It's that time of the year; Samsung will take the stage on August 10, during its bi-annual Unpacked event, and is widely expected to unveil the latest in its line of foldable smartphones, most likely the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4.

Last year's bendy, shape-shifting iterations, the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, earned top spots within our best foldable phone rankings, Samsung saw record sales for foldable in 2021, quadrupling its numbers from the year before, and the Korean giant recently made it clear that it thinks folding phones are now mainstream.

The Flagship Cameras

Arguably the most sought-after smartphone feature, camera systems that are reliable, sharp-shooting, and pocketable are in demand more than ever before. While the Galaxy Z cameras have never been bad per se, they've never been the best within Samsung's portfolio -- let alone its competitors.

Since the first Galaxy Fold, Samsung has put fewer camera lenses or leftover configurations from the previous year's Note flagship on the more-premium handsets. See below for a comparison between Samsung's flagship camera systems over the past three years.

Battery Fit

Another high-priority feature, battery life, is what makes or breaks the mobile experience. For all the Flex Mode photo and video capturing, multi-app browsing, and tablet-sized dreams that Samsung pitches, all-day battery life should be a given with the Z series, but it's not.

Endurance has never been a strong suit with Samsung's foldable. For example, the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 struggled to withstand the power draw from new, higher refresh rate panels. They didn't set up the two phones for success: with 4,400mAh and 3,300mAh batteries on the Fold and Flip, respectively, they expected insufficient and impractical battery life.

Suppose Samsung wants foldable to take over the mainstream market. In that case, it'll first have to put out phones that can withstand the relentless rehearsals of Gen-Z TikToks, and professionals who always have 3+ apps running simultaneously. Otherwise, battery life alone will demote the foldable experience for all users.

Form Of Function

The Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip have always been narrow and squarish for a company that strongly believes that tablets should be wider. The only benefit of this taller aspect ratio is grip; you can place either phone in your palm and easily wrap your fingers around the edges. That's it. That's the argument. Now here's the counter.

That means wider and shorter dimensions to portray apps as the developers intended, the UI never feels outstretched, and the keyboard is spacious enough to tap on. Oppo's done it with the Find N, Honor's done it with the Magic V, and Samsung should follow suit.

When the original Z Flip launched, they met its mere 1.1-inch outer display with dissatisfaction and a lot of head scratching. The use cases with the limited surface area boiled down to the smallest selfie camera viewfinder and notifications that would cut off mid-roll.

Built-In S Pen Written

This one's probably the most specific ask out of the five, but they can't ignore it. Since the first Galaxy Fold was unveiled, the thought of fusing the Galaxy Note's siloed S Pen stylus into the two-in-one foldable left productivity geeks and power users like myself salivating.

It wasn't until the Z Fold 3 that the company finally released the first-ever S Pen Fold edition, with a rounded pen tip to accommodate the softer, more fragile glass display.

A built-in S Pen would not only make the precision-enhancing accessory more convenient to use but would ultimately be more secure. It's a long shot of an ask, but consumers have all the reasons to remain hopeful.

The Price Of Entry

Claiming that foldable has gone mainstream is like saying the Tesla Model S Plaid is for everyone; the technology is too expensive right now to appeal to all. I'll give Samsung some credit.

The price of entry for its foldable has gradually declined over the past three years, with the Z Flip 3 finally breaking into the three-digit price range last year. It helps US carriers continue incentivizing trade-in offers and financing plans.