It’s not a day for big updates or surprises from Samsung, and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 holds the line. It’s the latest generation of Samsung’s smallest foldable and comes with some small but significant updates, including a bigger battery, improved camera hardware and a stronger main display. There are also some new colors, which you can mix and match to create your own “custom” Flip 4. But if you’ve been holding your breath for a price drop, we’ve got bad news for you: it’s still starting. at $999, affordable by foldable standards, but still in the upper echelons of smartphone pricing.
Naturally, there’s an updated chipset: the Flip 4 comes with a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 (paired with 8GB of RAM), which you’ll find in basically every flagship Android phone that Google hasn’t released this year. The hinge is a little thinner, and Samsung straightened the phone’s previously curved edges, shaving a couple of millimeters off the width and height. The thickness remains the same, though: 17.1mm at the hinge and 15.9mm where the edges of the screen meet, so the space when the phone is folded is the same size.
The phone’s main screen is still 6.7 inches with improved durability.
The main screen is still 6.7 inches with a variable refresh rate of 120 Hz, and this time it’s 45 percent stronger thanks to changes in the screen structure and stronger ultra-thin glass. The adhesive that holds the (much-needed) screen protector in place is also stronger this year. As we’ve all learned, bad things happen when that glue loses its grip. The overall durability rating is unchanged. It’s still IPX8 with robust water resistance and your own dust resistance.
At 1.9 inches, the cover screen is still a little guy. However, you can do more with the cover screen; there will be an optional SmartThings widget for quick access to smart home controls, and you can send quick replies to texts or use it to access Samsung Wallet. The cover screen will also show selfie previews with the same photo aspect ratio as the final image.
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The aesthetic differences between this year’s model and Samsung’s previous efforts are small, but they make an impression. The Flip 4 feels a bit more like a normal flagship phone and very nice to fold in half, not something that made many concessions for its folding ability. The shiny aluminum rails, straighter corners and edges, and flatter hinge left a good impression on me. For such a fashion-focused phone, it looks like what the Flip should have looked like from the start. It only took one more iteration for Samsung to get there.
Last year’s 3,300mAh battery gets a bump up to 3,700mAh. In our tests, the Flip 3 got through a full day of use easily enough, but more battery capacity certainly isn’t a bad thing. Wired charging speeds are slightly faster: 25W, up from 15W. Wireless charging is still available at the same 10W speed.
I stay rose gold.
Last but not least, the main camera has upgraded hardware. It’s still a 12-megapixel chip, but this year’s sensor is bigger (Samsung isn’t saying how much) and the pixels are bigger (1.8μm compared to 1.4μm). You still get optical stabilization, which you should on a $999 phone. The 12-megapixel ultrawide remains, as does the 10-megapixel selfie camera.
The Flip 4 is available for pre-order starting today and will be available on August 26. Colors include bora purple, graphite, and new rose-gold and blue options.