The last time I was impressed by a high-end foldable phone was more than a decade ago when I held the Nokia E90 Communicator in my hands. It was a solid beast with a physical keyboard that I still miss even till today.

So being a Samsung user, my interest was genuinely piqued when it started coming up with foldable phones, but its first iteration was not exactly greeted with critical acclaim. The South Korean tech giant is now onto its third generation of foldable devices. Is its latest Galaxy Z Fold2 what I’ve been waiting for?

When folded, the Fold2 is a narrow, elegant phone that comes encased in a sleek metallic body with rounded corners. Upon picking it up, however, I am reminded by its bulk that I am, in fact, holding two devices stacked on top of one another. The display is also much narrower than any other phones I’ve used. And while it does sit comfortably in my hand, the weight certainly takes getting used to.

Its massive 7.6-inch main screen, however, makes up for the clunkiness. While I do have a tablet, I rarely bring it out with me because why carry an extra device when you can do everything on your phone? But with the Fold2, I get a pocket tablet, and that means bigger screen estate in an instant.

The Fold2 comes in two colours, Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black. It is quite similar in design to the original iteration, except with a tonne of improvements.

For one, this device is anchored by what Samsung calls the Hideaway Hinge, a backbone of sorts that allows you to hold it open at any angle. I find that my favourite way to hold it is to open it at a 75-degree angle and prop it up in my hand as you would a book. Or if I want to go hands-free — say if I want to watch something while grabbing a quick lunch — I fold it at a 90-degree angle, place the phone on a table so it faces me like a tiny laptop, and open the YouTube app on just the top half of the screen.

I also like having the fingerprint scanner on the side-mounted power button on the right of the phone, which feels like a more natural place for it compared with the under-display ultrasonic one in the S20 series.

The external display, as you can imagine, is squished. Measured diagonally, the screen size is 6.2”, but make no mistake, it is tall and narrow, and I imagine that people with bigger hands than mine might find the keyboard cramped. The trade-off, of course, is that it does make the phone easier to hold and use in one hand when closed.

When you do unfold the device, it opens up to a gorgeous main display resolution of 2,208 x 1,768 pixels. Colours are bold, details are crisp, and the screen is bright enough for comfortable outdoor viewing. The 120Hz adaptive refresh mode also means scrolling is smooth and interface flow is uninterrupted, making for an impressive experience when I’m gaming and watching movies.

The crease in the middle, however, is still there. It’s hardly noticeable when fully opened and I’m looking at it straight on, but if I want to get nitpicky, it is visible at certain angles.

In terms of build, the phone feels very solid in my hands. I constantly open and close it throughout the day and the mechanics feel stable and smooth, and not at all flimsy or creaky. I accidentally dropped it once on the tiled floor of my bedroom and my heart sank, but the phone was unscathed.

Samsung has also introduced a new built-in sweeper technology, which it says keeps out particles with every fold and unfold. Critics had complained that one of the Fold’s biggest flaws was that dust or debris would get stuck inside the device’s hinge and damage the display, but I’m happy to report that I’ve had no such issue with the Fold2.

Meanwhile, the external screen is fortified by Gorilla Glass Victus. The main display, though, utilises ultra-thin glass topped with a protective polymer layer, which is said to be more delicate but I’ve yet to see any scratches on it.

My favourite part about the Fold2 has got to be working on it. It can run three apps simultaneously thanks to its split-screen capability and its massive screen, making multi-tasking a breeze.

Not all apps are supported, but I work mostly on Google Apps and Microsoft’s office suite, which work flawlessly on this device. Being able to look at and compare several documents at once is a major selling point for me. I also really like being able to drag and drop text, images and other content between app windows. The Split Screen Capture option also came in handy, allowing me to screengrab in one app and transfer the captured image to another.

And speaking of images, I do find shooting with the Fold2 a new experience. Shooting with the phone unfolded feels foreign to me since the phone is so large, but it also means the viewfinder is massive. There’s also the option to show the viewfinder on the external screen while actually taking pictures via the inner display, so the subject of my photo gets a preview of my shots.

In terms of battery life, the Fold2, with a combined capacity of 4,500mAh, easily gets me through an entire day on a single charge.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 is a beautiful, if cumbersome, head-turner, and the larger display and top-notch performance make working and playing a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience. But given the eye-watering RM7,999 price tag, I wouldn’t say this phone is a must-have. That said, most luxury items aren’t.