Samsung showed off the newest models of its fancy foldable phone lineups on Wednesday, in a continuation of its efforts to take bendable phones to the mainstream. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, announced at the company’s annual Unpacked event, were revealed alongside the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. The Galaxy Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 will launch on Aug. 26, when they will start at $1,800 (£1,649, AU$2,499) and $1,000 (£999, AU$1,499), respectively — the same price as each of their predecessors.
While both phones have a foldable design, the specific look and feel is different for each. The Z Flip 4 is a clamshell-style flip phone popularized by Motorola’s Razr. It’s compact, nostalgically cool and it targets online content creators, among other demographics. The Z Fold 4, on the other hand, is Samsung’s heftier book-style foldable. It’s nearly double the height of the Z Flip 4 when both are folded “closed.” When unfurled, Z Fold 4 expands into a tablet-sized interior screen that Samsung says is a powerful tool for multitasking, which is given a boost by 12GB of RAM.
With the Z Fold 4’s larger size (and higher price), comes a corresponding set of features. There are three rear cameras including a telephoto lens, compared with just two on the Z Flip 2. The Z Fold 4 also manages to cram in a larger battery. Their front displays are different, too. The Z Flip 4 has a petite display on the lower portion of the cover, which Samsung has made more useful with this iteration. The Z Fold 4’s display is nearly the size of a regular phone screen.
Despite their physical differences, perhaps Samsung’s biggest flex was software, and the changes affected both new models. Like the Z Fold 4, the Flip 4 gets the bottom-screen trackpad feature in its Flex Mode — that’s the feature that splits apps between top and bottom portions of the screen when it’s folded halfway. With the updates, you’ll be able to use the bottom half of the screen as a trackpad for navigating the top portion of the screen, supposedly making it easier to manipulate apps in Flex Mode.
Each model also receives nighttime photography improvements that were launched with the Galaxy S22, including night portrait-mode photos. These changes seem to underscore Samsung’s efforts to convince shoppers to switch to a foldable phone — or at the very least generate some interest in one.
For more information on how the Z Flip 4 stacks up against the Z Fold 4, take a look at CNET’s specs chart below for a side-by-side comparison.
Z Fold 4 vs. Z Flip 4
| Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G | Galaxy Z Flip 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display size, resolution, aspect ratio | Internal: 7.6-inch AMOLED (2176 x 1812 pixels) External: 6.2-inch HD Plus (2,316 x 904) | Main Screen: 6.7-inch FHD+ (2,640 x 1080 pixels; 22:9) Cover Screen: 1.9-inch (260×512 pixels) |
| Pixel density | TBC | TBC |
| Dimensions (Millimeters) | Folded: 67.1×155.1×15.8mm (Hinge) ~14.2mm (Sagging). Unfolded: 130.1×155.1×6.3mm | Folded: 71.9×84.9×17.1mm (Hinge) ~15.9mm (Sagging). Unfolded: 71.9×165.2×6.9mm |
| Weight (Ounces, Grams) | 9.27 oz; 263g | 187g; 6.59 oz |
| Mobile software | Android 12L | Android 12 |
| Camera | 50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (telephoto) | 12-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide) |
| Front-facing camera | 4-megapixel (under display), 10-megapixel (front cover) | 10-megapixel |
| Video capture | 4K | 4K |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen Plus 1 | Snap 8 Plus Gen 1 |
| RAM/Storage | 12GB + 256GB/512GB/1TB | 8GB+ 128GB/256GB/512GB |
| Expandable storage | None | None |
| Battery/Charger | 4,400 mAh | 3,700 mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Side | Side |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | None | No |
| Special features | Foldable phone, 30x optical, 30x space zoom, IPX8, 25-watt fast-charging (no in-box charger) | IPX67, 5G enabled, foldable display, wireless charging, 25W fast charging |
| Price (USD) | $1,800 (256 GB); Pricing for other models TBC | $999 |
| Price (GBP) | £1,649 (256GB) | £999 |
| Price (AUD) | AU$2,499 (256GB) | AU$1,499 |
