Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 Could Skip A Big Feature For An Excellent Reason

With the Galaxy S22 Ultra series officially plugging the gap that the Galaxy Note series left, Samsung is now set to devote more energy to its budding Z Fold and Z Flip lineups. While the company is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the second half of 2022, rumors about the upcoming foldable phones have already started to pour in several months in advance. The latest rumor suggests that the Fold 4 may skip out on a dedicated S Pen slot for yet another generation — but the absence of an S Pen comes with a reason to rejoice. 

According to tipster @chunvn888, Samsung is skipping on a dedicated S Pen slot due to the higher cost of production. Notably, Samsung added support for active styluses such as the Samsung S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 last year but required owners to purchase a separate case that included said stylus. The tipster also notes that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (which may simply be called the Fold 4) could be less expensive than the Z Fold 3, which had a starting price of $1,799.

The latest claim from @chunvn888 comes only days after renowned Chinese leaker known by their alias Ice Universe (also famous as Samsung Cat) announced the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will skip on an inbuilt S Pen. The leaker had also said the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be "smaller and thinner." Samsung is also expected to switch to a single hinge construction on this next-gen device to make the foldable easier to wield.

Meanwhile, the camera setup on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is set for a major upgrade. Tipsters Dohyun Kim and @chunvn8888 noted Samsung's flagship foldable would feature a 108MP sensor in its primary rear camera. This is likely the same 1/1.33-inch sensor as previously seen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Alongside the 108MP primary camera, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also reported to borrow the same sensors from the Galaxy S22 Ultra, including a 12MP ultrawide-angle camera and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom. Because of the limited real estate, the foldable is set to miss on the 10X periscope camera that powers Super Zoom capabilities on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and its predecessor.

In addition, information about the Galaxy Z Fold 4's dual battery setup has emerged through the Korean certification website, Safety Korea. According to the battery certifications (via Galaxy Club), the two cells have a combined capacity of 4,270mAh, compared to the 4,275mAh battery on the Z Fold 3. Without many details about the display and other changes, it remains to be seen how an equivalent battery performs.

Among other upgrades that we expect to see on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the inclusion of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The display on the foldable is expected to be more seamless and free from a bothersome crease, much like the Samsung Display-made creaseless display on the OPPO Find N foldable smartphone. The next Galaxy Fold's Ultra Thin Glass (UTG), which is Samsung's moniker for the foldable display, is also expected to be sturdier. Meanwhile, Samsung is reported to be engaging multiple suppliers to bring the production cost of its foldable devices down.

A previous rumor suggested that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 might feature an in-display fingerprint scanner instead of a side-mounter scanner inside the power button. However, a report from Business Korea contradicts this possibility, suggesting Samsung would stick to the side-facing fingerprint sensor.

Lastly, Samsung might drop the letter 'Z' from its flagship foldable's name as it has come to be used extensively by Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine. Samsung has already dropped the letter in certain Eastern European countries, and it might become a global change with the next generation.