Verdict:
| The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has absolutely instilled my confidence in foldable smartphones. Compact, sturdy and well-made, the telephone has the facility to deal with demanding duties and options all-day battery life. The folding show permits a number of nifty methods and turns the telephone into its personal stand, useful for taking photos alone or utilizing it as a highlight. Though the Flip 4 is an incremental improve over final yr’s Flip 3, the elevated battery and storage capability are all welcome options. | |
Professionals:
|
Cons:
|
Reviewers want to look at each product with an goal eye, nevertheless it’s typically troublesome to desert preconceived reservations. Given the comparatively new state of the foldable smartphone market, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 being the primary foldable smartphone I’ve ever examined, I used to be cautious of it being only a novelty.
To my aid, Samsung’s Flip 4 handed my assessments with flying colors and actually showcased simply how far foldables have come since their first entry into the market simply three years in the past.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Specs
| Machine | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G |
| Show |
Principal show: 6.7-inch, 2,640 x 1,080 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz Cowl show: 1.9-inch, 512 x 260 Tremendous AMOLED Show |
Principal show: 6.7-inch, 2,640 x 1,080 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz Cowl show: 1.9-inch, 512 x 260 Tremendous AMOLED Show |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| Digicam | Rear:
Ultrawide – 12MP, f/ 1.8 Principal – 12MP, f/ 2.2 Pinhole selfie digital camera: 10MP, f/ 2.4 |
Rear:
Ultrawide – 12MP, f/ 1.8 Principal – 12MP, f/ 2.2 Pinhole selfie digital camera: 10MP, f/ 2.4 |
| Reminiscence | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB/512GB | 128GB/256GB |
| Battery | 3,700mAh | 3,300 mAh |
| OS | Android 12 | Android 12 |
| Safety | Fingerprint sensor in energy button, fundamental 2D face recognition | Fingerprint sensor in energy button, fundamental 2D face recognition |
| Sturdiness | IPX8 | IPX8 |
| Dimensions and weight | 187g
Closed – 71.9 x 84.9 x 17.1mm Open – 71.9 x 165.2 x 6.9mm |
183g
Closed -72.2 x 86.4 x 17.1mm Open – 72.2 x 166.0 x 6.9mm
|
| Worth |
C$1,260 | C$1,130 at launch, round C$964 on Amazon |
Design
The quilt show is simply as necessary as the principle show. It lets me management music, view latest notifications, ship easy replies and even use the digital camera.
When unfolded, the Flip 4 is as slim as some other smartphone.
A fingerprint sensor energy button and a quantity rocker sit on the left facet. There’s a small hole on the hinge when the telephone’s folded.
On the underside we see a USB-C port, a microphone array, and a bottom-firing speaker. The speaker works in tandem with the earpiece speaker to supply sound that’s loud sufficient to fill a small room. It’s additionally crystal clear in calls.
You possibly can nonetheless reply calls with the telephone folded, nevertheless it mechanically solutions them in speaker mode. Be ready.
The outer shell is constructed utilizing Corning’s sturdy Gorilla Glass Victus and has obtained a mushy contact end. Along with including grip, fingerprints barely persist with it. The highest bar, containing the digital camera array and the quilt show, offers a pleasant distinction to the design however attracts fingerprints.
The hinge feels very sturdy and held firmly at each angle. The skinny bezels are barely raised so as to add a bumper that forestalls the 2 halves of the show from bumping into one another when the telephone’s folded.
Show
That is what I spent the majority of my time reviewing.
Setting the folding facet apart for now, the Flip 4’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X Fold show sports activities a 2,640×1,080p decision, rated at a formidable 1,000 nits peak brightness and 120Hz refresh price. To allow the bendiness, the Flip 4 makes use of an Extremely Skinny Glass (UTG) with a display screen protector pre-applied. Whereas the display screen protector may be eliminated, it’s strongly really useful to maintain it on, as even a small scratch may compromise the delicate base glass.
Unsurprisingly, the excessive refresh price made scrolling and animations stream like a sleek stream. The colors themselves are fairly saturated in vivid mode, however I used to be capable of dial it again a contact by choosing the pure color profile. Including to the show’s spectacular checklist of specs is a coveted HDR10+ certification.
The excessive brightness proved usable even straight underneath the noon solar, though on the default setting, the show is means too vivid for consolation at nighttime. For causes unknown, the auto brightness adjustment doesn’t pull the brightness beneath 20 per cent. Samsung even included an “Further dim” mode tucked away within the Accessibility settings. Not totally positive why this couldn’t be part of the automated course of.
With Dynamic Refresh Price turned on, the principle show’s refresh price ramps as much as 120Hz each time the person touches the show. When it’s displaying a static picture or sitting idle, the refresh price falls to 24Hz. When streaming or typing, the refresh price sits at 60Hz.
Shifting the eye onto the crease. Sure, it’s nonetheless there, although it’s almost imperceptible when considered perpendicularly. Nonetheless, the creased space does exhibit color distortion when considered at round 60 levels. The color change is most noticeable on white backgrounds. I didn’t discover it irritating, simply an intrusion that I observed at occasions when the telephone is laying flat.
Samsung’s resolution to incorporate a canopy show has paid off in dividends. I consider it’s a key motive behind the recognition of Samsung’s foldable telephones (we’ll get to the opposite motive later). Nested subsequent to the Flip 4’s rear digital camera array is a 1.9-inch touchscreen. By it, I can view my latest notifications, test the time, management music, and even take selfies utilizing the rear cameras. Though restricted, this set of capabilities and widgets drastically enhances the telephone’s usability; simply think about how cumbersome it will be to must unfold it for each notification.
With that mentioned, because the cowl show lacks an ambient mild sensor, it might probably’t mechanically alter its brightness in line with its surroundings. There have been a number of events throughout testing when the solar overpowered the show, rendering it illegible. The saving grace is that I may alter the show brightness manually by way of the quilt show.
Efficiency
The Flip 4 comes with the speedy Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 system-on-chip (SoC), 8GB of reminiscence, and as much as 512GB of storage.
As anticipated, the machine achieved wonderful efficiency in artificial benchmarks, scoring 721 in Geekbench’s single-core take a look at and 3731 in multicore, seating it as one of many quickest telephones I’ve examined. Its graphics rating was equally spectacular, clocking in at 2,846 in UL 3DMark Excessive’s Wild Life Excessive take a look at. Its storage pace peaked at 1,288MB/s learn and 236MB/s write.
These numbers translated to a elegant expertise in all my day by day workloads. Whether or not or not it’s launching complicated apps or multitasking, the telephone dealt with it and not using a hitch. And though it comes with “simply” 8GB of reminiscence, I by no means as soon as skilled app crashes or slowdowns. With that mentioned, the realm across the digital camera can turn into heat when operating extra intensive workloads, comparable to gaming. It by no means reached an uncomfortable stage, however it’s noticeable.
Digicam
The Flip 4 comes with one 12MP huge and a 12MP ultrawide digital camera. The telephoto versus ultrawide debate continues to be sizzling because the day it began. Personally, I’d have most well-liked a telephoto, however that’s solely as a result of I must zoom in on audio system at occasions.
In good lighting, the Galaxy Flip 4 produces wonderful pictures from each of its shooters. The principle digital camera specifically captures wonderful element and gives wonderful depth of discipline. In some photographs, nevertheless, the bokeh impact can seem slightly unnatural. I’m not totally positive if that is from the precise aperture within the lens or by way of post-processing.
Principal digital camera picture samples
The ultrawide digital camera, however, handles panorama scenes with spectacular dynamic vary. The software program results simply captured vibrant colors and recovered particulars in shadows when capturing straight into the solar. Though on the subject of sharp, contrasting colors, it might probably typically exhibit fringing. Discover the purple discolouration across the inexperienced leaves and branches towards the blue sky within the shot beneath.
Ultrawide digital camera picture samples
Evening mode efficiency varies between the 2 cameras. It typically will get beautiful photographs and makes virtually no distinction in others. The ultrawide digital camera likes to use bizarre tinting in night time mode, skewing colors.
Low-light picture samples
The pinhole entrance digital camera is simply common. It’s ok for video calls and selfies in first rate lighting, however particulars can turn into a bit blotchy in decrease lighting, and colors muted. With that mentioned, it does present an honest edge definition so the topic is rarely fully misplaced.
Samsung’s default digital camera app offers tons of capabilities that make the most of AI processing. Options like object eraser helped me take away distracting objects in photos with out resorting to a clunkier modifying app. It might probably additionally extract textual content from pictures, and straighten out pictures taken at an angle. I discovered this beneficial when capturing photos of shows and slideshows.
Battery
I can confidently say that the Flip 4’s 3,700mAh battery can final all day. A full cost logged about 5.5 hours of screen-on time, give or take half-hour relying on my routine. As a author, my day is full of copious emails, social media, messaging, calling, and watching movies. Once I’m out and about, I depend on my telephone to navigate by way of mapping and ride-hailing apps. It’s additionally a useful device for recording interviews, capturing occasions, and taking snapshots of audio system.
When the telephone enters energy saving mode, it locks the show refresh price to 60Hz. I’d wish to see Samsung restrict the height body price as a substitute, to permit the telephone to nonetheless decrease the body price when displaying static components. Truthfully, I didn’t discover an enormous battery life enchancment once I manually set the refresh price to 60Hz, however I did discover that scrolling and animations turned choppier.
Software program and assist
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 makes use of Samsung’s working system based mostly on Android 12. On the time of writing, Android 13 is already on the best way. Samsung has promised 4 main software program characteristic updates and 5 years of safety updates for the machine.
Total, Samsung’s interface may be very clear. Many of the settings may be accessed with a few faucets within the Settings app.
There are a number of further nifty options to spice issues up. A persistent sidebar may be accessed by swiping in from the sting, offering immediate entry to essentially the most incessantly accessed apps. The software program additionally gives the power to arrange twin accounts for well-liked social media apps like WhatsApp and Messenger, which may be extraordinarily useful for organising work and private accounts on one machine. Bixby is sadly nonetheless tethered to the facility button by default, however that may be simply restored to energy choices in settings.
Furthermore, there are some further cool options, like background blur in video apps, which might be supplied by the machine itself. Samsung does a fairly good job of exhibiting the telephone’s hidden capabilities by way of the tutorial app.
With that mentioned, I’d be remiss to not point out the popup advertisements that sometimes replenish my notifications and even present up as floating home windows. That is essentially the most intrusive facet of the software program and I do want that Samsung would put a cease to this. I don’t should be reminded to improve to the Flip 4 once I’m utilizing it.
Pricing and competitors
Sadly, a giant chunk of foldable competitors is centralized abroad. Whereas foldable choices from firms like Oppo are engaging alternate options to Samsung’s, a lot of them can’t set up the Google Play Retailer. They’re additionally troublesome to buy since they aren’t offered by way of main retailers and carriers, whereas Samsung units are available.
That leaves simply a few competing merchandise in North America. In addition to Samsung’s personal Fold Collection, the closest direct competitor is the Motorola Razr. The difficulty is that the Razr was launched in 2020, and the attraction supplied by its 48MP digital camera is offset by its anemic 2,800mAh battery. Its SoC, an growing old Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, can also be leagues behind the top-shelf chip contained in the Flip 4. The ultimate nail within the coffin is its value. The telephone is definitely costlier than the Flip 4 on Amazon, the one reliable outlet the place it’s out there.
The opposite is the Microsoft Floor Duo 2. It isn’t as cool because the Flip 4 and Fold4 in that it gives two separate halves as a substitute of a unified folding show, nevertheless it does run Android, has three beefy cameras, a 120Hz show, and is extra inexpensive than both the Fold 4 and Flip 4. It additionally has a a lot bigger battery, rated at 4,449mAh. Though its specs sound spectacular, the Floor Duo 2 can also be a lot clunkier and fewer intuitive as a result of it lacks a canopy show. That omission forces customers to must open the machine for any interplay, resulting in frustration when used with one hand.
Lastly, there’s the final era Galaxy Flip3. As welcome because the bigger battery and quicker processor are, house owners of the Flip3 shouldn’t rush out to improve. The digital camera efficiency is comparatively the identical, and its {hardware} ought to nonetheless be completely satisfactory for one more couple of years.
Conclusion
After virtually a month of rigorous hands-on, I’d don’t have any qualms with utilizing the Galaxy Flip 4 as my day by day driver. The larger battery and its 5 hours of screen-on time assuaged my worry that it will die midway by way of the day. Furthermore, its solid-feeling hinge and lovely show eradicated my doubts concerning the show’s reliability. I by no means felt like I used to be going to break the machine at the same time as I mindlessly bent it.
With that mentioned, I’ll warning that I solely had the telephone for a month. One part that deteriorated the quickest within the final era was the display screen protector, a necessary safeguard that ensures the integrity of the fragile folding glass it’s layered over. It stays to be seen how the display screen protector on this era will maintain up.
Extra than simply compressing its measurement, the bendiness additionally turns the telephone into its personal stand. This may be useful for streamers and for taking group photographs. The 2 cameras have been succesful in daylight, however capturing at night time may cause them to turn into a bit inconsistent.
I’d be remiss with out highlighting a few of its shortcomings. Though the Flip line’s battery is getting higher each iteration, it nonetheless can’t maintain a candle to non-folding phablets that may final for greater than a day. The Flip’s cameras additionally fall quick when in comparison with different flagships. And at C$1,260, it should deal with different conventional smartphones with higher core options.
If I needed to summarize the Samsung Galaxy Flip 4 with one sentence, it will be that it’s virtually there. It’s astoundingly spectacular that Samsung has developed its folding telephone into what it’s in the present day.
