Samsung Z Flip reviews | MrLucky

 Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip? In a nutshell, the Galaxy Z Flip is the first foldable smartphone worth buying.

 

But it's not perfect. Low and defective in camera, battery and fingerprint sensor. However, Samsung has made it enjoyable for users with its foldable form factor. 

Price at the time of review 

$1,380 (In June 2020, KT lowered the Galaxy Z Flip's shipping price from 1.65 million won to 1,496,000 won, and SK Telecom also adjusted the shipping price to the same price. Editor's Note) 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Full Review 

The first foldable smartphone was a tablet-sized screen, and the problem was that it went beyond the concept of a regular smartphone screen. This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is a little different. It's a typical phone that folds in half like the top-of-the-line fold phone of the 1990s. 

Which shape to prefer is a matter of taste, but the important thing is whether the Z Flip's detailed design can open the user's wallet. The Z flip has its flaws, but its advantages alone are sufficient to overcome these flaws.

To be honest, I love the Galaxy Z Flip. And the Galaxy Z Flip isn't just the phone of the future, it's one of the best smartphones out there right now. 
 

Design and manufacture, 'folded in a pocket'

Like the new Motorola Razr, the Z Flip is inspired by the popular flip phone of the 1990s. The 6.7-inch display folds horizontally and closes in the shape of an almost square clamshell. 

When unfolded, the phone is 167 mm high, but when closed, it measures only 87 x 73 mm, allowing it to be held comfortably in one hand or fit into a shirt pocket. Of course, most phones are less than 10mm thick, while the Z Flip is 17.3mm closed, a bit thick, but not overly burdensome, and considering the fact that the top of the jeans won't pop out, it's well worth it. 

If you flip the Z flip, it's still pretty cool. The hinges, which are a bit difficult to open comfortably with one hand, are too strong but can be closed easily. However, if you open it a little, the rest of the part can be easily opened. 
 

In fact, it feels a little difficult. One thing to be wary of is that the hinges aren't too soft for me and they don't have a waterproof rating. However, after dropping the phone a few times, the screen showed no signs of dents, damage, or wear. When carrying your phone, the fact that you are carrying the screen with the screen closed greatly reduces the chance of scratching the screen.
 
Samsung used plastic for the Galaxy Fold, but upgraded to 'ultra-thin glass' on the Z Flip. But in reality it's still mostly plastic, with a small amount of glass on the top layer. This makes them a bit susceptible to scratches, but feels strong enough.
 
Folding it horizontally has one unintended side effect. As you scroll through the app, you can feel the screen on the hinges crash. It's subtle and not particularly inconvenient, but every time I use it for two weeks every day I notice that there's a hinge there. I honestly don't think this is a compromise for a foldable phone. 
 

But this screen is not the only screen. One of the Z Flip's best features is the 1.1-inch screen built into the outside of the phone. When closed, it displays the time, date and battery level, along with a default notification icon and a simple music player. The touch controls are a bit blunt. Blinking can be a bit awkward, and sometimes it takes too many taps to wake the screen, but it does the job. 

The Z Flip's external screen, which appears to be monochromatic, is actually a full-color AMOLED panel. This allows the notification icon to be colored, such as green for WhatsApp and blue for Twitter. You can also use the small screen as a photo preview for your camera, or take a selfie through the outside lens, and anyone taking the photo can see the photo. 

Samsung has come up with another smart design. There is something subtle here. When you pick up the phone, the volume rocker adjusts the rotation, so the top button to increase the volume and the bottom button to lower the volume actually flip up and down.
 

  
Next to the volume rocker, there's a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into the power button, but unfortunately it's almost a failure. This is by far the most unreliable physical sensor I've used in years, and I don't really know what's wrong. However, only half of my fingers were recognized. 

In Z Flip, color is one of the factors that should be mentioned. Depending on where you are, the Z flip will appear in black, gold, or purple. The pink tint and reflective finish make it one of my favorite phones this year. 
 

Specs and performance, not the best, but good enough 

In terms of specs, the Galaxy Z Flip has made some interesting choices. First of all, the main chipset is Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+. This chip was the flagship chip at the end of 2019, but in 2020, the Snapdragon 865 took its place. Samsung's opting for a slightly older version is partly in an effort to keep costs down, and also because of the extra space required for the 865's 5G modem.
  
Since 5G is still in its infancy, the Z-Flip is only 4G-only, but that's not really an issue. It's also slightly inferior in performance to what we've seen with other 2020 phones like the OnePlus and Oppo, but not enough to affect your choice. The Z Flip is still a very fast and powerful phone, and it will hold this position for two or three years. 


The Z Flip includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Both are good enough, but it should be noted that there is no microSD card support, so you can't expand beyond 256GB. 

Despite looking like plastic, the AMOLED display, which looks pretty good, has a 60Hz refresh rate and color gamut that's no surprise. This certainly doesn't compare to the screen quality of top-tier products like the OnePlus 8 Pro or Samsung's own Galaxy S20 lineup. For now, foldable phones are just one of the tradeoffs to accept. 
 


When it comes to battery life, I was surprised that the 3,300mAh battery lasted quite a while. The battery didn't run out by the end of the day, and when I went to bed it was usually around 20%. It will get worse over time, but it's good enough for a starting point. 

15W fast charging is fine, but you can charge it with other charging methods as well. In my case, I got a 45% charge in 30 minutes from a discharged state, which isn't too shabby. There are devices that support wireless charging, but, as always, they're a bit slow. 

An easy-to-use camera that "sees, shoots"  

And there is a camera. The 100x zoom shown on Samsung's flagship S and Note, especially the S20 Ultra, was surprising, but Samsung was relatively restrained on the Z Flip. 

This is not to criticize, but to be seen as a definite setting. The main camera is a 12-megapixel, f/1.8 lens with dual-pixel autofocus and optical image stabilization. It may not seem like much, but it's the Galaxy S10's main camera minus the variable aperture. 

Photos are bright, clear, and detailed. There's also no autofocus issue that has plagued some S20 phones. The color has the characteristic color of Samsung camera tuning, but it is good at difficult lighting and handles skin tones well.
  
What it lacks is the versatility of functionality. The main lens is connected at a 12-megapixel, f/2.2 wide-angle, but separate from the internal 10-megapixel selfie camera. There is no telephoto lens, no depth sensor, no Time-of-Flight (ToF) function. 
 

Still, with portrait, night mode, and the S20's single-shot mode, you get more software options, such as capturing a variety of photos and short clips with minimal video options. As for video, there is no 8K support, but it can shoot 4K video at 60fps.
 
Ultimately, it has all the essentials and handles it well. If you're just focusing on taking pictures, it's consistent with most other flagship phones, but if you're really picky about photography, you might want to opt for a different phone for more options and better results. 

 

It's not surprising that the Galaxy Z Flip is expensive because it's a foldable phone, but by a foldable standard, it's on the cheap side. 
 

If you want to buy the Z Flip right away, it's cheaper than the top-of-the-line S20 Ultra, the Galaxy Fold, Motorola Razer, and Huawei Mate X, and more expensive than other phones.

You may also receive a discount depending on your telecommunication agreement. Although this review product was provided by Vodafone in the UK, it can be purchased from other telecommunication companies, and in the US, it can be purchased through Sprint or AT&T (in Korea, it can be purchased through Samsung.com or three telecommunication companies, If you receive additional support and benefits, you can purchase it for 800,000 won (Editor's note). 

Overall review of the Z Flip, not perfect, but my favorite  

The Galaxy Z Flip is not a perfect phone. It's still expensive, the variety of cameras is poor, and the fingerprint sensor is poor. 

There are a few minor issues besides the price, and it's a favorite, even if it's not the best phone I've used this year. With the Z Flip, Samsung perfected the shape of a foldable phone. Compared to the Z Flip, all of the other 2020 flagship smartphones are bland and oversized.  

Specifications of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 

• Android 10 with one UI 
• 6.7-inch wide full HD with HDR10+ support, 2636×1080 foldable dynamic AMOLED 
• 1.1 inch Super AMOLED (112×300) cover display 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ Octa-Core Processor 
• 8GB RAM, 256GB storage 
• 12-megapixel, f/1.8, OIS rear camera, 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, f/2.2 camera 
• 10 megapixel, f/2.4 front camera 
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 2D facial recognition 
• 11AC Dual Band Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, 4G LTE, USB-C 
• 3,300mAh removable battery, 15W wired charging, wireless charging 
• Unfolded: 167.3×73.6×7.2mm
• Folded state: 87.4×73.6×17.3mm 
• Weight: 183g