What does cutting edge technology mean to you? For many of us great tech is when you don’t have to worry about what goes into a device but how the device plays out in daily use case scenarios aka user experience. Ask all those people who made the 2021 Samsung Galaxy Flip 3, the best-selling modern foldable. You won’t hear about the tech behind the screen or the exact details that make the hinge keep working without a glitch, over and over again. It’s why we called the Z Flip 3 our favourite foldable smartphone; it has certainly raised our expectations from its successor – the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

Finer Details

You will appreciate the finer design refinements of the Z Flip 4 only if you’re moving up from a Z Flip 3. The bezels are slightly thinner but it’s the more flat-edge design that makes it work for us. We saw this with the S22+ and it’s the same design tweak with the Flip 4. If you’re a first time foldable or Flip user, you will experience a wow moment when you first unbox this. That’s the other thing about cutting edge tech that has decisively moved from the drawing board to the board room. At 187 gm, it’s just a tad heavier than its predecessor and feels perfect in your hand when it’s flipped open. What most users love about the Z Flip series is how pocketable it is in its folded position. It can slip into those skinny jeans without
a noticeable bump.

A Cool New Party Trick

When Samsung first unveiled the Z Flip 4 as part of its annual Galaxy Unpacked event in August, it seemed that both its foldables (stay tuned for our deep-dive on the Z Fold 4) were incremental upgrades. That might be partially true but in the case of the Z Flip 4, the enhancements are all about addressing some of the areas that had room for improvement without messing with the overall user experience. There are minor enhancements to the dual camera that improve lowlight photography slightly. Don’t expect a pro cam experience though. If things like optical zoom are your thing, then the S22 Ultra might the Samsung device for you. There’s no optical zoom here and the ultra-wide lens doesn’t quite match up
to the more formidable cam on the Ultra. The Flip’s biggest draw is the possibilities it offers for selfie fiends. The cover display doubles up as a viewfinder, and you get a host of shooting options when the device is half open. Samsung has also added another cool party trick – FlexCam with selfie previews. Brace yourself for more creative selfies from Flip 4 users on your Insta feed.

What Else Has Changed?

If last year’s discussion around the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was around durability and cost of ownership, this year it’s about further improvements. The 2021 Flip proved that foldable devices are ready for the real world, a big improvement from the flimsy first-gen foldables. The Z Flip 4 comes with the same IPX8 certification – you can dunk your device in water but just like its predecessor it’s not dust proof. The displays are similar (a 6.7-inch primary display and 1.9-inch cover display). The big change is the processor – this one’s powered by the best of breed Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor that powers the newest flagship devices. We checked out the 8GB/128GB storage option, there’s also an 8GB/256 GB variant. The device clocked an impressive score of 3123 on our Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark test.

Samsung has also beefed up the battery; it’s now a 3700 mAh unit (the Z Flip featured a 3300 mAh battery under the hood). There is an improvement in battery performance, but it’s not a huge jump. It lasted a whole day as long as I didn’t push it hard and just like the Flip 3, we believe a lighter device is a better trade-off than a bulky device with a heavy-duty battery.

Ready To Flip?

So, who’s the Flip 4 for? If you’re already content with your Z Flip 3, you can sit this one out. But if you’re moving from one of the earlier gen Flip devices or looking for a whole new smartphone experience, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 deserves to be in your consideration set. If the Fold is for users looking for a smartphone + tablet experience, this one’s still the best foldable smartphone experience out there. Samsung’s One UI 4.1 plays out well in this device and you also get the peace of mind of software upgrades for five years. We said this with the Flip 3, foldables don’t feel like work in progress anymore and yet it’s still a world with a bunch of new user experiences.

The Samsung Galaxy Flip 3 5G starts at Rs 89,999 and is available in Bora Purple, Pink
Gold, Graphite. Samsung is currently offering a Rs 7,000 cashback with HDFC cards. You
can also get other offers like a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 at a ‘bundled’ price of Rs 2,999
with the device.