Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 & Z Fold4 First Impressions: Bigger Battery, Better Cameras!

Samsung has just announced their new foldable phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4, and boy, do these look good.

Let’s start with the Z Flip4. The new phones actually look quite similar at first glance, but if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that the Flip4 actually has a more rectangular shape to it, which does make it feel a bit nicer in the hand, to us at least.

But the biggest change you’ll notice is that the hinge is substantially thinner than the Z Flip3’s, which means it’s even more compact than before. The phone comes in four colours, Graphite, Blue, Pink Gold and the new signature Bora Purple. For folks who don’t like these colours though, Samsung is going to offer their “Bespoke'' customisation service where you’ll be able to choose different colours such as dark navy, white and more for the top and bottom covers, as well as from silver, gold and black for the colour for the hinge.

Both phones also come with Samsung’s Armour Aluminium, which made its debut on the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, as well as Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, which is the toughest glass from Corning so far, meaning the phones should hold up better to scratches and drops.

Moving to displays, right off the bat, the crease inside the Z Flip4 is much less noticeable here, although this is something we’ll have to test in our full review, as the crease could become more prominent over time as the phone gets folded and unfolded more. The 6.7-inch inner display still comes with a 120Hz refresh rate, so no worries there. No changes to the outer cover screen’s size either at 1.9-inches, but it now supports new features like the ability to set a GIF on the outer screen. And you can call preselected contacts from the cover screen as well as reply to messages with preset responses or emojis without having to flip open the phone. Very convenient.

Inside, you get the new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, which means the phone should be one of the most powerful you can get in the market right now, along with 8GB of RAM. Storage options range from 128GB up to 512GB, which is great since there’s no expandable storage available. The battery capacity has been increased as well, from 3,300mAh to 3,700mAh, which is absolutely fantastic. This has been a pain point for a lot of users, and while a 4,000mAh battery would be even better, it’s good enough to just get an increase to ensure you’ll get a full day’s worth of use.

Durability here is the same, at IPX8 water resistance, so no worries about rain and the likes.

As for cameras, you still get two 12MP lenses on the rear, but Samsung has introduced the Nightography mode that we saw in the S22 series, meaning the phones are able to take really great photos even in super low light conditions, as evidenced here with the Flip4 in a box. It’s really quite impressive, and we’re looking forward to putting this through its paces. On the inside, it’s the same punch-hole camera for selfies, although we did take a few selfies in a dimly lit environment and the images did turn out quite decently.

Let’s move on to the Fold4, which has even more improvements. Again, it looks very similar to the Fold3, but you’ll notice immediately that the 6.2-inch cover screen has much thinner bezels. The Z Fold4 will come in three colours, black, beige and a grey-green model. The phone itself is also slightly lighter than the Fold3, at around 263 grams, which is a good sign. The main thing working against the Fold series is its weight, and Samsung has been gradually reducing it over the years, so this is a nice improvement. It still feels very premium in the hand though, and it has the same Armour Aluminium chassis as well as Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back of the phone.

Unfold the phone and you’ll notice the bezels are also visibly thinner on the 7.6-inch inner display. Both displays are 120Hz of course, and performance is smooth and seamless. The crease is also less noticeable, but again, we’ll have to test this out in our full review as the crease could become more prominent after more folding and unfolding.

Additionally, the under-display selfie camera is now even less visible, which is fantastic. It was introduced in the Fold3, and while it was pretty well-done there, the camera was still relatively visible. Now, it’s hidden away much better.

The phone is also running on the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, which is great, along with 12GB of RAM. Storage options have also been improved, with options from 256GB all the way up to 1TB. There’s no improvement with regards to battery capacity though, it’s still 4,400mAh here. Durability is the same as before as well, with IPX8 water resistance.

Moving onto cameras, it’s still a three-camera array on the back, but with new lenses this time around. The main camera is now a 50MP lens, which is great because one of the main issues of the Z Fold3 was that the cameras weren’t up to the same standard as the S21 lineup. There’s also a 10MP telephoto lens here that offers 30x Space Zoom, as well as a 12MP ultrawide lens.

Also, there were rumours coming into this that the Fold 4 would come with an S Pen slot, but nope, no S Pen slot here, but the phone does retain the ability to be written on or drawn on with the S Pen. If you want to keep the two devices together, you’ll have to get a case that has an S Pen holder.

There’s still so much we have to test out with the phones, and we’re definitely looking forward to getting our hands on them.

Alongside the phones, Samsung also announced the Watch5 and Watch5 Pro, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro. The Galaxy Z series, Galaxy Watch5 series and the Galaxy Buds2 Pro will be available for pre-order from 10 August onwards, with general sales starting on 2 September. Prices start at S$1,398 for the Z Flip4, S$2,398 for the Z Fold4, S$448 for the Galaxy Watch5 40mm and S$328 for the Buds2 Pro.

Stay tuned for our full reviews on all these products!