Phone Comparisons: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold

Samsung had introduced its second-gen ‘Fold’ flagship recently, and we’re here to compare it to its predecessor. In this article, you’ll be able to read about a comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Galaxy Fold. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 came approximately a year and a half after the original Fold, and it brought a lot of improvements to the table.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold was a first-gen product. Not only was it the first ‘Fold’ foldable the company announced, but Samsung’s very first foldable in general. Expectations are never high from the first-gen product, so the Galaxy Fold had its flaws. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is here to, at the very least, reduce the number of flaws you’ll find on the first-gen model.

Does it succeed in doing so? Well, you’ll have to read on to get the details, but… spoiler alert… yes it does. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 does feel like an evolution of the company’s foldable, for a number of reasons, and the design is one of them. On the other hand, the original Fold is now way more affordable, so keep that in mind. We’ll start this comparison off by listing the specs of these two phones, and then we’ll move to the design, display, and other segments. That being said, let’s kick off the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold comparison.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Design

So, the design. Samsung did not change the general way the Galaxy Z Fold 2 folds, the general premise stayed the same. The device comes with two displays, and it folds inwards, just like the Galaxy Fold. That design approach to foldables seems to be the best yet, as most companies adopted it. When folded, the inner display is protected, which is necessary considering it’s quite prone to scratches. More on that in the display section.

Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass, and even though they do look somewhat similar, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is easily the better-looking of the two. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 comes with much, much thinner bezels on its Cover (outer) display, while bezels are thinner on its inner display as well. Instead of that large notch on the inner display that the Galaxy Fold offered, Samsung included a display camera hole on both displays.

Even the back side of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 looks sharper, due to a nicer-looking camera module. The hinge has been improved with the second-gen ‘Fold’ model, as its design should help keep dirt away. The hinge is quite satisfying to use, by the way, and it doesn’t feel flimsy in any way, though that was the case with the first-gen model as well.

Both phones are quite slippery, and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a bit heavier than the Fold (282 grams vs 263 grams). It is also a bit wider, both when folded and unfolded, while they’re similar in terms of height and thickness. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 does bring quite a few design improvements to be worth getting over the first-gen model, that’s for sure.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Display

These two handsets offer two displays each. Both Galaxy Z Fold 2 displays are larger than the ones on the Galaxy Fold. The phone features 7.6-inch and 6.2-inch panels. The Galaxy Fold, on the other hand, offers 7.3 and 4.6-inch displays. That being said, the ‘Cover’ display on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is also considerably sharper than the unit on the Galaxy Fold.

That’s not the only difference here either. Both displays on the Galaxy Fold offer a 60Hz refresh rate, while the inner display on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a 120Hz refresh rate with 240 touch sampling. That’s a considerable difference. That’s not all either. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 comes with a UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) display, like the Galaxy Z Flip. That makes it feel a lot sturdier under your finger.

The Galaxy Fold offers a plastic display, on the other hand. We’re talking about the main displays of both phones, of course. The panel on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 does come with a plastic film on top of that UTG display, though, so it’s prone to scratches as well. Both panels are quite prone to scratches, in fact. Outer displays come protected by Gorilla Glass, so they should be fine when it comes to scratches.

The difference in quality between panels is also visible. The displays on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 do seem a bit brighter, and a bit more color-accurate. The difference is not that noticeable, though. Black are deep on both phones, and all four panels offer really vivid colors. The main difference comes to display size, UTG, and refresh rate. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 truly is a noticeable evolution in the display department.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Performance

So… what about the performance? Well, the Galaxy Fold came with quite a powerful processor. The phone is equipped with the Snapdragon 855, and it equips more than enough RAM on top of that. Samsung’s software optimization is also good, so the device performs admirably to this day. The Galaxy Z Fold 2, on the other hand, also offers stellar performance, as you’d expect from a new flagship.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is equipped with the Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC, the latest and greatest Qualcomm has to offer. That chip will be included on a global scale, by the way, the Exynos 990 is not a part of the picture. It will pack in even newer RAM and UFS flash storage, so we can’t imagine that it’ll slow down anytime soon.

Both phones are great across the board when it comes to performance. You should not have issues in any way, no matter whether it comes to multitasking, opening apps, general performance, or gaming. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a bit faster when it comes to opening some apps, but the difference is minimal. Overall, the two devices seem similarly fast, in the general performance department, that is.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 sports a slightly larger battery capacity than its predecessor. It comes with a 4,500mAh battery compared to a 4,380mAh battery. The Galaxy Fold offered really, really good battery life. Does the Galaxy Z Fold 2 improve on this? Well, no, not really. Don’t get us wrong, the battery life on the device is still good, but its 120Hz display does affect battery life. The phone offers slightly less in this regard than its predecessor… that’s still pretty great, though.

Hashing out accurate numbers is not something we can do here. It all depends on how often you use the main display, and for what you use it for. If you’re gaming more, it will drain more battery, for example. Some people will use the ‘Cover’ display far more than others, and so on. You should not be disappointed in this regard, just managed your expectations, and don’t expect the best battery life on the market.

Both phones support fast charging, both wired and wireless. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 offers faster wired charging, and slower wireless charging. It offers 25W wired charging, compared to 15W wired charging on the original model. 11W fast wireless charging is included, compared to 15W on the original model. Wireless PowerShare aka reverse wireless charging is also a part of both handsets.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 adopts a similar rear camera setup as the Galaxy S20+. The setup is not identical in general, but the main camera is, pretty much, and that’s a good thing. That main 12-megapixel camera can capture some great-looking images, and is one of the best out there. It is accompanied by capable telephoto and ultrawide lenses as well.

It is certainly an improvement over the setup we’ve seen on the original Galaxy Fold, even though those cameras are still pretty good as well. The main camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 can pull more detail from the shadows, though, and it also handles noise in low light better. Shots during the day are just as good as they were, both phones do a great job in that regard.

The front cameras are similar on both phones, actually. They’re not earth-shattering, but are quite good for taking selfies. The front-facing camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s main display offers a rather wide field of view, which is great for selfie cameras, of course. All in all, both phones offer really good camera setups, and are able to provide good quality images.

Audio

Both the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 2 come with Dolby Atmos support. Both phones have two speakers, both of which are tuned by AKG. Audio is not much different between these two phones, to be quite honest. Those speakers get pretty loud on both phones, while the distortion is basically not noticeable even at the highest of volumes. The sound is pretty sharp, and the speakers are well-balanced.

When it comes to audio via headphones, you can get really good results, presuming you have good quality headphones (wired or wireless). Both phones excel in mids and highs, while the lows are not bad either. Neither of these two phones is a device for audiophiles, but they’re more than good enough for pretty much everyone else. The audio is quite good on both phones.