The Galaxy Z Flip 4 will have a tough act to follow after the Galaxy Z Flip 3 arrived last summer. With that model, Samsung refined its clamshell-style foldable phone by making improvements across the board and introducing a much more reasonable $999 starting price.
However, there is always room for growth, especially among the still emerging category of foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is far from perfect, so Samsung has plenty of ways to make a better device when a new version arrives later this year. From the lifetime of the battery of durability, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 could change the game just like its predecessor.
We don’t know much about the next affordable Galaxy Z foldable, but we’ve gathered what have heard and what we’d like to see from the Galaxy Z Flip 4 for it to become one of the best foldable phones.
We only have the past two off right now, but we’d guess that Samsung will host an Unpacked in August for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Galaxy Z phones took the Galaxy Note’s place at Samsung’s mid-year device launch, and Samsung probably wants some lead time before the iPhone 14 arrives in its usual September launch window.
As for Galaxy Z Flip 4 price, we can’t imagine Samsung deviating from what it charges now. After all, one of the Galaxy Z Flip 3’s defining benefits was its more affordable $999 starting price. If Samsung wants to convince more people to try the foldable ones, the price has to be just.
There’s not a whole lot to be said about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 just yet, but a rumor claims that Samsung could keep the same 6.7-inch internal and 1.9-inch external displays of the Galaxy Z Flip 3. That would be logical—the design of the Flip 3 is pretty good and the external display is helpful.
We’ve also heard rumors that Samsung has tested a version of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 with an under-display camera. Considering the shoddy one in the Galaxy Z Fold 3, we sure hope that’s not final. The source of this leak claims that Samsung is hoping to lighten the Galaxy Z Flip 3 by adjusting the hinge design. We just want to see a hapless design like the one offered by the Oppo Find N.
Unfortunately, rumors right now say that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 could have the same 3,300 mAh battery as the Flip 3. Unless Samsung has a few tricks in its sleeves, which could be a huge disappointment, as the lack of battery life is one of the greatest weaknesses of the current Flip.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was a pretty good improvement over the original Galaxy Z Flip. But it was very far from perfect. We think Samsung might stand up to address some of these egregious issues when it releases the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Better battery life
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 had an abysmal battery life. In Tom’s Guide battery life test, it didn’t even last 6 hours in the adaptive refresh rate mode. That’s not good. We think that was due in part to the 120Hz internal displays and larger cover display, all of which drain more power. In our review, we recommended keeping a charger handy if you were going to the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
For the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we want to see better battery life. Simple, but that might be a tall order unless Samsung puts in larger power packs. The efficiency gains of Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are not likely to make things too much better by themselves.
Improved durability
While Samsung made great strides in improving the durability of the last round of its foldable, we’ve read reports that Galaxy Z Flip 3 units are breaking a few months into ownership. While we can’t verify these reports with our own experience, it’s nonetheless concerning to hear about phones not making it through their first year. It’s another area where foldables have a long way to go.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 would ideally see continued improvements in durability and longevity. No one wants to spend $999 on a phone for it to break and/or become inoperable within a year, let alone a few months.
Gapless hinge
While Samsung may have pioneered the foldable phone form factor, it turns out that Oppo one-upped the Korean phone maker in one key area: hinge design. The Oppo Find N has a truly gapless hinge. That means there is no gap between the displays right at the hinge, which should help to protect the internal screens from dust and damage.
We’d like to see the Galaxy Z Flip 4 (and Galaxy Z Fold 4) adopts a gapless hinge design. Samsung, just take a page out of Oppo’s playbook.
Faster charging
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 topped out at 15W wired charging, which is pathetically slow compared to the rest of the industry, let alone phones that push or exceed the $1,000 mark. When phones such as the one-place 9 Pro can charge to 65W, we wanted to see the Flip 3 charge a lot faster, especially with the wrong battery life.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 should come with 25W at the very least, which is what the Galaxy S22 clocks in at. (The Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Plus charge at 45W wired.)
A telephoto lens
Likely in the attempt to keep the costs down, Samsung opted not to include a telephoto lens on the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The phone had two cameras, the main sensor and an ultrawide. When the $999 Galaxy S22 Plus comes with a 3x telephoto lens, we think the lack of one on the Flip 3 is quite noticeable.
For the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we want to see a telephoto lens added, even if it just features a 2x or 2.5x zoom. While there are sacrifices to be made when using a foldable, losing on camera abilities seems more difficult for Samsung to justify.
