Just a straightforward assessment that the newer device did what he needed it to do
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the most consequential figures in modern technology, has quietly revealed that his personal smartphone of choice is Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold4 — a device gifted to him by Samsung's president during a visit to South Korea. In doing so, he bypassed Microsoft's own foldable offering, the Surface Duo 2, not out of rivalry but out of something more honest: a preference for what works. His choice is a small but telling reminder that even those who shaped the digital world are, in the end, simply people looking for tools that serve them well.
- One of the most watched names in technology just publicly chose a competitor's device over his own company's flagship foldable — and did so without apology.
- The Z Fold4 didn't arrive through a store or a product launch; it came as a personal gift from Samsung's president Lee Jay-Yong, exchanged during Gates' recent travels through South Korea.
- Gates still lives inside Microsoft's software ecosystem — Outlook, Windows, Surface Studio — making his smartphone choice stand out as the one deliberate exception to his corporate loyalty.
- By framing the upgrade in purely practical terms, Gates strips away the noise of brand allegiance and signals that Samsung's foldable technology has earned its place at the highest levels of the industry.
During a Reddit Q&A, Bill Gates disclosed that he had upgraded his personal smartphone from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 to the newer Z Fold4 — and that the device came not from a store, but as a gift from Samsung president Lee Jay-Yong during a recent trip to South Korea. The timing aligned naturally: Gates was ready to move on from his third-generation foldable, and Samsung's leadership recognized the moment.
What gives the revelation its weight is the choice it represents. Gates remains deeply embedded in Microsoft's world — he relies on Outlook, works on Windows machines, and keeps Surface Studio and Surface Hub devices across his offices. Yet for the one device that travels everywhere with him, he has consistently reached for Samsung's foldable line rather than Microsoft's own Surface Duo 2.
Gates described the switch in straightforward terms, calling it a move to a more powerful model — no sentiment, no corporate reasoning, just a practical judgment. The Z Fold4's ability to collapse into a phone and expand toward a tablet suits someone who moves between different kinds of work throughout the day.
The quiet lesson embedded in his choice is one that cuts across the mythology of tech titans: even the people who built the industry's foundations pick their tools based on what actually works. Corporate history is one thing. The device in your pocket is another.
Bill Gates has moved on from his Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. During a Reddit question-and-answer session, the Microsoft founder revealed that he has upgraded to the newer Z Fold4 model—and the device arrived as a gift from Samsung's leadership, not as a purchase of his own.
Gates, who stepped back from day-to-day involvement at Microsoft years ago to focus on his philanthropic work, remains a closely watched figure in technology circles. His smartphone choices carry weight because they signal which devices actually work for someone who has spent a lifetime inside the industry. For some time, he had been using Samsung's foldable phones rather than the Surface Duo 2, Microsoft's own attempt at a foldable device.
The gift came from Lee Jay-Yong, Samsung's president, during one of Gates' recent trips to South Korea. The timing was convenient: Gates was ready to move beyond his third-generation Z Fold, and Samsung's leadership saw an opportunity to place their latest model in the hands of one of the world's most influential technologists. Gates accepted, and the Z Fold4 became his new personal device.
What makes this noteworthy is not that Gates uses a Samsung phone—plenty of people do. What matters is that he chose it over Microsoft's own foldable offering, despite his deep historical ties to the company and his continued reliance on Microsoft's software ecosystem. He still uses Outlook and other Microsoft applications. He still works on Windows PCs. He still uses Surface Studio and Surface Hub devices across his various offices and locations. But for the smartphone that goes everywhere with him, he picked Samsung.
The Z Fold4 serves a particular purpose: it collapses into a phone and unfolds into something closer to a tablet. That flexibility appeals to someone who needs to move between different kinds of work throughout the day. Gates framed his upgrade in practical terms, describing it as "making the jump to a more powerful new model." There was no elaborate explanation, no corporate loyalty, no sentiment. Just a straightforward assessment that the newer device did what he needed it to do better than the older one.
This choice reveals something about how even the most powerful figures in technology make decisions about the tools they use. Corporate affiliation matters less than functionality. A gift from a peer matters more than corporate messaging. And sometimes the person who built one of the world's largest software companies simply prefers what someone else made.
Notable Quotes
I have a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, offered by JY Lee, the president of Samsung, a gift made during a trip to South Korea, taking the opportunity to upgrade from my Z Fold3— Bill Gates, Reddit Q&A
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Gates use a Samsung phone instead of Microsoft's own Surface Duo? Doesn't that seem like a betrayal of sorts?
It's not really a betrayal if you think about what he actually needs. The Surface Duo is an interesting device, but the Z Fold4 does something different—it's a phone that becomes a tablet. Gates travels constantly. He needs something that works.
But he still uses Microsoft software, right? Outlook, Windows PCs, all of that?
Exactly. He's not abandoning Microsoft. He's just being honest about which piece of hardware serves him best. The phone is the tool he touches most. Everything else flows through Microsoft's ecosystem.
Do you think Samsung orchestrated this? Sending the gift to Gates, knowing he'd use it publicly?
Almost certainly. But that doesn't make it cynical. Lee Jay-Yong sent a good product to someone who would actually use it and talk about it. Gates accepted because it was better than what he had. Both sides got something real out of it.
What does it say about the foldable phone market that Gates chose Samsung over Microsoft?
It says Samsung won that particular race. They built the better foldable. Gates' choice is just the most visible confirmation of what the market already knew.