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The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is here, and it could well be the most popular foldable phone of the next year, if it’s nearly as popular as its predecessor.
Launched at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked August 2022, alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, this new clamshell foldable has a petite – dare we say cute? – design, but it’s housing some powerful internals.
This is the successor to the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and that proved to be an immensely popular phone, outselling the Z Fold 3 by quite a margin according to Samsung’s stats.
You can read our hands-on Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review right now, and while we put together our full review you can find out everything you need to know about the new device below.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 price starts at £999 / $999.99 / AU$1,499, which is exactly how much the Z Flip 3 cost. That’s welcome news given the price rises we’re seeing almost everywhere else.
That’s for 128GB storage, and you can also pick up a 256GB model for $1,059.99 / £1,059 / AU$1,649, or a 512GB version for $1,179.99 / £1,199 / AU$1,849, if you want more space for your snaps and apps.
The phone’s pre-order began on August 10 (except in Australia, where it began on August 11, just because of the time zone differences), but it goes on sale for real on August 26.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 design and display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a ‘clamshell’ foldable phone – this means that it’s a normal handset, until you fold it in half to become an easily-pocketable block.
That ‘normal handset’ has a 6.7-inch 2640 x 1080 display, broken up by a ‘punch-hole’ cut-out for the front camera. That’s not to say there’s no display on the outside, though, as you’ll find a 1.9-inch 260 x 512 cover display for notifications and a few other, smaller functions.
The handset has IPX8 resistance, which means it can be immersed in over a meter of water for up to half an hour, which makes it resistant to rain and splashes as well.
For even more protection, the phone has an aluminum frame, so it should be able to withstand a drop or two.
The device comes in gray, pink-gold, purple and blue shades, but there’s also Bespoke Edition which lets you mix-and-match different colors for different parts of the phone, lending a degree of customization to your device.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 cameras and battery
Samsung’s flip phones have never matched the photography chops of the S-series devices, and there’s no difference here.
There are two rear cameras, a 12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide snapper, and those match exactly the ones on the Z Flip 3. There’s no difference if you like taking selfies, with the 10MP snapper lifted straight out of last year’s phone.
Sure, Samsung has a year of extra tweaks and camera modes over the Z Flip 3, so pictures might look a tad better optimized, but you’re not going to be buying this phone for its photography.
The battery is a different story, as the 3,700mAh power pack is 400mAh bigger than the one on the Z Flip 3. That’s a sizeable upgrade on its own, but bear in mind that the cover screen stops you needing to turn on your phone to see every little notification – the Z Flip 4 will very likely waltz through an average day of use with no issue.
Charging is admittedly slow, at 25W, but since the battery is smaller than the one on your average mobile, actually filling the thing will take less time than you’d expect.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 performance and software
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 could be the most powerful phone that you can fold into a tiny bundle. It has the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, which we’ve tested in a few phones now, and it provides loads of processing power for games and video editing.
Sure, it can get a little hot in a pinch, but it’s second to none for intensive tasks.
That chip is joined by 8GB RAM, which isn’t as much as on some top-end phones, but you’re not exactly going to be using the Z Flip 4 for much multi-tasking (we presume) when the Z Fold 4 is on the market.
In terms of software, the phone gets Android 12 with Samsung’s One UI laid over the top.
This means it gets all the features of Google’s Android 12, like its theme customization, but also the added benefits of Samsung’s devices, like the company’s various apps and the overall design changes of One UI.
Something to point out in the software department is Flex Mode, which lets you leave the device at a right angle to active certain functions. The most popular is FlexCam, so you can turn the phone into its own stand when you want to take photos or videos hands-free.