Just a few years ago, the idea of a foldable phone replacing the true and tested ‘candy bar' design seemed like a pipe dream. Then came the first foldable phone — the original Galaxy Fold — and although countless smartphone users were intrigued by this paradigm shift, few were brave and wealthy enough to virtually become volunteers for testing Samsung's new technology at a premium price. Countless enthusiasts said they'll wait for the technology to evolve, become mainstream, and pose less of a risk of failure before they jump on the foldable phone bandwagon. And I believe that the moment of truth is now, right after Unpacked 2022 and the announcement of the new Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Impressive as it is, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a niche device with a higher-than-premium price tag. On the other hand, Samsung's foldable flip phone has become what we all wanted it to be: a foldable phone that can compete with ‘candy bar' smartphones in terms of capabilities, build quality, software experience, and pricing, all the while stirring up the stale smartphone market with a crazy-cool design.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was the best-selling foldable phone of 2021 and the first half of 2022. It almost proved that the new era of foldable smartphones is upon us. But because of relatively poor battery life and build quality concerns left over from the previous generations, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 didn't quite hit the mark. Or, at the very least, the Z Flip 3 wasn't fleshed-out enough to convince most candy bar smartphone customers that it's time for a change.
But now is time for a sequel, and the new Galaxy Z Flip 4 ticks virtually every box you can think of in terms of what a foldable flip phone should offer — as long as you're not looking for the best-of-the-best mobile camera experiences with features like 10x optical zoom and the like.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the smartphone to own in 2022
The best-value-for-money sweet spot for smartphones is usually somewhere along the upper-mid-range, so if your goal is to get the best bang for your buck, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 — and other candy bar phones in the $999 range, for that matter — might not be your best choice.
However, if you're in the market for a high-end smartphone that doesn't cost more than $1,000 and you've waited for something new and exciting to hit the shelves, then the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is it! It's powerful enough to compete with any other device, and now it has a bigger battery with 25W super-fast charging.
More importantly, build quality reached the point where customers need not worry about damaging the foldable screen, the hinge, or other unusual components during regular use. We can finally say that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is virtually a candy bar smartphone that can fold in half, and it achieved this level of refinement and compactness with very few compromises.
Granted, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn't have the premium camera system of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and it may never will, but then again, neither does the Galaxy S22+. For that sort of mobile camera experience, customers need to pay more than $1,000, regardless of whether they buy a foldable or a “rigid” smartphone.
However, in the sub $1,000 segment, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the most exciting smartphone we've seen — maybe in over a decade. The foldable flip smartphone seems to be the way of the future, and I wouldn't be surprised if most handsets sold a few years from now will draw inspiration from Samsung's Flip series and adopt a foldable design.
All in all, if you've followed the foldable phone market with interest and you've been waiting for Samsung's foldable smartphones to “grow up” and catch up with candy bar phones before buying into this idea of a generational leap, the moment is finally here and now. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is available for pre-order and is shipping to customers this month. Feel free to check out our hands-on and first setup video below for a better look at this stunning Samsung device.
