Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 leak promises the upgrade we really want

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G is the best folding phone you can buy right now, but Samsung isn't sitting on its laurels. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is said to launch later this year, will offer some important improvements on Samsung's winning formula: an even bigger screen (well, a little), better durability, and the inclusion of Samsung's S Pen into the body, making it an even better and more flexible tablet.

While the Galaxy Z Fold 3 supports the S Pen, it doesn't have anywhere to put it. That'll change with the Z Fold 4, which will have a dedicated slot for storing the S Pen when it's not in use, according to The Elec.

The screen is going to get a little bit bigger too, although by a little we really do mean a little: the Z Fold 3 has a 7.55-inch main screen and the Z Fold 4 will have 7.56 inches. Before you get all excited about what you'll do with that extra 0.01 of an inch, the external display is taking it back: where the Fold 3's internal display is 6.2 inches, the Fold 4 gets 6.19 inches.

These kinds of minor screen size changes are usually indicative of a tweak to the internal design, resulting from changing other components – such as fitting in a pen somewhere, say.

Indeed, The Elec's report says that Samsung's focus with the Fold 4 is on durability rather than any startling design changes: it had considered an eight-inch folding phone, but it was too big for testers' hands to hold comfortably. Expect the headline changes to be under the hood with newer processors and perhaps improved display tech too.

And it's said that it'll also get the same 4 years of Android versions and 5 years of security updates as the rest of Samsung's 2022 line-up, including the Samsung S22 and Samsung S22 Ultra – meaning it may be the most future-proof folding phone as well as the smartest.

Adding an internal S Pen might not be as thrilling to everyone reading this as it is to us, but the Z Fold 3 is such a great hybrid device for switching between traditional phone stuff and being able to take quick handwritten notes or to annotate something when needed – it just seems silly that you need to find somewhere else to stash the pen when the Samsung S22 Ultra can fit it into the body, and that's much smaller than the Fold.

We definitely expect this to shake up the pantheon of the best Samsung phones when it launches – we can't wait.