Alongside the Galaxy S20, Samsung also announced the Galaxy Z Flip, its second foldable device. The Z Flip packs a number of improvements when compared to the original Galaxy Fold apart from just coming with a new clamshell form factor.
The Galaxy Z Flip is scheduled to go on sale in select markets from later this week. Until the first batch of reviews of the phone comes out though, what are the first impressions of the device from other reputed publications? Find out in our hands-on roundup below.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Hands-on Roundup
TechCrunch
The Z Flip feels more durable than the Galaxy Fold.
In some ways, the Z Flip finds Samsung atoning for its sins. The display is, get this, covered in glass. The company is vague about the specifics, but everything about the Flip feels more solid than its predecessor, right down to the folding mechanism. It’s sturdy — in fact, you can have the device open at a number of different angles to prop it up. Closing it requires more force than the Fold, and that’s a good thing.
The 6.7-inch display puts its toward the larger end of the spectrum among smartphones, but it fits extremely comfortably in the pocket when closed. If you’ve ever used a clamshell phone before (which is to say if you’re over the age of 30), you get the appeal on that front. The Fold’s long form factor was still pretty large when closed.
Maybe you should hold out on buying the Galaxy Z Flip.
I’m still a long ways away from actually recommending the purchase of a foldable for the vast majority of consumers, but the Flip feels like a strong step toward helping mainstream the form factor. Who knows? A generation or two from now, maybe we’ll get there.
The Verge
The Galaxy Z Flip is clearly a second-generation product.
The gap around the hinge is still there, but smaller. The inside bezels look smaller, too. And the crease where the screen folds is barely visible, though you can still feel it. It’s way better than what you’ll find on Motorola’s Razr, which has a plastic screen.
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The tiny front facing screen is absolutely adorable, if you double press the power button (which doubles as a fingerprint sensor), you can launch the selfie camera and see yourself. More practically, it can be used to show the time and some notifications. Samsung says when you tap on a notification on the tiny screen, it opens up in the app when you open the phone — but that wasn’t working on the demo floor.
I really can’t emphasize enough how different the Z Flip feels from the Galaxy Fold and the Motorola Razr. It is very much refined — with no creaking, a more solid-feeling hinge, and just a smoother action throughout. I’m not 100 percent sold on having the hinge provide so much resistance, but I do think Samsung has figured some of its folding problems out. It’s a shame the first introductions to folding phones were so compromised, because this seems really promising.
Android Central
The device looks like a fingerprint magnet.
Outside of the novelty of its ability to fold in half, the hardware is typical Samsung quality. A metal frame rounds out on all sides with great symmetry, and the glass curves to meet it on the back. The one difference is the glass finish, which is incredibly fingerprinty. The super-mirrored finish reminds me of the Galaxy S7 … but twice as reflective. Of course the issue was of course made worse by harsh lighting at the launch event, but it was impossible to keep smudges from piling up on this thing.
That folding glass is the real deal, though it might not feel like glass.
First, is the screen covering itself: it’s glass. Actual glass, and yet it still folds. It doesn’t quite feel like the glass on any other smartphone, but I expected that considering the complex physics involved with it folding. But more importantly, it feels dramatically better than any other folding phone I’ve touched. The screen glass doesn’t flex or dent, and unlike the Motorola RAZR it doesn’t shift around when you press it hard.
Samsung has also worked on improving the hinge compared to the original Galaxy Fold.
Samsung says it made several improvements to the hinge, including a new lining of fibers that will help keep dust and debris from making it behind the display — though there’s still no IP rating here. The hinge is also much tighter than even the redesigned Galaxy Fold, and it’s so tight that it can actually hold the Z Flip open at any angle.
MKBHD
What are your thoughts on the Galaxy Z Flip? Do you think foldable phones are finally ready for the mainstream? Or there’s still some time to go? Drop a comment and let us know!
