Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 to have drastically improved durability with new Ultra Thin Glass technology and new hinge design
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series is infamous for its poor durability when compared to traditional smartphones. Not only does the folding mechanism require a mechanical hinge, but the bendable glass on the screen is more prone to breakage and scratches, as the glass needs to be extra thin.
Although the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 introduced improved durability, it still didn’t match the toughness of non-folding phones.
However, a new report suggests Samsung will use improved UTG technology with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Fold 4. The new UTG technology will receive a new name for branding purposes, such as ‘Super Tough UTG’. Samsung will aggressively market the durability of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is the complete opposite direction of the previous marketing efforts, where they tended to shy away from even mentioning durability. If true, this suggests Samsung is very confident with the durability of their upcoming foldable phones.
The UTG for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is manufactured by Schott, a Germany company. It’s not clear who will manufacture the new UTG technology. Corning, a US company, supplied UTG for the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
The report also suggests Samsung will be introducing a new and improved hinge design.
We previously reported that Samsung will market the Galaxy Z Fold 4 as a mainstream device, and pitch it as a viable alternative to flagship phones such as the Galaxy S22 and iPhone 13. Samsung no longer sees their foldable phones as a niche market or gimmick, hoping to sell 13 million foldable phones in 2022 alone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 will also be thinner, and will be the first in the series to include an S Pen slot. Samsung recently discontinued the Galaxy Note series, with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra being the first flagship phone outside the Galaxy Note series to have an S Pen slot. It makes sense not to tie the S Pen exclusively to the Galaxy Note, as it's a popular feature with consumers. Although the Fold 3 did support S Pen, a separate case was required to hold it.