Introduction
Earlier this year, I reviewed the Galaxy Fold, which is the company’s first-ever foldable device with a hefty price tag. It was actually a great experience, but that was not a device for everyone, more like Samsung is flexing its foldable technology. Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip in February, a foldable phone that more people might even consider it. Without further ado, this is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review!
Specs
- 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED (21.9:9) Infinity Flex display
- 1.1-inch Super AMOLED cover display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage
- Rear cameras: 12MP F2.2 ultra-wide + 12MP F1.8 with OIS
- 10MP front camera
- 3,300mAh dual battery with 15W fast charging
- Samsung One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10
Design
Unlike the Fold, the Z Flip looks more like a phone, a flip phone in the good old days. It comes with a new Hideaway Hinge, which is backed by a dual CAM mechanism. The new hinge now makes every flip and fold smoother and more stable, but it wasn’t as satisfying as those old flip phones.
The phone has a 1.1-inch Super AMOLED cover display, which shows the time, notifications, and other information. The cover display can be used as a viewfinder if you want to take selfies using the 12MP camera. I don’t think many people will actually use the cover display too much, it’s useful to check the time and notifications, but if you own a Galaxy Watch or any other wearable device, chances of you to use the cover display are low.
Once you flipped open the phone, it’s all about the 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED (21.9:9) Infinity Flex display with a hole-punch selfie camera. It actually has a thick bezel, which is quite reasonable to protect the flexible screen.
The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the phone, I personally think the buttons are too high up. The power button also doubles up as a fingerprint sensor, it’ll definitely take time to get used to the position.
The SIM slot is located on the left side of the phone and there are both microphones located on the top and bottom of the phone. Sadly, the Z Flip only comes with a down-firing mono speaker, and there’s no 3.5mm audio jack, just like other Samsung flagships.
Display
The Z Flip sports a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED (21.9:9) Infinity Flex display. Yup, it’s a long 21.9:9 display, which can view more content. It comes with Flex Mode, which automatically splits into two 4-inch screens when the device is free-standing, so you can easily view images, contents, or videos on the top half of the display, and control them on the bottom half.
The Z Flip actually has an ultra-thin layer of bendable glass underneath the polymer layer, something that the Fold doesn’t have. The polymer layer above the bendable glass provides further strength so that the glass won’t break. Having the bendable glass underneath makes the screen to have less wavy reflections, the overall viewing experience is now better compared to the Fold.
The crease is still visible when looking at an angle, but not a big deal if you are the user. However, since the top layer is actually the polymer layer, it can still get scratched and marked easily.
Performance
The Galaxy Z Flip is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Yup, no Exynos for this phone, just like the Galaxy Fold! Even though this isn’t the latest flagship processor, the phone still performs quite well on a daily basis.
In terms of gaming, I was able to play Call of Duty: Mobile in “Very High” graphic quality and “Max” frame rate. As for PUBG Mobile, I was able to run “HD” and “HDR” graphics with “Ultra” frame rate, if you want to hit the “Extreme” frame rate, you’ll have to change it to “Smooth” graphics. The overall performance might be the same as the S20 and S20+ that I reviewed before, but trust me, it’s actually better in terms of thermal management and consistency.
Software
The Galaxy Z Flip runs on Samsung One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10 and it is one of the smartphones that will get three generations of Android OS upgrades, confirmed by Samsung. The overall user experience is more of the same, but there are features mainly for its foldable screen.
As mentioned earlier, the phone will split into two 4-inch screens when the device is free-standing. With that, the phone can also become a “tripod” on its own. There are quite a number of apps that will automatically split into halves, such as YouTube, camera, gallery, and more. Additionally, Samsung has removed the Edge Panel feature, but you now get to open an app at the top and another one at the bottom. Do take note that not all apps support the split-screen view.
Camera
The phone packs a dual-camera setup on the back — 12MP F2.2 ultra-wide + 12MP F1.8 with OIS. Selfie wise, it has a 10MP front camera with autofocus, just like other Samsung flagships.
Click here to view the camera samples
Camera quality generally is quite good, what you usually can expect from a Samsung flagship device. It might not have the best camera, but definitely good enough for your social media usage. Also, kudos to Samsung for choosing the ultra-wide lens instead of a telephoto lens. I really enjoy a lot, shooting with its ultra-wide lens!
Battery Life
The Galaxy Z Flip packs a 3,300mAh dual battery with 15W fast charging. Getting through a day with this phone is not a problem, and I was able to get around 5 hours of screen-on-time, not too bad actually. However, it’s a little bit disappointing to know that the phone only supports 15W fast charging, which will take a long time to charge up the battery.
Final Words
Retailing at RM5,888, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is yet another unique device from the Korean giant tech company. This time around, Samsung made it reachable to more people. I’m not just saying it priced lower than the Galaxy Fold, but all the improvements the company made, which is more practical for average consumers. Unlike the Galaxy Fold, which is more fragile and bulky, this is an unusual phone that you can buy and use it as your daily driver.