We subjected the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of battery life, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key Specifications:

  • Battery Capacity: 4400mAh
  • 25W charger (not included)
  • 7.6-inch OLED display, 1812 x 2176, 120Hz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4nm)
  • ROM / RAM combination tested: 256GB + 12GB

Pros

  • Fair autonomy during video streaming and calls, with low discharge currents
  • Good battery life when scrolling through social apps on the go (device folded)
  • Excellent loader efficiency
  • Low residual battery charger consumption

Versus

  • 3.33% lost on average per night
  • Poor battery life when gaming and streaming music
  • Low battery life when using GPS navigation and camera
  • Long charging time, both wired and wireless
  • Low autonomy recovered after a 5-minute recharge
  • Low charging efficiency
  • High residual consumption of the wireless charger itself

The battery performance of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 was at the low end of our overall ranking, which is usually the case for devices in our Ultra-premium segment. However, the Z Fold4 did show battery performance improvements across all of our subscores compared to its Z Fold3 5G predecessor.

With moderate use, the battery life of Z Fold4 was better than Z Fold3 5G. When testing some use cases separately, such as calls and video streaming, the Z Fold4 showed decent battery life and low discharge currents, which means that the device has been well optimized for such use. However, when the device was tested outdoors and opened to take photos and videos, the battery drained very quickly. Range while using GPS navigation was also low.

The small 25W charger kept the charging pace slow, and a 5-minute charge only provided 2 hours and 36 minutes of battery life. Also, the charging efficiency was low. However, the residual consumption of the charger was well managed. Wireless charging was no better and showed very high residual consumption.

Compared to other Ultra-premium devices in our database, the Z Fold4’s battery life was slightly above average, which is decent for a foldable phone.

Trial summary

Learn about SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers conduct a series of objective tests over a one-week period both indoors and outdoors. SBMARK’s battery performance protocol was designed based on the classic single-screen smartphone design. However, the multiple ways of using certain apps and features on foldable devices required the Battery team to adapt the protocol and test certain use cases with the phone folded or unfolded, depending on the most likely use. See our introduction and articles on how we test for more details on our smartphone’s battery protocol.

The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Battery Battery charger wireless Screen Processor
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 4400mAh 25W
(not included)
15W AMOLED
1812 x 2176
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G 4400mAh 25W
(not included)
11W OLEDs
1768 x 2208
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) 5000mAh 45W
(not included)
15W 2X AMOLED
1440 x 3088
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

How the Autonomy score is composed

The Battery Life Score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes results from a full range of tests to measure range in all kinds of real-life scenarios.

Light use

69 hours

Light use

Active: 2h30/day

Moderate use

49 hours

Moderate use

Active: 4h/day

Intensive use

31h

Intensive use

Active: 7h/day

Home office

A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, streaming video, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.

In movement

104

Samsung Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51

Using a smartphone on the go has a negative impact on range due to additional “hidden” demands, such as continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of precisely defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device

Calibrated

98

Samsung Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51

For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and to ours bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (like gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting with an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have used at least 5% battery power.

Reload

104

Realme GTNeo 3

Realme GTNeo 3

How the recharge score is composed

Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where range is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score consists of two subscores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Fast Boost.

Charge complete

105

Black Shark 5Pro

Black Shark 5Pro

The full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy it takes for the battery to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and to an actual full charge.

The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.

The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.

Quick push

103

Realme GTNeo 3

Realme GTNeo 3

With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average range gain with a 5-minute quick charge.

Efficiency

98

Oppo Reno6 5G

Oppo Reno6 5G

How the efficiency score is composed

The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score consists of two subscores, charge rate and discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated testing and charge rating, taking into consideration battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the product’s annual energy consumption, shown in the graph below, which is representative of overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.

Charge Up

110

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro

The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relating to the amount of energy required to recharge the battery compared to the energy the battery can supply; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the remaining consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.

Discharge

ninety two

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

The sub-discharge score evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of battery capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery and its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same run time as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.

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Philip Owell

Professional blogger, here to bring you new and interesting content every time you visit our blog.