Samsung’s Z Flip 4 vs last year’s Z Flip 3: Should you upgrade?

Samsung revealed its latest Galaxy Z Flip 4 earlier at its recent Unpacked event, and according to MobileSyrup staff reporter Bradley Bennett, who went hands-on with the device, it “feels effortlessly premium,” and is an “extremely capable smartphone.”

Now, before you decide to upgrade to the new foldable, you might want to see how it compares to its predecessor, and decide if spending extra money is worth it.

Let’s dive in and see how the Z Flip 4 compares to last year’s Z Flip 3.

Display and Design

Dimension-wise, both the devices are almost identical, with last year’s Z Flip 3 sporting a little bit bigger form factor, though the difference is only in decimals. What matters is the screen size. Both devices have a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X main display with a 2,640 x 1,080-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Both cover displays are also identical, coming in at 1.9-inches with a 260 x 512-pixel resolution. The Z Flip 4 has an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate, which means the phone will tone down the refresh rate when in instances when you’re not interacting with the phone, allowing battery conservation.

The edges on the Z Flip 4 also seem to be smoother than its predecessor, with an overall slimmer hinge and more Bespoke colour customization options.

Internals

The Z Flip 3 launched with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, whereas the Z Flip 4 comes with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, allowing for better Wi-Fi 6 & 6E multi-gig connections, better GPU and CPU performance, and overall improvedbattery life.

Both devices have 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, along with 128 and 256GB of storage. The newer Z Flip 4, however, also comes in a 512GB model. On the battery side of things, the Z Flip 4 is a clear winner, sporting a bigger 3,700mAh cell, as compared to last year’s model’s 3,300mAh battery.

The larger battery, when paired with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1’s optimization, should result in noticeably better battery life on the foldable.

Camera

The cameras on the Fold 3 and Fold 4 are identical when compared in megapixel terms. Both devices come with a dual rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel, f/1.8, 27mm (wide) and a 12-megapixel, f/2.2, 123 (ultrawide) camera. On the front, both devices sport a 10-megapixel, f/2.4 (wide) camera; however, the difference is in the sensors.

The Z Flip 4’s rear main camera features a bigger 1.8-micron pixel size sensor, as compared to the Flip 3’s 1.4-micron pixel sensor, allowing for more light to be captured, and in turn, better low-light photography when paired with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

12-megapixel, f/2.2, 123 (ultrawide) camera is an exact copy of the ultrawide camera on the Flip 3, and so is the front shooter.

Colours and pricing

The new Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $1,259, which happens to be the same price the Z Flip 3 launched for last year. The latter is now inevitably discounted, and is available for $974.99 on Samsung’s website. 

On the colour side of things, the 2021 Flip launched in ‘Cream,’ ‘Lavender,’ ‘Green,’ and ‘Black,’ colourways, and Samsung store exclusives like ‘White,’ ‘Pink’ and ‘Grey’ alongside Bespoke customizations. This year’s Flip 4 comes in ‘Bora Purple,’ ‘Graphite,’ ‘Pink Gold’ and ‘Blue’ colour variants, alongside more Bespoke customization options.

Should you upgrade?

Do you need an upgrade is the primary question. While the new Z Flip 4 does offer an upgraded chipset, alongside better battery and camera performance, there is nothing substantial to eye for someone who already owns a Z Flip 3.

On the other hand, if you currently don’t own a Samsung foldable, and want to purchase your first flip phone, it goes without saying that the Z Flip 4 is a better option, with a slightly more expensive price tag than what you would currently pay for the Z Flip 3.

For more on the Galaxy Flip 4, check out our hands-on with the smartphone.

Image credit: Samsung