glass does still have a tendency to scratch and dent more easily than regular glass. Even so, it's still a really nice upgrade and one we're excited to see on the Fold 2.
How does the Galaxy Z Fold 2's hinge work?
With the original Galaxy Fold, its hinge mechanism only had two positions: open and closed. With the Z Fold 2, it takes a page from the Galaxy Z Flip and learns a new trick.
You can still open and close the Galaxy Z Fold 2 just as you would expect, but thanks to a new feature Samsung is calling "Flex Mode," you can also open the Fold 2 halfway and use it as a miniature laptop (as shown in the picture above).
There are a lot of possible use cases for Flex Mode, such as propping it up to take a group photo or record a video, watching a YouTube video while making dinner, doing a hands-free Google Duo call, etc. It's ultimately up to app developers to support the feature in order for it to reach its full potential, so we'll have to wait and see what the dev response to this is.
Fold again
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
The iconic foldable returns
Samsung is revolutionizing the folding space yet again with the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It retains the form factor of the original Fold, but comes with a few key upgrades. The cover display is much larger, the design is thinner, and the inner screen has a 120Hz refresh rate.