While Samsung's Z Flip might be seen as the lesser of the Z folding models, it outsells the Z Fold by a considerable margin. That makes the Galaxy Z Flip 4 an important update for Samsung, as this is likely to be the volume seller from Samsung's folding phone family.

One of the secrets of the Z Flip's success is the fact that it delivers on that folding phone promise: it gets smaller when folded, so it's not only more convenient, but it carries those nostalgia vibes of flip phones of the past too.

So is now the time to commit to the folding phone future?

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
$810 $1060 Save $250

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 makes a few important updates to this popular folding phone, resulting in a better-looking device, better cameras and bringing the power up to date. There's novelty in the design, but the reality is that these phone displays just don't last as long - and that's something you need to consider when buying.

Pros
  • Premium design
  • Lots of customisation options
  • Great display
  • IPX8 protection
Cons
  • Charging not the fastest
  • Display durability remains a problem
  • No zoom camera

Design and build

  • 84.9 x 71.9 x 17.1mm (folded); 165.9 x 71.9 x 6.9mm (unfolded), 187g
  • IPX8 protection
  • 75 different colour options

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip looks more like a regular Samsung phone with every iterative update. Now in its fourth-gen, the 2022 Z Flip slims down the hinge and takes a subtly different approach to the design to make it look better.g

The rear panels now appear more seamless, reducing the framing next to the hinge, so the whole thing looks more modern and sophisticated. The camera is larger on the back, fitting in with design trends on recent phones, with a bolder overall aesthetic.

There remains the option to build your own Z Flip, with 75 options through the Samsung Bespoke designer - so if you don't fancy the Graphite, Pink Gold, Bora Purple or Blue standard options, you can basically have whatever you like, with three frame colours, and five colour options for the front and back panels.

There's a nice matte finish to those colours, with the Bora Purple and Blue standing out. (Bora is the Korean for purple, if you didn't know.)

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 photo 7

There remains IPX8 protection against water ingress (note there's no dust protection) meaning that if you get caught in the rain, the Z Flip 4 won't care. But at the same time, when folded the Flip 4's halves don't meet, so there's still a gap through the middle of this phone when folded.

The result is that it will draw in lint from your pockets: opening up this phone after it's been the in pocket of your jeans for a while will see you needing to wipe it clean, and if you're dropping it into a bag, you need to be aware that any fine debris can easily make its way through those gaps.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 photo 3

There's also a fingerprint sensor on the side of the device, so you'll have to get used to unlocking it on the side rather than on the display. We found the sensor to work well, however, unlocking reliably.

But overall, the Z Flip 4 feels premium and looks great: the colour options provide the opportunity to create something unique to you, while that folding action is still incredibly satisfying - we love the finality of closing your phone and slipping it into a pocket. It still turns heads too: these phones are still in the minority and people will be interested in how it works and what it's like - it's an easy conversation starter.

Display

  • Inner: 6.7in AMOLED, 2640 x 1080 pixels, 425ppi, 1-120Hz
  • Outer: 1.9in AMOLED, 512 x 260 pixels, 302ppi

There are two displays on the Z Flip 4, the main 6.7-inch folding display on the interior, with a 1.9-inch display on the exterior. These sit close to the offering on the Z Flip 3, so there's reletively little change here, unlike the Moto Razr 2022.

You'll now get themes that flow from the inside to the outside, you'll be able to apply widgets to this cover screen so you can glance at the information you need. The exterior display is more of an information screen, although there are a range of options it offers, including as a camera viewfinder as well as being able to just feed you information when you need it.

But most of the usability is limited to a couple of widgets - weather, alarms, calendar - and while you can see you have notifications (with a dot) and swipe through to see what apps those notifications are from, you only get the option to clear them, you can't read them.

We like that you can have an avatar of yourself leaping around on the exterior display, but otherwise, we've found it only useful for glancing at the time - and generally, less useful than a smartwatch.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 photo 9
Pocket-lint

The internal display, however, remains pretty much as it was previously, covered with UTG - ultra thin glass - over the flexible plastic surface of the screen.

There's an adaptive refresh rate, so you'll get 120Hz to keep content smooth, while there's also plenty of detail thanks to the high resolution. There's also ample brightness, so you'll have no problem viewing this display in bright outdoor conditions.

There's plenty of resolution for detail, so this display is as crisp as you'd find on many competing phones.

There is a crease in the display, of course, and you can feel that dip as you scroll over it, or run your fingers over the display and while it's visible all the time, we've never found that to actually have a negative experience. Watching a movie or browsing online, the crease doesn't actually detract from what you see.

If you're a wearer of polarised sunglasses, however, you'll find that the display doesn't look as clear as, say, the Galaxy S22, because of the polarising layer - but this only affects those wearing a particular type of sunglasses.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 half open

Of course, the other big appeal of having a folding phone is using Flex Mode, being able to sit the phone down and still use the camera without having to balance it precariously. Many apps are optimised for this, but the big one is the camera, where you can have the viewfinder in the top display and the controls on the bottom (or swap it over). By default the previewed image fits the display, so when you capture it there's a little more in the photo than you originally could see, so if you want the best photos, it's worth turning the off the "fit to screen" option in the settings.

But Flex Mode is available in a range of other places, including the option for turn it on for other apps. An icon appears allowing a Flex Mode toggle, although in many cases it's pretty much useless, opening up shortcuts for notification access, screenshot, brightness, volume and finally a touchpad - none of which are useful in any way at all, as you've effectively halved the display space for no real gain.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 photo 25

What you really need to look for is apps optimised for Flex Mode, like Instragram. Here you can capture a Reel using the top half of the display to see yourself so the phone is then self-supporting. It's easier than having to balance a phone somewhere. It also works pretty nicely for Google Duo/Meet, but there's no support for the same on Zoom - so it's a bit of a mixed bag.

It's impossible to ignore the fact that the durability on these displays isn't the same as it is on a regular phone. With many opting for the Galaxy Z Flip 3, there's no shortage of people who've had to have the screen replaced because it started to separate. There's great novelty in this format of phone, but you do need to be aware of the downsides too.

Hardware and performance

  • Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 8GB RAM
  • 128, 256, 512GB options
  • 3700mAh, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless

There's no shortage of power in the Galaxy Z Flip 4; with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, this phone has the latest hardware, so everything is smooth and fast. There's 8GB RAM and storage options from 128GB.

That sees the Z Flip 4 keep pace with other flagship devices, meaning you're not making a compromise by choosing this format of phone. In practise everything runs smoothly, although it can get a little warm - hotspotting from this device on the move we found it to get a little toasty, just as it did running Android Auto wirelessly for our car over a 3 hour drive - but never did it get worryingly hot.

The pure power is there, however, so if you want to fire up something like Call of Duty Mobile or PUBG Mobile, you'll be able to play alongside the best, but jsut be warned that devices like this are not so well suited to intensive gaming - if you want to play a lot of games, you're better off with a dedicated gaming phone, which at least won't start to close if you put pressure on the wrong places.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 photo 4
Pocket-lint

There's a 3700mAh battery split between the two halves of the Z Flip 4 and it will support 25W wired charging as well as 15W wireless charging. Neither of these are especially fast, but Samsung doesn't seem to be pushing fast changing in the way that other brands are - and there's no charger in the box either.

But the battery life is still pretty good. There's a limit to overall performance because of the battery capacity here, with many regular candybar phones offering around 25 per cent greater capacity. We had no problem getting through the day, but you'll need to keep an eye on it.

Cameras

  • Dual rear camera system:
    • Main: 12MP, 1.8μm, f/1.8, OIS
    • Ultrawide: 12MP, 1.12μm, f/2.2
  • Front: 10MP, 1.22μm, f/2.4

There are two 12-megapixel cameras on the rear of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, but there's been a change of sensor from the Galaxy Z Flip 3, with Samsung saying that the new camera is 65 per cent brighter, as it moves from 1.4μm to 1.8μm, so it's a larger sensor overall.

The aim is to aid in the capture of light, leading to better images and an improvement in performance in lower light conditions. The main camera produces typically Samsung-like photos, which (with additional aid from the Scene Optimiser) will produce lively pictures, with plenty of colour pop. They're not always accurate to the scene in front of you - grass is greener, skies are bluer - but the results are the sort of thing you'll love to share because they look great.

It's not the best low light camera in terms of pure performance, but it will lighten dark scenes to get you more detail, or capture a night scene reliably enough to give you a pleasing result. This comes thanks to some processing of longer exposures, but we found the front camera to be pretty weak in low light, softening and suffering from noise in a way that something like the Pixel wouldn't.

However, Samsung has a trick up its sleeve because you can use the exterior display as a viewfinder too, meaning you can take selfies using the main camera on the rear for better results - accepting that the viewfind only contains a portion of what the final image will show.

There's no optical zoom and the Z Flip 4 does feel this absence, as this is a premium-priced phone lacking that desirable lens. Images soften quickly when zoom is used, either on photos or video.

sample photos photo 10

The ultrawide is a good companion to the main camera, however, but it does look a little blurry around the edges, so its best saved for expansive landscapes where it's less noticeable.

There's a lot of clever stuff packed into the camera, including features like Single Take and Director's View as found on Samsung's Galaxy S devices, and SuperSteady mode for video. The portrait mode is pretty effective both on front and back, detecting edges pretty well and giving you a full range of backgrounds and editing effects.

Overall, this doesn't feel like a hardcore photography device, it feels like a supersocial device. The ability to flex the phone so it's supported for taking a variety of photos or videos either from the front or back has immediate appeal to anyone doing a lot of self capture - but again, we wish the front camera was a little higher quality to really get the best out of every scene.

Software

  • Android 12 with One UI 4.1.1

Unlike the Z Fold 4, the rather more conventional display on the Z Flip 4 means you don't need the same degree of customisation to get the most out of it. For most apps, you'll use the phone exactly as you would any other. But as we mentioned, there are some flex options, as well as those exterior display choices to give this phone a little more functionality.

But at its core, this is a phone that behaves much the same as other Samsung devices. It's basically pretty much the same software experience as you'd find on the Samsung Galaxy S22+, which means plenty of customisation and loads of functions pre-loaded, but also a hefty selection of Samsung bloat, additional apps and pre-installs.

screens photo 1

That means you'll be served options for apps from Google Play (which is what you want) or Galaxy Store (which you probably don't) with many of Samsung's own apps running through its own store. We'd always advise to sticking to Google's option as that will give you parity with other Android devices and we've always found it cleaner and easier to use than Samsung's offering. Thankfully some of the duplication of apps has reduced over recent years, but you'll still find Samsung offering its own Contacts and Phone app, which might confuse you for a bit.

However, the good news is that Samsung has, in recent years, revolutionised its updates, which are now pretty rapid, with devices typically offering four OS updates - so it will run to Android 16, while it will also deliver 5 years of security updates, so that's until 2027. Remember that these are from launch, not from when you buy the device.

Generally though, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a smooth phone to use and during our review period we didn't experience any noticable software glitches.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a solid update to this popular folding phone, with design changes that make it a little more appealing than the previous version. But the real attraction is the power, making this a funky future-looking device that can keep up with the latest flagship phones, so there's no feeling of compromise. Combined with Samsung increasingly impressive updates and long support, this is a device that could last you well into the future.

What needs to be considered, however, is how long that folding display will practically last. While Samsung tests repeated folding, there's no shortage of examples of previous-gen devices where the display needed to be replaced. In exchange, you have a phone that feels like it belongs to the future - and will quickly draw a crowd of people who want to know more about it.

The cameras are good, but can't compete with the feature set or performance of a similarly priced flagship device, so if you're keen to embrace the world of folding phones, there are some compromises you'll have to accept.