As a pioneer of folding screen mobile phones, Samsung officially released the fourth-generation folding screen products last month: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. We have previously conducted a full review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. Today, I will take you to experience Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, Samsung’s new vertical folding screen product.

• $1060 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries or AliExpress

01/ Design is the biggest selling point of Galaxy Z Flip4

After seeing the product pictures of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, many friends and I have the same idea. “Isn’t this the same as the previous generation?” But when I actually got the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, I could still clearly feel the upgrades it has had from the previous generation.

First of all, due to the upgrade of the rear photography module, compared with the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, the lens module of the Galaxy Z Flip4 has obvious protrusions. Secondly, the hinge of the Galaxy Z Flip4 is thinner than the previous generation, and the frame part adopts the same armored aluminum frame structure of the S22 series, which is more tough.

Left: Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, Right: Galaxy Z Flip4

In other respects, except for the change in body weight (183g→187g) brought about by the increase in battery capacity (3300mAh→3700mAh), there are no other changes. The bottom of the fuselage is still a Type-C interface and a single speaker. The left side of the fuselage is the SIM card slot, and the right side is still the volume button and the power button with integrated fingerprint recognition. For the screen part, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 uses the second-generation dynamic AMOLED material, with a screen size of 6.7-inch and a resolution of 2640×1080.

In addition, in the crease that some users care about, the change of the Galaxy Z Flip4 is not obvious.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 is not unchanged this time, but on the basis of the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, the overall texture has been upgraded. Why Samsung did not redesign the Galaxy Z Flip4, I think it has something to do with the influence of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series in the vertical folding screen mobile phone market.

When we talk about vertical folding screen products, most users should think of Samsung first, or only think of Samsung. There are two reasons for this phenomenon. On the one hand, the excellent design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series is well recognized by users. On the other hand, there are few mobile phones on the market that are willing to make vertical folding screens, and some are only after making a generation of products, in the face of dismal market performance, they stopped losses in time and cut off this product line.

So why is the design of the Galaxy Z Flip series deeply rooted? I also talked to some female friends around me who don’t know much about digital products, and they gave similar answers, “very cute”, “very small”, “very lightweight”, “very fashionable”. It can be said that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series is similar to the powder box design, which has attracted countless female consumers, so that the vertical folding screen category can gain a place in the folding screen mobile phone market.

02/ Performance is the biggest pain point solved by Galaxy Z Flip4

In terms of performance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ processor has made significant progress compared to the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. I believe everyone is very familiar with the upgrade of the parameters of the Snapdragon 8+, so I will not repeat them here. Let’s go straight to the benchmark to see how the Snapdragon 8+ processor on the Galaxy Z Flip4 performs.

Through the latest version of AnTuTu evaluation, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ processor achieved a score of 1.02 million points, which is not bad for a folding screen product.

Subsequently, we also tested the game performance of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, and the selected games were “Honor of King” and “Genshin Impact”.

The first is the “Honor of King” test. Since the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has not yet adapted to the high frame rate mode of “Honor of King”, it can only be tested in 60 frame mode. From the frame rate curve, we can also see that the whole game is smooth and stable, and the experience is very good.

Next up is the “Genshin Impact” test:

The average frame rate is 44.4fps, and the overall frame rate curve jitters seriously. However, the game experience is still smooth, and the phone’s heat is not obvious.

In general, compared to the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, the Galaxy Z Flip4 equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ processor this time has solved the pain point that the folding screen cannot play games smoothly. At the same time, in the game, the fever of the Galaxy Z Flip4 has also dropped significantly.

03/ Photography Performance

As we mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has also been upgraded in the photography module.

The main camera uses a 12MP Samsung S5K2LD sensor with a 1/1.765″ photosensitive unit that supports full-pixel dual-core focusing and OIS optical image stabilization. Samsung said that the main camera is 65% brighter than the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. The ultra-wide-angle lens uses the same 12MP Sony IMX258 sensor of the previous generation, has a 1/3.06″ photosensitive unit, and supports 123° wide-angle shooting.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 main camera proof

In the main camera sample of the Galaxy Z Flip4 in daylight, we can see that the picture is clear and sharp, and the overall latitude performance is quite satisfactory. Color should be the most commendable place. Thanks to Samsung’s algorithm adjustment, the color performance of the overall sample is very attractive.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 main camera proof

In the dark light environment, the first proof sheet faces a complex light source environment, and the main camera performance of the Galaxy Z Flip4 is remarkable. The highlights are not overexposed, the shadows have details, and the color performance is still stable. However, in the scene where the second proof is not very well lit, the main camera performance of the Galaxy Z Flip4 is slightly insufficient. Although the color performance is still outstanding, the overall picture details are somewhat lost and have a certain sense of smearing.

Overall, the photography performance of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has improved. Although there are certain flaws, it is already very good for a folding screen phone. It is completely sufficient for ordinary users to record their lives, especially in terms of color, which can bring users a good experience.

04/ Charging & Battery Life

We also mentioned earlier that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has improved the battery capacity this time, from 3300mAh in the previous generation to 3700mAh. Correspondingly, in terms of charging power, the Galaxy Z Flip4 has also increased from 15W of the previous generation to 25W, which is an improvement.

I tested the battery life and fast charging performance of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4. The first is battery life, using a 5-hour battery life test model.

The final remaining power is 45%, which is still excellent for a folding screen product.

In terms of fast charging performance, I tested the 25W fast charging of Galaxy Z Flip4 for 30 minutes, and the results are as follows:

30 minutes to charge 49% of the battery, it’s not bad.

05/ Conclusion

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 experience is quite good. On the one hand, it solves the problem of the poor performance of the energy efficiency ratio of the previous generation products. On the other hand, there have been significant improvements in design, photography, and battery life.

So is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 worth buying? The 8GB+256GB version is priced at $1060, which is quite cost-effective for a folding screen product. Combined with the product strength of the product itself, it is still worth buying for users who want to try a folding screen mobile phone but do not want a “big” folding screen.

• $1060 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries or AliExpress