The future is always bright and interesting. As smartphones became more mainstream however, the number of exciting new features reduced. Flexible phones are some of the most interesting thing to happen in this space recently. The dream of flexible, folding smartphones was ignited, and Samsung was at the forefront, with the launch of their Galaxy Z Fold. The first variations were tacky, not without flaws, but now in 2022 as technologies have matured, Samsung shows off its refined results in the form of the Galaxy Z series, the Fold4 and Flip4.
The new Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4 have little in the form of competition. They are unique and visibly different than any other premium smartphone in the market. The Flip4 is a vertically oriented, foldable device much like the flip ones from the decades past. The more expensive and premium Fold4 is like a notebook that can be opened and closed.
The Galaxy Z Fold4 is the flagship product, as far as folding phones go. It is much larger and like the Flip4, there are some changes involved. It weighs a tiny bit less, but still a bit stronger. It even is IPX8 water-resistant so you can take it in the rain without worrying about spoiling. This is after all, a premium foldable phone, and the fear of water getting into places and damaging the internals might have been real in the past – not anymore. The rear screen protection comes in the form of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, even the back is protected from scratches, and accidental bumps. Samsung calls their hinges reinforcement, Armor Aluminium, so what might be assumed to be weakest point of the folding device is as strong as it can be.
The Galaxy Z Fold4 is a 7.6-inch display when it is opened, much like most compact tablets. It is quite like last year’s device, the screen is something Samsung calls an Infinity Flex Display. It is massive and it should make running apps and games fun. You can use all the workspace, and more importantly you can multitask between apps with ease. You can simply drag and drop apps from a drawer to the screen. Unlike most smartphones, you are not limited to only two apps. You can imagine all kinds of screen configurations. There are also many productivity apps that have been customized to work on foldable screens, so for example, you could be using a recent version of Outlook, where the list of mails shows up on the left portion of the screen, and the mail body on the right. That is just one example, there are many more. Samsung will also separately sell you an S Pen Fold edition that works well on the Z Fold4. That combined with the large screen, the multitasking capability and the flexibility to work anywhere was once unimaginable.
There is more to the display. It runs a whopping 120Hz refresh rate, so applications run smoothly. Games look buttery-smooth, all thanks to the performance of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, and 12 GB of RAM. The new processor is tweaked to offer some performance benefits over last year, but more importantly it is a lot cooler and consumes less battery. It is one of those features that makes the Galaxy Z Fold4 one of the most practical devices around.
The camera array is just as impressive as the rest of the phone. The primary camera is a 50 MP wide-angle unit, alongside a 12 MP ultra wide-angle camera, and finally, a 10MP 3x optical zoom camera. All three work in tandem give you complete control of what you want to capture, in the best possible detail. There is also a 4 MP under display camera that as the name suggests is built into the screen. It is barely noticeable, but it is very functional. Even the cover screen has a 10 MP camera.
The Samsung Z Fold4 should be available in three colours, Gray green, Phantom Black, and Beige. Each of them while stylish and bold, can be preferred based on your own personal style.
On the other end of the offerings is Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4. It is a more compact device, one of the most compact shapes of any phone. It could fit into the smallest of pockets, but when you ‘un-flip’ it, opens into a 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ screen running a resolution of 2640 x 1080px. The opened-up shape resembles most modern smartphones. The display too runs at a 120Hz refresh rate, and there is a cover screen despite its compact folded size; it’s smaller but still handy. It spans 1.9 inches and runs a 512 x 260px resolution. It offers great utility, to glimpse at critical information, notifications and more. It is placed next to the rear facing cameras. Samsung also lets you use the small display to render classy AR emojis and avatars.
There are two cameras at the rear, both using 12 MP sensors, one running an ultra-wide field of view (123 degrees), and a wide-angle one (83 degrees). The rear cameras can shoot up to 4K videos at up to 60 fps, and slow motion shooting at up to 960 fps when you shoot at 720p resolutions. The shape and design of the Flip4 allows you to use half the display as a control while the other half-opened display acts as the screen. Even the rear cameras can be used as a selfie camera using the smaller, cover screen as a preview display.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 runs an octa-core processor, running a maximum speed of 3.18 GHz, with other components that run at 2.7 GHz and 2.0 GHz. The processor is based on a 4nm fabrication process so it’s as power-efficient as it gets. The phone comes with 8 GB of RAM, and the phone can be found in three storage variants, 128, 256 and 512GB.
There are other features you can expect from any premium smartphone such as Super fast charging. The phone comes with a battery, with a typical capacity of 3700 mAh. Other impressive features include 5G support, even Wi-Fi 802.11ax, NFC, and more. It is just as water resistant as the more expensive Galaxy Z Fold4, with its IPX8 rating. There has been thought and testing gone into making sure the Z Flip4 is reliable. The hinge on the Z Flip4 for example, has been tested to last up to 200,000 folding-unfolding trials.
The Samsung Galaxy Flip4 is compact, and truly fits into the palm of your hand. It will be available in a range of attractive colours, Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold and Blue.
Reliance Digital is the place where you can find the latest technologies, and the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4 are now here at Reliance Digital. You can also inquire at your nearest Reliance Digital store.
