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Flip phones have been widely available for about three years now, but they still only make up a fraction of the smartphone market. The Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 are Samsung’s attempt to change that.

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Samsung will release the Galaxy Z Flip 4 on August 26, starting at $1,000. In Samsung’s latest attempt to popularize foldable phones, the company announced the Galaxy Z Flip 4 during its Unpacked event last week. The Z Flip 4 features new software that takes advantage of its foldable design, improved cameras with better low-light photography, and a larger battery. It will be released on August 26 and starts at $1,000 (£999, AU$1,499). The Galaxy Z Flip has proven to be the most popular foldable yet, according to market research estimates. But across the industry, high prices, inferior cameras and battery life compared to standard phones, and a lack of exciting features have hindered the general appeal of foldables. With the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung addresses some — but not all — of those concerns. More importantly, it also makes progress in public understanding of foldable devices like the Z Flip. Samsung is trying to prove that there’s more to the Z Flip 4’s appeal than its compactness. That’s why it leans towards Flex mode — the feature that splits apps between the top and bottom of the screen when it’s folded in half. Now, you’ll be able to use the bottom half of the screen as a touchpad to navigate the top of the screen — an update that will make it easier to manipulate apps in flexible mode. Now Playing: Watch This: Galaxy Z Flip 4: Samsung’s Flip Phone Gets New Software,…
4:23 This feature is new to both the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4, though Samsung said it will evaluate porting it to older foldables as well. In the short time I spent with the Z Flip 4, this seemed to work very easily after enabling the feature in the settings menu.

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The Z Flip 4’s cover display also gets a few new additions. You’ll be able to send quick replies to text messages, make phone calls and take photos in portrait mode from the external display. The cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Lisa Eadicicco/CNET All in all, these upgrades are a step in the right direction for the Z Flip 4. It’s unclear if the Flex Mode expansion and the extra flip screen functionality will be enough to convert those who aren’t already into flip phones. But it does show that Samsung is paying more attention to software than hardware, which is crucial to proving the promise behind foldable phones. Otherwise, the Z Flip 4 gets a handful of daily updates that you’d expect to see on any new smartphone — foldable or not. It will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, a slightly upgraded version of the chip that powers the Galaxy S22 series. Although the resolution of the main camera is the same as that of the Z Flip 3 (12 megapixel wide and ultra-wide lenses), the Z Flip 4 inherits the improved night photography of the Galaxy S22. This means it will have a brighter wide-angle lens and larger pixel size, in addition to support for portrait mode photos in the dark. The Z Flip 4’s battery size also increases to 3,700 mAh compared to its predecessor’s 3,300 mAh battery. These are all welcome changes that limit the compromises you have to make when choosing between the Z Flip and Samsung’s non-folding Galaxy S phones. The previous Z Flip 3’s battery life was underwhelming, and the camera system felt like “the equivalent of the cameras you’d find on a $700 phone,” as my colleague Patrick Holland put it. The design of the Z Flip hasn’t changed that much, apart from some improvements. The hinge is slightly smaller and now has a glossier finish than the Z Flip 3. The inner screen of the Z Flip 4 is 45% more durable while the exterior is coated with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus. Color options include the new bora purple that Samsung just introduced for the Galaxy S22 along with rose gold, blue and graphite. These differences aren’t immediately noticeable when you pick up the device, but you can see them when you look at the Z Flip 3 and Z Flip 4 side by side. Lisa Eadicicco/CNET The Z Flip 4’s $1,000 price tag is still too high for many people, especially since there are so many exciting feature phones on the market that cost hundreds of dollars less. With some new software improvements and routine upgrades to the camera, processor and battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t feel like a monumental upgrade. But it’s still a turning point for Samsung’s foldables. Samsung has gone beyond just making apps run smoothly on flexible screens. It’s finally trying to find new ways to interact with apps that you couldn’t get with a non-folding phone.