You might think a flipping phone belongs in the early noughties where an awakened Thomas Anderson discovers he’s the One and Netflix is but a pipe dream of the future. The truth is that a folding Samsung-made smartphone isn’t all that unusual in 2022, so much so that the South Korean company is making two of them again this year. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, more tablet than phone, is a multitasking dream with enough power to run multiple apps at once on its expanded display, but it’s the Galaxy Z Flip 4 that’s the MVP of this pairing.
Swinging open vertically, the Flip 4 brings back fond memories of snapping your phone shut to end a call with overly dramatic panache and immensely satisfying. Better still, it’s got all the modern trimmings to make gaming, TV streaming and Twitter doom-scrolling an absolute breeze. Now Samsung has spent three years refining its folding formula, it’s worth asking whether this admittedly thrilling niche is going to amount to anything more. We’re on the fourth iteration of Galaxy Flip and Fold phones, but can we see a future here? Having spent two weeks testing and prodding, we’re still inclined to think a foldable, flippable phone is where the market is headed.
Maintaining a design ethos
You’ll have to squint extremely hard to notice any sort of design change between the Flip 4 and last year’s form factor, the Galaxy Z Flip 3. In fact, both phones are pretty much identical, with only a millimetre in size and only a few grams lost in weight between them. The screen is also identical to the previous model, sporting a 1080 x 2640 pixel Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support – an impressive viewing platform but not even an attempt to make anything unique this time round. So it’s just as well we were pretty smitten with last year’s aesthetic.
While the Flip 4 looks great when folded in like the high-tech clamshell that it is, some minor annoyances remain, namely that the fingerprint scanner (on the power button) and volume buttons are awkwardly positioned. Unless you’ve fingers the size of Edward Scissorhands, you can’t nonchalantly flip the thing open, unlock it and fire off a text in one swift motion. This is the same when trying to tap notifications at the top of the screen, as it’s a long way to stretch while still comfortably holding onto the weightier base.
The biggest change in the design is the new Gorilla Glass Victus+ chassis, which is allegedly more robust to drops and dents, though you’ll forgive us for not attempting to test that out too rigorously on a £1,000 phone. The sturdier durability also comes with better water resistance (IPX8) so it can be submerged and still survive.
The major positive is the dinkier cover display that gives you notifications, battery percentages, weather indicators, quick keys for playing music and it can also double up as a viewfinder for when you’re using the selfie camera. So you can no longer blame the camera when it comes to your blurry post-pub photography.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 specs
- Display: Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+
- Main camera: 12MP wide and 12MP ultrawide
- Selfie camera: 10MP Selfie camera
- Processor: Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
- Operating system: Android 12
- Battery life: 3,700 mAh
- Size: 6.7 inches
- Weight: 187g
- Water resistance: IPX8
