After durability testing the Galaxy Z Fold 4 last week, YouTuber Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything is back with the teardown video of the new Samsung foldable. He gives us a look at the internals of the device, including the redesigned hinge. He begins the teardown by removing the inner folding display and, unfortunately, fails once again to take it out in one piece. While the rubber bumper around the display comes off easily, the screen itself is hard to remove. And despite being extra careful, Zack ends up damaging the folding display.
As expected, the Galaxy Z Fold 4‘s display consists of multiple layers. These include the digitizer to detect the movement of the S Pen on the screen and read input. Interestingly, Samsung has replaced the thin metallic layer from the display assembly with fiber-reinforced plastic. The company says the new material is as strong and durable but weighs lesser. Samsung has also increased the pixel density above the under-display camera. A side-by-side comparison of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Fold 3 shows that.
Removing the folding display doesn’t give us access to the rest of the internals, though. The outer display and the back panel need to be removed for it. Unfortunately, Samsung has inlaid the glass screen inside the metal frame, so it doesn’t come out in one piece either. The back panel does peel off without any damage, though. Under the back panel is the wireless charging coil simply pasted on top of the board. Removing the coil and a couple of plastic plates held in place by screws finally reveals the motherboard.
We then move to the two batteries. And Samsung being Samsung, there are no pull tapes or anything as such. The batteries are glued in place and extremely hard to remove. Zack couldn’t avoid pricking one of the power units. The Korean firm needs to rethink its battery attachment methods as using glue isn’t the best and safest way for it.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 features a redesigned hinge
Finally, we get to see the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s hinge, the component that makes the device foldable. It’s a redesigned hinge with three separate sections connected by metal plates. While the first three generations of Fold devices feature a hinge with gears or movement, Samsung is using groves and joints on this year’s model. The whole system is quite complex and is a testament to the engineering marvel the device is. You can see it being taken apart in the video below.