The reason why the Galaxy Fold 4 doesn’t have a perfectly flat screen like its rival Mix Fold 2

Samsung also didn’t ship the Galaxy Fold 4 with a perfectly flat screen in unfolded mode, with the new model appearing inferior to rival Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. Except, the truth is somewhere in between.

Contrary to expectations, Samsung is not only at the forefront of technology, it’s also one of the companies that can afford to reject those innovations that have more drawbacks than benefits.

Take the example of the newest foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold 4, which despite expectations did not come with a screen that completely eliminated the crease formed in the folding area, contenting itself with just delivering a nearly flat surface. By comparison, rival Xiaomi seems to have already found the perfect solution, with the new Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 almost completely eliminating this drawback. In practice, the selected technology comes with a drawback that is not mentioned in the specs list.

Samsung was the first foldable phone manufacturer whose devices offered water protection by default. Last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are the world’s first water-resistant foldable smartphones . Naturally, the company wanted to keep that level of durability for the 2022 models. It’s just that water protection doesn’t come directly on the spec list, but concrete steps are needed to facilitate this advantage, steps that could conflict with other important benefits for users and manufacturer alike.

So what Xiaomi doesn’t say is that the Mix Fold 2 phone’s ultra-thin screen comes at the compromise of somewhat weaker water protection, with IPX 8 (full water immersion) certification becoming a modest IPX 4 (splash water protection).

So Samsung’s apparent lagging behind in terms of innovation doesn’t by any means mean losing the race to launch the most advanced foldable phones. Instead, the decision can be interpreted more as a sign of maturity and confidence in its product offering, as Samsung has long since moved beyond the “newcomer” status in the foldable phone market, and is now banking on features that are more likely to favour product reliability and long-term market share gains.