Now that we’ve finally gotten an official look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, fans are excited to figuratively (and literally) pick it apart. Understanding every part of it is an exciting prospect because of how much mystery and speculation surrounded the device leading up to its launch.
One of the big question marks that hung over the Z Fold 4 before its release was in regard to its durability. By the very nature of being a foldable device, there’s a limited number of times it can be folded and unfolded before it breaks. As such, knowing what kind of lifespan you can expect from it is a pressing matter for potential buyers. Back in the days before smartphones, flip and slide phones were notorious for broken hinges and snaps from overuse. But, potential buyers are likely hoping that the Fold 4 will have a little more integrity than that. Luckily, it does.
The Z Fold 4 can survive 200,000 folds
Andrew Martonik/Digital Trends
According to Samsung, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 should be able to survive at least 200,000 folds, a number the company estimates to be around five years of use. This rounds to about 110 folds per day. While that number is certainly attractive, it’s about the same that we saw in the Z Fold 3. It’s a case of the saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” so there’s little complaint here.
While the surface differences between the Z Fold 3 and 4 are pretty minimal, Samsung has changed one aspect of the folding mechanism for the launch of the Fold 4: the hinge. The Fold 3’s hinge wasn’t overly bulky by any means, but the Fold 4’s hinge is slimmer than previous iterations. The unfortunate thing about that detail is that Samsung doesn’t report any noticeable differences between the different hinges in terms of their durability. Essentially, the slimmer hinge certainly keeps the size down but doesn’t have any bearing on the actual performance or longevity of how many folds it can withstand.
There’s plenty of reason to be excited for the Z Fold 4, and the fact that it’s a device that’s going to have a solid lifespan — especially for those who use its hardware functions frequently — makes it that much sweeter. If the durability of the Z Fold 3 is anything to go on, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 should be just as sturdy.