Design and display
In folded state, the Z Fold 4 is shorter and narrower than the S23 Ultra, but way thicker and more cumbersome to carry around or fit in your pocket. Samsung’s bezel area gap and crease visibility also leave a lot to be desired compared to some other foldables out there, so the design round would go to the curved screen of the S23 Ultra. As far as ergonomics are concerned, the very narrow external display on the Z Fold 4 makes it easier to reach across it when holding the phone with one hand, yet the thick and heavy phone feel is always there.
The biggest advantage of Samsung’s best foldable phone before the Galaxy S23 Ultra is that it comes with a huge 7.6-inch internal display to browse, read, game, or watch videos on. Granted, it might not sound much larger than the 6.8-inch panel of the Ultra, but due to the almost square aspect ratio, the Z Fold 4’s inner screen is much bigger in surface area still.
Granted, surveys show that foldable phone owners are mostly using their external displays – about 80% of the time – but they always know a bigger screen is there when needed, otherwise the 6.2-inch external panel on the Z Fold 4 with a very tall and narrow aspect ration just wouldn’t cut it compared to the 6.8-inch panel of the S23 Ultra.
As for the Galaxy S23 Ultra screen quality, we expect Samsung to use its latest 12th-gen OLED panel technology that debuted on the Z Fold 4, but brighter because of what Apple managed with the iPhone 14 Pro Max that uses the same Samsung OLED generation and yet offers up to 2000 nits of peak brightness.
Given the 1Hz-120Hz dynamic refresh rate and excellent calibration on both phones, a brighter screen would leave the Ultra at a slight advantage before the Z Fold 4 in display characteristics if not in sheer size.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max price
| Model | Price |
|---|---|
| Galaxy S23 Ultra | $1199 (exp.), $1299 (256GB), $1399 (512GB), $1599 (1TB) |
| Galaxy Z Fold 4 | $1799 (256GB), $1919 (512GB) retail, on sale with up to $450 instant discounts |
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 4 specs
There is no denying that being the newer phone, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will manage to beat the Z Fold 4’s hardware in terms of performance gains, but it will especially be much better in the camera and zoom departments.
| Galaxy S23 Ultra (exp.) | Galaxy Z Fold 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.8-inch, 3080 x 1440 pixels, 500ppi, 1-120Hz Dynamic AMOLED, Gorilla Glass Victus | 7.6″ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex Display (2176 x 1812 pixels, 21.6:18), 1-120Hz refresh rate inner display 6.2″ Dynamic AMOLED, (2316 x 904 pixels, 23.1:9), 48-120Hz refresh rate external display |
| Dimensions | 163.4×78.1×8.9 mm | Folded: 67.1 x 155.1 x 15.8mm (Hinge) ~ 14.2mm (sagging) |
| Main camera | 200MP Samsung ISOCELL 1/1.3″ sensor with 0.60 micron pixel size, OIS, Dual PDAF | 50MP Main (1X), Aperture size: F1.8; Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
| Telephoto camera | 10MP, 3.0X optical zoom, F2.4 aperture, 69mm, 1/3.52″ sensor size, Pixel size: 1.12 μm | 12MP 3.0x pptical zoom: Aperture size: F2.4; Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
| Telephoto camera #2 | 10MP, 10.0X optical zoom, F4.9 aperture, 230mm, 1/3.52″ sensor size, Pixel size: 1.12 μm | n/a |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP, F2.2 aperture, 13mm, 1/2.55″ sensor size, Pixel size: 1.4 μm | 12MP, Aperture size: F2.2; Pixel size: 1.12 μm |
| Hardware | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm, 12GB RAM + 256GB, 12GB RAM + 512GB, 12GB RAM + 1TB | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4nm octa-core, 12GB RAM, 256GB | 512GB | 1TB UFS3.1 |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 45W wired, 15W wireless charging | 4,400mAh, 25W wired, 10W wireless charging |
Camera
The biggest Galaxy S23 Ultra hardware upgrade – its 200MP main camera – would run circles around the modest camera kit of the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Thankfully, Samsung stopped putting the 12MP trifecta on its foldables, but even the 50MP sensor wouldn’t cut it against the Galaxy S23 Ultra, let alone its unsurpassed zoom kit.
The S23 Ultra camera is also expected to have much improved low-light photography and detail capture abilities, as is exemplified in its leaked camera samples against the S22 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro below.
This is because in extreme low-light scenarios, the 200MP sensor’s pixel size would go to 2.4 micron binned virtual pixels by combining 16 into one, so that a picture can be snapped at 12.5 MP but with greatly increased light sensitivity. Not only that, but Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s image processing will bring new photography abilities to the S23 Ultra.
Moreover, Samsung is readying an exclusive improvement to its Super Steady Mode for the Galaxy S23 Ultra that it will aptly call “Ultra stabilization” and with which it may aim to bring something akin to to Apple’s newfangled Action Mode video recording stabilization.
Performance and software
While Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is still made on the 4nm process, now in its second generation, it’s the extra chipset features that will give the S23 Ultra a leg up in performance before the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Chief among those is the new X70 5G modem that brings on plenty of new and unsurpassed by other modem makers features:
- Snapdragon X70 unleashes advanced capabilities such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite, Qualcomm 5G PowerSave Gen 3 and 4X
- sub-6 carrier aggregation to achieve unmatched 5G performance.
- Harnessing the power of AI to enable breakthrough 5G speeds, coverage, low latency and power efficiency to fuel the 5G Connected Intelligent Edge
- World’s only comprehensive 5G modem-RF system family capable of supporting every commercial 5G band from 600 MHz to 41 GHz, offering flexibility to OEMs for designing devices capable of supporting global operator requirements
- Unmatched global band support and spectrum aggregation capabilities including world’s first 4X downlink carrier aggregation across TDD and FDD, mmWave-sub-6 aggregation
- Standalone mmWave support to allow MNOs and service providers to deploy services such as fixed wireless access and enterprise 5G, without needing sub-6 GHz spectrum
- Unmatched uplink performance and flexibility with uplink carrier aggregation and switched uplink support across TDD and FDD
- True global 5G multi-SIM including Dual-SIM Dual-Active (DSDA) and mmWave support
- Upgradeable architecture allowing rapid commercialization of 5G Release 16 features through software updates
By the time the Galaxy S23 Ultra lands, both phones will be on the latest Android 13 with the newest Samsung One UI interface as an overlay, but the Z Fold 4 will enjoy its exclusive multi-tasking interface features made possible by the giant internal display.
Battery life and charging speeds
With big display comes a big power draw, and, unfortunately, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is no exception, despite the battery-saving Standard Performance mode that Samsung is offering on it.
Not only does the Z Fold 4 have a smaller, 4400 mAh battery compared to the alleged 5000 mAh unit in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but is giant screen gulps electrons like there’s no tomorrow during intense 3D-rendering sessions like gaming.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, will use the more frugal Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 plus the latest power-sipping OLED display technology and should beat the Z Fold 4’s battery life comfortably, at least in mixed usage with the inner panel fired up every now and then.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery should also charge in about the same time as the Z Fold 4’s unit despite its larger size, as it supports faster, up to 45W wired charging abilities, and also quicker wireless charging input.
Summary
It would be rather easy to decide between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Z Fold 4 when choosing time nears. If Samsung keeps the current Z Fold 4 instant discounts scheme, or cuts its price permanently as happened with its predecessor, its starting tag would be only slightly higher than that of the S23 Ultra in the respective storage tier.
When unfurled, however, Samsung’s head-turning foldable phone presents you with a bigger display than what the Galaxy S23 Ultra would carry which is on top of that supportive of the S Pen stylus, but on a much larger canvas.
If you browse, do work on your phone, or game on a regular basis, you’d really have to weigh the better camera kit or potentially longer battery life of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Z Fold 4 may feel clunky in hands and pockets, but is a joy to one’s infotainment needs when unfurled, so the choice boils down to the price difference come S23 Ultra launch time.
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