Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review – Make flipables great again

Stuff writer

2 years ago

7.3

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a stylish, portable phone with impressive performance. The camera takes decent pictures (even in low light) but could be better for a phone designed to complement your lifestyle and for the asking price. Could be worth an upgrade if you skipped the Flip 3 and have the cash to spare.

Design 7
Performance 8.5
Battery 7
Camera 8
Price 6
User Ratings (2 Votes) 1.3

It seems a bit of flexibility is what Samsung’s reaching for with its range of flipping and folding smartphones.

We got a chance to play with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, just weeks after playing with the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Somewhere between the two, we weren’t sure if we were flipping or folding….but we knew we were bending.

Call the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip range the more affordable, feminine version of the big brother Galaxy Z Fold range. Flips don’t take life as seriously and sport a few more lifestyle features. That’s the main difference… other than the price.

Worth the upgrade?

What we should be comparing, is the Flip 4 to its predecessor, the Flip 3 launched about a year ago, and if it’s worth the upgrade. Well, is it?

If you liked Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3, you’ll probably like the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Samsung didn’t change much. At least, not that you can see unless you know what you’re looking for. But it did update the Flip 4 internally for a performance boost.

Elsewhere, it gained some weight but lost some curves. Samsung also added more colours to choose from – giving it a bit of a personality boost.

Flip it closed and it’ll fit into a pocket or a small clutch bag. Some may even mistake it for a stylish pocket mirror. It’s available in purple, granite, pink gold, and blue.

Flip ‘n dip

Once opened, you’re met with a 6.7in Dynamic AMOLED foldable glass screen. That pesky crease is still present. Don’t expect that to disappear any time soon. It’s slightly less pronounced than the crease on the Flip 3, which is good, we guess.

We can feel that Samsung has spent time and money developing the hinges of both the new Fold and Flip. It says the hinge will last over 200,000 ~~folds~~ flips but we didn’t really feel like putting that to the test. But the crease will be around in some form for a while still. Something to note if you plan on picking one up for yourself.

Keep both hands on the device

The good news is, the hinge feels strong and has a smooth flow when opening and closing. It will also hold its position in a semi-opened state if you fancy using it as a mini laptop.

A strong hinge means that, unlike old-school flip phones, the Fold 4 isn’t easy to flip open with one hand. Its thick shell and solid hinge fold the phone into half its size and closes it so well that it makes it difficult to flip it open with one hand. But it doesn’t close all the way flat, there is still a gap towards the middle of the device. The best technique we found was to imagine opening a typical foldable pocket mirror. One hand holds it, and the other opens.

But, you may not always have to flip it open thanks to the 1.9-inch screen on the cover that makes it possible to view and navigate through the phone while flipped closed. The Flip 3 had the same screen, but Samsung added a few more features on the Flip 4. Probably because they realised the effort it takes to flip it open. From the small screen, you’ll be able to check the battery level, time and alarm, calendar, play music, add widgets and access Quick Settings.

You’ll also be able to view and respond to messages without having to open the whole device. Just like on the Flip 3, you’ll still be able to dictate text, which is useful, because the cover screen is tiny and typing on it can be tricky. The screen is great to have, but a slightly bigger one would make the navigation less strenuous on both your eyes and fingers. You’ll still have to open it to comfortably use the features.

Flipping wide camera

The Flip 4 has ‘I want attention’ written all over it. No, not literally…but its voguish, retro-futurist look sets it apart from the glass sandwiches everyone is used to. So you’d expect a phone this stylish (and pricey) to have a decent camera. And it does.

Samsung paired a 12MP sensor with a wide-angle lens (f/1.8 aperture) with a 12MP ultrawide sensor (f/2.2 aperture) on the back cover. It also has a 10MP (f/2.4 aperture) hole-punch selfie camera. The 10MP selfie camera on the display screen is great for selfies and gives you a couple of options when taking photos. The Flip Z4 takes better images in low light compared to the Flip 3. Samsung’s Nightography feature gives more detail and clarity to pictures and videos taken in the dark.

It’s also water-resistant, so you can take pictures in the swimming pool. Samsung says it can dip up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.

Picked up a bit of weight

The Korean conglomerate says it’s one of the toughest foldables they’ve made – and we believe them. At 187g it looks lighter than it feels. Its predecessor, the Flip 3, weighed 183g. The weight gain on the Flip 4 could also be from the bigger 3,700mAh battery compared to the smaller 3,300mAh battery in the Flip 3. It charges faster and the battery also lasts a bit longer. And, thankfully, wireless charging has stuck around.

The processor has been upgraded to a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. That’s paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That isn’t expandable so you’ll need to watch what you download. There is a 512GB option if you really need the extra space.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 verdict

The Galaxy Flip 4 resembles its predecessor in many ways. Samsung gave it a bit more processing power, upgraded the camera and the battery, and shaved off some curves. Is it worth the upgrade? Well, if you’re keeping up with the trends, and you’ve got R21,000 to spare, then maybe. The additional colours and better processing power are great and so is the camera. But we do think Samsung could have done more in other areas to make this feel like more of an upgrade. If you don’t already have a Flip and want to join the foldable movement then this is the best point of entry.