Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4 has the unenviable task of following up on the most popular foldable Samsung device the first song released. Last year's Galaxy Z Flip 3 helped make the best foldable phone more than just a niche device, thanks to its sub-$1,000 price tag.
In this era of rising prices, we'll be pleased if Samsung simply maintains the Galaxy Z Flip 3's $999 price tag when its successor debuts in the second half of 2022. But there are plenty of other ways to make a splash with the new Galaxy Z Flip.
With all the rumors out there about the upcoming foldable phone, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect with the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Here are the biggest rumors we've been tracking regarding Samsung's next foldable flip phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
One of the biggest Galaxy Z Fold 4 rumors puts it at the top of the list of rumored features for Samsung's other foldable device. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is expected to have a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor.
That's not a surprise in one sense. Samsung usually makes sure it's top foldable are powered by the best Qualcomm technology. That would have been the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found inside the Galaxy S22 earlier this year.
How much more powerful is it? Qualcomm says that Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 boosts CPU and GPU performance by 10% compared to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is set to deliver 15% more power-efficient than its predecessor. This could lead to...
Let's face it - no one is going to rave about how long the Galaxy Z Flip 3 could last on a charge, largely because it couldn't. In our battery test, which involves having phones surf the web over cellular until they run out of power, the Galaxy Z Flip died after 5 hours and 43 minutes.
That's more than four hours shorter than the average smartphone battery life. Battery tests can be challenging, but even in normal use, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has trouble keeping up.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip will help a little bit, thanks to its improved power efficiency. Samsung is likely to look for other ways to improve the battery life of the Z Flip 3's successor.
400 mAh may not sound like much, but Samsung is limited on how big a battery it can fit in the Flip due to its size.
At least Samsung better hopes so - the Galaxy Z Fold's battery life is the one thing that keeps us from being more enthusiastic. It would be a step in the right direction if the Z Fold 4 inches just a little bit closer to the average smartphone battery life.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 will have smaller hinges this year. The Z Flip 4 is said to have a more compact hinge.
That could mean a lighter phone since the 6.5-ounce Galaxy Z Flip 3 wasn't much of a heavyweight in the first place. The lighter a phone is, the easier it is to carry - a fact not lost on Galaxy Z Flip owners who already love the phone's portability.
In addition to helping the Galaxy Z Flip 4 in another way, the hinge helps reduce the appearance of the crease where the phone folds in two. As of now, there is a crease across the middle of the screen when you open the Z Flip.
According to leaked images of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung's new phone should have a less noticeable crease. The leaker Ice Universe stacked two images side-by-side to compare the current crease with the upcoming version(opens in new tab).
The crease has been more of an aesthetic flaw than a design flaw - folding displays in half is going to leave a crease behind. Making that crease less visible to the naked eye would make it feel more like a polished phone that is worth the $999 asking price.
Although creases and short battery life have plagued the Galaxy Z Fold, the phone's exterior cover display is arguably one of its best features. There is a thin strip of a display that displays notifications and the time, so you don't have to open up the phone.
Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants believes the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will have a display larger than 2 inches. Yogesh Brar reiterates that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will have a 2.1-inch display.
There could be other changes coming to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4, and we certainly wouldn't object to upgrades such as improved camera specs.
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