The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is no ordinary smartphone. For one it does something that most other smartphones can’t do. It folds.
Indeed, folding smartphones are something of a rarity at the moment. Priced at a premium, these are experimental concept phones that a select group of exclusive users have the privilege of owning.
Now, you may be thinking that foldable phones are still just fragile concept phones that are not well suited for everyday use. But you would be wrong. Samsung has clearly taken its time to design a stylish yet practical foldable smartphone that ticks all the right boxes as a highly desirable device.
Unveiled by Samsung in February, the Galaxy Z Flip was met by critical acclaim and interest by the world. Sporting a stylish and futuristic design, the Galaxy Z Flip comes in three gorgeous colours: Mirror Black, Mirror Gold and Mirror Purple.
We received a Mirror Purple version of the Galaxy Z Flip for testing and we completely entranced by the hypnotic colours the Galaxy Z Flip was showing off. Its colour shifts depending on the direction light hits it, giving it an almost ever-changing appearance as it alternates between light and dark purple.
Eye Catching From Every Angle
Needless to say, this is one smartphone that is made to be seen with and no matter how many times you flip it open to take a call, you can’t help but feel you are holding a piece of the future in the palm of your hand.
Right from the get-go, the Galaxy Z Flip feels well built with an aluminium frame that is sturdy and is remarkably compact when it is folded. This is great news if you like carrying your phone around in your tight jeans pocket.
Once you unfold the screen, it greets you with an animated wallpaper showing a blooming flower, demonstrating the sharpness and contrast of the innovative 6.7-inch Infinity Flex Display.
In a remarkable feat of engineering, Samsung has actually managed to produce a folding glass screen, dubbed Ultra Thin Glass, that is just 30 microns thick. That is as thick as a strand of human hair.
Thanks to this new fancy material, the Galaxy Z Flip is able to leverage on a unique hinge mechanism that allows you to fold, flip or stand the display up, all at multiple angles.
This ability to fold the Galaxy Z Flip even when it is in use is called Flex mode and it splits select apps like the Camera and Gallery, in half and puts the controls on the bottom half.
Samsung’s Multi Active Window feature works well with the massive screen as you can view two apps opened at once, allowing you to message on one screen and view videos on the other.
Even when the phone is folded shut, you can still interact with it via the small cover screen. With it, you can view your notifications, incoming calls or the time with just a glance. You can even use it as a small albeit difficult to use a viewfinder to snap a selfie with one of the dual rear cameras.
Speaking of cameras, you get the two 12-Megapixel cameras that comprise of a standard wide-angle and an ultra-wide-angle camera that offers a 123-degree field of view. When it comes to quality, the camera takes magnificent detailed shots during the day though it struggles a little when it gets dark. Fortunately, it has a dedicated Night Mode to make up for this shortcoming.
Unlike the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Flip does not record at 8K resolution but you still get 4K or UHD quality which is good enough for most situations.
There is a small 10-Megapixel hole-punch selfie camera that offers great picture taking quality without artificially smoothening your skin too much.
Abundance Of Features
This wouldn’t be a flagship device if it didn’t come with the very best specifications on the market. On the inside, the Galaxy Z Flip comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus processor along with 8GB of RAM and a generous 256GB of internal storage.
In our time using the Galaxy Z Flip, it proved to be a great multitasking device that never once dipped in performance during daily use.
The 3,300mAh battery is surprisingly small for a device with two displays but it is still able to get us through a full day of use from 8am in the morning till 9pm in the evening. The limitations of the battery only come to light if we took the phone out for a long day that would stretch in the late night, but otherwise, there was rarely any need to worry.
Like other flagship Samsung devices in the past, it supports Wireless Powershare so you are able to charge your wireless Galaxy Buds headphones, Galaxy Watch or even another friend’s phone that supports wireless charging.
Nothing Else Comes Close
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip is without a doubt one of the sleekest and most cutting edge devices that you can buy right now. Its compact shape folding display makes it instantly recognisable and a real conversation starter.
Really, there is nothing quite as satisfying as whipping out your phone, flipping it open to take a call and subsequently ending the call by closing folding it when you are done.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip has a retail price of MYR5,888.
For more information, please visit Samsung’s website.
