The Galaxy S22 Ultra and the newly released Galaxy Z Fold 4 are two of Samsung‘s best phones ever. Both phones feature the most powerful processors, newly improved cameras and innovative displays. While the Fold 4’s added durability and longer battery life make it smoother to use than ever, it’s still $1,800. The $1,200 S22 Ultra isn’t exactly affordable either, but which one offers better value? Which one provides the best experience? So let’s dive into which one is best for you.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Design and build quality
The Fold 4 hides a huge screen inside, while the S22 Ultra is basically a Galaxy Note with a different name. In other words, if you’re not used to big phones, they all have large footprints.
The S22 Ultra’s clean lines, impressive durability and dedicated S Pen slot define its refined, professional design. The curved sides can make it harder to hold, and the only design aspect encountered is that there isn’t a single camera module around the rear camera, but rather five circular protrusions that all act as dust magnets.
At the same time, the Z Fold 4 adopts a relatively spartan design. When closed, it’s about a centimeter thinner than the S22 Ultra, but about 6mm thicker than the S22 Ultra. Unlike the S22 Ultra, it’s only IPX8 rated — the hinge may be waterproof, but dust is still the enemy — and there’s no S Pen slot. Speaking of that hinge, while it has a noticeable crease on the screen above it, it’s nowhere near as intrusive as the original, and slightly better than the Z Fold 3. No other foldable currently competes with the Z Fold 4’s hinge reliability.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Display
The S22 Ultra’s screen has a 1440 x 3088 resolution, 1,750 nits peak brightness, a variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz, and a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another phone with such rich colors and great HDR performance. Its premium Gorilla Glass cover strikes a good balance between durability and scratch resistance, and it works really well with Samsung‘s S Pen.
There’s a lot more to talk about the Z Fold 4. The 7.6-inch main display has a 21.6:18 aspect ratio, proving very effective for multitasking and viewing media. It can’t claim to have the same top-notch brightness and pixel density as the S22 Ultra, but you pretty much have to look at them side-by-side to spot the difference. Flexible ultra-thin glass is still not as durable as tempered glass, which makes plastic screen covers a necessary evil.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Performance and battery life
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which on paper might look like a slight upgrade over the S22 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but the real story is in the heatsink. Whether you’re multitasking for work or playing resource-intensive games, both models can handle whatever you throw at it, but the S22 Ultra is more likely to overheat during prolonged use.
Out of the box, the S22 Ultra has over 24 hours of battery life and about 6 hours of screen usage. Battery size and placement in the Z Fold 4 pose more of an issue due to its folded configuration. There are many more pixels to power. The main tool to combat this consumption is the enhanced Snapdragon APU, which is about 10% more efficient than its predecessor. It also has better thermal management than the previous Z Fold 3, which means you won’t experience throttling from overheating even if you’re gaming in the hot sun.
Where the S22 Ultra wins out is charging speed. The Z Fold 4’s “fast” charging mode maxes out at just 25 watts. The S22 Ultra’s 45-watt charging speed is about as fast as most people need.
Camera
Three flagship-resolution main cameras let you take incredible photos with the Z Fold 4. The under-display camera itself hasn’t changed with the foldable display, but it’s harder to see than it was last year. The main rear sensor has finally been upgraded to 50MP, and you can use the cover screen as a viewfinder to take selfies with that tallest sensor. It’s not the most extravagant camera setup in the world.
The neatest part about the Z Fold 4’s camera setup isn’t the exacting specs. Like the last two models in the Z Flip series, Flex Mode lets you unfold the device halfway and stream directly to social media or video calls, with the lower half of the phone acting as a combo stand and touchpad of sorts. This innovation makes foldable phones a viable option for those who rely on telecommunications or have a large online following.
The S22 Ultra’s camera setup is at least twice as powerful. In practical use, the double pixel count of its 180MP main sensor and additional lens gives the camera more information to feed into its processing algorithms.
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