Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Review: Still worth it in 2023?

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 remains to be a succesful foldable a 12 months after launch, however with the newer Z Flip 5 providing higher efficiency and a brand new massive 3.4-inch cowl show for a similar worth, the Flip 4 doesn’t really feel as full because it as soon as did.

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the Korean model’s 2022 try at making a foldable flip cellphone, melding collectively a futuristic foldable display screen with retro attraction.

Whereas the Z Fold 4 is Samsung’s technique to actually push foldable smartphone tech ahead, I’ve all the time most well-liked the extra modest Flip line.

The unique iteration had its fair proportion of points, as did its revision, however Samsung actually hit its stride with the Z Flip 3. After spending every week reviewing the newest mannequin, it’s clear that Samsung’s optimistic trajectory is continuous.

The issue is that the trajectory continued in 2023 with the improved Z Flip 5 and its redesigned cowl show, which makes the valiant year-old Z Flip 4 a much less tempting possibility, even when accessible at a reduction.

Display and Design

• The versatile show folds in half
• IPX8 resistance, aluminium sides

The Z Flip 4, just like the Z Fold 4, doesn’t stray an excessive amount of from the blueprint set by its predecessors. That is basically indistinguishable from the Z Flip 3, other than a couple of very minor variations. For that, you’ll must go for the newer Z Flip 5.

For instance, the bezels across the interior show are slimmer. You wouldn’t discover this until you had the 2 telephones side-by-side, although a thinner bezel is all the time welcome. The general dimensions are marginally smaller too, even when the Flip 4 is barely heavier. Samsung has tweaked the hinge too, making it barely smaller. Once more, I can’t see anybody noticing these until they go searching.

A few design modifications are barely extra noticeable. The edges are actually shiny, slightly the matte, giving the entire cellphone extra of a sheen. The front and back now have a satin end, which not solely seems to be nicer than a shiny various but it surely means the Z Flip 4 doesn’t slide round on flat surfaces – one thing that actually bugged me concerning the Z Flip 3. The shiny return made a return on the Z Flip 5, making the Z Flip 4’s end distinctive within the assortment.

The attraction of the Z Flip 4 is in its clamshell design. As an alternative of utilizing a folding display screen to show a smartphone right into a pill, the Flip makes use of it to show the 6.7-inch gadget into probably the most pocketable smartphones round. It’s extremely satisfying to pop the tiny clamshell right into a small pocket or bag, after which unfurling it right into a typical smartphone.

Whereas it’s a small cellphone in top and when open, it’s slightly chunky when shut. It’s about the identical thickness as two iPhones on prime of one another, which can be equal to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s not a very flat shut, nonetheless, with a slight hole between the 2 halves. This isn’t current on the newer Flip 5, giving it an immediately extra premium look in comparison with the Flip 4.

Like several good clamshell cellphone, an enormous draw is the surface display screen – or Cowl Display as Samsung calls it. On the Z Flip 4, the outer show stays visually the identical as earlier than, however plenty of software program tweaks have been added to enhance performance. Themes set on the cellphone now switch throughout to the Cowl Display, including extra persona, and fast settings could be accessed for actions like enabling Wi-Fi or Airplane mode. These additions are minor but it surely’s good to see the Cowl Display get barely smarter annually.

The bigger outer show on the Motorola Razr and newer Z Flip 5 stay superior although, as this may really bury inside apps like Spotify to carry out extra in-depth duties. With the Z Flip 4, the perfect you are able to do is skip songs or verify on a timer. You’ll nonetheless be opening up the cellphone lots.

Samsung isn’t simply leaning into customisation on the software program, however with the precise {hardware} too. It’s bringing its Bespoke service again, permitting you to increase past the 4 generic colors. You possibly can tweak the back and front respectively, together with the rim to create a really private gadget.

The interior show stays very a lot the identical because the one you’ll discover on the Flip 3. It’s a 6.7-inch OLED panel, with a 2460 x 1080 decision and a 120Hz refresh price. The center crease stays too and whereas I don’t discover it fairly so annoying because the crease on the Z Fold 4, you’ll be able to clearly really feel it while you scroll or swipe. The slender show isn’t implausible for content material like movies, as you get fairly hefty black bars on both aspect but it surely’s nice for tall apps like Instagram and Twitter.

As I mentioned in my Z Fold 4 overview, I’m disillusioned Samsung hasn’t mounted the crease points but. The shortage of extensively accessible competitors appears to have stopped Samsung from specializing in main enhancements.

The most important problem with the early foldable telephones from Samsung was their sturdiness, or lack thereof. The primary Galaxy Fold was delayed on account of an outbreak of damaged shows and whereas the problem didn’t have an effect on the Flip collection as a lot, it wasn’t till the Z Flip 3 that I felt comfy recommending these telephones to anybody who wasn’t able to take further care. The Z Flip 4 retains the identical IPX8 water-resistant score because the Z Flip 3, which suggests it could face up to getting moist however has no resistance to mud. There’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus overlaying the Cowl Display, a layer of ultra-thin glass (UTG) on the within and what Samsung calls Armor Aluminium on the surface.

I’ve been utilizing the Z Flip 4 for every week now and whereas I can’t make any judgements about its long-term sturdiness, I don’t really feel the necessity to deal with this cellphone otherwise to any others. The truth is, the clamshell design means it’s arguably going to be extra immune to show scratches. Nevertheless the truth that the show overlaying is way thinner than a typical cellphone may result in elevated dents when it’s open. 

Digicam

• Two cameras on the surface, with one other inside
• Numerous enjoyable digicam modes

I don’t suppose I’ve had fairly as a lot enjoyable reviewing the cameras on a cellphone than I’ve had with the Z Flip 4. It’s not the perfect digicam cellphone for pure high quality (not even shut), but it surely presents so many progressive capturing strategies that I’ve barely been capable of put it down.

Samsung’s progressive use of the foldable show is on the coronary heart of the cellphone’s digicam abilities. You possibly can fold the cellphone half open and pop it down on a flat floor, mimicking a tripod. This can be a implausible means of getting group images that really look good. You can too maintain the cellphone like an old-school camcorder for recording secure video. These are way over simply gimmicks as they modified how I take advantage of a smartphone digicam.

The snaps themselves are typical Samsung fare. They’re not on par with the S22 Extremely however they do a great job at rivalling each the S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus in daylight circumstances and never falling too far behind when it will get darkish. The shortage of a devoted zoom digicam means the setup isn’t fairly as superior as the opposite telephones in Samsung’s vary.

Two 12-megapixel sensors sit on the lid of the cellphone. One is the principle vast sensor, and the opposite an ultra-wide that’s supreme for panorama pictures. There’s additionally one other, decrease high quality 12MP sensor inside. As a result of capability to take selfies with the principle cameras when the cellphone is closed, the standard of the particular selfie digicam isn’t vital for me, as I’ve solely used it for face unlock and the odd Zoom name.

Pattern photos I took in vivid, daylight circumstances appeared nice. Colors pop with Samsung’s trademark saturated model and so they look particularly good on the cellphone’s vivid OLED show. Blues, reds and greens are notably vivid right here, much more so than I discovered on the Z Fold 4. This may negatively have an effect on pores and skin tones, particularly in comparison with the Pixel 6 Professional.

In lower-light conditions the larger essential sensor improves outcomes over the Z Flip 3, nonetheless it could’t match the perfect digicam telephones round right here. The cellphone doesn’t have fairly the talents to evenly expose more durable conditions and all too typically a brighter mild spot blows out the entire image.

The ultra-wide digicam equally places the give attention to punchy, saturated snaps. Samsung has finished a great job at making certain colors don’t range wildly between the 2 cameras. The ultra-wide struggles much more in low-light, however then that’s to be anticipated from the smaller sensor.

The shortage of a zoom lens means you’re restricted to very primary digital cropping, which not often produces good outcomes.

Apparently, it appears Samsung was so pleased with the digicam efficiency that it determined to not change a single factor for the Z Flip 5. This implies you would doubtlessly save your self a bit of money on the year-old mannequin with out a draw back to digicam high quality.

Efficiency

• Prime-end chip pumps out glorious efficiency
• 8GB RAM and as much as 512GB storage

The Z Flip 4 is way much less concerning the specs and options than the Z Fold 4, with the main target right here being the nostalgic kind issue. That’s to not say there’s not a spread of high-end specs included although.

Powering the cellphone is the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip. This was Qualcomm’s newest chip at launch in 2022, and performance-wise it’s on par with a number of the quickest Android telephones of the interval, just like the OnePlus 10T. That’s paired with 8GB RAM (greater than sufficient for simple multitasking) and storage choices vary from 128GB to 512GB. 

The newer Z Flip 5 sports activities the extra highly effective customized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, together with the identical 8GB of RAM, although I’d wager you wouldn’t have the ability to inform the distinction between the 2 in real-world circumstances.

There’s no expandable storage right here, so select your storage possibility properly. Contemplating the worth bounce isn’t an excessive amount of from the 128GB to the 256GB mannequin, I’d advocate going for the latter.

This isn’t the perfect cellphone round for gaming – regardless that it’s greater than able to working any sport on the App Retailer, even the wildly intensive Genshin Impression. It simply doesn’t really feel comfy sufficient to be held for longer sport durations.

As is the case with the Z Fold 4, loads of the enhancements listed here are software program based mostly. Samsung has padded out the feature-set of its Flex mode, permitting you to do neat tips by half-folding the cellphone. A few of these had been current earlier than, like the flexibility to prop it open to look at a video, whereas loads of the tweaked digicam tips talked about above are new.

Samsung’s software program is as bug-free as I’ve ever discovered it right here, with One UI principally being a pleasure to make use of. There are loads of pre-installed Samsung apps, however not less than poor providers like Bixby can principally be disabled and changed with Google’s superior providing. 

Battery Life

• Improved endurance over the Z Flip 3
• No charger included

One in every of my greatest points with the Z Flip 3 was its meagre endurance. As I famous in my overview final 12 months, I used to be typically struggling to make it via a busy day with out reaching for the charger and even quieter days would see it hit single digits by late night.

Samsung clearly agreed that endurance was a problem and rectifying it is among the few notable upgrades the Flip 4 has over its predecessor. 

Not solely has the battery been boosted from 3300mAh to 3700mAh, however the 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset is much more environment friendly than the 888 it’s changing.

Even with these battery good points nonetheless, you shouldn’t anticipate a multi-day cellphone. This stays a tool you’ll must cost every single day, however there’s a notable enchancment this 12 months. If I used to be ending the day with 5% on the Flip 3, I’m now ending it with 15% on the Z Flip 4.

That’s sufficient of a lift to offer that further little bit of confidence in it getting via a busy day, or a busy evening. It’s extra environment friendly, too. An hour of Netflix on the Z Flip 3 took the battery down 15%, whereas now it’s 11%.

Sadly, that’s not an expertise that’ll be improved by choosing the newer mannequin, with the identical 3,700mAh battery because the Flip 4, although now with a bigger 3.4-inch cowl show to energy. That mentioned, battery life could be very a lot in-line with the Z Flip 4, if not barely worse basically use.

Samsung boosted the max charging speeds with the Z Flip 4, although you have to to supply your individual charger able to high-wattage output. The Z Flip 4 expenses at 25w, slightly than 15w, and this makes it quicker to get to 50%. I crammed up half the battery in half-hour, and a full cost takes round 80 minutes. Qi wi-fi charging is an possibility should you choose to go wire-free. 

Newest offers

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UK RRP

USA RRP

EU RRP

CA RRP

AUD RRP

Producer

Display Dimension

Storage Capability

Rear Digicam

Entrance Digicam

Video Recording

IP score

Battery

Wi-fi charging

Quick Charging

Weight

Working System

Launch Date

First Reviewed Date

Decision

HDR

Refresh Charge

Ports

Chipset

RAM

Colors

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

£999

$999

€1109

CA$1279

AU$1499

Samsung

6.7 inches

128GB, 256GB, 512GB

12MP + 12MP

10MP

Sure

IPX8

3700 mAh

Sure

Sure

187 G

Android 12

2022

10/08/2022

2640 x 1080

Sure

120 Hz

USB-C

Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1

8GB

Purple, Blue, Gold, Graphite

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