Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: Best camera, battery life and software features

Samsung About the Galaxy Z Flip 4 during its event on Wednesday wrap event As part of his recent efforts to promote foldable phone. The Z Flip 4 features new software that takes advantage of its foldable design, improved camera with improved low-light capture, and a larger battery. It goes on sale on August 26 and starts at $1,000 (£999, AU$1,499).

that Galaxy Z-Flip Prove that The most popular foldable So far, according to market research estimates. But across the industry, high prices, low cameras, poor battery life compared to standard phones and a lack of attractive features have hurt the overall look of foldable devices. With the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung addresses some – but not all – of these concerns. More importantly, it’s improving public understanding of foldable devices like the Z Flip.

Samsung is trying to prove that there’s more to the Z Flip 4 than its compact size. That’s why you tend to use Flex – the feature that splits apps between the top and bottom of the screen when folded in half. Now you can use the bottom half of the screen as a trackpad to navigate the top of the screen — an update intended to make working with apps in Flex mode easier.

The feature is new to both the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4, though Samsung has announced that it will be bringing it to older foldable devices as well. In my short time with the Z Flip 4, it seemed to work fairly smoothly after turning the feature off in the settings menu.

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The cover display of the Z Flip 4 also has some innovations. You can send quick replies to text messages, make phone calls and take portrait photos from the external screen.

Taken together, these upgrades are a step in the right direction for the Z Flip 4. It’s unclear whether the expansion of flexible mode and additional screen coverage will be enough to convince those who aren’t already into foldable phones. But it does show that Samsung is paying more attention to both software and hardware, which is crucial to show the promise behind foldable phones.

That being said, the Z Flip 4 gets some of the routine updates you’d expect from any new smartphone – foldable or not. It will work Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 Processor, which is a slightly upgraded version of the running chip Galaxy S22 Aligned though the resolution of the main camera is the same as in Z-Flip 3 (12MP wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses), the Z Flip 4 inherits the format Galaxy S22 improved night photography. This means it will have a bright wide-angle lens and larger pixel size, as well as support for portrait mode photos in the dark. The Z Flip 4’s battery size has also increased to 3,700 mAh compared to its predecessor’s 3,300 mAh.

These are all welcome changes that reduce 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 had poor battery life, and the camera system was “on par with the cameras you’d find on a $700 phone,” said my colleague Patrick Holland.

The design of the Z Flip hasn’t changed much except for a few tweaks. The hinge is slightly smaller and now has a glossy finish compared to the Z Flip 3. The inside display of the Z Flip 4 is 45% more durable, while the outside is covered with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus. New color options include Samsung’s Bora Purple Just launched for the Galaxy S22 Along with rose gold, blue and graphite. These differences aren’t immediately apparent when you pick up the device, but you’ll see them when you look at the Z Flip 3 and Z Flip 4 side by side.

The Z Flip 4’s $1,000 price point is probably still high for many people, especially since there are many compelling standard phones on the market that cost several hundred dollars less. With some new software improvements and routine camera, processor and battery upgrades, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t seem like a huge upgrade.

But it’s still a game changer for Samsung’s foldable devices. Samsung goes beyond making apps run smoothly on the bendable screen. It’s finally trying to find new ways to interact with apps that you couldn’t achieve with a non-foldable phone.