The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 will help you stay connected, as they show the same improvements in cellular signal we saw on the Samsung Galaxy S22 line and the OnePlus 10T, according to our early tests.
This makes sense. These phones all have Qualcomm's current X65 modem, which incorporates new antenna-tuning technology to make the most of weak-signal areas. The Galaxy S21, as well as the iPhone 13 line, use the previous-generation X60 modem.
And it looks like Samsung's new foldables are taking advantage of some of the same technologies that set the S22 line apart.
In a preliminary test between the Flip 4, Fold 4, S22+, and S21 as I went in and out of T-Mobile coverage, the S22+ did the best of the bunch, spending 5.4% of its time in dead zones. The S21 did the worst, at 8.7%. The Flip and Fold came out in between, at 6.53% and 6.42%, respectively.
But the Flip and Fold did even better than the S22 when it came to making the most of slightly stronger weak signals. While the S21 spent 15% of our test showing either weak (worse than -120dBm) or no signal and the S22 spent 12.9% of the test in that state, the Fold was at 11.7% and the Flip at a mere 9.7%.
I'm going to test them all again, but these results are really encouraging. It means the advancements we saw with the Galaxy S22 series in terms of squeezing the best performance out of cellular networks carries on with Samsung's latest foldable phones.
There Are at Least Four Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 4 Models
There are at least four global models of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4, and there might be even more (I'm still doing the research). They're sold in different countries and have slightly different cellular capabilities. The models include:
- SM-F721U (Flip) and SM-F936U (Fold): US models. They have a single physical SIM slot plus an eSIM. They have the US 5G bands, including millimeter wave.
- SM-F721W (Flip) and SM-F936W (Fold): Canadian models. Typically these are like the US models, but without millimeter wave.
- SM-F721B (Flip) and SM-F936B (Fold): Global models. I'm trying to figure out how these are different. Models ending with /DS have dual physical SIM slots.
There are also probably dedicated Chinese and Korean models, but I haven't uncovered the specifics just yet.
We'll have more details on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Fold 4's 5G features and cellular quality in our full reviews, so make sure to check back soon.