The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the first smartphone with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 support

At Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung unveiled the second-gen model of its horizontally folding smartphone, the Galaxy Fold. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 features substantial improvements over the first-gen model, with fixes for the display peeling issue, a thin layer of Ultra-Thin Glass for protection, an improved hinge design with support for Samsung’s “Flex Mode”, a full-screen cover display, a more immersive foldable display with a hole-punch cutout rather than a notch, and 120Hz refresh rate support. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a marvel of smartphone engineering, but it’s not just impressive externally. The new foldable is also the first device to feature a new piece of hardware: Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6900.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 Forums

Announced back in May, the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 is Qualcomm’s latest mobile connectivity solution for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on mobile devices. It’s the first FastConnect chip to support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) into the 6GHz band that aims to solve congestion issues in 2.4GHz and 5GHz ranges; in the U.S., the FCC has allocated almost 1200MHz of unlicensed spectrum in the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi 6. Of course, few people have Wi-Fi 6-compatible routers at home, and nobody has a Wi-Fi 6E-compatible router yet, so it’ll take a while for this technology to actually become usable by consumers.

In addition, the FastConnect 6900 enables support for Bluetooth LE Audio which includes features like multi-point audio sharing and broadcasting audio, it also has a second Bluetooth antenna with intelligent switching capabilities to overcome signal shadowing issues.

We were initially expecting devices with the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 to launch in early 2021, but it seems that Samsung has managed to include it in the 2020 Galaxy Z Fold 2. We don’t have a release date for the device, but Samsung will hold a separate event on September 1st to provide more details. That’s also when pre-orders will begin. At the very least, we can expect the Z Fold 2 to launch before the end of 2020, which means it’ll support next-gen Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies before any other commercial device.

Specification	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
Dimensions & Weight	Folded: 159.2 x 68 x 16.8 mm Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9 mm 279g
Display	Outer Display: 6.23″ HD+ Super AMOLED 2,260 x 816 pixels 25:9 aspect ratio Infinity-O 60Hz refresh rate HDR10+ support Inner Display: 7.6″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 2,208 x 1,768 pixels 5:4 aspect ratio Infinity-O 120Hz refresh rate Dynamic refresh rate HDR10+ support
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus
RAM & Storage	12GB LPDDR5 + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,500 mAh 25W wired fast charging 11W wireless charging Reverse wireless charging
Fingerprint sensor	Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
Rear Camera	Primary: 12MP, f/1.8, OIS Secondary: 12MP, f/2.2, ultra-wide-angle Tertiary: 12MP, f/2.4, telephoto
Front Camera	Folded: 10MP, f/2.2, fixed focus Unfolded: 10MP, f/2.2, fixed focus
Other Features	Folding design 5G: SA, NSA, mmWave
Android Version	Android 10 with One UI

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