The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a real challenge ahead of it after the Galaxy Z Flip 3 set the bar for foldables last year. Samsung’s smaller foldable got a massive upgrade to its design, cameras and performance while dropping the starting price to $999.
So what’s left for Samsung to fix with the Galaxy Z Flip 4? Battery life is the obvious answer as that was one pain point that Samsung didn’t manage to cure with the otherwise excellent Z Flip 3. But let’s take a look at what the rumor mill has churned up so far regarding the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and then briefly cover what we would like to see Samsung do with its more diminutive and pocketable foldable.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 release date
While you can’t technically say that Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be arriving at the August 10 Galaxy Unpacked event, there is no question that it is one of the devices that will be launching that day. Samsung’s invitation has Z Flip 4 pictured in profile on it and the pre-order bonus page also shows a device that is clearly the Z Flip 4.
This was the annual event for the Galaxy Note (R.I.P), but the foldables and the Galaxy Watch have claimed it now. This is Samsung’s last chance to grab attention before the September/October launch of the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch 8.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 price
We’ve only seen one leak regarding the price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, Android Central reported on the European retailer that indicated it would start at €1,080, which would come out to roughly $1,100. However, even if that pricing is accurate for Europe, these exchange rate based conversions rarely pan out. The smart money is on a repeat of the $999 price point. That sub-$1,000 was a huge moment for foldables and while costs have likely edged up, Samsung is putting a lot of energy behind foldables and walking back that pricing would hurt.
A tweet from display analyst Ross Young sparked some hope for discounted pricing on Samsung’s next-gen foldables as he indicated that early production was double that of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3. However, subsequent reports have driven home that costs are up, so it seems the optimistic view is that the reduced costs from volume manage to balance out the increase in component costs.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 design
Rumors and leaks regarding the design of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 suggest that little has changed. The earliest insight came from Ice universe. The oft-reliable leaker claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 “becomes smaller and lighter. Bezel narrower,” which seems like uniformly positive news for the pocketable foldable. The only concern is that it likely means that the battery size is at best staying the same 3,300mAh due to the design constraints of fitting a 6.7-inch display into that form factor.
More recently we got a look at what appear to be official renders courtesy of leaker Evan Blass on 91Mobiles. You would be hard-pressed to find any differences between the updated models if it weren’t for the new colors. SPeaking of colors, a recent Reddit post revealed Samsung U.K. insurance page that apparently flipped the switch early on a Galaxy Z Flip 4 page that offered a total of 71 colors available for the phone. This is likely the same Bespoke Studio option that let you customize the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but Samsung may be ready with it right at launch this time.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 cameras
There haven’t been any specific leaks regarding the cameras yet, but factoring in the rest of the rumors and the leaked renders, the most likely outcome is that Samsung sticks to the same cameras as last year.
This is the last year that Samsung can get away with that without drawing complaints. However, the 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle and 12MP ultra-wide at f/2.2 should still offer solid results with Samsung’s improving computational photography and the presumed SoC bump that I’ll get to in the next section.
However, Samsung could surprise us and bring the 50MP f/1.8 wide-angle from the Galaxy S22 line to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which would give it a decided boost in low-light performance. This is one of the more expensive components in a phone, so it’s just a budgetary balancing act for Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 performance
Samsung moved to top-tier flagship processors with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, and there’s no evidence it will change its tune with the Galaxy Z Flip 4. That should mean it will get the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor found in the Galaxy S22 and likely pair it with the same 8GB of RAM and 128GB of base storage. It could conceivably bump that up to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, but costs may have Samsung stick to the earlier chip.
The Galaxy Z Flip line is more about its design than performance, but Samsung learned its lesson with the early models that buyers still expect flagship specs from a $1,000 phone.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 outlook
While the Galaxy Z Flip 3 wasn’t a design revolution; it made several excellent quality of life improvements to the previous model, including better cameras, a bright 120Hz display, a larger cover display and water resistance. That would have been impressive enough, but then Samsung blew us away with the $999 price point, making it a tough act to follow.
The good news for foldable fans is that this is partially just a sign that the segment is maturing and there aren’t huge mountains to climb anymore. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was already excellent; if the Galaxy Z Flip 4 makes a couple of incremental improvements, that’s enough. All of this also means that if you find a great deal on the Galaxy Z Flip 3, don’t worry that you are losing out on too much by passing on the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
