The new hinge design will make the folded phone thinner and help reduce the appearance of a crease with the main screen open. But according to this report, Samsung tested the hinge to withstand 200,000 times as much as the latter, which lacks the longevity claims from recent competitors such as Honor Magic VS and Oppo Find N2 – both marked 400,000 times.
The Elec The report mentions that the hinge will be tested to a maximum “limitation” of 300,000 times, but 200,000 times seems to be the main bar that this design must clear. After folding 200,000 times (which takes four to five days!), the hinge should maintain at least 85 percent of its original strength. That test, in theory, represents about five years of daily use if you open the phone more than 100 times per day. Magic VS and Find N2, on the other hand, last about 10 years, which is almost an eternity in consumer electronics years.
In fairness to Samsung, the Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 boast IPX8 water resistance ratings – neither the Find N2 or Magic VS has an IP rating of any kind. If you drop your non-water-resistant foldable phone in a puddle two years into ownership, it’s not very comfortable knowing that it will continue to fold for another eight years.
However, we hope to see Samsung push the limits of its foldable devices a little more this year. It’s basically been running unopposed for Foldable of the Year for the past two years in the US, where competition is scarce. With so many candidates (hopefully) in the mix this year, it would be nice if Samsung felt a little pressure to change – we’ll just keep our fingers crossed for bigger screen covers and better cameras.