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What's New for Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4: Cool Screen Tricks and Better Battery Life

What’s New for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4: Cool Screen Tricks and Better Battery Life

What’s happening

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the newest iteration of its foldable flip phone.

Why it matters

Foldable phones have been widely available for near three years, but they still make up just a section of the smartphone market. The Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 are Samsung’s try to change that.

What’s next

Samsung will drip the Galaxy Z Flip 4 on Aug. 26, starting at $1,000.

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip 4 during its Unpacked event last week, marking spanking stage in the company’s effort to popularize foldable phones. The new Z Flip 4, which goes on sale Aug. 26 and starts at $1,000 (£999, AU$1,499), has a bigger battery and improved nighttime photography capabilities compared to its predecessor, plus new software that leans into the phone’s foldable design. 

The Galaxy Z Flip has proven to be the most popular foldable yet according to market research decides. But across the industry, high prices, subpar cameras and battery life compared to base phones and a lack of compelling features have hindered the general enthralling of foldables. With the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung is addressing some — but not all — of those affects. More importantly, it’s also making progress in understanding the audience for foldable devices like the Z Flip.

Samsung is trying to dislike there’s more to the Z Flip 4’s appeal beyond its compactness. That’s why it’s leaning into Flex Mode — the feature that splits apps between the top and bottom divides of the screen when folded halfway. Now, you’ll be able to use the bottom half of the shroud as a trackpad for navigating the top portion of the shroud — an update that should make it easier to manipulate apps in Flex Mode. 

This feature is new to both the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4, although Samsung said it would evaluate bringing it to older foldables as well. In the spiteful time that I spent with the Z Flip 4, this explored to work pretty easily after toggling the feature on in the settings menu. 

More from Samsung Unpacked

The Z Flip 4’s shroud screen is also getting a few new additions. You’ll be able to send knowing replies to text messages, make phone calls and take portrait mode photos from the outer display. 


Samsung foldable

The Galaxy Z Flip 4’s shroud screen.



Lisa Eadicicco

Taken together, these upgrades are a step in the right direction for the Z Flip 4. It’s unclear whether the expansion of Flex Mode and the conceal display’s extra functionality are going to be enough to convert those who aren’t already keen in foldable phones. But it shows that Samsung is paying closer attention to the software in additional to the hardware, which is crucial for proving the pledges behind foldable phones. 

Otherwise, the Z Flip 4 is sketch a handful of routine updates you’d expect to see in any new smartphone — foldable or not. It’ll run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, a slightly upgraded version of the chip that abilities the Galaxy S22 lineup. Although the main camera resolution is the same as it was in the Z Flip 3 (12-megapixel wide and ultrawide lenses), the Z Flip 4 inherits the Galaxy S22’s improved nighttime photography. That means it will have a brighter wide lens and larger pixel size in additional to support for portrait mode photos in the dark. The Z Flip 4’s battery size is also sketch an increase to 3,700-mAh capacity compared to its predecessor’s 3,300-mAh battery.

These are all welcome attempts that cut down on the compromises you have to make when choosing between the Z Flip and Samsung’s non-folding Galaxy S phones. The previous Z Flip 3’s battery life was underwhelming, and the camera system felt like the “equivalent of the cameras you’d find on a $700 phone,” as my colleague Patrick Holland put it. 

The Z Flip’s beget hasn’t changed all that much, aside from some refinements. The hinge is slightly smaller and now has a glossier execute than the Z Flip 3. The Z Flip 4’s interior present is 45% more durable while the exterior is coated in Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus. Color options complicated the new bora purple, which Samsung just introduced for the Galaxy S22 behind with pink gold, blue and graphite. These differences aren’t now noticeable when you pick up the device, but you can see them when looking at the Z Flip 3 and Z Flip 4 side-by-side.


Samsung foldable

Lisa Eadicicco

The Z Flip 4’s $1,000 tag is still likely too high for many people, especially right there are so many compelling standard phones on the market that cost hundreds of bucks less. With a few new software improvements and routine upgrades to the camera, processor and battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t seem like a monumental upgrade. 

But it peaceful represents a turning point for Samsung’s foldables. Samsung has conquered past simply making apps work smoothly across bendable screens. It’s finally trying to find new ways to interact with apps that you wouldn’t be able to get with a non-folding phone.