‘Perfect fusion between the small size of a flip phone and … advanced functions’
My wife Ashwini and I have been using and testing Galaxy Z Flip4 for over a month. My wife uses it as a daily driver, and I intermittently steal it from her to try it and compare it with my Galaxy Z Fold4. In our collective opinion (you know how seldom that happens between couples), Z Flip4 is a perfect fusion between the small size of a flip phone and the advanced functions of a modern premium smartphone.
If you are looking for a highly functional phone with a trendy form factor that turns heads and makes a statement while not robbing your bank, buy Z Flip4.
Bold form factor that turns heads
Being a fashionista, my wife loves the admiring and curious looks she gets when she unfolds her Z Flip4 and starts using it. I get the kick when people wonder why Apple hasn’t yet done a foldable. That illustrates Samsung’s thought and technology leadership. Samsung deserves credit for imagining, experimenting, and finally commercializing a new form factor in the otherwise boring smartphone market.
Just like how the whole industry followed Samsung’s pioneering idea of large-display smartphones, I am sure other OEMs, including Apple, will do the same with foldable. Motorola/Lenovo introducing its foldable Razr phone was a good early indication of that.
With the latest generation of Z Flip and Z Fold phones, Samsung seems to have solved the chronic problems of folding displays—crease and reliability. On these phones, the crease is only noticeable when the display is dark or seen from an angle. However, it is hardly visible and doesn’t affect the experience during everyday use. Contrary to the common belief, the crease remained the same (it didn’t get intense, deep, or worse) despite our heavy usage in the last five weeks.
Note: For one-month review of Samsung Galaxy Z Fol4, please check out this article.
Highly functional and practical foldable
When foldable phones were introduced, there was much excitement about the technology. But many questioned the utility of a folding display on a regular smartphone. Many even thought this would be a fad, similar to the curved displays introduced by Samsung Galaxy S7. However, we found that folding phone, especially Z Flip4, has lots of utility.
Most Natural Selfies: Selfies taken from regular phones are easily identifiable as such. But with Z Flip4, your selfies will look like pictures somebody took for you. You just fold the phone, keep it where you like, set the timer, and get a perfect picture of yourself with friends, family, pets, or anybody else. No more awkward angles, photo warping, and no need for a selfie stick either.
Perfect Video Calling: Video calling has always been tricky with smartphones. You either have to hold it in your hand, which is very unstable, or use a stand or a bulky case with a stand. It’s fully handsfree with Z Flip4. You just bend it, and it’s ready to go. This is my wife’s most liked feature, as she is a video call buff.
Convenient Video Viewing: Since Z Flip4 doesn’t need a stand, it is also an excellent video viewer, be it watching recipes when cooking or watching videos on the plane.
Highly portable: Flip4 is the most portable mobile phone out there. It is most handy for ladies, as it can fit in the smallest women’s purses or handbags. When folded, it looks and fits like a vanity makeup mirror that you find in almost every woman’s purse. Z Flip4 is also handy for men; it fits deep and securely in the front or back pocket.
Versatile Cover Screen: This screen is the highlight of any foldable. Z Flip4’s screen shows many notifications, which minimizes the unfolding of the phone. The screen is highly configurable as well. You can receive calls, take selfies, make payments, see text messages and even send simple replies without unfolding the phone.
Incredible “Flex Mode.”
Flex mode is basically splitting the screen into two for content and control. The bottom half of the display can be converted to a mousepad or control panel to manage brightness and volume and take screenshots. You can even use two fingers to scroll and move the cursor.
Flex mode is helpful for hands-free operations, such as taking selfies or watching videos, as explained earlier, as well as leaving comments while watching YouTube videos, managing notes, documents, etc., where the cursor is more useful than the touch. Many applications, such as YouTube, Notes, and others, are optimized for Flex Mode.
Great camera, smooth performance, and long battery life
Z Flip4 has a great camera with excellent low-light performance. Here are some of the pictures we took:
In our experience, Z Flip4’s battery lasted more than a full day. The usage of the cover screen is critical for its long battery life. If you configure it well, you can efficiently do the bulk of your work on a regular day without unfolding the phone and lighting up the main display.
Enhancements that could further improve the experience
Foldables are still pretty new and evolving. Here are some enhancements that could further improve their usability and experience.
Larger Cover Screen:– This allows even more tasks such as texting, calendar, email previews, podcast listening, and others can be done without unfolding.
More Apps on the Cover Screen: Currently, only a few apps are supported. Support for apps such as OTT messaging, social media, and others should further increase the screen’s utility.
More Apps Optimized for Flex Mode: Although some essential apps are supported, the support of others would increase the attractiveness of foldable.
Closing thoughts
Galaxy Z Flip4 is an excellent flagship premium phone. It is extremely portable, highly functional, practical, has excellent performance, and has bold looks. With concerns about the display reliability and crease addressed, if you are looking for a cost-effective head-turning foldable without any compromises, don’t hesitate to get one.
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