Not all foldables want to be tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the little brother of the recently unveiled Galaxy Z Fold 4, and it wants to be that way for another year. a compact alternative in the folding segment. It builds on most of the foundation already laid with the Galaxy Z Flip 3, with some hardware tweaks and minor design tweaks.

We were able to test both this Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and in this article we will focus on the main innovations and features of the “pocket” model. These are our first impressions of the new Z Flip.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, datasheet

This design looks familiar to us and that crease is still there

At the concept level, nothing has changed in the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. Gorilla Glass Victus We continue to find a device that combines glass and aluminum as building materials. with a secondary screen on its upper backsomething we’ll talk about later.

Fundamental change from the previous generation, Frames are a little smaller, which is practically invaluable unless you put the previous model next to it. It’s not a huge improvement, but the practice of making the screen as heroic as possible on the front is always appreciated.

The dimensions are almost unchanged compared to the previous model. Quite thick when folded (in fact, it’s quite similar in thickness to the Fold when folded), although it’s a device that’s only 187 grams and literally half the length of a standard phone, but it doesn’t bother too much.

Build quality feels phenomenal, not only because of the building materials, but also because of the rigidity of the hinge. The subjective feeling is that we will have no problem folding and folding the phone. There is no gap and the rigidity of the mechanism is very high. Our in-depth analysis and usage time will tell us if this is the case. feelinghowever, it aims to be as good as its predecessor on these first impressions.

The screen is once again Full HD+ resolution, adaptive refresh rate from 1 to 120Hz and a flexible Dynamic AMOLED. with a slit in the middle. How frustrating it is will depend on each user’s feeling. Last year both my partner Amparo Babiloni and my partner Juan Carlos López they didn’t find much of an issue with the indentation being present.

On this first impression, a few minutes was enough for me to realize that the fold was clear. It is one of the points of the folding problem that needs to be solved urgently., even more in a mobile phone designed for vertical use. every time we do draft, we folded. It won’t be hard to get used to after a few hours of use, but it’s fair to keep dreaming of a future where this wrinkle disappears or is minimized as much as possible.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 left. Z 4 turn right.

On a visual level, not appreciated at all when we have a cell phone in front of usjust like the last generation. It will be when we appreciate it’s there, tilt the device or look at it from another angle. save the fold, the first feeling with the panel was good. We’re not looking at the panel of a Galaxy S22 Ultra, but the impression is positive, at least inside.

Comment that we repeat with a 1.9 inch secondary panel and 260 x 512 resolution to finish the design part, whose analysis we will review. This screen allows you to review our notifications, pay by phone, acts as a mirror to preview selfies with the main camera and run different widgets. Among other things, it’s a good add-on that ensures we don’t have to pick up the phone to check notifications.

Although the key is software, this hardware is a delight.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 shines in its aesthetics, but that doesn’t mean we should forget about the ambition it packs. Samsung chose the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, great promise in power and efficiency and one of the best processors on the market. These are accompanied by 8GB RAM configurations with 128, 256 or 512GB internal memory.

To continue with the good news, the battery has increased significantly from 3,400 mAh to 3,700 mAh. A Samsung with Qualcomm always makes us smile, and with more than enough memory configurations, all that remains is the question of whether the battery will be enough to withstand a day of heavy use. Quick charge 25W is pretty low, but sufficient for such a small battery.

Finally, although it’s repeated with two 12-megapixel cameras for wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle, remember this: main sensor now 65% brighterso we should get better results in low light and predictably extra sharpness in daytime photography.

Although hardware is one of the main strengths of this Galaxy Z Flip 4, software is one of the main heroes in this phone First of all, because of the integration with the second screen with applications. Like the previous generation, the panel can be divided into two rectangles to display multimedia with the supported mobile phone. Similarly, this year there are more widgets and customization options.

We can also use this part of the panel for multitasking potential such as touchpad, hands-free video recording and more. No big news compared to last year, but the integration promises to keep getting better. Of course, the device comes with the latest version of Android 12 and One UI, with three years of guaranteed OS updates and four years of security patches.

This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is consistent evolution, it doesn’t want to revolutionize

This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t want to be a revolution over its predecessor. Pretty much the same phone. more powerful, with more batteries, a brighter camera and slightly more used bezels. In in-depth analysis, we will be able to check for hidden innovations that are not seen after the time we can use them, but that evolution contains.

The key in Flip is still format, and the issue to be resolved is autonomy. If you are convinced of the integration of the software and vertical format of the Z Flip 3, the new version will be too. The great unknown is itself finally able to withstand days of heavy use.