The Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung’s new foldable clamshell phone, takes the essentials of its predecessor, the Z Flip 3, including its very attractive design, but with several welcome improvements. The mark of maturity.
On Wednesday August 10 at 3 p.m., Samsung organized Galaxy Unpacked, a major online conference to present the new products in its Galaxy range, and in particular its new foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold (the model that opens like a notebook) and Galaxy Z Flip (the clamshell model). Fans of the brand were eagerly awaiting the details of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which takes over from the Z Flip 3. It must be said that Samsung is alone in the folding smartphone market, which allows it to quietly improve its devices. year to year. The Z Flip 4 is part of this policy and does not bring any real revolution. It is content with some very nice improvements and corrects the biggest weakness of its predecessor: the autonomy of its battery.
Galaxy Z Flip 4: a design almost identical to the Z Flip 3
We should not expect big changes in the design. That of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 looks a lot like that of its predecessor, except that its matte coating stands out from the glossy finish of last year. While there are four “official” colors – rose gold, lavender, black and graphite – the smartphone is fully customizable thanks to the Bespoke Edition, which allows you to choose the color of the top and bottom panels as well as that of the hinge – which offers a wide choice with 75 possible combinations. Following some improvements that we will see in detail, the new smartphone weighs 187 grams – 4 grams more than the Z Flip 3 – and has thinner screen borders.
It has a 6.7-inch LTPO 2.0 display up to 120Hz folding in Full HD+ (2640 x 1080 pixels). The size of the secondary touch screen – intended to consult the time, the weather or the number of messages received – has been revised upwards, with a 1.9-inch HD+ screen – compared to 1.83 inches for the Z Flip 3 – 260 x 512 pixels. It is also much more customizable and offers many shortcuts. For example, the user can set up three contacts to call quickly without having to unfold the phone. He can also easily reply to a message with an emoji, a short auto-reply, or by dictating text. In short, the exterior screen is fully exploited.
The Z Flip 4 is more resistant than its predecessor thanks to the now known Ultra Thin Glass technology and an Aluminum Armor frame. It supports at least 200,000 openings and has IPX8 certification to protect it from water.
Galaxy Z Flip 4: a more enduring battery
One of the weak points of the Z Flip 3 is indisputably its battery – it’s rather stressful not being sure that your smartphone can hold and having to find where to recharge it. Now, the Z Flip 4 has a larger capacity battery, which increases to 3,700 mAh – up from 3,300 mAh before, a 12% increase in capacity. Its fast charging also goes from 15 to 25 W – but the charger is still not included. It is capable of going from 0 to 50% in about 30 minutes.
On the performance side, it’s equipped with Qualcomm’s latest chip, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is much less power hungry than last year’s Snapdragon 888. Its RAM is 8 GB, and it has three different storage capacities to choose from when purchasing the smartphone: 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB.
Galaxy Z Flip 4: a camera focused on social networks
On the side of the photo part, the front camera is located in a hole in the screen. It is equipped with a dual 12-megapixel sensor, identical to that of last year. Nevertheless, the wide-angle goes up in range and offers larger photosites (1.8 µm against 1.4 µm). It features dual-pixel autofocus and captures more light than its predecessor. The other two sensors, ultra wide-angle and selfie, would retain their definition of 12 and 10 megapixels. The firm promises that the more sensitive sensor offers 65% brighter photos. On the selfie side, Samsung is again betting on a 10-megapixel camera.
Samsung wants to conquer the public with the Flex Mode, that is to say the use of the smartphone folded at 90 degrees, like a laptop. This novelty aims to allow you to film yourself without having to put the smartphone against a wall, since it stands on its own. It offers different viewpoints for photos, being used a bit like a camera. Simply partially open the Galaxy Z Flip 4 to activate the FlexCam and thus film videos or take photos from different angles while keeping your hands free to then share them on social networks. Because Samsung has worked in partnership with the Meta group – which owns Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp – and has therefore optimized its smartphone for their social networks. The Quick Shot mode of the external screen has been enhanced and now allows you to take a selfie in Portrait mode, or even start a video recording in the classic way and then switch to Flex Mode to continue recording hands-free – a function perfect for vloggers and other influencers.
Galaxy Z Flip 4: release date and price
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be marketed from August 26 but is already available pre-order on Samsung’s website. An option which allows you to obtain bonuses, such as a transparent shell on the Bespoke Edition and one year of Samsung Care + insurance offered, and 150 euros in bonus taken back on an old smartphone. Its price varies according to the storage capacity chosen: 1,109 euros for 128 GB, 1,169 euros for 256 GB and 1,289 euros for 512 GB.
