Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 are now official and they mark the continuation of the company’s efforts to push foldables into the mainstream market. Both of these devices have a foldable display but they have entirely different form factors. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a heftier book-style foldable whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a clamshell-style phone that we’ve come to adore since the days of the original Moto Razr. Both devices are extremely powerful and capable but they don’t target the same users. If you’re wondering which Samsung foldable phone to buy in 2022, then you’ve come to the right page. Let’s take a quick look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs Galaxy Z Flip 4 comparison to find out which foldable you should buy.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs Galaxy Z Flip 4: Specifications
Before we begin the comparison, let’s take a quick look at the specifications table to see how they stack up against each other:
| Specification | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 |
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| Build |
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| Dimensions & Weight |
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| Display |
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| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 | Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 |
| RAM & Storage | 12GB + 256GB 12GB + 512GB 12GB + 1TB |
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| Battery & Charging |
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| Security | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor |
| Rear Camera(s) |
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| Front Camera(s) |
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| Port(s) | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| Audio | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Connectivity |
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| Software |
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Design and Display
The overall form factor and the design, as we mentioned earlier, are where these two phones differ the most. Both phones can comfortably be used as a smartphone, but the overall experience is going to be quite different. Where the Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts as a standard smartphone that opens up like a book into a miniature tablet, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts as a tiny pocketable device that turns into a standard-sized smartphone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the productivity powerhouse whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is almost like a fashion accessory. The latter is also available in more fun colorways like blue, gold, gray, and purple, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes in more professional-looking black, burgundy, gray-green, and beige. Samsung also lets you mix and match a handful of colors and truly customize your Galaxy Z Flip 4 at an additional cost for the Bespoke Edition. That’s not even an option for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, so keep that in mind.
Both phones are equally durable as they both use Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the outside along with an Aluminum Armor frame. The internal folding display on both phones is also said to be stronger now, but that’s something we’ll have to test over time. You get the same IPX8 rating with both phones, so no differences there either. Also missing is the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microSD card slot on both devices.
That’s pretty much everything you need to know about the design of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. You don’t even have to look at the dimensions on the specs sheet to tell which one’s more compact and better suited for those who have small hands. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the one to pick if you don’t want to carry a huge foldable in your pocket. But if you give more importance to productivity and multitasking, and don’t mind carrying a hefty device, then the Galaxy Z Fold 4 might be the one for you.
As for the display, you get two displays on both phones — there’s an outer cover display and an inner folding panel. The physical dimensions of the displays vary a lot, though. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 sports a tiny 1.9-inch Super AMOLED panel on the outside that’s only good for quickly glancing at some important notifications and menu options. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, on the other hand, sports a much bigger 6.2-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2,316 x 904 pixels.
Both phones open up to reveal a significantly bigger display than the one found on the outside. In the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s case, it’s a 6.7-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,640 x 1,080 pixels. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, once again trounces it to reveal a massive 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with supports for up to 120Hz refresh rate and 2,176 x 1,812 resolution. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is perfect for those who want to get more things done on their smartphone. It runs Android 12L to offer more productivity tools. It also supports Samsung’s S Pen stylus, although you’ll have to buy it separately, and there’s also no place to actually store it within the device itself.
Again, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a smaller footprint overall, which is also why it sports a relatively smaller display. It’s a solid choice if you want a simple phone for day-to-day use, but it can’t beat the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s productivity chops.
Internal hardware and cameras
Both foldables in this comparison use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset. This new chip is more advanced than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found inside this year’s other Samsung flagships like the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, however, packs more RAM to help with multitasking. It comes with 12GB of RAM whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 4 tops out at 8GB.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 also has double the maximum storage. It can be purchased with up to 1TB of storage whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 4 only comes with a maximum of 512GB storage. You’re not going to any difference in the performance of the two phones, really. They’re both powered by the same chipset which also happens to be the best in the business. That being said, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 definitely offers better productivity tools. The bigger screen paves the way for a better multitasking experience. You can also use the S Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, making it even better for day-to-day workloads.
Thanks to the bigger footprint, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 also manages to cram in a larger battery. You get a 4,400 mAh battery inside the bigger foldable as opposed to a relatively smaller 3,700 mAh unit inside the Galaxy Z Flip 4. You can expect the Galaxy Z Fold 4 to last longer between charges compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, but it’s probably not going to be a lot considering how the Fold also has bigger displays. Both phones only support a maximum of 25W wired charging, so it’s safe to say that Samsung is still lagging behind the competition when it comes to charging speeds. You can, however, charge both wirelessly too, so keep that in mind.
As for the optics, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 sports a triple camera setup while the Galaxy Z Flip 4 only has two cameras at the back. The bigger Fold gets a 50MP wide-angle camera along with a 12MP ultra-wide angle camera and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 will get you two 12MP sensors at the back, one wide-angle lens and the other with an ultra-wide. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, as you may have guessed, is the clear winner here as it offers a more versatile camera setup. We weren’t able to capture the same set of photos using both phones for a side-by-side comparison, but we’ll individual camera samples below for you to check out.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 happens to have two selfie cameras — there’s a 10MP sensor on the outer cover display in addition to a 4MP sensor that is hidden under the folding display inside. The 4MP under-display sensor still isn’t as good, so we recommend using the 10MP selfie camera on the cover display for all practical purposes. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 only has a single 10MP selfie camera, which is the same as the one found on the outer cover display of the Fold 4. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a slight edge when it comes to video recording too. You can capture 8K videos at up to 24fps with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but both phones can also do 4K videos at 60fps.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 camera samples:
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 camera samples:
Software
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs Android 12L, making it the first Samsung phone to do so. Android 12L is the big-screen updated version of Android 12. As such it improves the experience of using devices with bigger displays. The UI tweaks on Android 12L include a two-column interface, a dedicated taskbar for multitasking, and more. As a part of the One UI 4.1.1, you get a bunch of these additional features on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. There’s a taskbar at the bottom of the screen, you can launch up to three apps at the same time, you can create app pairs, and more.
All this makes it a joy to multitask on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Galaxy Z Flip 4, on the other hand, runs the standard OneUI software, which is the same as the one you get with pretty much every other Samsung flagship device. It’s not necessarily a deal breaker since the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t have a huge display to take advantage of all the multitasking features. The software support on both phones, however, remains the same. You can expect both devices in this comparison to receive up to four major Android OS updates and up to five years of security updates in the future.
Fold 4 vs Flip 4: Which one should you buy?
There’s clearly a lot of difference between the two devices in this comparison, but which one’s best for you? Well, that depends on a few things, with the first one being the price. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $999 in the US whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is priced at $1,799 for the base variant. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is — without a doubt — one of the most expensive smartphones you can buy on the market right now, so the choice is pretty obvious if you’re not willing to spend that much money on a smartphone.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 carries a relatively smaller price tag but it goes without saying that it’s not as feature-packed as the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The clamshell is good for those who’re looking to buy a slightly different phone for a fun experience. It’s more of a style statement if you will. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, on the other hand, is a productivity powerhouse that can do a lot more than you can possibly imagine. Add an S Pen to the whole experience and you’re looking at a significantly better phone than the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Not to mention, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 also has a bigger display, better cameras, and a bigger battery for more screen time.
The choice is pretty obvious, really. It depends on how much you are willing to spend and — most importantly — what you want from your phone. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, and the only reason you’re buying a foldable is to experience something unique, then the Galaxy Z Flip 4 might just be the one to buy. It may not be able to compete with the best slab phones out there for the price, but it’s sure to deliver a very unique experience. As for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, well, it’s good for those who want to get a lot of things done right on their smartphone without having to pull out another device. Its expensive price tag makes it suitable for a select group of users and you probably already know whether you belong to that group.
- The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is relatively affordable but it's not as feature-packed as the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
- The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the ultimate productivity powerhouse that offers a more well-rounded experience for power users.
So which Samsung foldable are you planning to buy? Let us know by dropping a line in the comments below. Also, be sure to stop by our best Galaxy Z Flip 4 deals or the best Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals page depending on the one you decide to purchase. We’ve also rounded up the best Galaxy Z Flip 4 cases and the best Galaxy Z Fold 4 cases so you can choose the best one to protect your expensive and fragile foldable.
The post Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: Which 2022 foldable should you buy? appeared first on XDA.
source https://www.xda-developers.com/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-4-vs-samsung-galaxy-z-flip-4/