Four years since Samsung started making foldable phones, I've not felt the need to switch to one. The camera experience is the main reason for that on the Galaxy Z Flip line, along with the narrow cover screen on Galaxy Z Fold smartphones.
And now that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is here, it looks like I will have to further delay switching to a foldable Galaxy device. That's because the Galaxy S23 Ultra is amazing. In addition to the cameras, which alone justify the asking price, that Samsung-exclusive ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip' has me real impressed with its performance and efficiency.
The battery life on the Galaxy S23 Ultra is amazing, and so is its performance. But so is battery life and performance on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, you say? Or that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will have similar battery life and performance when it launches later this year, especially if Samsung uses the same chip again?
Well, you would be right on both counts, but like I said above, it's not just performance and efficiency that has me biding my time before I bring home a foldable phone for myself. The camera experience should be top-notch, as well, and at the moment, I don't see that being the case on either one of Samsung's foldable lineups for at least the next couple of years.
Perfection is a ways off for Samsung's foldables
Yes, the Z Fold's foldable screen has its uses, but as someone who sits at his desk all day, I don't need my phone to convert into a tablet. I already have two large monitors in front of me all day long. Plus, have you seen how narrow that outer screen is on the Galaxy Z Fold series?
As for a Galaxy Z Flip, do I even need to explain myself? I love that it turns into something so compact, but the restrictive camera hardware on a Galaxy Z Flip 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 4 is something I just can't accept. Battery life, too, although that wasn't exactly a problem on the Z Flip 4.
And again, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has made it even harder for me to leave candybar Galaxy phones behind and get in on the foldable action. We have probably called other Galaxy phones perfect in the past, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the epitome of that word, with amazing cameras, performance, display, battery life, and more.
The only thing I miss are the perfect dimensions of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but that's something I've come to terms with. If Samsung wants to keep the S Pen alive and have a slot for it on the phone, we're likely going to see Galaxy S Ultra phones with boxy designs continue to be the norm going forward – whether the S Pen is something you want or not, Samsung will force it on you if you want the highest-end member of its candybar phones.
