Geek Review: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 5G

There are two ways to look at Samsung’s latest clamshell device, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4no pun intended.

One is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”, and the other is, what else can Korean chaebol add to the third iteration of hardware introduced in 2020, to make it come out? Whereas flip phones, which have made some comeback, are still niche, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 5G plays it safe and introduces minor upgrades over last year’s model, but only offers little more to win over users of non-foldable devices.

That said, it might also be a bit ambitious to expect big advances in mobile technology every year, and the Flip 4 does its job of exemplifying Samsung’s commitment to this format and cementing its lead in this niche. All those minor bugs of battery life and poor NFC sensitivity have been ironed out somewhat with the latest iteration, so if you’ve been keen on getting the previous Flip model, this new one is well worth looking at, although it offers little for last year model owners looking for an upgrade.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, users will once again experience the best hardware on the market…like what they got last year. This year’s Flip 4, with a 2640 x 1080 pixel 120hz AMOLED display, 8GB of RAM and water resistance, follows the same hardware specs as last year, showing that no matter how you unfold it, it There are few hardware improvements between the Flip 3 and Flip 4.

Another lack of change relates to pricing, as Samsung understands that upgrades have generally been minor around the Flip 4. Launched at the same S$1,398 price point as the Flip 3, the real changes, albeit minor, are to the battery (an increase from 3300 mAh to 3700 mAh), a larger camera sensor (from 1.12 μm pixels to 1.8 μm pixels) and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. If not that a little cheaper, the current offer would be even more interesting.

With the hardware side pretty much settled, it’s the aesthetics with the Flip 4 that continues to turn heads, especially with the Bora Purple colorway we were provided with. There are more customizable colors outside of the default offerings (Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, Blue) as owners can mix and match the front and back panels, as well as choose the color of the phone’s frame. The Flip 4’s color and construction work in tandem to turn heads the moment it’s taken out of the pocket or purse.

When unfolded, the Flip 4 measures 71.9 x 165.2 x 6.9mm, which is a comfortable size to grip. For most content consumed online, it would seem that the screen width is smaller than content downloaded from platforms like TikTok and IG Reels. When text is placed at the ends of the screen, it cuts off slightly, which can be quite noticeable, especially if you’re an avid user of vertical video platforms. Folded, the Flip 4 measures 71.9 x 84.9 x 17.1mm which fits nicely in a pocket or purse.

While the grip is great, the grip is another. As the Flip 3 was encased in a glass shell, it created a good amount of friction when held in the hand or in the pocket at the expense of visible smudges. However, Flip 4 users will now get a hazy glass exterior with a matte finish, which actually makes it more slippery to the touch. It’s not a dealbreaker per se, but those with buttery fingers might want to be extra careful with their new purchase. The matte finish brings out the color of the Flip 4 nicely, and it looks great all around with the shiny chrome finish around the edges.

Samsung has improved the flip mechanism here and it’s obvious. Stiffer operation might seem counter-intuitive, but the Flip 4 snaps and closes like a vice – quick and decisive, and it doesn’t feel cheap. Compared to 2021’s Flip 3, you can feel the mechanism when the phone closes, which is best described as two pieces of paper sliding under each other. By comparison, the Flip 4 has no audible or tactile feel when the phone is closed. While we had concerns about the flipping mechanism holding up over time, it’s been almost a year of daily use with the Flip 3, and it’s been going without a hitch, so we’d expect the same performance here. Unfortunately, it’s still difficult to open the phone with one hand.

With the Flip 4 closed, users will be greeted with the 1.9-inch, 260 x 512 pixel cover screen where you can make calls, use widgets and check notifications without having to open the phone. The main improvement here is being able to add a key contact widget containing up to three numbers and dial them directly with the phone closed.

In addition, the selfie camera user interface has been improved somewhat to be able to take both landscape and portrait photos. In the previous Flip 3 only landscape shots were captured, but with the new portrait framing it’s actually harder to see largely due to the size of the cover screen. Samsung has done its best to ensure that users will be able to use most of the phone (except for social media scrolling) without having to open the phone.

Other than those few areas though, the Flip 4 looks and feels pretty much the same, giving users no reason to switch to a foldable or upgrade. It was pretty obvious that the battery life of last year’s Flip 3 wasn’t the best, and a jump to 3,700mAh isn’t worth shouting out loud, even if the Flip 4 was able to go the distance giving us 10 hours of battery life after a day of emails, texts and web browsing. Compared to the Flip 3, that’s an additional 2 hours of battery life in a similar usage scenario. Also, the phone runs much cooler than before and even though it heats up when playing games and watching videos, the heat is much more manageable than the Flip 3.

On the camera side, the only hardware change concerns the size of the camera sensor. It’s slightly larger now at 1.8μm and retains the same 12MP f1.8 wide and F2.2 ultra-wide-angle cameras on the cover screen and a 10MP F.24 selfie camera when unfolded. It’s not a big leap if you’re looking for the best phone camera, but Samsung is committed to bringing all the improvements found in their Samsung Galaxy S22, especially in the area of ​​night photography into the Flip 4.

All of these upgrades are admittedly minor, and it likely has to do with Samsung’s lack of competition in this space. Huawei has a competitor with the P50 Pocket, but the lack of Google services makes it difficult for the average user to get started easily. Overall, the biggest hardware changes we’ve seen so far would be in the areas of a bigger battery and a new processor. Other than those, the camera and aesthetics remain largely the same. Even the much-loved cover screen does not get this major improved feature and that makes us wonder if existing Z Flip 3 users will get the improvements as they are mostly in the software realm. If one were to put the two phones side by side, you’d be hard pressed to notice any noticeable differences, but in everyday use the Flip 4 is superior from the start.

If you’ve come this far and wondering if it even makes sense to get the Galaxy Z Flip 4 or even get a discounted Flip 3, know that despite some limitations, the Flip 4 is definitely the good model to try your luck. After all, considering how the Flip 3 has held up over time in terms of the open/close mechanism, the Flip 4 would perform well if everything remained constant. Ultimately, the new phone is great for new users, but Flip 3 users needn’t be green with envy.

Gerald currently straddles his love of video games and board games. There’s nothing he’s more interested in than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town. He dreams of publishing a board game in the future!

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