The hinges of Galaxy Z Fold 2 let it do what only one other foldable phone can do


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The Galaxy Z Fold 2 phone falls out into a tablet and has a talented hinge.

CNET / Samsung

I remember my exact feeling of excitement the day Samsung announced its first foldable phone. A year and a half after the The dramatic reveal of Galaxy Fold en next fall out of grace, I was surprised to feel the same sense of anticipation when Samsung unveiled its third foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, time in virtual launch hosted online to see the new Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra.

I had been following the leaks for months, but something clicked when all the pieces came together on screen, officially for the first time. There’s the larger 6.2-inch exterior screen, the 7.6-inch interior screen without noticing a notch like the first time and just a pinprick of a front-facing camera. There’s the mystical bronze shade (to go along with base black) and a hefty camera on the back that will surely turn heads when using a folding phone that does not work at first.

There’s also the in-screen ultrathing glass blade, which debuted with the Galaxy Z Flip and that – hopefully unlike the Fold’s first rodeo – will not be an essential screen component that peels off and renders the device unusable.

All of these are nice and good, maybe even great, for the next iteration of a futuristic device beyond the reach of bright mortality. But the one feature that is probably a game-changer is the hinge. Or rather, the fact that the hinge is stable enough to hold itself upright, like a corset, so you can bend it at any angle before its magnetic corners close when the hinge fields are open.

Nothing has sold the promise of a folding phone to me just like that freestanding hinge, first seen in the Z Flip. Every day I used it, I found myself, of course, partially open to reading the news at dinner (yes, I splashed it with soup), taking a selfie or stabilizing the phone and acting as a searcher for a typical photo. Partly open, the phone was also great for becoming a stand-alone stand for video calls. Samsung calls this Flex Mode.


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One problem: The Z Flip, a form of clamshell, has a very narrow 6.7-inch screen that feels small when folded in half. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 (and remember, there was never a Z Fold 1 at first) could change this perception of smallness. Not only is the 7.6-inch internal display in full size reminiscent of a tablet, you could use the Flex Mode in both landscape and portrait configurations and at enough angles to bend it or part enough so that it can stand upright stand as you share a news story or scroll your feeds on social media, to act as your own stand during your Zoom meeting in the park.

I will admit that this is now quite plausible. Samsung dribbled out enough information to arouse enthusiasm, but not enough to roll criticism before the device had a chance to breathe. The company says it will share more information, including the price and pre-order details of the Z Fold 2, on sept. Until then, here’s what more we know about the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

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The 7.2-inch inner screen of Galaxy Z Fold 2, with a front-facing camera but no notch in sight.

Samsung

Galaxy Z Fold 2 screen, camera, more

For me (although I have not seen it in the flesh yet) the Z Fold 2 is after a stronger start, using the same ultrathing lens as on the Galaxy Z Flip, a large enough cover screen that could make typing and using apps more practical then there was on the cramped Galaxy Z Fold and two Infinity-O displays that make the snood of the original Fold a snippet from the past. It also has a thinner body than last year’s model, with reminds the hole, which is to be expected.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 looks like it has the same camera setting as the Note 20 Ultra, which has a main camera that can take 108 megapixel photos, 5x optical zoom (and 50x Space Zoom) and 12 megapixel sensors for ultra-windy angles and phone photos. It also has two front cameras, one on the inside screen and one on the cover display, which should each be 10 megapixels, the same as on the Galaxy Note 20 phones.

You will find the fingerprint reader on the right back so that it is at the bottom of the screen sandwich when the phone is folded up.

Although you can reserve the Galaxy Z Fold 2 at the moment on Samsung.com, it is not clear from Samsung’s site how much it will cost. For reference, the first Galaxy Fold costs $ 1,980.

Consider this announcement one big tease.


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