Samsung seems to have figured out, or at the very least, worked on the issues with its first Galaxy Fold device. For their troubles, we get the more compact, Motorola Razr competitor: Galaxy Z Flip. The phone looks to have addressed common complaints, at least upon first glance. Actual use could prove to be an entirely different thing.
For now, the Galaxy Z Flip seems to have a robust hinge, which lets you open it in any position. It's said to open smoothly without any creaks. But that does make it harder to open, especially with one hand. It's like a classic clamshell, but it isn't at the same time.
Samsung said to make the hinge stiff so you can set the phone down at an angle and do things in split-screen. Some examples are for Google Duo video chatting, and another is watching a YouTube clip up top and then scrolling through the comments at the bottom.
But the company seems to have addressed issues like reducing the gap around the hinge, which is smaller. The bezels inside are thinner, too. The crease is said to be barely visible, but it can still be felt. There's also probably better robustness here with the Galaxy Z Flip sporting an ultra-thin flexible glass, which is a first for a commercially available foldable device.
The Galaxy Z Flip has a 6.7-inch OLED display with a tall 21.9:9 aspect ratio. There's also a tiny 1.1-inch OLED cover display beside the camera, which you can use to view notifications and even as an itty-bitty display for selfies.
The foldable phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 3,300mAh dual battery (meaning the batteries are split into two sides of the phone). The Galaxy Z Flip runs on a customized version of Android 10. And it even supports wireless charging. But there is no 5G support here.
You get a decent camera set here, with two 12-megapixel cameras on the back, one with a regular wide-angle along with an ultra-wide-angle sensor. Inside, there's a 10-megapixel selfie camera seen in the top-center hole-punch, similar to the placement on the new Galaxy S20 phones.
The Galaxy Z Flip will come in Mirror Purple, Mirror Black, and Mirror Gold. Canada will be getting the device a week after the US launch. It'll be available on February 21 for $1,819.
Source: The Verge + MobileSyrup