The Samsung Galaxy Fold4 is Samsung’s latest and greatest when it comes to foldable. It’s also got the guts and the power to be one of the most powerful productivity devices in anyone’s arsenal.
But – we’re not talking about that today. Nope – today, we’re going to discuss how this foldable could be a gamer’s dream device.
Hardware
Before we jump into the performance, let’s talk about some of the building blocks that make this a gaming powerhouse – well, at least on paper.
The Galaxy Fold4 continues Samsung’s trends with flagships – it packs the latest and greatest when it comes to processors. And – according to the internet – the better one with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1. The processor has been performing quite well; in fact, it’s become the go-to processor for most gaming phones out there. Samsung has also given it ample RAM (12GB) with the ability to allocate additional RAM with RAM Plus.
Of course, when it comes to heat management, it does perform better than the S22 series, but most are speculating it’s because of better airflow thanks to the larger size. Speaking of, the larger screen size is also a plus when it comes to gaming. But it also has 2 two very different experiences cause of its different screens.
Software
But it’s not all about the hardware when it comes to the gaming experience on the Fold4. Samsung has its own Game Launcher, which optimizes settings for the best gaming experience.
Aside from that, Game Launcher also has a priority mode, which blocks notifications so you can focus on gaming and closes background apps for better performance.
Performance
Now – it’s time for the actual gaming experience. So, I tested the Galaxy Fold4 with a few games, namely Pokemon GO, Shadow Fight, Genshin Impact, Diablo Immortal, PUBG Mobile, and Asphalt 9. I can tell you the experience on each was very different.
Let’s start off with the more casual games – Pokemon GO and Shadow Fight. These games aren’t too taxing when it comes to resources. Graphics are relatively simple, and the interaction and interface are pretty straightforward.
It goes without saying that the experience for both was pretty darn good on the Fold4. For these games, in particular, the experience was run-of-the-mill with either screen.
Genshin Impact, on the other hand, requires pretty substantial graphics power, and it actually did push the Fold4 quite a bit. On the larger 7.6-inch QHD+ display, the game was b-e-a-oootiful. The high resolution and high refresh rate really allow the game’s graphics to shine. The larger screen also meant that the interface wasn’t covering much of the screen and was spaced out enough to be more comfortable than the S22 Ultra. However, after a little while gaming, the Fold4 does begin to get a little bit warm.
The same was true on Diablo Immortal. Diablo Immortal has an added complexity with the huge maps and large numbers of enemies spawning at any one time. This is further complicated by the use of skills and talents, which can, at times, cover the whole screen.
Like Genshin Impact, the larger screen provided a really immersive experience overall. I had to jump into the settings to get the controls just right, but beyond that, the graphics, speed, and sound were impeccable. That is until I turned up the settings to maximum.
Diablo Immortal does default to a lower setting out from the get-go. So, to really test the Fold4, I had to turn it up to a 10. This is where I found the Fold4 struggling to keep up – at least when it came to thermals. It got a lot warmer than you’d want it to. While it didn’t heat up as much as the S22+, it was warm enough for me to revert the settings and take a break. Not something you want to experience when it comes to gaming.
PUBG Mobile and Asphalt weren’t as taxing as Diablo Immortal. In fact, I would say that they had the best gaming experience on the foldable. When it came to the smaller screen, both were pretty good visually and when it came to the interface. However, the smaller, odd aspect ratio did result in a more cramped experience when it came to PUBG Mobile. On the larger screen, it’s an entirely different story. In fact, the game could scale pretty well, and the interface was a lot more spaced out and comfortable to use. Of course, higher resolution and 360 Audio with the Galaxy Buds2 Pro did help a lot in-game.
Asphalt was pretty consistent when it came to the gaming on both screens. Thanks to the gyroscope-centric interactions, the experience was pretty similar on both screens. It goes without saying that the larger display was more immersive, thanks to the size. There was almost no ghosting or tearing when it came to the graphics in the game too.
You’d have noticed that I haven’t mentioned anything about the audio experience on the Fold4 – and that’s cause it’s about the ONLY thing that was consistent throughout all my testing. Samsung has developed one of the most immersive sound experiences with the Fold4.
The sound was loud enough that I had to turn it down when I was playing the games and when it came to PUBG, I could hear the small details like footsteps nearby. When you pair the Fold4 with the Bud2 Pro and 360 Audio, it’s a whole new ball game.
The only thing I hope that game manufacturers do is to properly scale the games to fit the screens on the foldable. While Android 12L did help with some optimizations, adoption for the built-in optimizations needs to come from the developer and, to be very honest, is no fault of Samsung’s. However, Samsung could help with adoption among developers listed in the Galaxy Store.
Conclusion
All in all, the Galaxy Fold4 is a flagship device, and I didn’t expect it to fall flat on its face with gaming. However, when it comes to saying it’s built for gamers, it’s definitely not, and Samsung isn’t hiding it. The Fold is a line built for productivity but can also handle gaming. It has one of the best, most immersive experiences.
