Galaxy Z Flip 4 Vs. Z Fold 4: The Differences Between Samsung's Foldable Phones

© CNET Samsung's new luxury foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, officially launched on August 26. Samsung:

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 at its annual Unpacked event in August, marking the phone maker's ongoing efforts to bring foldable phones into the mainstream. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,800 (£1,649, AU$2,499), while the Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $1,000 (£999, AU$1,499), each the same price as its predecessor.

While both phones have sophisticated designs, each has a distinct look and feel. The Z Flip 4 is a clamshell flip phone popularized by the Motorola Razr. It's compact, nostalgically appealing and targets online content creators among other demographics. On the other hand, the Z Fold 4 is Samsung's heaviest book-style folding device. It's almost twice the size of the Z Flip 4 when both are folded "off". Once unfolded, the Z Fold 4 transforms into a tablet-sized internal display, which Samsung says is a powerful multitasking tool backed by 12GB of RAM.

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The Z Fold 4 comes with a number of features to match its larger size (and higher price). The Z Flip 2 has three rear cameras with a telephoto lens compared to two. The Z Fold 4 manages to fit a bigger battery. Their front screen is also different. The Z Flip 4 has a smaller screen under its cover, which Samsung has made more functional in this iteration. The screen of the Z Fold 4 is roughly the size of a regular phone screen.

Samsung Z Fold 4. View trading options. View Samsung

Despite their physical differences, perhaps Samsung's biggest flex is software, and the changes have affected both new models. Like the Z Fold 4, the Flip 4 has a trackpad function at the bottom of the screen in Flex Mode, a function that splits apps between the top and bottom of the screen when folded in half. With the update, you'll be able to use the bottom half of the screen as a trackpad to navigate the top half of the screen, which will likely make it easier to navigate apps in Flex mode.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. Check out the swap options. View Samsung

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Each model also gets night photography enhancements with the Galaxy S22, including Night Portrait Mode photos. The changes seem to highlight Samsung's efforts to persuade buyers to switch to, or at least generate interest, in foldable phones.

To learn more about how the Z Flip 4 stacks up with the Z Fold 4, check out the CNET spec sheet below for a side-by-side comparison.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs Fold 4: Which one to buy?