The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the next exciting chapter in Samsung’s foldable phone history. Technically the third clamshell foldable phone in the lineup (the Galaxy Z Flip 2 was skipped), the upcoming Z Flip 4 is expected to further perfect the foldable phone recipe without changing too much at once.
What do we know about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 so far? Not much, but the majority of leaks and rumors paint a very believable picture hinting that Samsung is mostly happy with how the Flip lineup is performing on the foldable market and wants to replicate that success in 2022 as well.
Here’s what we know about the Z Flip 4 so far!
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Release date
As far as the release date of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we have little to no specific information yet, just guesstimation based on Samsung’s usual device release practices and our expectations for the later part of 2022. Indeed, if our experience is anything to go by, we’d say that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 could be announced alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 4 sometime in August 2022.
| Phone | Announcement date | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | February 11, 2020 | February 14, 2020 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 | August 11, 2021 | August 27, 2021 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 | August 2022* | August – September 2022 |
* – probable dates
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Price
Last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 generally surprised us with its affordable for a foldable phone price tag of $999, which made it one of the most aggressively priced phones of the type. This was most likely the reason the Z Flip 3 was responsible for more than 60% of sales on the foldable phone market in both Q3 and Q4 2021, making it the most popular foldable phone.
Research firm DSCC puts the Z Flip 3 at the top of the foldable market
Judging from this strong performance of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, we could expect that Samsung would want to replicate this success by pricing the Z Flip 4 in the same ballpark. We should probably expect a starting price between $999-$1,099.
| Phone | Price |
|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | $1,380 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 | $999 |
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Name
Just two months ago, there would have been no doubt that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 would have been called exactly that, but the recent geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe have forced Samsung to change its naming scheme.
The letter “Z”, which has been sadly associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has already been dropped from existing Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 devices in select Eastern European countries, and new units come in boxes lacking the letter “Z”. Samsung has probably done that to get away from the negative connotation currently symbolized by the letter “Z” and could very well drop it from its upcoming foldable devices, but that’s a speculation at this point.
Interestingly, many of you probably remember that the first Galaxy Fold didn’t include the letter “Z”, so it’s sort of getting back to the roots of Samsung’s foldables. Admittedly, dropping the “Z” achieves a cleaner brand image, but it’s ultimately up to Samsung to decide. We’ve reached out to the company to elaborate on the change.
Galaxy Z Flip 3
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Camera
Little is known about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 camera as of now, but we don’t expect much to be changed in terms of overall layout and specs. There has been some chatter regarding a triple camera on the Z Flip 4, but these leaks are not very substantiated.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 came with a dual camera at the rear, a 12MP F2.2 wide and a 12MP F1.8 ultra-wide one. Noticeable is the lack of a telephoto lens here, and until credible leaks start popping up, we shouldn’t expect a telephoto camera to pop up on the upcoming Z Flip 4.
Admittedly, the Galaxy Flip series was never about having a great camera, and our Galaxy Z Flip 3 review revealed that the very first Galaxy Flip might be shooting better pictures in certain situations.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Chipset and storage
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 came with either 128GB or 256GB of fast UFS3.1 native storage, with no option for a microSD card expansion, and we expect the storage situation to be mostly similar with the Galaxy Z Flip 4. This time around, Samsung seems dead-set to get rid of microSD cards for good, so we would hardly be holding our breaths for one on the Z Flip 4.
In terms of what could be powering the Z Flip 4, the most likely candidate is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, which has been corroborated by popular Samsung leakster IceUniverse. This “Plus” version of the chipset is also built on a 4nm manufacturing process and will reportedly offer much better thermals and sustained performance in comparison with the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
There’s also some speculation that the Z Flip 4 will employ the cooling solution from the Galaxy S22-series, which will hopefully rein in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus and help the phone stay cool under heavier loads. Thermal throttling and performance were among the main downsides of the Z Flip 3, which has the tendency of getting warm even under light-to-medium loads, like YouTube streaming and social media.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Design
In terms of design, we expect the same foldable clamshell design, combining metal and glass in a compact sandwich. Any anticipation for a drastic shake-up in the external design of the Z Flip 4 are likely not grounded in reality: all the specs paint a rather similar phone to last year’s Z Flip 3, so it wouldn’t be too outlandish to assume that the Z Flip 4 will look pretty much identical to its predecessor.
Samsung is very likely increasing the size of the external ticker display, which doubles as a viewfinder when taking selfies with the main camera. According to rumors, the external display will grow from 1.83 to 1.9 or even 2.0 inches in size, which would make it a bit more useful.
There’s now also more or less no confirmation that the Z Flip 4 would come with an under-screen selfie camera, which means that Samsung could actually do the right thing and snub the unimpressive new technology in favor of a more traditional punch hole.
We expect Samsung to offer the Z Flip 4 in a bunch of lively colors that will correspond well with its youthful spirit. Last year’s Z Flip 3 was initially offered in a bunch of stylish colors, but Samsung later on launched the Bespoke Edition of the phone, allowing you to mix and match between 7 additional vibrant colors, allowing for nearly 50 unique color combinations.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 colors
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Display
Samsung is reportedly anticipating increased demand for its next foldable phones. How do we know that? Apparently, Samsung has ordered 8.7 million panels in 2022 for the Z Flip 4, a pretty decent increase over the 5.1 million ones ordered for the Z Flip 3 in 2021. This serious increase hints that Samsung is readying itself to make the Z Flip 4 mainstream and the increased display panel orders corroborate that message.
The phone is also tipped to integrate the durable Super UTG technology, or Ultra-Thin Glass—which is supposed to withstand a good few beatings before it shatters. The Z Flip 3 also came with ultra thin foldable glass, but Samsung had pre-applied a screen protector on the display and advised against removing it. We suppose that the situation would be similar with the Z Flip 4, though we certainly hope that things have improved a lot and we wouldn’t need to have a screen protector on a 2022 foldable phone.
In terms of specs, we expect Samsung to once again use a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with an LTPO variable refresh rate technology. Hopefully, the crease at the middle is less prominent this time around!
Galaxy Z Flip 3 vs Galaxy Z Flip main unfolded displays
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Battery
The battery of the Z Flip 4 is likely growing between 10 and 20% in density in comparison with the Z Flip 3, meaning that we’ll get better endurance out of the same physical battery cells, which is a definite win. As a reminder, the Z Flip 3 came with a 3,300mah battery, divided in dual cells, so the Z Flip 4 could potentially come with a 3,600 – 3,900mAh battery.
That could spell only good things for the potential battery life of the foldable phone. Our Galaxy Z Flip 3 review revealed that battery endurance of the foldable phone was one of its weaker aspects: battery life was around a full day, which was acceptable, but definitely not awe-inspiring. Thus, battery life could very well be one of the areas in which the Z Flip 4 outshines its predecessor.
We hope that Samsung’s 25W fast charging makes it to the Z Flip 4, which would definitely be an improvement over the 15W charging on the Z Flip 3. Moreover, 15W wireless charging would be a welcome improvement over the 10W wireless charging on the Z Flip 3. In our experience, a full wired charge takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes, and a full wireless charge takes around 2 hours and a half. Definitely room for improvement here.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 Software and features
One UI 4.1 built on top of Android 12 will most certainly be the software of choice on the Z Flip 4, with all the software bells and whistles that are normally found on Samsung’s other flagship phones. Some of the key features of Android 12, and ergo OneUI 4.1, are some new interface theming options that extract dominant colors from your phone’s wallpaper, improved privacy and security, and much more.
Should I wait for the Galaxy Z Flip 4?
If you’re keen on getting a foldable phone, then you might as well wait for the Z Flip 4. Judging from the circulating rumors and our expectations, it would be a definite improvement over the Z Flip 3 in some key aspects, like battery life, camera performance, and overall performance. While the phone is still a few months away at best, it’s probably worth it to wait for it if you’re willing to get foldables a chance.
Source: https://www.phonearena.com/samsung-galaxy-z-flip-4-release-date-price-features-news