Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4 replicates the 'wow factor' fanfare that used to come along regularly in the early years of mobile phones, back when handy features like a torch, front-facing camera, internet access, or video recording weren't standard everyday functions you'd expect from any smartphone model. A time when you'd actively show off your new phone to a pal down the pub.
Nostalgia sells, and for certain generations, a flip phone will bring them back to the heady days of their youth in the early 2000s. A time when Motorola's Razr was the coolest phone on the playground, or Keanu Reeves' Neo was sliding open his Nokia 8110 to bulk order "guns, lots of guns" as casually as your mum would request a Friday night takeaway.
And of course, who could forget Kelly Rowland's infamously pointless text in an Excel spreadsheet to Nelly in the video for the 2002 track 'Dilemma', on her Nokia 9290 Communicator?
Even if you're not a millennial forged in the mid-'00s, the Samsung Z Flip 4 is definitely eye-catching. Phones using foldable glass have been around for about three years, but we've never had as many comments as this on a new device from friends and strangers, although whether you'll appreciate so much attention on your high-end device is up to personal preference.
The £999 Samsung Z Flip definitely feels futuristic, the fold in the screen is hard to spot at a glance and worked seamlessly while scrolling, with the only noticeable deviation being the feeling under your fingers as you scroll the screen. But given the steep price, the grander Samsung Fold 4 with a bigger screen, and other features beyond the folding function, is Samsung Z Flip 4 actually worth it? Let us talk you through it.
Samsung Z Flip 4 key specs
- Screen size: Main screen 6.7-inch, front screen 1.9-inch
- Resolution: 2640 x 1080 (425 ppi)
- Operating system: Android 12
- Processor: Snapdragon 855+ processor
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Cameras: 12MP (wide only), 12 MP, (ultrawide), 10MP front camera
- Battery life: 18 hours
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB or 512GB
- RAM: 8GB
- Weight: 187g
- Water resistance: IPX8 up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Not advised for beach or pool use. Not dust-resistant.
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Micro SD card slot: No
Samsung Z Flip 4 design
The Samsung Z Flip 4's design feels premium and weighty given its 187g body, especially when folded over with the two halves of the screen stacked together, and flanked by the matte metallic case. We didn't notice any scratches or dents while reviewing the phone without a case, thanks to the Gorilla Glass it's wrapped in, which is handy, as you'll be staring at the case more often if you carry it in its folded position.
The folding hinge and movement feel solid, and in no way flimsy, which is reassuring. The fold mechanism itself is possible thanks to a mini Samsung-branded spine, similar to a book, which allows the screen to seamlessly continue. It's hard to see the join when the screen is on, but it's certainly noticeable when the screen is off. Overall, you'll feel it under your fingers more than you'll see it.
Beyond the folding screen, the Samsung Z Flip 4 comes in a whopping nine colours across two versions, the basic colours include purple, graphite, pink gold and blue. Meanwhile, the Bespoke Edition colours combinations include a gold, yellow and white version, a black and khaki design, a silver and white look, a silver and navy colour scheme, and a gold, yellow and black edition.
The phone's case comes with up-and-down volume buttons with a power button also on the right-hand side, which did make taking screenshots slightly fiddly. Meanwhile, there's no headphone jack, so you'll want to invest in some Samsung Galaxy Buds, cheaper wireless headphones, or a headphone adaptor that is compatible with USB-C. Elsewhere, there's the SIM slot on the left and the speaker at the bottom.
When you close the phone you'll see two stacked cameras, a flash, and a mini 1.9-inch screen (512 x 260), which you can activate to check the time, date, music, your calendar, the weather, messages, alarms, steps, smart devices, and to trigger the camera.
The front screen functions similarly to a smartwatch menu, so it's limited and directs you to open the phone fully for more in-depth actions, such as replies beyond the pre-written ones the phone suggests or using the speech-to-text reply. However, it's worth noting that there are extra apps you can download to allow you to access more from this small front display.
In terms of handling, we often found ourselves leaving the Z Flip unfolded like a normal smartphone while working or sitting at home, as it was just easier than unfolding it. This could be because we're so used to normal smartphones but, overall, it just makes more sense to have it unfolded and ready to use, which kind of defeats the novelty.
The other drawback is that, unlike old flip phones, it wasn't easy to unfold the Z Flip 4 while using it one-handed due to the sturdy fold motion. So while carrying a coffee, or shopping, it required some tricky finger gymnastics to answer calls on the fly or open it for your shopping list – a bit frustrating. You can simply close it to end a call, but it doesn't answer when flipping it open as you might expect.
Samsung Z Flip 4 camera
The Z Flip 4 comes with two cameras on the back (both 12MP for wide and ultra-wide shots) and one selfie-facing camera at 10MP. While the camera didn't perform as impressively as the Honor 70, which packs higher megapixels, or cram in quite as many cameras as the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, it does allow for some clever options using the fold motion.
While folded you can double-tap the power button to activate the photo, portrait, or video mode using the Z Flip 4's two better 12MP cameras and the mini external screen at the same time, allowing for higher definition selfie photos than the normal 2MP camera. You can also set the phone in the 'Flex Mode' sitting position to act as a mini-stand for taking photos from a distance, or conducting a video call, either with a timer, or palm motion controls. You can record video at up to 4K UHD resolution, at 30 and 60 fps.
Otherwise, the camera comes packed with the standard photo and video modes from Samsung including Pro, Pro Video, and Single Take - which snaps lots of photos, boomerangs, videos, and GIFs with music. Plus there's a panorama mode, slow motion capture, timelapse, night mode, and a 'Director's View' that lets you simultaneously view the perspective of the phone's rear two cameras, and flit between two shots, such as one close-up, and one wide shot.
Samsung Z Flip 4 software
The Samsung Z Flip 4 comes with Android 12 with 8GB of RAM, and similarly to the Fold 4, allows you to toggle multiple tasks at once, whether that's viewing two cameras simultaneously in the Director's View, watching YouTube videos and browsing messages, or joining Google Meets calls in the specifically designed Flex mode. The Z Flip 4 has the option to toggle to custom views, which utilise the folded position, such as YouTube (more apps are experimenting with this view, thanks to the 'Lab' in the settings menu).
Hopping between apps, and swiping across pages of options was silky smooth, and we didn't experience any crashes or slow down at all. But it is noticeable that not every app and social network will be optimised for this new Flex way of displaying. There's also the option to Flex the phone and use it as a tiny laptop, with a mini cursor appearing on the top screen, and the bottom screen acting as a touchpad. Unless you're about the size of Woody in Toy Story, it's just far too small to do it effectively.
Samsung Z Flip 4 battery
Generally, we found the battery lasted us more than a day from one full charge while using it across a selection of phone calls, messaging apps, social media, and photo and video capturing. Meanwhile, it took about 30 minutes to reach a 50% charge with a 25W adapter, although it's worth flagging that the phone doesn't include a plug, just a USB-C cable. It supports Qi-standard wireless charging, and Samsung warns that the Wireless Power Share – which lets you juice up your friends' phones or your earbuds – won't trigger if you're under 30%.
Samsung Z Flip 4 display
We can't fault the look of the Samsung Z Flip 4's display, which is amazing considering it's made from foldable glass. You get a 6.7-inch display when it's fully open, with a 120Hz refresh rate. As we mentioned previously, it's hard to notice the crease in the screen when the phone is on bright settings, but the lower you go (or if the screen is switched off) it's definitely noticeable. As with the Fold 4, you can feel the bend under your fingers, which is going to put some people off.
The front screen is definitely an improvement on the tiny original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip screen, which just about had enough room for the time, however, it is still only slightly bigger than a smartwatch screen, so it doesn't feel quite big enough to do anything but the most basic functions. You can customise it to access more of your apps, but if you have time for that, you might as well open the phone to access a bigger screen.
Samsung Z Flip 4 performance
For day-to-day use, we didn't experience any crashes or overheating (which we saw on the Google Pixel 6a). As for gaming, Call of Duty Mobile (2.4GB) was downloaded in around 10 minutes on our home wifi connection, meanwhile Angry Birds 2 was ready in around two minutes. Lastly, we had FIFA Mobile: World Cup downloaded in around a minute.
Face recognition to unlock the handset worked instantaneously during mid-afternoon lighting and in the evenings, but this generally only works on the unfolded option. We had the 256GB version to test and found we used 39% of the storage with all of the apps we carried over from our normal device, however, we do have a very high number of images (7GB), so those using cloud storage will have more space.
Samsung Z Flip 4 drawbacks
Like most of today's smartphones, the Samsung Z Flip 4 is missing a headphone jack and doesn't come with any wireless headphones or a power adapter in the box, so only the charging cable is included. You also can't expand the storage space with a microSD card, however, it comes with either 128GB, 256GB, or up to 512GB of internal storage depending on the device you splash out on.
The fold in the screen is noticeable in low light, and you'll feel it while using it. That didn't bother us, but it might be off-putting for some. The phone also warns that it can damage your bank cards due to its use of magnets, which will be very frustrating to those who don't use Google Pay, and instead store bank cards in phone covers, or naturally have their bank cards next to their phone next in their wallets, purses, or pockets.
The Flex mode is nifty but doesn't feel like it's explored to its full potential, and we're not sure most casual users will find much more use for it than a phone case with a stand couldn't provide. It's tricky to unfold one-handed too, which feels like an annoyance that you won't get used to.
Also, depending on how you feel, folding phones are still fairly new technology (handsets using bendy glass have only been around for three years), so having people checking out your £999 folding phone every time you pull might be a downside. The price is also high, and you can get better-performing cameras within lower price ranges.
Samsung Z Flip 4 verdict
The Samsung Z Flip 4 simply feels like the future and a real evolution in technology as we've seen across the earlier Flip models. Similarly to Fold 4, it's likely to be a handset that's coveted by early adopters, and the central crease in the middle of the screen is hard to notice, but definitely not invisible. If you want a phone that's an eye-catching conversation starter, then this is certainly one for you, but we can't help feeling that the price is too high – and that the cameras and general special features are too limited to make it a must-have for most everyday smartphone users.
