Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G (smartphone review)

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 is stylish, well-made, and has almost everything you expect from a premium smartphone. Oh, and it flips open too.

If you have been following flip phones (formerly known as clamshell), you will know that Motorola pretty well invented the category with its StarTAC (now Razr) back in the 90s. Nokia had a crack at it, and the Star Trek Communicator was a classic flip design.

Then we went ‘bland’ with functional, boring glass slabs because they were the easiest way to deliver the most features at the lowest price point. You can largely blame Apple and Steve Jobs for that, well, not the lowest price!

Samsung’s Flip was a serious attempt to legitimise the category using more modern tech like folding screens, better battery life, reasonable cameras and, importantly, style. It aced the new clamshell Motorola Razr and its second generation.

I have reviewed the original Flip (2020), then it jumped to Flip3 (2021) and now Flip4 (2022). It looks like Flip3 (which was a significant improvement over Flip), and its focus is on getting everything just right. To that end, it has made the subtle upgrades that say Flip has come of age.

It feels good in the hand but is still a two-handed opening. It has IPX8 water resistance, a better and more useful external secondary screen, and the latest Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 processor. The clamshell hinge is infinitely adjustable, and using it in an ‘L-shape’ is great for video calls. The only minor downside – yes, you can still feel the middle crease but perhaps less so than previous iterations.

Update- Motorola Razr 2022 comparison

Motorola Razr 2022 – A full-featured Fab Flip for percipient people shows the strengths and weaknesses of both phones and what to look for if buying a Flip format.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, 8/128GB, SIM/eSIM

Website	Product Page
Price	8/128GB $1499 8/256 $1649 8/512 $1849 Bespoke Edition 8/256 $1729 Optional 25W charger $29 Cases from $59 to $139 (strongly recommended)
Colours	Bora Purple Graphite Pink Gold Blue Glossy frame and matte glass
From*	Samsung online and approved retailers Harvey Norman, Domayne, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Videopro, Officeworks, Telstra, and Optus.
Warranty	12-months ACL
More	CyberShack Samsung News and Reviews

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G may not work here

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware. It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RCM C-tick mark. There is also an RCM C-Tick on the box. They also use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.

Deep-Dive review format

It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

Rating conundrum – Fold or Flip?

When we rate a smartphone, we usually rate it in a category loosely related to price – what we expect from entry-level, mid-range, premium etc. That way, we avoid the trap (as most reviewers fall into) of comparing everything to an uber-expensive iPhone or Galaxy S22 Ultra.

If we review it on price, there are a lot of better glass slabs with superb cameras, more power, larger storage, longer battery life, etc. Ditto, if we review it on features, there are phones from under $1000 with similar flagship processors that solidly beat it.

The conundrum here is this is a new category. What do you expect a Flip or Fold to do?

The answer is simple. You expect a Flip to be more stylish, pocketable, have a reasonably premium set of features, a reasonable camera, decent battery life, and you don’t really care what is under the hood. It is all about convenience and style, not necessarily substance.

We must rate this as a Flip and all the benefits and compromises that entails. If that is enough, then Flip is for you.

First impression – pocketable – Pass+

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is undeniably a beauty – even the Bora Purple (review unit) is growing on me. It looks stylish, well-made, and when closed, not much larger than make-up compact.

Semi-matte-coloured fingerprint-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus+ covers the outside with a two-tone dual-camera bar housing a 1.9″ OLED display and solid glossy alloy frame. The embossed Samsung Hinge is prominent at the fold. The outer screen can be a clock, show notifications, widgets, charge time, or be a selfie viewfinder.

Opening the Flip is not as easy as a Star Trek communicator. You can do it one-handed, but it is a chore requiring dexterity. It is also safer to do it two-handed, holding the base firmly and lifting the compact lid. Fewer drops that way. PS: Whatever you do, buy a case to protect it.

Once open, it is a tall, slim, 22:9 ratio flat screen (most phones are 20:9). The screen is plastic OLED covered in a layer of ultra-thin folding glass and a plastic pre-applied screen protector. Tests on the screen shows it has a low two-out-of-ten Mohs hardness scale, so it could be easy to scratch with long fingernails (Mohs hardness 2.5). It is also a greasy fingerprint magnet. Take care.

You buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 because you want it – not necessarily what is under the bonnet.

Screen – 6.7″ AMOLED 2X – Pass+

Excellent 2640 x 1080 screen with Adaptive 120Hz (10/24/30/48/60/96/120Hz) or fixed 60Hz. We ran all tests on Adaptive as, in theory, it should not affect battery life unless mainly viewing 120Hz content.

Samsung claims (versus test results) brightness nits of Typical 500 (498), Hight Brightness Mode 800 (770) and peak 1200 (920). This is a bright, infinite contrast screen. Colours are over-saturated in sRGB mode, and in Vivid mode is almost 100% of 16.7M of DCI-P3 movie mode (about 60% of 1.07 billion colours). My only comment is that more premium phones are now 4K and 10-bit 1.07 billion colours. Still, it is an excellent, daylight-readable screen.

Forget it for gaming, even though the SoC Processor can do that. It is fragile, and you need to use a very light touch.

It will play Netflix, Prime and Youtube 1080p HDR content.

Processor System on a Chip (SoC) – Pass+

The latest 4nm Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 flagship chip provides both power and reasonable battery efficiency. It nearly earned an Exceed rating, except it throttles terribly (heat issues), losing 38% of its power at 100% load in just 4 minutes. Thankfully it then stabilises at a lower rate to avoid overheating.

As this is not a gamer, videographer/Vlogger’s phone, throttling is not a significant issue as you will seldom hit 100% load. But there is a second caveat: it does not support mountable external storage – just cut and paste OTG, nor does it have microSD, so the storage you buy is what you are stuck with.

Comms – everything you expect – Pass+

Wi-Fi 6 AX, BT 5.2, Dual GPS, NFC – all good. Wi-Fi 5Ghz signal strength is excellent, reaching the maximum 2400Mbps at the router and holding pretty well to 10, even 15 metres.

We are a little disappointed that the USB-C connector is only 2.0 or 480Mbps (60MBps) half-duplex and does not support alt DP audio and video streams. So that means no DeX (Samsung Android Desktop) or USB-C to HDMI cable mirror to a TV.

Phone – SIM and eSIM and very good reception – Exceed

It has all Australian 4G LTE and 5G and low bands. Add to that 12 antennas, and it finds the four closest towers at above-average strengths.

Perfect for city, suburb, regional and rural use.

Battery – 3700mAh for single-day use – Pass

Samsung loses major brownie points for not including a 25W charger inbox. It specifically requires 9V/2.77A/25W to fast charge – something not common to third-party chargers. So yes, you can use them, but it won’t necessarily charge at 25W. We tested a range of PD chargers and invariably charged at 9V/2A/18W or 5V/3A/15W.

Similarly, it should charge at 15W using a Qi charge pad, but we found it tended to charge at 9V/1.3A/11.7W on a Belkin 15W charge pad and 9V/.7A/6.3W on a genuine Samsung 15W charge pad with a genuine Samsung 25W charger. So yes, you can use any Qi charge pad, but it is likely you won’t get 15W charging.

Charge times vary. With a genuine Samsung 25W charger, it will fill 0-100 in 1 hour and 30 minutes. The Belkin Qi pad took 3.45 hours, and a 5V/2A USB charger about 3 hours.

Use times vary. All tests are on Adaptive Screen mode

• 1080p video loop (50% volume and screen brightness, Wi-Fi/BT/GPS off) was 17 hours and 30 minutes.
• PC Mark Battery Test 11 hours and 11 minutes
• Accubattery 11 hours 12 minutes
• GFX Manhattan: would not run
• GFX T-Rex: 4.88 hours and 6614 frames
• Drain: 100% load 4 hours and 48 minutes

It is a phone you will need to charge daily.

Sound – Stereo – Pass

It has a stereo earpiece and bottom-firing speaker that changes orientation if used in landscape or portrait mode. It uses the same speakers and amplifier as the Galaxy S22 range and can decode Dolby Atmos content and downmix to its two speakers. There are no 3D spatial effects with this content. The sound stage is only as wide as the phone but expands with Dolby Atmos content. The maximum volume is 80dB

Hand-free is good with three mics, but the speaker volume could use a tad more oomph.

BT with SBC, AAC, Qualcomm aptX (and variants), LDAC and Samsung Scalable codec covers all bases and provides excellent volume and left-right separation.

If it only had a little more bass, it would be a neutral signature capable of responding to any EQ setting. As it is (without EQ), it is more Bright Vocal (bass recessed/ mid/ treble boosted) – for vocal tracks and string instruments. Quite listenable, but you will miss the bass.

Build – Pass

It is well made, but the screen needs extra care to avoid scratching, and the flip action leads to more potential for drops. Use a case!

It is IPX8 rated. The X means it can get dust into the hinge area, so don’t throw it into the sand and don’t put it in pockets where you may also have tissues. The 8 means 1.5 meters of fresh, still water for up to 30 minutes.

Android 12 with more to come – Exceed

You can read What are the official Android OS and Security update policies? (guide) but suffice it to say it gets four OS updates and five years of security updates – excellent.

Samsung wants to establish a relationship with you, so it strongly encourages you to set up a Samsung account where you can access extra Galaxy Apps and it can advertise to you. The phone works fine if you don’t accept its invitation.

Samsung OneUI 4.1.1 is pretty easy to use and contains a variety of Samsung alternatives to Google Apps. We advise using Google Apps, especially if you ever change brands. It also has Samsung Smart Switch that can bring standard format data over from iPhone or Android.

Missing – not much and no deal breakers

• 3.5mm jack – use a 3.5mm to USB-C DAC cable
• MicroSD storage expansion – could be an issue, so make sure you buy enough storage
• No externally mountable SSD/HDD storage – only an issue for videographers etc
• No charger inbox – it will cost you $29 to get the genuine Samsung 25W (recommended)

Bespoke Edition – worth it

The Bespoke Edition (from Samsung online only) costs $1729 and gets you 8/256GB and a choice of colours for the frame, front and back glass. You can mix and match yellow, white, navy, khaki and red glass with a silver, gold or black frame.

Samsung Incentives – could save you a dollar or three

Samsung offers up to $750 trade-in, but the reality is that it is reserved for 2021 premium flagship iPhone or Galaxy phones.

It also has a Care+ program. It is a two-year device swap $249 subscription program, and you just pay the swap fee ($299) for each swap request. There is a 50% discount incentive at present.

You can also get interest-free pay-by-the-month over 36 months. Or you can get a subscription over 18 months, where you then resubscribe to a new phone.

Other programs include Galaxy Ecosystem bundles (10-20% off), Samsung rewards and a $199 screen replacement.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 rear camera – Pass+

It is a dual 12MP wide and ultra-wide camera using two different sensors. The wide (primary) has Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), brighter f/1.8, and larger 1.8um pixels. It takes great daylight and office light image. The 12MP ultra-wide sensor has f/2.2 and smaller 1.12um pixels. Its main function is 112° wide shots, although it helps AI by providing more information during night mode and portrait depth shots.

Some critics have called this setup ‘B-grade’ if you compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S22 series with 50 to 100MP sensors. But the main use for a camera is ‘point-and-shoot’, and this camera is ideal for that. I especially like the selfies with the main camera using the 1.9″ screen as a viewfinder and using it in ‘L-mode’ for video conferences.

Video is 4K@30fps with OIS and Qualcomm’s Electronic Image Stabilisation (Samsung calls this VDIS), which works by cropping the shot to a stable horizon.

Front camera – Pass

The front selfie (O-hole in the top centre of the screen) is a tad underwhelming. It is 10MP, f/2.4, 1.22um with fixed focus. It takes a competent single selfie cropped (9.4x) to 7.1MP or a group selfie at 10MP. It can take 4K@30fps (no OIS or EIS) video.

Camera outcomes

• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent if over-saturated with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows and highlights.
• 2X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy.
• 10X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it
• Ultra-wide: Second sensor: good colour and details, although you can tell it is a different sensor from the primary.
• Macro: The 12MP primary sensor takes reasonable close-up shots, but it is not a macro lens
• Indoor office light: Colours are excellent, and the dog’s face/ears are deep black
• Bokeh Depth: Very good bokeh.
• Dark <40 lumens: It has great details and colour – better than night mode on most cameras.
• Night mode brings up the detail, saturates the colour – excellent
• Selfie: The 10MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in a day and office light
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@60fps with OIS/EIS, but we think the sweet spot is still 1080p@30fps for excellent, stable video and audio.

CyberShack’s view – Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 is a definite step up over Flip3

After a week of use, its pocketability was most impressive. Its screen crease was the least impressive. Would I buy a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4? Probably not, but that is not to say they have a place with the uber-hip fashion crowd who don’t care how it performs.

It is good, there are no genuine issues apart from throttling, but a phone at this price should be good.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 shows how continuous improvement turns this fashion icon into a very usable smartphone. Lower-cost glass slabs outclass it, but that is not why you buy it.

Samsung has nailed the format, and I am sure it will continue to build on the foldable/flippable category. But there are likely to be many more brands in this space now that Samsung and Motorola have established the category.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 video

https://youtu.be/lqP87f9lZ2M

Teardown video

Easy battery replacement ruins the IPX8 rating

JerryRig torture test

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4

Brand	Samsung
Model	Galaxy Z Flip4
Model Number	SM-F721B
Price Base	8/128GB
Price base	$1499
Price 2	8/256 $1649
Price 3	8/512GB $1849
Price 4	Bespoke Edition 8/256GB $1729
Warranty months	24
Tier	Flip premium
Website	Product page
From	Samsung Online and approved retailers
Country of Origin	Korea
Company	Samsung
Test date	1-7/9/22
Ambient temp	10-20°
Release	Aug-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	SM-F721N, SM-F721U, SM-F721U1, SM-F721W or dual nanoSIM versions

Screen

Size	6.7″ Flip/fold and 1.9″ external
Type	AMOLED 2x/AMOLED
Flat/ Curve/ 2D/ 3D	Flat
Resolution	2640 x 1080/512 x 260
PPI	426/302
Ratio	22:9
Screen to Body %	85.40%
Colours bits	8-bit, 16.07m colours
Refresh Hz/ adaptive	Adaptive 10/24/30/48/60/96/120Hz or fixed at 60Hz
Response 120Hz	External fixed 160Hz
Nits typical/ test	500 (498)
Nits max/ test	800 HBM (770) Peak 1200 (920)
Contrast	Infinity
sRGB	Natural is super saturated 100%+
DCI-P3	Vivid approx 60% (100% 16M colours)
Rec.2020 or other	RGB and temperature adjustment
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	Vivid 2.5 Natural 1.5
HDR Level	Plays up to HDR10+ locking refresh rate to 120Hz
SDR Upscale	No
Bluelight control	Yes
PWM if known	Yes 350Hz
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	Yes
Accessibility	Full suite of enhancements
DRM	Widevine L1 Prime and Youtube may stream HDR10 content
Gaming	The SoC can handle it, but I would be concerned about the screen durability for games use.
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus external screen Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) on the flip screen
Comment	Disappointing that it is not 10-bit 1.07B colours. This has a true adaptive screen that ranges from 10-120Hz to help conserve battery.

Processor (Soc)

Brand/ Model	Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 https://www.qualcomm.com/products/application/smartphones/snapdragon-8-series-mobile-platforms/snapdragon-8-plus-gen-1-mobile-platform
nm	4
Cores	1 x 3.19GHz + 3 x 2.75GHz + 4 x 1.80GHz
Modem	X65
AI TOPS	27
Geekbench 5 Single-core (power/battery)	1298
Geekbench 5 multi-core (power/battery)	4041
Like	About 15-20% faster than the same Exynos in S21 series
GPU	Adreno 730
GPU Test
Open CL	6314
Like	About 5% slower than an Exynos 2100
Vulcan	6722
RAM/ type	8GB
Storage/ free/ type	128GB UFS 3.1 (92GB free)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	1090
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	200.34
CPDT microSD read/ write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	Won’t test – seen as external storage but can’t mount as internal storage
Comment	Videographers and vloggers will soon run out of space without mountable storage, seen as internal storage.
Throttle test
Max GIPS (power/battery)	358301
Average GIPS	262992
Minimum GIPS	212114
% Throttle	38% after 4 minutes of a 15m test
CPU Temp	60°
Comment	While the average user may not worry about 38% throttle, consider buying a V8 and getting a 5-cylinder car. This will affect power users, gamers and video playback.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type/ model	6 AX HE160, MIMO
Test 2m -dBm/ Mbps	-30/2401
Test 5m	-41/2161
Test 10m	-50/1729 (15M -58/1152)
BT Type	5.2
GPS single/ dual	Dual accuracy <4m
USB type	USB Type-C 2.0
ALT DP/ DeX/ Ready For	No
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wide-band	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes – combo with Gyro
Gyro	Yes – combo with Gyro
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor	Yes
Proximity	Yes
Other	Fingerprint under glass
Comment	Excellent Wi-Fi signal strength

LTE and 5G

SIM	Single SIM and eSIM
Active	Only one
Ring tone single/ dual	Single
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1, 2, 3 ,4 5 7, 8 ,12, 13 17, 18 19 ,20, 25, 26 28, 66
Comment	All Australian and most world bands
5G sub-6Ghz	1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20 ,25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78
Comment	All sub-6Ghz and 5G low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile/ Telstra
UL/ DL/ ms	33.6/21.6/28ms – good
Tower 1 -dBm/ fW or pW	-85/3-4pW – good
Tower 2	-89/1-3pW – good
Tower 3	-90/500fW-1pW – good
Tower 4	-92/300-500fW- good
Comment	Excellent signal strength for city, suburbs, regional and rural use.

Battery

mAh	3700
Charger/ type/ supplied	No – suggest SS 25W. Note third-party chargers must support 9V/2.77A/25W or it will drop back to 5V/3A/15W or lower
PD/ QC level	3/ 2.0
Qi/ wattage	15W
Reverse Qi or cable	N/A
Test (Adaptive screen)
Charge % 30mins	Approx 50%
Charge 0-100%	25W charger 1hr 30 minutes
Charge Qi/ W	3.45 hours
Charge 5V/ 2A	3 hours
Video loop 50%/ aeroplane	17 hours 30 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	11 hours 11 minutes Accubattery 11 hours 3 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	292.9 min (4.88 hours) 6614 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 48 minutes
Watt full load	2400mA (typical 600mA)
Watt idle Screen on	250-300mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	The adaptive mode should deliver a better battery life
Estimate typical use	It’s a phone you will need to charge daily.
Comment	Carry a charger (shame Samsung does not provide one). The Out of memory error should not occur on a Qualcomm SoC.

Sound

Speakers	Stereo – top earpiece and bottom down-firing. – flips between portrait and landscape mode.
Tuning	AKG
AMP	2 x Cirrus Logic CS35L41 each 5.3W/ 1% THD/ 8 ohm
Dolby Atmos decode	Yes, downmix to two speakers
Hi-Res	32-bit/ 128kHz
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	SBC/ AAC/ aptX / LDAC/Samsung Scalable for Samsung devices
Multipoint	Can connect to two devices
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes – auto/ movie/ music/ voice and games mode
EQ	Normal/ Pop/ Classic/ Jazz/ Rock and Custom – makes more of a difference in headphones as inbuilt speakers limit what it can do.
Mics	One at the top and two on the bottom
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	76
Ring	76
Alarm	76
Notifications	70
Earpiece	55
Hands-free	The bottom mic is for voice only, and one at the top is for noise reduction. Hold the phone close, as the volume is a tad low.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA make quite a difference with DA content.

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Slow build to 200Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slow build to 400Hz
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Slight decline
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Flat to 17kHz
Sound Signature type	If it only had a little more bass, it would be a neutral signature capable of responding to any EQ setting. As it is (without EQ), it is more Bright Vocal (bass recessed/ mid/ treble boosted) – for vocal tracks and string instruments. Quite listenable, but you will miss the bass
Soundstage	2D is slightly wider than the phone. DA gives it a far wider sound stage but still no 3D height.
Comment	Shame about the bass. The mid-treble is well controlled and removes the harshness. The Personal Audio Test works with wired or Bluetooth headphones to boost frequencies you have trouble hearing. Ambient Sound Amplification mode captures sound through your phone’s mic and your headphones.

Build

Size (H X W x D)	165 x 71.9 x 6.9mm flat 85.9 x 71.9 x 15.9-17.1mm folded
Weight grams	187
Front glass	Main screen – protective film – Ultra-thin glass protection as it folds
Rear material	Gorilla Glass Victus+
Frame	Aluminium – hinge rated 200K cycles
IP rating	IPX8 – 1.5m x 30 minutes
Colours	Bora Purple Graphite Pink Gold Blue Glossy frame and matte glass
Pen/ Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	USB-C cable 3W rated
Buds	No
Bumper cover	No
Comment	No charger – bad Samsung. Gorilla Glass Victus+ and solid alloy frame make it a keeper but use a case to help prevent drops.

OS

Android	12
Security patch date	1/08/2022
UI	OneUI 4.1.1
OS upgrade policy	Up to 4 OS upgrades
Security patch policy	Regular security patches for four years
Bloatware	Samsung alternative to Google suite. Microsoft suite and OneDrive (requires subscription)
Other	Selection  of Galaxy Apps
Comment	Excellent upgrade policy, and One UI is easy to use.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location/ type	Fingerprint on the power button
Face ID	2D
Other	Knox and Secure folder
Comment	One of the more secure Android devices

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 rear camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	12MP
Sensor	Samsung S5K2LD
Focus	Dual Pixel PDAF
f-stop	1.8
um	1.8
FOV° (stated/ actual)	71.5 (H) to 84 (D)
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	10X digital
Rear 2	Ultra-wide
MP	12MP
Sensor	IMX258
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated/ actual)	105.6 (H) to 117.5 (D)
Stabilisation
Zoom	Video 4K@30fps no OIS/EIS
Video max	Primary sensor 4K@60fps with OIS/EIS
Flash	LED
Auto-HDR	HDR10+
	Scene Optimiser (30 modes)     Shot suggestions     Scan QR codes     Single Take     Quick Shot     Photo     Video     Pro     Panorama     Food     Night     Portrait     Portrait Video     Pro Video     Super Slow-mo     Slow motion     Hyperlapse     Director’s View
QR code reader	Yes
Night mode	Yes

Front Camera

Front	Selfie main screen
MP	10.87
Sensor	Samsung S5K3J1
Focus	Dual Pixel PDAF
f-stop	2.4
um	1.22
FOV (stated/ actual)	68.4 (H) to 80.6 (D)
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No
Video max	4K@30fps
Comment	1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent if over-saturated with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows and highlights. 2X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy. 10X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it Ultra-wide: Second sensor: good colour and details, although you can tell it is a different sensor from the primary. Macro: The 12MP primary sensor takes reasonable close-up shots, but it is not a macro lens Indoor office light: Colours are excellent, and the dog’s face/ears are deep black Bokeh Depth: Very good bokeh. Dark <40 lumens: It has great details and colour – better than night mode on most cameras. Night mode brings up the detail and saturates the colour – excellent Selfie: The 10MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in a day and office light Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@60fps with OIS/EIS, but we think the sweet spot is still 1080p@30fps for excellent, stable video and audio.

Ratings

Features	8
	It has a balanced set of features that you expect at this price – nothing is class-leading except the Flip feature.
Value	8
	Considering that storage is not expandable, you really need to look at the 2546GB version at $1649. Considering that there are better performing, more fully featured glass slabs, value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Performance	8.5
	It loses points because of the extreme throttling and equally gains points for excellent Wi-Fi and phone reception strength.
Ease of Use	8
	I like the flip pocketability, but it’s a two-handed opening, and you need to be extremely careful with the screen.
Design	9
	Samsung has done it well
Rating out of 10	8.3
Final comment	The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 shows how continuous improvement turns this fashion icon into a very usable smartphone. Lower-cost glass slabs outclass it, but that is not why you buy it.