It had been a long time since a phone arrived to impress us with its design, and that is that, today, all phones look the same to us. But technology advances, and the first great advances of the future are already here, and it is right at this precise moment where the Galaxy z flip surprises us with its technology. But will it be enough?
The future folds again
It is not the first foldable from Samsung, we know, but it is the first foldable from the company that can be taken seriously. The reason for this conclusion is none other than the infinity of design errors with which the Galaxy Fold arrived, a string of errors that ended up digging their own grave. However, this time we have a much finer and better finished job.
Features of the Galaxy Z Flip
But before I tell you all about the foldable experience, let's do a quick rundown of what this Galaxy Z Flip has to offer:
- 6,7 screen inches: Very long in length, and although it looks good, it does not reach the quality of the AMOLED panels of the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note.
- Double rear camera: 20 MP, with acceptable quality, without great frills and correct performance. You will take good photos, but not spectacular, much less with the ability to defend itself in complicated light situations.
- Frontal camera: it is hidden on the screen and gives very normal results. In addition, it is quite overshadowed by the function of the external screen, which allows us to use the rear camera for selfies (thus obtaining more image quality).
- Processor: A Snapdragon 855+ that will offer you excellent performance for all kinds of uses. Perhaps the most complete and outstanding hardware component that we can find in the device.
- Battery: 3.300 mAh with which to complete the day with suffering. A little more capacity wouldn't have hurt.
After this review, don't you think that we are facing a very normal phone that would have a hard time standing out in the market? That is mainly the problem that we found with this Z Flip, since its folding screen does not justify the general set of the product.
the pleasure of folding
But don't get us wrong. The feeling of folding the phone is brutal. It is important to mention that even if it is another foldable phone like the Galaxy foldHere the intention is different, since Samsung seeks to offer you a phone that you hardly notice in your pocket.
With the Galaxy Fold, the idea was to have a phone that could be turned into a tablet, but here, it's to turn a phone into something that we can hardly notice that we are carrying. And that is very cool, however, it is not perfectly executed.
Design to improve
You only have to pick up the phone with one hand to discover that it weighs a lot and that we need the other hand to open it. Forget about that old gesture of inertia opening the phone or quickly hanging up a call by closing it with force. It's very difficult to do the open and close gestures with one hand, and that affects the clamshell-like experience we've been used to seeing for a long time.
The phone is delicate, and that has forced Samsung not to make the same mistakes as with the Fold again. This translates into a rough design… on the inside. And it is that externally it is perfect. Perfect fold, without gaps, and a perfectly balanced weight. Seriously, the finish on the outside of the device continues to uphold Samsung's high standards in terms of bezels, perfect finish, and jewelery details.
The two sides of the coin
But on the inside, it seems that we are dealing with a phone from decades ago. The frames are wide and to top it off they have a fairly significant height that clashes a lot with the designs that Samsung has accustomed us to. Obviously they are limitations imposed by the screen, since it requires the best protection to avoid breakage. But if there is something that bothers visually, it is the grip-like pieces that are in the flex area. They are visible and they are horrible, but they are nothing more than essential elements to ensure the safety of the screen.
Most of the time the phone will be closed, with the screen protected, so with the idea of ​​being able to know who is calling us or what notifications we have pending, Samsung has included a small screen with which to see the information. But little more. The screen is so small that it is not useful for much else, and even using the camera function, it falls short of framing correctly.
Would we have included a larger screen? Sure. Had the price of the device increased? Well too.
Excellent screen, but not perfect
El AMOLED panel Used it looks pretty good, but it doesn't quite reach the quality of the Galaxy S or Note. This is especially visible in images with a black background and a lot of lighting, examples where the screen lacks that degree of punch in brightness and contrast that other Samsung devices do.
I cannot leave aside the issue of the fold either, something that is present, but that will quickly go unnoticed. If you look for it, you will find it quickly, but if you forget about it, you can live with it without major problems. The problem is, perhaps, that it is noticeable when passing the finger over the screen when we scroll, so it is something that still has to be perfected.
An overpriced luxury
Do not you think that all these details related to the screen weigh too much? That is the impression I have with this foldable device, an amazing terminal that seems to have come from the future, but that suffers insurmountable limitations produced by current technology. Everything that surrounds the screen is not up to it, and that makes us feel the Galaxy Z Flip as a device closer to a prototype state than a final product.
For all this, its price of 1.500 Euros It seems nonsense to us, since we are facing a very first generation with such a wide margin for improvement, that it will become obsolete when you least expect it.