HomeMobileAndroidSamsung Galaxy Z Flip4 review, it changes little but feels a lot

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 review, it changes little but feels a lot

On August 10th, Samsung officially launched the new folding smartphones of the Galaxy line, obviously I am talking about Galaxy Z Flip4 and Z Fold4. Two devices that have already reached maturity the last generation and that in these new versions are therefore simply optimized to bring into the hands of users products that allow to obtain some improvements in the everyday use experience.

For about 3 weeks I have been using the new Z Flip4 as my main smartphone and I must say that, even if numerically they are not particularly substantial, the changes brought by Samsung compared to the previous model (reviewed last year) are felt . Starting with the new hinge, passing through a further optimized software and ending with an increased battery that puts a patch on what was probably the main problem of Flip3. Stay connected because in the next few lines I will tell you everything in detail.

SUMMARY

  • AESTHETICS AND ERGONOMICS
  • DISPLAY E AUDIO
  • SOFTWARE
  • EXPERIENCE OF USE
  • DATA SHEET
  • CAMERAS
  • CONSIDERATIONS

AESTHETICS AND ERGONOMICS

Needless to hide it, at first glance, seen simply from the outside, this Flip4 does not differ much from the previous model but it probably would have been quite strange if it had been the other way around. After all, we’re talking about a folding clamshell and there aren’t many different ways to interpret this kind of form factor. However, this does not mean that there is still some difference, starting with the hinge.

As you can well imagine , the hinge is undoubtedly one of the most important elements when we talk about the engineering of a folding smartphone. To all intents and purposes it is the fulcrum of the movement and therefore must be resistant, solid and compact at the same time. Well, with this Flip4 Samsung improves all these aspects. The new hinge that allows the opening and closing of the display is in fact less protruding, more compact even in the parts that hide under the body, without sacrificing excellent solidity and equally good resistance. We continuously bent it far and wide, more or less quickly, making it bang, putting a thickness in the middle, trying to force the opening beyond 180 degrees, but nothing,remained the same hardness of the first use . I did not notice any kind of failure that could cause problems in the linearity of the movement and indeed, from the first opening it seemed to me that this hinge offered greater resistance to opening than last year.

It may seem like a small thing but in reality the feeling of solidity is considerably amplified by this detail which, however, greatly complicates the opening with one hand, an operation which tends to be not recommended. With this hinge so resistant the risk that Flip4 slips out of your hand is in fact even greater and if you don’t want to do like me, and also test the impact resistance, you should follow this indication.

Don’t worry anyway, despite the two small flights without a parachute my Flip is still whole; certainly thanks to the aluminum frame and external walls in Gorilla Glass Victus + , which do their job regardless of the form factor. In order not to have to test beyond the goodness of the materials, however, I dressed it with a beautiful transparent cover that keeps the design intact enough while protecting it from my carelessness. Obviously the latter is not available in the package, you can find it on the Samsung website or, alternatively, you can rely on Amazon as I did. Despite the particular form factor, in fact, the proposals are not lacking. As always I have entrusted myself to dear Spigen but take a look because there are so many alternatives.

samsung galaxy z flip4 review, it changes little but feels a lot
samsung galaxy z flip4 review, it changes little but feels a lot

Having said that, another of the things that change, albeit slightly, are the dimensions. The less protruding frame, in fact, allows you to reduce the height of the smartphone when closed by a few fractions of a millimeter; which is also very slightly narrower thanks to an optimization of the internal display bezels which are further narrowed compared to Flip3.

The cameras positioned outside, next to the small display, are then a little more protruding . Nothing to worry about, the difference is very subtle but it is still right to point it out. Also because if you use it open on the table without a cover, the thickness of the cameras is enough to make the smartphone swing when we touch it to give commands; one thing that I find quite annoying and another reason why I still recommend a cover.

samsung galaxy z flip 3 pic s
samsung galaxy z flip 3 pic s

samsung galaxy z flip 4 pic s
samsung galaxy z flip 4 pic s
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

72.2 x 166 x 6.9 mm
6.7 pollici – 2640×1080 px

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

71.9 x 165.2 x 6.9 mm
6.7 pollici – 2640×1080 px

Click here for the complete comparison »

At this point I must necessarily tell you about ergonomics. I don’t deny it, this form-factor is not my favorite when it comes to folding smartphones but the fact of being able to reduce the vertical size before putting it in your pocket or bag certainly has its advantages.. What is certain is that the external screen is just a little bit small and then in the vast majority of cases you find yourself having to open the phone to be able to read or interact with notifications in complete tranquility. It then depends on the use of each one, of course. If you can ignore most of the notifications, or in any case you already don’t often pick up the phone on your own, then it can certainly be an interesting solution for, as mentioned above, to reduce the clutter. Alternatively you have to find a different method of use or turn to other solutions.

DISPLAY E AUDIO

Well, after having talked to you about what is on the outside of the fold, it is time to instead spend a few words on what we find inside, once the smartphone has been opened. Z Flip4 offers in this sense a 6.7-inch diagonal display , the same size as last year then, but with slightly thinner bezels and with a resolution that is slightly increased and reaches 2640×1080 pixels, with a density of 426 ppi.

It is an AMOLED panel, indeed, to be precise the trade name is Dynamic AMOLED 2x. Basically it is an LTPO OLED panel with dynamic refresh rate that can go up to 120Hz. In this regard, in the settings you will find the possibility to set the refresh rate at 60Hz or to let the system decide when and how to raise or lower the refresh rate.

Being a folding panel, it is normal for the yield to be a little lower than what we are used to seeing on the top of the Samsung range with the standard format. It does not reach the same brightness as the latter and in general the images still appear a little less sharp. Nothing particularly disabling, indeed, you will only notice it by combining a Flip4 with an S22, and in any case you will certainly not be disappointed.

In fact, there remains a panel capable of reaching 1200 nits peak , with a constant luminance of about 800 nits. Also good is the precision in the reproduction of colors which, in Natural mode, allows to obtain Delta E of less than 3 both for grayscale and for colors, with a total coverage of the Gamut sRGB.

The external display is also good, which is a little less bright than the internal one but which still remains sufficiently visible even under sunlight. The real drawback of this panel are the dimensions, still too small to be able to give us support in any situation.

At the level of compatibility in the reproduction of multimedia contents, we cannot complain. There is support for HDR in the HDR10 + standard and of course we also have full compatibility with Level 1 Widevine DRM .

And I close this chapter with a few words about audio . The reproduction always takes place in stereo mode with one channel that is reproduced by the speaker on the bottom and the other that is instead entrusted to the speaker of the ear capsule, used as a reinforcement. The quality is decent, the mids and highs are reproduced all in all well while the lows suffer from the small size of the speakers. Especially with some types of tracks you can perceive an attempt to amplify the frequencies from 200Hz downwards which, however, brings a bit of confusion in the mid-bass range. On the other hand, the maximum volume is good, even if some vibrations too many at the highest level should be reported, probably the fault of the form factor, which obviously cannot guarantee the same rigidity as standard products.

The audio on call is also good , both for what concerns the microphones and for audio playback. The volume in the capsule is correct and the stamp returned sufficiently faithful. In hands-free the capsule is supported by the system speaker which therefore allows to obtain a high volume.

SOFTWARE

A product like Galaxy Z Flip4, so particular due to its form factor, cannot fail to bring with it unique functions also in terms of interface management. At the base of everything, however, there is Android 12, customized with Samsung’s One UI in version 4.1.1. Within the latter, however, the developers have created an environment specifically designed to make the most of the characteristics of the foldable display: the Flex Mode.

It is a mode of use that manages and resizes the spaces occupied by the elements within the various screens so that they are more functional to the size and position of the display once it is folded. In this regard, by folding the screen we can meet three different situations.

In the first case, that of “non-adaptable” applications, essentially nothing will happen and it will only be possible to take advantage of having a portion of the screen raised and therefore in favor of the eye. In the second case, on the other hand, there are applications that adapt by exploiting the Flex Mode in a standard way; in short, the display is divided into two parts: in the upper one remains a portion of the application while the lower one turns into a sort of toolbar from which you can capture screenshots, open the notification curtain, raise and lower the volume and brightness or use the space as if it were a touchpad, using the cursor that appears to navigate the application reduced to half the screen.

The third case, on the other hand, is that of applications that have already natively introduced tools compatible with Flex Mode. In the case of Flip4 these tools are usually those related to the camera, and in particular to the so-called Flex Cam . In this way, applications that integrate a tool for capturing photos can take advantage of the characteristics of the smartphone to increase flexibility in positioning it during the shooting phase.

Among the apps that have been updated and have introduced new features in this sense we find those of the Meta group: Facebook and Instagram , for example, when we open the camera to capture an image or shoot a video, they resize and rearrange the elements of the interface to be able to make the most of the foldable display. These are small steps forward and there are still few apps that have a dedicated mode, but this continuous update testifies to Samsung’s willingness to work with developers for ever greater integration.

And then there could be no lack of news regarding the small external display . In fact, some widgets have been added to make it more functional. Among these we have a new Widget for quick calls , in which it is possible to insert the icons of the contacts that we consult most frequently, or that of the Smart Things routines, which allows you to control the elements of the connected home via the external display. But perhaps the most interesting novelty is the ability to respond to some notifications directly from the external screen . For the moment these are only the most common messaging apps, e-mails are currently excluded, and you can only use pre-set replies or voice dictation.

For the rest it is always the One UI we know and which probably remains one of the most complete user interfaces in the Android landscape, if not the most complete ever. As with practically all its smartphones, also for this Flip4, Samsung should guarantee 4 years of updates for major releases and 5 years of security patches on a monthly basis.

EXPERIENCE OF USE

Ok, I have already told you above what are in my view the pros and cons of dealing with a product of this type, so now I’m going to tell you how I found myself with the new Flip4 from a point of view more related to the data sheet and performance . And let’s start by going to see what is hidden under the body of this little engineering masterpiece. Yes, because if it is already difficult to fit all the components in a normal smartphone trying to contain the dimensions as much as possible, imagine how much it can be if this smartphone also has to fold.

Despite the hinge hinge inside this Flip4 there is the top of the Qualcomm SoC for this 2022. We are obviously talking about the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 , which is an updated and optimized version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 announced in November last year. We are talking about SoC equipped with a CPU and a GPU that are at the top of the sector in terms of performance and which are accompanied here by 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128/256/512 GB of storage on UFS 3.1 memories.

DATA SHEET

  • display:
    • esterno: Super AMOLED 1,9″ 260×512
    • interno: Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex da 6,7″ FHD+, 22:9, refresh rate adattivo 120Hz (1-120Hz)
  • mobile platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1
  • memory:
    • 8GB in RAM
    • 128/256/512GB internal
  • dimensions:
    • aperture: 71.9×165.2×6.9mm
    • size: 71.9×84.9×17.1-15.9mm
  • peso: 187g
  • connectivity: dual SIM (nano SIM + eSIM), 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
  • sicurezza: Knox, Knox Vault
  • resistance: IPX8
  • OS: One UI 4.1.1 based on Android 12
  • fingerprint reader: lateral
  • cameras:
    • anteriore: 10MP con Selfie Flash, f/2,4, pixel da 1,22μm, FOV 80°
    • posteriori:
      • 12MP main, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, f/1.8, pixel da 1.8μm, FOV 83°
      • 12MP ultra wide angle f / 2.2, 1.12μm pixel, 123 ° FOV
  • battery: 3.700mAh, 25W charging, fast wireless 2.0, wireless battery sharing
  • colors:
    • Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, Blue
    • Bespoke Edition con fronte/retro Yellow, White, Navy, Khaki, Red, telaio Silver, Black, Gold

A hardware of the highest level therefore, which translates into performance that is absolutely up to every situation . The fluidity of this Flip4 in the management of the interface surprised me. The One UI, as mentioned above, is one of the most complete user interfaces and, as such, is also more complicated to manage than some alternatives. Precisely for this reason, even in medium-high range products it is possible to notice some small uncertainty every now and then, something that has never happened with Flip4.

Multitasking is handled very well and the loading speed is always very good. In short, it is exactly the behavior that I would expect from a top of the range device.

Here, if I really have to find a fault then I tell you that on some occasions I have felt it warm up in the upper part , just below the camera block. At that point, especially if we stress the WiFi chip for several minutes consecutively, the Flip4 begins to heat up noticeably. For example, it happened to me using Android Auto wirelessly, or playing online during a CoD Mobile session. It is nothing to worry about but still it is right to point it out.

In terms of connectivity, nothing is missing. We have WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and GPS , in short, there is everything you need and also in terms of performance there are no problems to report. Reception is good , the network is hooked up without problems in all situations and the stability of the signal is also of a good level. In short, all in the average of smartphones in this market segment.

The USB-C is then type 2.0 but, unfortunately, DeX support is missing . Honestly, in a smartphone of this range I would have expected the implementation of the desktop mode, even more for the fact that it is still one of the criticisms that had already been addressed to the previous model.

I then spend a few words about the fingerprint sensor which is positioned on the side, integrated into the power button . It is a fast and precise sensor and, at least for what is my handle, it is also positioned in the correct point to be pressed comfortably both with the smartphone closed and open. Instead, I had some problems with face recognition, which is obviously only 2D but which is not absolutely as accurate as the fingerprint sensor.

And here we are talking about autonomy and recharging . A particularly interesting chapter because one of the most important innovations of this Flip4 is precisely given by the introduction of a much larger battery than the previous model. Specifically, we went from 3300 mAh to 3700 mAh , 400 mAh more which are really able to make a difference.

In fact, if with Flip3 you often arrived in mid-afternoon with the need for a quick recharge, with Flip4 the full day, in most cases, will not be a problem. Personally I have reached the 4 hours of active screen , which are a result able to offer a certain security to a good part of users. With an important use of navigation and games, however, you may still find yourself in difficulty.

In the package, as for a couple of years now, we do not find the charger that will be purchased separately. There is support for “fast” charging up to 25W, while Wireless charging can reach a maximum power of 15W. We also have support for reverse charging up to a maximum of 5W of output.

CAMERAS

We are therefore to the cameras. Flip 4 maintains the number and configuration of the cameras of the previous model , so we have a 12 megapixel main camera with Wide lens and optical stabilization but, above all, with a sensor equipped with larger pixels than the previous model, and therefore able to capture more light. On the other hand, the second camera remains practically identical, namely the Ultra-Wide, also 12 megapixel and with a lens with open f / 2.2.

Apart from a few small differences that are noticeable especially in the evening, the photos taken with the Flip 4 are not very different from the past . Those shots from the main camera, in particular, were good last year and remain good this year. The images are sharp, with vivid colors, they have a good yield when it comes to HDR and the focus is fast and precise . And in the daytime, all in all, even the ultra-wide takes good photos, but it must be kept in mind that autofocus is missing and the management of highlights is a little more difficult.

In the evening, obviously, the performance drops a little , especially as regards the wide angle, but still shots are more than good for the typical use of sharing that is done with photos taken by a smartphone. Images captured with the main camera are characterized by good definition and more than sufficient overall brightness. The ultra-wide, on the other hand, tends to raise the ISO to compensate for a less bright lens and, in the case of particularly dark environments, this expedient causes a high background noise and a very rapid degradation of details.

Where this Flip plays the most important game is instead on the flexibility of its camera , a flexibility that, as already reiterated, is to be found in the possibility of positioning and holding the smartphone in a much simpler way both to take selfies with the internal camera and for that. which concerns the photos taken with the main camera.

Two aspects make the difference, the first is the external display that acts as a viewfinder for the main camera in selfie mode and the second is the folding panel that works as a support in the most disparate situations. Thanks to the folding display we can in fact take advantage of any wall, step, shelf or other support as a pedestal and position the smartphone with the cameras comfortably facing us without the need for a support or an external hand.

Obviously there is the possibility of shooting videos with the maximum resolution of 4K at 60 fps. The videos enjoy the optical stabilization of the main sensor and are generally of good quality both for stability and for sharpness and vividness of colors. Obviously, as with the photos, we cannot expect to have the same performance during the day as at night. In the latter case, expect some degradation, in short, it is natural.

Also good is the front camera that offers a resolution of 10 megapixels and is able to take decent photos in any situation. Not a small detail, of course, and that here finds the complicity of the flexible screen that makes taking selfies even easier and more fun. I don’t usually take many but I must say that this Flip4 is a smartphone that, precisely because of this characteristic, still pushes you to experiment and take more than you normally would.

CONSIDERATIONS

Here we are at the moment to take stock and then answer the fateful question: would you recommend this Flip4? First of all I must say that, despite the marked similarities, the user experience compared to Flip3 has improved not a little. Thanks to the new platform, of course, but also to a series of other minor optimizations that guarantee better performance, a deeper interaction with the external display and longer autonomy. These are all elements that lead me to say that, if you already have a Flip3 in your hands and are thinking about the upgrade, it is probably worth it , even if only for the autonomy, and especially if you manage to get something out of the sale of your used vehicle . . If you have a first generation Flip this consideration is even more valid.

If, on the other hand, you are intrigued by folding smartphones and want to try one , first be careful to choose the form factor that best suits your needs. As mentioned above, this is a format that forces you to open your smartphone practically every time you want to use it. Although the software is increasingly complete, in fact, the external display is too small for a deep interaction. So if you already know that you have to open your smartphone all the time, perhaps it is better to evaluate a different format or stay on the classic form-factor.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 Smartphone 5G, Charger included, Sim Free Android Folding Phone 128GB, Display Dynamic AMOLED 2X 6.7? / Super AMOLED 1.9? 1.2 Pink Gold 2022 
1149 € 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 Smartphone 5G, Charger included, Sim Free Android Folding Phone 256GB, Display Dynamic AMOLED 2X 6.7? / Super AMOLED 1.9? 1.2 Pink Gold 2022 
1181 € Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 Smartphone 5G, Charger included, Sim Free Android Folding Phone 512GB, Display Dynamic AMOLED 2X 6.7? / Super AMOLED 1.9? 1.2 Graphite 2022 
1329 € 

We close by talking about the price which, in absolute value, is still quite high, it starts from 1149 but online it is already a hundred euros less and if the price path will be the same as last year, let’s expect to find it soon in figures. much more palatable. If you are tempted then, in any case, my advice is to wait some time, already in the Christmas period it could be at a much lower price, perhaps even combined with some interesting bundles.

PROS AND CONS

Compact and well built IPX8 despite the form-factor Improved autonomy Always excellent performance

Lack of support for DeX Warms up when under load The external display remains small and still has few functions

VOTE: 8.2

VIDEO

  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is available online from eBay for 999 euros .

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is available for upto 1,000 euros . (Update August 28, 2022, 13:52)

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